Zildjian Pitch Black Cymbal Set

OK, i have owned the box set (22" ride, 18" crash 15" mastersound hats), and despite other people flaming on them, they actually sound pretty good. the ride is extremely heavy, and has an awesome bell, as well as bow. It also sounds pretty good crashed. the hats just flat out sound amazing. If you're looking for a metal sound, these hats are the way to go. My least favorite in the box set was the 18" crash. Believe me, it sounds good (for a sheet bronze cymbal), but it doesn't have much of a tone, it's loud or nothing. Also the paint chips off very easily, and though owning the set for only 8months, i cracked the crash (I use pro-mark 5BW's). If you're into metal, and use fairly lighter sticks, I would totally recommend these for you.

OK If you like the old Z custom line then your gonna like the pitch black series. The 22" ride sounds muted when you play it, but to the people sitting on the other side of the kit it's very clean & has good volume. Same with the 15" mastersound hats. I was doing a lesson with them & when I walked out from behind the kit the sound profile was much brighter when I was infront of the kit. The crash cymbals aren't as heavy as the Z customs, but not as bright as the A customs either. The splash is too big & sounds funky & the china has a quick decay if you hit it hard, but sounds weird @ lower volumes.

In closing the 22" ride & 15" hats are the best parts of the line. Be prepared for the coating to chip if they hit anything metal, but you can touch it up with black paint used to paint model airplanes. (This paint is made for painting on metal.)

The Zildjian Pitch Black Cymbal Set sound is just plain horrible. Zildjian tried to make up for the coating by putting thin cymbals inside and what they came up with sounds like a hubcap. Even if you hit the cymbal with every inch of power, it still doesn't produce the hard rock sound they are shooting for.

I'm a Zildjian guy and love their cymbals (I'm partial to the K's but they are very expensive).