NO YOU HAVEN'T read it wrong, this is a Zildjian cymbal review and, amazing though it may seem, it is aimed fairly and squarely at you, the impoverished young drummer.

As you are probably aware Zildjian have been responsible for some of the finest (read also costliest) cymbals around since roughly the end of the last Ice Age. Their original alloy was discovered by an alchemist named Avedis who was attempting, as is an alchemists wont, to turn base metal into gold. But so disgusted was he with his futile efforts and the useless lump of metal he had created that he threw the offending substance against the wall. The resulting sonorous clang as the metal hit the floor impressed him so much with its sparkling tone that he immediately decided to become a cymbalsmith. The rest, as they say, is history.

Now things have come on a lot in the cymbal world since old Avedis hung up his crucible and although Zildjian have got the upper echelons of the market pretty well covered, rich pickings at the opposite end have begun to beckon over the years. Not a market you would ever expect to to find Zildjian mucking about in, but if that market exists they really have little choice but to make their contribution. Obviously a case of needs must when the Devil vomits into your kettle... or something like that!

The Zildjian reaction to the recent influx of cheapos has been, quite naturally, to play them at their own game. The result of which strategy is the monumentally reasonable Scimitar range. And mighty strange it is to see the famous Zildjian name adorning a set of cymbals that don't elicit a sharp intake of breath every time the price is mentioned.

In fact, considering the prices of these Scimitars, the verbal reaction is more likely to be a low murmur of approval.

I must admit that despite the Zildjian name, the Scimitars did not look all that promising. Quite a brassy yellow colour, a fairly flat profile and shallow, uniform grooves did not give an immediate impression of quality. However picking them up gave a good indication of their weight (as it usually does with most things) which was a lot more reassuring.

The Hi-Hats especially benefited from the extra weight of the bottom cymbal which added a degree of "clunk" to the closed sound and greatly assisted the projection. In some ways I was a little disappointed with these Hi-Hats. They weren't as responsive as I would have liked and the "chip" when bringing them together with the foot left a little to be desired in terms of focus. Possibly I expected too much from them merely because they sported the Zildjian name. Nevertheless they were definitely a very useful pair of Hi-Hats with a fair amount of character and volume even though they aren't the brightest cymbals in the world. Mind you for £60 all complaints take on a very different perspective — as does the word Zildjian emblazoned across their surface.

The 16" Crash presented no such problems. By then I was used to the fact that these were budget cymbals and were not going to sound like hand hammered Ks. So with my judgement thus unclouded I was able to pronounce the Crash very good value for money. Basically it does what it's supposed to with a minimum of fuss and bother. No overtones to worry about and although it falls a tad short of sparkling, the upper frequencies are there in sufficient abundance for the cymbal to cut through in most situations. And at 37 quid it's not a bad Crash cymbal for all that.

The 18" Crash Ride is also not a bad crash cymbal. Absolutely hopeless as a Ride of course, but then that's almost always the case with Crash Ride cymbals costing three times as much. The crash sound shares many features with the 16" but because there has been some attempt to pass it off as a Ride the cymbal is thicker and it's voice is consequently fuller and more rounded. The sustain is also longer but that didn't present a problem with either of the crashes, there isn't really enough sound produced for the sustain to be intrusive.

I suppose you could use the 18" as a Ride but in all honesty it just doesn't work in that capacity — the cymbal is far too light and ride beats get completely lost in a wash of overtones.

Not a failure then by any means, more a cymbal that definitely has a function, but unfortunately only fulfills one half of its promise. Even so, as I said before that is a common critique of Crash Rides in general and at £45... who cares, basically?

A Scimitar that works far better as a Ride than the Crash Ride is, um... the 20" Ride. Not surprising really but what is surprising is just how good this cymbal is for the money. Definitely the best of the bunch it has a credible bell sound and a pleasant, well rounded (if a little clangy) ride sound. Again it's as heavy as it needs to be and the overtones, although definitely there, are not pronounced enough to be a nuisance. Not a great Ride cymbal but one that should prove dependable and solid.

Individually the Scimitars obviously represent excellent value for money. The figures I've quoted in this review are the full recommended retail prices so don't forget you'll be able to pick them up for substantially less in the shops. Furthermore Zildjian also offer a boxed performance set consisting of a pair of 14" Hi-Hats, a 16" Crash and an 18" Crash Ride for the lowly sum of £142. Not bad, I'm sure you'll agree, but don't forget you won't have an out and out Ride cymbal in that package which you might feel is important.

In conclusion I found the Zildjian Scimitars to be a presentable set of budget priced cymbals. Not earth shattering in any way but workmanlike and reasonably priced nonetheless. They are not, nor could they be expected to be, as brilliant as a few other cymbals bearing the Zildjian logo — but even so, they certainly don't disgrace the family name.

ZILDJIAN SCIMITAR CYMBALS: 14" HI-HATS £60 / 16" CRASH £37 / 18" CRASH RIDE £45 / BOX SET OF THE ABOVE THREE FOR £142