I know this was discussed a while ago but no @ the time one had gotten the Zildjian Gen16 cymbals yet. I am looking to add some better sounding/feeling cymbals to my my Pearl e-drum kit and wondering if anyone has tried the Gen 16. I want something that will actually play/record etc great for a variety of styles but hope to able to keep volume at minimum (neighbors lol)
Share all thought and experience please
Kenny
Aloha k
and thanks for the post.
I am looking forward to reading other users posts on this topic.
If there is one area I dislike the most about DAW plug-ins
it’s cymbals. (brass runs a close second)
I have tried many brands but I am still not as satisfied
as I am with other samples and sounds.
{‘-’}
Still didn’t get them 
I got a new drumkit, a Yamaha DTX750 which set me back so much cash I decided to postpone the gen16 thing. Still intrigued by the idea (and looks), but I’m afraid I can’t tell you much.
I noticed for the first time there was a set listed 2nd hand on the Dutch eBay alternative (marktplaats.nl), but I’ve been checking on and off and they’re clearly not very popular judging by the 2nd hand market. That, or everybody who has em loves them so much they don’t want to sell of course .
I have to say though, the cymbal sounds from the DTX700 module are most excellent, and the yamaha cymbal pads play very well. (I have their top range cymbals mind) They’re very expressive and respond nicely to both playing position, velocity and also muting. I’m not so sure the gen16 would be that much of an improvement on what I have now.
If I remember correctly the cymbals on the pearl kit you got where of the Alesis Surge category. IE silenced brass cymbals with a trigger. Do they have bell/bow/rim triggers and muting?
Yes they have dual triggers brass Surge, but I am not a drummer I just play at them. I thought of these again because a good friend said they played really well at music store and said they are real cymbals (he called them real cymbals with holes in em’). He was unable to really judge the sonic quality in drum shop of guitar center 
I’ve been using the Pearl Redbox to track and then midi’ to BFD/Superior. I’ve been getting great results that way here is sample (excuse it being 7min long) Cloud Storage – Private Cloud Storage and Collaboration for Your Business . These are modern drummer snare and BFD JNF- Sabian Zildjian hat samples.
The biggest complaint is on the feel of hats/cymbals so I am trying to decide between Gen 16 or real cymbals/mics. Just the cymbals I’ve looked at alone are more than Gen 16 and I’d need an additional mic for hi-hats. So money part is at least wash. My home’s noise factor would be helped via the Gen 16 also but sound quality is everything
I am seriously thinking of getting and then returning if they don’t cut the cake. The used one’s I’ve seen here (very few all of USA) are selling for more than new price…go figure lol
shoot, kzarider , great sound! I’ve been messing around recording acoustic drums all this time with mics, bleed and all, and here you’ve got the best of both worlds. Live play and quality recording with a little midi grid thrown in. Well Done! I may have to rethink this on my next studio changes.
John 
also good luck on your decission. I agree, bringing em home to do a test should be part of the purchase agreement.
There’s no midi on this! It’s just audio, they won’t trigger anything.
Yes on his current setup, but not with Gen16 cymbals.
Yes they play very nice and are much easier to edit if that is needed. Everyone seems to like them while playing and for the cost of one or two great overhead mics can buy an entire slamming computer sys lol
For me being a keyboardist the accurate midi tracking is a big plus, but again the cymbals seem to be issue for the better players and I don’t blame them it’s like me having to play piano part on a typewriter I can do it but I don’t get same output or satisfaction.
Yep I realize this but was hoping their sound will be good to make a master record. That’s my only concern really any ideas about that or have you been able to use them?
The redbox is Pearls sound source and has 4 audio outputs and midi in and out. I track with sounds from Redbox using direct monitoring so there is no latency. Simultaneously I record midi output to Cubase 7 and then have a template with BFD / Superior to C7 mixer. I use VSTi on midi data recorded from drums to trigger BFD etc samples and setup the mixer just like they were audio tracks OH,Snr,Hat Toms etc to process them correctly using EQ-Comp-Tape UAD tape etc.
Its easier for you to understand this info from source though. This is Raymond Massey who demo’s is Pearls guy and also plays sessions on most of my tracks. Here is demo of the exact kit I use with real drums w/tru trac heads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Nz5zBRChI
With this method I am also able to record midi drum tracks for people with export of audio. I of coarse will lose this ability with Gen 16 for cymbal/hat but if audio is great it shouldn’t matter. As this would be like recording Overheads with real Cymbals and Electronic kit at same time (thinking out loud here lol)
Unclear of reasoning for this statement can please complete for me the reasons?
Thanks
Sorry, bit of miscommunication between me and JSW I think. From his first post I thought he said the gen16 had midi (which is where I responded that they didn’t) and then he went on to quote your bit about the redbox and I thought he thought that was part of the gen16 setup.
I probably misread his first post so you can disregard the whole thing 
As for using Gen16 for recording: I haven’t had the chance to test this myself, but what I gathered from reviews is that they sound a bit tinny compared to real cymbals, but you might be able to compensate for this with some EQ. You should also note that the pickups are actual microphones, so you can’t really record at high playback volumes or you’ll get feedback.
I wouldn’t say they are “tinny” . They are bright though. Which it is a lot easier to EQ out over brightness than it is to get dull cymbals to sound bright. But, yes they are on the trebly side of things.
Bosphorus has a cymbal pack for BFD (and others I think), that is significantly darker out of the box.
Personally, I use the Gen 16 hat/crash/china and Bosphorus rides by default now. They are as close to doing it with real cymbals as I’ve been able to get.
Downside, but this could just be me lacking the talent/skill, is I can’t get decent washes and swells from any of it.
You are talking about the BFD soundset, not the actual cymbals right?
oh crap, if he’s referring to the actual cymbals … my bad … drinking and forum posting don’t mix … well ok, they do mix often.
I’ll drink to that 