Meinl Cymbals Cymbal Set With Hihats, Ride, Crash HCS141620+10

I hate to review this because I just bought a set of drums and I don’t play them yet. I bought this 20-inch ride cymbal because after watching some drumming lessons on video I decided that I definitely want a nice large ride cymbal.

I marked this 5 stars because the shipping was super fast, and the cymbal looks and feels great. However, as far as sound goes I can’t say a lot because I don’t have a lot of experience with it. I’ll tell you what I did do so far. I put it on a cymbal stand and played some various 8th and 16th patterns to see if I could get a feel for what it will be like. Here’s what I experienced.

The cymbal has a very wide range of tones (or sounds) from the rim to the bell. In some spots it sound more like a gong than a cymbal, in other spots it has a that nice ride cymbal sound I was hoping for. So I think I’m going to be happy with it. In fact, there seems to be two “sweet spots” on this cymbal. The first one is about an inch and a half in from the rim, and the second one is about an inch out from the edge of the bell. Hitting it at other places produces more of a gong sound than a cymbal sound (but keep in mind that I’m totally inexperienced with this)

The other thing that I noticed too is that the bell itself seems to be rather dead. I noticed this because one of my lessons teaches to go into the bell on every other beat. On the video their bell sounded like a bell. This bell just sounds like a thud. However, this could have something to do with my cymbal stand or the way I have it mounted, but I tried various tensions etc, and could never get an actual bell sound from the bell. This isn’t really a concern for me personally, but I thought I’d mention it for anyone who might be in need of that bell sound.

I’m happy with this cymbal because I think it’s going to be nice for the sound I’m looking for which is to use it as a ride cymbal. Considering the price I can’t complain because it’s hard to find a 20 inch cymbal at this price. So for this reason I gave it five stars. It does give that nice ride cymbal sound when hit in the right place and it sounds about what I would expect from a 20 in cymbal. It’s also quite heavy and looks like it’s going to be durable. It might turn out to be better than I think once I actually start playing. It’s hard to say at this stage.

Plus I now have a great “gong” sound to use too if I ever want it. (ha ha) You just got to watch where you his this cymbal. It has a wide range of sounds. Just don’t whack it blindly, you got to pick your spot and play it like an instrument. Hit the right spot and you can get some really sweet sounds from it.

This set of cymbals is fantastic for the price! I’ve been playing drums for over 15 years, but I’ve oddly never owned a drum set. I finally had the funds to get one and so I decided on the SPL Street Bop set, Gibraltar Hardware, and these cymbals. I am EXTREMELY satisfied with the array of sounds I can get! The ride has a pretty nice articulation to it while keeping its integrity as a dark and warm tone. Every cymbal has a sound that compliments the others. I was planning on buying the full set of nine cymbals but then I realized I’d rather get better hardware for longevity than buy a bunch of cymbals and not have enough/quality hardware to use them with. I will buy the 16″ trash crash, 14″ & 18″ two crashes , and the 8″ bell in time after earning some gig money. I can’t wait to use these cymbals in gigs and recording sessions! Thanks for the high quality products, Meinl!

I have a DW drum set with with all Zildjian A Custom cymbals and high hat. I recently purchased a small Ordery drum set (4 piece Cafe Kit) for playing in small venues such as one of my churches classrooms. I wanted to purchase some cymbals and a 13″ high hat set that I could use with the Ordery kit at a lower price point than my Zildjians. I researched Meinl cymbals and I have heard their higher end cymbals in person and I was really impressed. So I ordered a HCS 20″ Traditional Ride, HCS 16″ Tradional Crash and a set of HCS 13″ Traitional High Hat set. All for around $200.00. For that price point I was not expecting too much.

The cymbals arrived and I set them up in the same room as my other set with the Zildjians. I was pleasantly surprised with the sounds of the Meinl cymbals. I am not trying to say that they are even with the A Custom’s, but they held their own considering what I paid. I wish they had these cymbals back when I started playing drums. If I had to compare them to anything, possibly the old Zildjian Amir cymbals from the 1980’s.
The ride has a nice ping and sustain. The crash and high hat are on par and compliment the ride cymbal. Closed the high hat has a click sound.

I highly recommend these cymbals if you are on a budget, just starting out on the drums or just need a spare set like I did.

I’ve been playing for a while, and have mostly used Sabian. I wanted to try something different, so I figured I’d give these a try. I’m really glad that I did! These cymbals are sounding great so far, and they don’t feel flimsy at all. They look really good, too. I’m looking forward to adding more variety to my kit, so I will be purchasing more HCS in the near future.