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Cymbal Set

  • A series
  • Cymbal setup for compact drum kits and percussion setups

Set consists of:

  • 18" A-Series Uptown Ride
  • 14" A-Series Fast Crash
  • 12" A-Series New Beat Hi-hats
  • Available since February 2018
  • Item number 430946
  • Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
  • Configurations 1x Hi-Hat, 1x Ride, 1x Crash
  • Inc. Cymbal Bag / Case No
  • Alloy B20
£589
All prices incl. VAT
Available at short notice (usually 2-5 days)
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Compact dimensions, classic sound

The Zildjian A Series City Pack is a three-piece cymbal set designed specifically for compact drum kits and percussion setups. The pack combines the exceptionally dry 18" Uptown Ride with the thin and explosive 14" Fast Crash and a pair of 12" New Beat Hi-Hats, all compact sizes within the larger range. This makes them genuine outliers within the Zildjian A Series, one of the most iconic cymbal ranges of all time and a key influence on the sound of modern music since the 1930s. Even so, the defining qualities of A Series cymbals remain unmistakable: a bright, cutting and highly versatile sound, complemented by a touch of vintage warmth.

Zildjian 14" A-Series Fast Crash

Precisely crafted B20 cymbals

Like all of the manufacturer's current cymbal lines, the Zildjian A Series is produced entirely in the company's own factory in Norwell, Massachusetts. The cymbals are made from B20 bronze, the established standard in the premium segment and an alloy widely associated with a full, warm and complex character. Even more important to the signature sound of the A Series, however, is the manufacturing process. Unlike the darker K Series, which features more irregular hammering, the A Series uses a precise and consistent hammering technique. The clean lathing pattern, finished with fine tonal grooves, extends the cymbal's upper frequency response, although the unlathed 18" Uptown Ride is of course an exception. The wholly mechanical production process ensures tonal consistency throughout the range.

Zildjian Avedis Sweet 12" New Beat Hi-Hat

A set of premium all-rounders

The Zildjian A Series City Pack is the ideal complement to compact drum kits, cocktail kits, percussion setups, and hybrid configurations. These compact A Series cymbals belong firmly in the premium category and deliver professional-quality performance for minimalist street gigs, living-room concerts, and acoustic sessions in smaller venues. The overall sound of this unusual cymbal combination is clean, bright and focused. The A Series City Pack is also an interesting option for modern styles influenced heavily by electronic music. Compared with purchasing the individual cymbals separately, the savings are considerable.

A. Zildjian 18" Uptown Ride

About Zildjian

The Avedis Zildjian company is one of the world's oldest manufacturers of musical instruments. In addition to cymbals and gongs, the Zildjian range also includes drumsticks, percussion mallets, and accessories. The company's history dates back to 1618, when an Armenian, Avedis Zildjian, made his first cymbals from tin, copper, and silver near Constantinople. In the early 20th century, the company moved its headquarters to the United States, where a short time later the era of big bands and Swing music began. Zildjian worked closely with the most famous drummers of that era and over the decades earned an excellent reputation among Jazz drummers. Since Ringo Starr led the way more recently, Zildjian cymbals have also become increasingly popular among Rock drummers, and today the range includes cymbals for every conceivable genre, ranging from affordable entry-level cymbals to handmade models of the very highest quality.

Outliers in a classic series

The Zildjian A Series has helped shape the sound of modern music since the 1930s. The range is named after Avedis Zildjian III, who involved pioneering Jazz drummers such as Gene Krupa in its development. The goal was to create a thinner cymbal with a more sensitive response. Later, Rock and Pop pioneers including Ringo Starr of The Beatles and Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones embraced the powerful, cutting sound of the series. The list of influential drummers who have used Zildjian A cymbals on landmark recordings is almost endless, extending well into the world of guitar-driven Rock. Dave Grohl, for example, used cymbals from the A Series during the recording of Nirvana's Nevermind. While the A Series City Pack occupies a unique position within the range, its roots in the classic A Series sound remain immediately recognisable.

15 Customer ratings

4.7 / 5

sound

quality

12 Reviews

VH
Excellent combination
Vihren Hristov 09.05.2018
I should start with a short info about my concept, set and playing. Well my main (and only) set is miniature 4 peace; 16" bass, 12" snare, 8 and 12" toms, set. I was into that idea because of the small night clubs and piano bars in my country - Bulgaria. In such setting I would definitely go for a small set I can put trough the PA. Bigger drum sizes, bigger cymbals will sound more or less acoustically which in most cases is not pleasant for the human ear. Unfortunately Zildjian produced not that many small sized cymbals I can experiment with. Until that moment! The only small hi hat they produced was the 12" A Special Recording hi hat. Really tight and warm sound, but "thin" a little bit, especially when it's played a bit open and in the end "splashy" sound is not what we are looking for from a hi hat. That particular hi hat was designed to be played closed. Although Denis Chambers use the Special Recording hi hat in his firs instructional video "In the pocket". For a ride I used 18" K crash-ride. Great bell but it has a body of a crash cymbal. That's why I trade it for a really old 18" K Custom brilliant ride - too harsh for such a small drum set, loud, aggressive, hitting it with 7A drumsticks was like hitting concrete - totally unpleasant feeling. Sanded down the brilliant finish, then sand blasted the top first, then the bottom of the cymbal - nothing changed, just "ping" and no "music". I'm into thinner ride cymbals I can lay in to it while I'm playing, it feels like the ride accept the energy from the drumstick and it spreads it trough cymbal's body. So my hi hat and my ride cymbal were not the "ones". My crash was an old 14" K Dark crash thin brilliant - a lot of metal, harshness, unpleasant overtones, project too well next to the really quiet hi hat. In the end my cymbals didn't blend well together. That's why I decided to try the City Pack. Keep in mind that all the reviews on Youtube were made from people who don't play on such small sizes. Most of them use thicker drumsticks. Zildjian did great job on that kit. The Uptown ride is all around cymbal - it's on the medium thinner side, but really easy controlled, good stick definition, you can lay in to it, nice crashability and perfect bell - which (according to the videos) I tough is small wondering If I'd be able to hit it or not, but the size of the bell is ok. The 12" New Beat hi hat...is just normal, perfect balanced hi hat. The 14" Fast crash blends really well with the ride and the hi hat. I didn't expect to be that thick - probably medium, or the "new" thin; the cymbals from the 90's were quite thinner than the cymbals now days. But it's really fast, some splashiness in it too. Which is a great contrast to the Uptown ride crashability. Both of them fit really good together. In the end I'll say that Zildjian got me again ;) And I'm really glad for their decision to start producing those sizes. I actually never though that my idea for 12" hi hat, 18" ride and 14" crash will be ever made as a set. It worked fine to me and I hope it'll work fine to you too. Thanks to Thomann's great service :)
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J
Estupendo set para tocar en casa.
JulioGR 18.05.2018
Lo utilizo con una pequeña batería acustica, una Sonor Martini, para tocar en mi piso. Buscaba unos platos de calidad y con buen sonido pero que no fuesen muy potentes para no molestar a los vecinos.
En general estoy muy contento con el resultado.
Esteticamente son muy bonitos, especialmente el ride.

Me ha gustado mucho el sonido:
El charles es articulado y crujiente, se le pueden sacar muchos matices.
El crash es es rápido y brillante, yo lo utilizo con otro similar de 16 y va genial.
El ride es el único que no termina de gustarme por completo. Tiene un sonido espectacular ritmicamente. Pero para mi gusto cuando lo crasheas se siente rígido y no termina por gustarme, pero como digo solo es una cuestión de gustos.
De cualquier forma estoy muy satisfecho con el set
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t
Sehr gut aber anders
testbuckel 12.02.2020
Ich habe eine Weile gebraucht um mich an das Set zu gewöhnen. Eigentlich bin ich Paiste7 Nutzer. Da klingt das CityPack schon anders. Im Band Live Kontext und vor allem wenn ich leider solieren soll, sehr gut und das funktioniert dann auch. Highlight für mich sind die HiHat Becken. Die 12er Größe ist im Spiel nicht zu bemerken. Nachtrag: die PST7 gehen jetzt, auch wenn ich zB das 16“ Light Crash klasse finde, ist die Variabilität des CityPacks größer und im Gesamtsound differenzierter.
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R
Très bon rapport qualité-prix, ride un peu en dessous
Renaud897 13.08.2021
Je joue surtout du punk-hardcore et du métal mais j'aime m'essayer à d'autres styles (Jazz et fusion notamment).

Le charleston est à mon sens le point fort de ce kit, le son est très agréable, très précis et pas du tout envahissant même en jouant fort avec une grosse ouverture (le côté 12" aide à cette précision je pense, beaucoup plus agréable et moins "casserole" que les 14" Sabian B8 que j'utilisais par le passé).

La crash est excellente, très rapide et brillante sans être agressive. Le fait que ce ne soit qu'une 14" la rend peut-être un peu faiblarde pour les styles les plus agressifs, personnellement je l'utilise en appoint de mes deux crashs principales qui sont des 16" et 18". Elle est vraiment super pour les accents et les pêches, peut-être un peu moins pour le rythme "full crash" mais cela me semble tout à fait normal au vu du diamètre de la cymbale.

On en arrive au point faible de ce kit (à mon sens) : la ride. Elle est assez "sourde", elle manque de brillant et la cloche n'est pas très forte en volume. Personnellement je l'ai essayée dix minutes et j'ai replacé ma vielle Sabian B8 qui sonne beaucoup mieux à mon goût. Peut-être qu'elle peut convenir pour le Jazz mais pour du Rock/Métal c'est vraiment bof :(

J'enlève une étoile pour la ride qui n'est pas à mon goût mais quand on sait que le charley + la ride valent déjà quasiment le prix du kit, je pense que c'est vraiment un bon investissement :)

En achetant le charley et la crash on arrive déjà à 95 % de la valeur d'achat à l'unité
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