Hi hat shoot-out: 14" A Zildjian New Beats vs. 14" K Zildjian hi hats
How does a pair of 45-year-old A Zildjian New Beat hi hats compare with a much newer pair of K Zildjian hi hats?
I’ve had the same 14” A Zildjian New Beat hi hats since about 1980 or 1981. I’ve used them to play everything from rock, pop, and folk to jazz and even musical theater. To me, these hi hats are what hi hats sound like.
But over the last 20 years or so I’ve mostly transitioned to K Zildjians for my other cymbals. So I’ve been wondering if I’d like some K Zildjian hats. Well, thanks to the truly excellent service Cymbal Swap (cymbalswap.com), I was able to rent some K Zildjian hats and give them an extended tryout. The ones I received are from 1997.
I was surprised with what I heard, and in short, they’re not quite for me.
What I like:
-Nice stick definition
-Very nice, defined foot-closed “chick”
What I don’t like:
-Higher pitch compared with the New Beats
The top K cymbal is heavier than the top New Beat. That creates some great definition but also contributes to a higher pitch.
I do wonder if more recent K hats would sound different. After all, the Zildjian website says K hats are actually dark and low pitched! So maybe the model has changed over the years. Still, the videos I’ve seen online sound like the newer ones remain in the same pitch zone as the older ones. And the weight specs look to be about the same.
Anyway, I do think these K hi hats sound great. And they’d work for just about all genres. They’d definitely cut through many mixes. But I think I’d rather keep looking for a lower-pitched pair of hats or better yet just keep using my tried-and-true New Beats.
Equipment
-DW drums
-A Zildjian New Beat hi hats
-K Zildjian hi hats
-Blue Hummingbird mics for the hi hats and overheads
-SM57 on snare; AKG D112 on kick
-Apogee Element 88
-Logic Pro
-Fujifilm X100V
-Final Cut Pro
Пікірлер: 8
I love the K series, but the hi-hat New Beat is My favorite.
Those New Beats sound so warm compared to the Ks. I don't know what it is about 90s K hats but so many of them seem to have this high end "hiss" that the 80s K hats did not.
@schmargle
4 ай бұрын
Ah, interesting. I should get a hold of some older Ks!
New beats have a tighter lathing which lends itself to touch more glassiness. The wider band lathed K offers a meatier stick but at a drier clip and at the expense of some tone IMHO. New Beats all day
K sounds more articulate and has a much faster decay. The new beats sound like they produce a wall of sound that’s a lot more washy sounding. Both sound great but for different styles
@schmargle
2 ай бұрын
Agreed. I had thought it was going to be the opposite-that the K's would be more washy. But I guess it just depends on which K's you use.
i have K's and I like them alot, but the thing is with K's ... They sound a bit further away from kick and snare, more isolated. (I don't know how else I can describe it). The A's (new beats) seem to glue better with kick and snare. I don't know why, they seem to mix better. less mid presence ?
@schmargle
4 ай бұрын
Yeah, that's a good way to describe it. I could see how that separation from the kick and snare would be particularly good for recording. Maybe I'm just too used to the New Beats, though.