11 Best Cymbal Packs for Beginners and Pros (All Budgets)

• 14″ K Hi-Hats
• 16″ K Dark Thin Crash
• 18″ K Dark Thin Crash
• 20″ K Ride

If you have ever heard these cymbals, you’ll know that they are very dark and beautiful. They just sound expensive.

As with any thin cymbal, durability is going to be less than that of a thinker cymbal. If you play Zildjian K cymbals, especially the thin crashes, be advised that these cymbals will crack easier. If you play hard rock, you may want to consider buying a separate set of cymbals for recording only, as touring with these will get quite expensive.

As with other thin cymbals, durability will be an issue for harder players. I would consider these to be studio cymbals, so be careful while you play them and use proper cymbal playing technique. The added free O-Zone crash cymbal is a great bonus.

Even Mat Halpern from Periphery uses this line. For metal! While the cost is high, the sound you get is equally expensive. The only gripes I have with this cymbal pack is the ride cymbal. It’s so dry that there’s barely any attack or sustain to it. Take a listen in the video below.

• 14″ A Custom Hi-Hats
• 16″ A Custom Crash
• 18″ A Custom Crash
• 20″ A Custom Medium Ride

Compared to the K Series, the A Custom cymbals are going to be a bit brighter but still maintain an expensive sound. I personally like the K Series over these.

• 14″ Mastersound Hi-Hats
• 17″ Medium Thin Crash
• 19″ A Medium Thin Crash
• 20″ Ping Ride

We’re moving to a little bit thicker of cymbals when we’re talking about the Avedis line. You can be a harder hitter and still get a lot of life out of these cymbals. This pack is ideal for touring drummers who have what I like to call road cymbals.

They’re not quite as expensive, but they still sound great. You won’t worry as much about taking them to gigs and potentially damaging them. I’d recommend grabbing a set of these even if you have more expensive plates you already gig with. Having a variety of cymbals enhances your versatility and makes you a more sought-after drummer.

Despite such a low cost, these cymbals sound like they should be way more expensive, on par with Sabian’s Hand Hammered line and Zildjian’s A Customs. I was truly blown away by these cymbals.

The price of this specific set seems high, but per cymbal, it's very affordable, coming in around $148 per piece. These cymbals also come in different configurations, with their four-piece set being reasonably priced under $500.

Included in this pack are four cymbals:

• 20″ XSR Ride
• 18″ XSR Fast Crash
• 16″ XSR Fast Crash
• 14″ XSR Hi-Hats

It’s a great value for four cymbals (technically five if you count hi-hats as two). The only grief I have with this cymbal pack is the small cymbals: they just sound so weak. Take a listen in the video below.

Sabian’s XSR line of cymbals can definitely take the hits of a powerful drummer. While these aren’t the most expensive sounding cymbals, they are perfect for an intermediate student or young player.

The sound quality you will get from the HCS line isn’t great at all (really any of the lower end cymbals), to be honest. If this is going to be your first line of cymbals, go for it. If you really enjoy playing drums and know you’ll upgrade in the future, save your money.

You definitely can tell that this line of cymbals was designed to be an upgrade (small, albeit) from the ZBT line.

The durability of the S Line cymbal pack is fantastic. This cymbal pack will last until you decide to upgrade to a more expensive line of cymbals. Being that these cymbals are thicker, expect them to be good for rock, pop, country, metal, and more. Don’t worry about cracks!

• 14″ Hi Hats
• 16″ Crash (2)
• 20″ Ride

This is another thicker cymbal pack, a common theme you’ll notice among cheap cymbal sets. The durability of the I Series starter set is great. This set of cymbals can last you or your young drummer many years. The sound won’t be amazing, but it’s a great set of learning cymbals.

Like with a lot of cymbal packs available, there are other configurations, so be sure to browse around.

These cymbals do sound pretty terrible (better than the ZBT line), but for someone learning to play the drums, they do give a nice feel and accurate representation of what more expensive cymbals would be like to play.

Even though they are entry-level, you could get away with playing live gigs with them. Think about it—who are you playing to? Is it a drunk couple dancing in front of the stage or a room full of cross-armed cymbal makers that want to critique the sound of your cymbals? The audience doesn’t care. From my personal standpoint, having instruments that sound good to me, makes me play better as a musician, so there’s a case for both points.