Eric once cycled to Istanbul and came in a small dusty shop where old Zildjian K cymbals were stored behind a curtain. As a souvenir he bought a set of hi-hat cymbals.
These K’s don’t sound very clear so he never uses them. He has played a lot with Paiste 602 Sound Edge hi-hat; very warm.
But the crisping of his other Zildjian hi-hats is preferable. Eric has no idea which model it is, but it has “SELECTED” printed on the bottom, so they must be very special.
Eric once spent half a day at Drumland trying out cymbals from the then unknown brand Stagg and made a selection. He has a nice set for symphonic rock where he can actually play half a scale on a row of crash cymbals.
Eric also has a set of Paiste 602 Modern Essentials. He sees Paiste a bit as the Volkswagen of the cymbals. It lacks idiosyncrasy but always sounds neat and tidy for all styles and you can play all kind of music with it. In addition, you have the practical advantage that if a splash cracks, a new one always sounds the same.
As a ride he likes to use the 20 or 22 inch Paiste 602 with a sizzler mounted on it. But the best ride for Jazz is the 22 inch Zildjian Constantinople bounce. Although it sometimes lacks the definition of the Paiste, it does fill everything up nicely.
The cymbals he takes to band rehearsels and jam sessions have a Grombal Cymbal Protector. Really recommended. You put it in the hole of your cymbal and you prevent the rod of the cymbal stand eating its way through your cymbal…