Saluda Cymbal

[Crazy8s]

I just wanted to point out to you guys my experience with Saluda Cymbals. Many of you may know that I won a free cymbal from them during the Ghostnote 1st annual celebration giveaway. I want you to know that what I am about to say is not based on whether or not I got a free cymbal. I am basing the opinion on if I had paid the selling price for it.

I very strongly suggest you all check them out! I was allowed to decide what type of 16" Mist cymbal to get. (Mists are their pro-level handhammered cymbals.) Not knowing anything about their cymbals, other than they are found for VERY low prices on the internet. Yes, ebay has 'em for scarily low prices. It was the price that kind of set my mood about the cymbals. I got the vibe from the price that they would be "entry-level"-ish, even if they were hand-hammered. I emailed Jamie at Saluda cymbals, and told him that I wasn't keen on their offerings and was looking for his good judgement to select one for me, based on what I wanted from a 16" crash cymbal. I told him that I am a moderately hard hitter, but I don't generally like the "bell-like" ringyness of Z and Metal type cymbals. I explained that I wanted a heavier cymbal that had some life to it, maybe something like a heavier K or HH type cymbal. Jamie replied that he would find something that would fit the bill!

I was pretty excited to be getting a new cymbal, because it has been a while since I bought new cymbals, but admittedly I was kinda concerned that the cymbal would be "entry-level"ish, because I just couldn't get over the selling price of them. So I waited patiently, not expecting a whole lot.

Well, I just got the cymbal today, and after playing with it to see how I liked it, I must say it is pretty freakin' awesome! Jamie did a fantastic job at interpreting what I asked for and sending out a cymbal that matched very closely to what I asked for. Not an easy thing to do, because it is really hard to describe the sounds of cymbals. The cymbal has a really nice "darkness" to it, very much like a K or a HH. The finish is that of a polished K or HH, but the design of the cymbal is actually kind of similar to a UFIP, being notably heavier in the center and getting substantially thinner towards the edge. The edge is actually on the sharp side, much like UFIPs are. It has all of the qualities you would expect from a traditional turkish-style hand hammered cymbal.

Overall, I am very pleased with the cymbal. I am astounded that they are selling them as low priced as they are. My advice to my friends here at Ghostnote is thatyou better check them out before they up the prices. Cymbals this awesome deserve to be sold for much more then Saluda is asking. I will definitely be buying more cymbals from them!!!!!

Pic of me with my new Saluda Mist 16" Crash!!!!

[E-Dog]

Damn now that is awsome.

Would have been better if that ugly dude was cutt out of that pic. .

Lord I don't know which thing is more shinny..

[Crazy8s]

I am glowing with excitement!

[DFender]

I dig my 16" Medium crash also!

My 14" Hi-Hats are some of the best playing Hats that I have ever played!

Congrats on the new cymbal...


Welcome to Saluda, Brother!

[SaludaCymbals]

Great to hear you like the cymbal so much. Thank you for posting your review. If anyone ever wants to trade your cymbals in for Saluda Mists, Voodoos, Voodoo EX's, etc. shoot me an email (ufsports@hotmail.com) and we can talk. Trades are around 30 percent of our business and this process really helps both parties out. It also helps to keep our prices down.

I think we will offer a ride in the next giveaway since that seems to be what most are after.

Jamie

[AndyGTC]

Good review crazy. I am eagerly awaiting arrival of the 24" china ride. My eager anticipation increases further!!!

So, should I trade in my Piestee & Sabians then? Do Saluda do a 13" set of hats (I love smaller hats I have to say)? :lol: :lol: :lol:

[asddrummer]

hot damn thats a nice lookin cymbal i think im going to have to check these guys out

[SaludaCymbals]

We have 13" mist brilliant and traditional hats in regular production. We hope to release some 12" Mist brilliants in 2005. If you want to work a trade for your cymbals, just send an email to ufsports@hotmail.com. I know you are in the UK so shipping is going to be a little expensive for you. We might be able to work something out where you have to only pay for shipping or something close to it.

Jamie & Saluda

[by-tor]

what kind of condition does the trade in have to be in? I have an A crash with a very small crack...Could that be a trade in?

[Salt_Lick]

i got an el sabor crash with a crack. dang

[Kanbasher]

Jamie, question about Saluda Mists. You guys have/looking to do any 15" hats & 24" rides? What is the biggest size you offer in crashes? I have some other questions...I'll have to e-mail ya.

[AndyGTC]

We have 13" mist brilliant and traditional hats in regular production. We hope to release some 12" Mist brilliants in 2005. If you want to work a trade for your cymbals, just send an email to ufsports@hotmail.com. I know you are in the UK so shipping is going to be a little expensive for you. We might be able to work something out where you have to only pay for shipping or something close to it.

Jamie & Saluda

Jamie, this is absolutely fantastic of you! :D What can I say? I'll soon have the 24" in my sweaty little hands so I'll give this a go and see how I like it (I'm sure it'll be fantastic :lol: ). I'll go from there. The fact that you actually do 13" hats is a big thing for me so I'm more & more tempted. I do like my Sabians though so it's kinda hard!!! :)

I appreciate what you're doing though and well, who knows?

[tbone]

Wow, wish I'd had 'trade in' access before I sold some Zildjian hats & crash (real cheap) a few months ago.
Buying cymbals for me is really hard to do, even buying them locally; what sounds good in the store or in a sound clip isn't a total gaurantee that you'll like them playing with a group. So for me, it's a real challenge to get what I want. I'm looking forward to finding out more about Saluda cymbals, and especially having someone to ask questions to about them.

[SaludaCymbals]

We don't take in cracked cymbals for trade. It is too difficult to price a cracked cymbal.

We normally have 15" Mist hats in stock. We have made a few prototype 24" Mist traditionals but so far we have not done any 24" brilliant Mists. The 22" Mist brilliants are still in their short production (prototype) phase but these should be in regular production within 6 months. We do get a lot of requests for the 24's so it is possible 2005 may see these in either regular production or at least some short production runs (prototypes).

Any detailed questions can be send to ufsports@hotmail.com.

Jamie

[tbone]

Jamie, I bought from ufsports on Ebay before; what's ufsports?

[SaludaCymbals]

Before Saluda there was ufsports. UFSports was the first company I owned. Ufsports is no more but I kept the email address, as my main email address, kind of as a good luck token. You can also email info@saludacymbals.com or saludacymbals@hotmail.com.

Ufsports had nothing to do with Saluda but it taught me a lot and opened a lot of contacts for Saluda. I won't give too much detail now but it will later be explained in the UnderWorld.

Jamie

[tbone]

Before Saluda there was ufsports. UFSports was the first company I owned. Ufsports is no more but I kept the email address, as my main email address, kind of as a good luck token. You can also email info@saludacymbals.com or saludacymbals@hotmail.com.

Ufsports had nothing to do with Saluda but it taught me a lot and opened a lot of contacts for Saluda. I won't give too much detail now but it will later be explained in the UnderWorld.

Jamie
Thanks, just curious. :wink:

[AndyGTC]

Jamie, may well be contacting you sooner than I'd thought. Cracked my piestee 2002 18" crash last night. My favourite cymbal :cry:

I have a gig tomorrow with no way of replacing it in time so I'm gonna have to drill this so I can get a little more use out of it 'til it finally goes. Damn. :x

Expect an e-mail in the near future..........godammit! :wink:

[Schlage]

Wow! This thread rocks!

That was a nice review, Crazy. That was the first I'd heard about the cymbals. I'm very pleased to know it was a good cymbal.

And the trade in?! How cool is that?!!

[SaludaCymbals]

AndyGTC,

Sorry you lost a cymbal. Look me up. We can put a new shiny 18" crash up there. Our Mist brilliants are very durable, not indestructable, but very durable. Shawn Beamer of Molly Hatchet has been using our Mists since May 2002 and he has never cracked one (except one that he dropped). He hits pretty hard.

Seems the best way to prevent cracking is to make sure the cymbal is loose in the felts and use a slight striking angle.

We have been studying this slight striking angle because all cymbal companies recommend it. Supposedly the force slides off the cymbal instead of the direct angle strike which pushes the cymbal directly down and freezes it against the felts (lowest part the cymbal can go). This means all force is now locked and looking for somewhere to go. Something has to give: either the cymbal flexes and/or breaks, the drum stick gets chewed and/or breaks or worse the shock goes into your wrists.

All of the above does seem true from what we have found. However, we can take it a step farther and show that using the slight angle strike causes the cymbal to spin (even with an overly tightened felts (wingnut). With the cymbal spinning between strikes, you will not hit the same place twice. This reduces a heat build up which keeps the stress off one spot. Too much stress in one part of the cymbal causes cracks in the grooves or cracks on the edge.

Just thought I would share some information we have learned.

Jamie

[AndyGTC]

Jamie, thanks for that. Very informative.

However, I think it's merely a case of wear & tear. To be honest, this is the last surviving one of my 2002s which I bought about 7 years ago so it's done ok to get this far. I'd just got a little attached to it really. Still, nothing lasts forever eh?

I'll definitely be in touch whether to sort a trade or to just buy a new crash.
And I best get my raffle tickets huh?

Thanks again Jamie, appreciate it.

Andy

[2 and 4]

Where can I go to see and play one in person? I am pretty much a older A or modern K kinda sound guy. I do have a few Bosphorus and Masterworks cymbals that I enjoy and am always in the market for a good cymbal, how do these compare? Definitely the price seems RIGHT!

These I intend on playing on these on all the numbers plus the &'s but look for me on the -

2 and 4

[AndyGTC]

Where can I go to see and play one in person? I am pretty much a older A or modern K kinda sound guy. I do have a few Bosphorus and Masterworks cymbals that I enjoy and am always in the market for a good cymbal, how do these compare? Definitely the price seems RIGHT!

These I intend on playing on these on all the numbers plus the &'s but look for me on the -

2 and 4

There's someone who has just posted on the Sponsor thread highly recommending Saluda cymbals, you may find it of use. I certainly did and am doing my best to sort something with Jamie.

[...gach]

jamie where are you prices listed????


gach

[asddrummer]

www.drumgearonline.com

[...gach]

www.drumgearonline.com

thank you much!!!


gach

[asddrummer]

yep also ebay they do it too and you get it a little cheaper on ebay but id suggest trading something in im trading in my crappy ride right now and im gonna get a mist which is like 115 bucks and with the trade the cymbals gonna be like 66 bucks i didnt even think my ride was worth that i was trying to sell all my cymbals for that a while ago

[jtinkleburt]

hey saluda,
i have some 14" zildian simitar hats that are very worn. would you consider those for a trade in, because i hate the sound and i need some new hats bad.

thanks,
nate

[asddrummer]

i have 14 inch zild scims too but the botom hat is key holed im pissed now that i cant trade em in

[asddrummer]

give him an email you'll get a reply much quicker

[thoughtwithoutreason]

do they ship to the uk? or do you get stung for tax?

[AndyGTC]

do they ship to the uk? or do you get stung for tax?

Yup, Jamie ships to the UK. As for Customs & Excise? I just got stung by the money grubbing b*st*rds!! However, there is a way round this. Get it shipped as gift. It's not total guarantee to avoiding any extra costs but you never know. All in all, Jamie's prices are pretty good so I reckon even if you did get a bill you could quite easily absorb it into the overall cost and still come out smiling!

I'd seriously recommend buying from Jamie - not only is his pricing good everything I've heard about the cymbals is top notch. He's also very easy to deal with and very friendly.

As an aside, I ordered one of his 24" china rides. It arrived in the UK promptly last week (7 days or so via airmail shipping) but Parcel Force (aka Parcel Farce) didn't even bother trying to deliver it and mailed me a letter asking for another £20 customs & excise charges (VAT). When my wife phoned up the depot they said something like 'Oh, I know who sent that. He was supposed to deliver it and get you to pay on delivery but he's so lazy'. So my cymbal is stuck in the depot until they can bothered to actually deliver it. I'm happy to pay the extra, I still got a great deal, but I wanted that for a gig we just played on Saturday night. Only I gotta wait until tomorrow until they can be bothered to do the job they actually get payed for and deliver my stuff! So it took 2 weeks instead of 1. Useless gets! This in no way is a reflection on Jamie @ Saluda, like I said earlier - I couldn't be happier with his service.

[thoughtwithoutreason]

if the tax is only something like £20 quid for a cymbal that size I think I will consider it then. Right I'm off to do me some research on their website!

:)

cheers

[Keeper of Time]

I have been a Saluda endorser for a couple of years now and have been very very happy with everything I have recieved from them. The comapy is top of the line all the way around and Jaime knows his stuff. Just tell the guy what you are looking for in a cymbal and he can find the one that is right for you. He has helped me choose several different cymbals when I have been looking for just that right sound or texture. I use the Mist line and have not had one fail on me yet. They also record well and cut through the stage volume when playing big shows. Not to mention they just look insane under the lights. If you are looking for an alternative to the big three companies definately give the Saludas a try. You will not be dissapointed. :twisted:

[DFender]

Welcome to Ghost Note Matt...

[SaludaCymbals]

Hey Matt,

Good to see you join this forum. This is a great site to hang around and shoot the breeze with some fellow drummers. Matt I think the intro on 'Til Dust To Dawn' is incredible. I might have to get the band's permission or whatever it takes to make that my intro to the UnderWorld. I have a clip somewhere that was made a while back where that clip might do well. I will see if I can find it and report back.

Jamie

[Keeper of Time]

Thanks for the welcome guys! I'm already loving this forum. I will definately spread the word. Jamie you can use what you need for the web site. I sent you a few copies of the new CD a few days ago. You should have them any day. The version of 'Til Dust Return on there is a better quality recording then what we have posted on the site. Let me know what you think of the whole CD after you dig into it. :twisted:

[beatkeeper02]

I'm very glad to hear that the cymbals are quality! I am now thinking about trading in a Z Custom Mega Bell (that I barely used, but bought used from Jason Rullo, of Symphony X, you may or may not know em, good guy) for another ride or a crash or so. What is the policy on trade ins? I'm gonna check the site but in case i don't find out for myself...

[Schlage]

I was chatting with Jaime about trade in's. It didn't quite work for me at this time, but then again, I'm trying to get rid of crap cymbals and get great ones in return.

Very nice guy, though. Quick responses and very helpful.

[nittanyperc]

Jamie,

Have you thought of entering the concert/orchestral realm? I'm looking for a pair of 19" med/thin crashes....

[asddrummer]

i was just about to order my ride tonight but i dont have a box big enough for my current ride to fit in it sucks it was too big for a vcr box by like half an inch

[beatkeeper02]

i was just about to order my ride tonight but i dont have a box big enough for my current ride to fit in it sucks it was too big for a vcr box by like half an inch

what do you have to do for trade ins?

[asddrummer]

20" zildjian scimatar the new mist ride is only gonna cost me like 66 bucks with the trade in

[beatkeeper02]

no I mean like how do you go about trading cymbals in? I couldn't find any info on the website, and they aren't too quick to respond to my email.

[SaludaCymbals]

beatkeeper02 - you can contact me at ufsports@hotmail.com. Just let us know what you have to trade in (be precise), what condition your cymbal(s) is in, and what you want to get in return. We can't take in cracked or other badly deformed cymbals.

Jamie

[beatkeeper02]

will do, thanks :)