Paiste PST3 Starter Pack Set

I played these cymbals for about a year before they finally died on me. I play mostly extreme metal (post- and doom), with occasional forays into jazz.

The hi-hats have a really good sound for such cheap cymbals - they surprised a couple of studio owners that I recorded with, one of them even asking if I had Zildjians. They have a nice clean sound when closed, with a good tight click. They cut through nicely for jazz, and react well to being splashed. However, it is when they are opened up that they start sounding really great. Depending on your clutch positioning, you can get sounds ranging from a short, attacking sound to a massive crashy wash. They have an added advantage in that they're not too loud, while still being loud enough to be heard over everything. I prefer the PST3s to Sabian AAX Stage Hats, because the Sabians are just far too loud to be usable.

The 18" crash/ride is also excellent. It has a nice full sound, which works well for both accents and being the main cymbal of a pattern. It also has nice definition, and it doesn't get lost in the mix at all. This was a cymbal I always liked hitting, because it just sounded really, really good.

The downside to these cymbals is the longevity. My hats started out with a small crack, this grew bigger and bigger, until eventually big chunks were falling out. My crash started with a small line in the rim, which just grew inwards until it got about half an inch into the bell. The hats actually still sounded okay with a smaller crack, but the crash just sounded terrible. But for the price, getting a year out of them is still alright.

So to sum up, these cymbals are absolutely fantastic if you're on a budget. I may have broken mine, but I ordered another set, because they're just that good.