1 years old

It was a year ago we opened our virtual doors. Our first day in business saw a total of 8 people visit our store. Once at our site they had a total of 5 cymbals to check out. Our opening day inventory included 3 splash, and 2 china cymbals. they were all Wuhan brand to boot. Not exactly what I had envisioned, but we were open for business and nothing would ever be the same.

Over the last year we have grown from 5 listings to about 100 ( as an average) We carry an extensive inventory of 3 brands of cymbals 3 brands of drums and atleast a dozen assorted other brands for specialty items such as heads, sticks ,snarewires ect,ect. It has been both a learning and growing experience for us. We are greatly looking foward to our second year in business and completeing our first calander year ( 2009).

We have big plans for the up comming year. We've already begun to incorporate these social networking sites into our overall web presence. Like Blogger for instance. We have a presence on myspace and facebook is next. Finally we plan to get our own proprietary website within the next few months. This is something were very excited about. It will feature it's own drummers forums, lessons, drumming tips, product reviews and of course a store.

All in all we think our first year has been a success judging from our feedback people overall seem to be happy with our products and our customer service. We aim to keep it going.It's hard for us to believe we've been in business one year already, but we have and we are really excited about our second year. We'd like to thank everyone who has patronised our store and help make it the success that it is. We look foward to the up comming year it's going to be a very exciting one. T

250 feedbacks so far so good, we think

Feedbacks are a great way to gauge sellers integrity. Especially if your looking to purchase a higher end item. When Cymbals & Snares first opened our doors we intentionally kept the items we stocked to lower and mid priced items, Not quality mind you just pricing. Figuring we needed to establish oursleves as a reliable, honest company before bringing in much more expensive items. It's a strategy we think has paid off.

We didn't consider bringing in full size drum kits, higher end cymbals until we reached well over 100 positive feedbacks. To us at 100 feedbacks especially in a few months show's potential buyers this is a company that is serious a company that is looking to grow a company that is trying to establish itself in the online market place. In actuality we waited till we hit 150 positives before we expanded into the already mentioned items.


We have only one negative feedback sometimes it bothers me sometimes it doesn't. It's virtually impossible to please everyone. I have a freind who is the most demanding consumer on the face of the planet. He's arrogant, obnoxious I would never want him as a customer. Thank god he doesn't play drums. The point being any complaint he has about any company he deals with ( and he complains about every company he deals with) you gotta take it with a grain of salt. Our negative feedback boils down to the fact we inadvertantly sent a customer the wrong cymbal. He was from spain spoke no english we had no idea what the nature of his complaint was. Finally we got an email stating in just one line of english "dosen't look like picture". We thought is that all ? Now we offered to send the correct cymbal to spain at our cost told him to keep the other cymbal as a way to apologies for our mix up and we got zero responce.

Now how many companies would do that ? Not tooting out own horn but honestly very few companies would be so accomodating. What did we get for our effort ? a negative feedback. Oh well. As potential buyers checking someones feedback should be part of every transaction. Would you rather spend a few dollars more on a cymbal or drums from us or from someone who has shakey feedback ? Or how about someone who sells whatever they have accumulated from antique bottles to old magazines in amongst his items are some drums he's come across. Both companies have equal feedback who are you gonna by from ? The company that specialises in drums of course !!

We just hit 250 feedbacks and were proud of that. Of course we've had as many customers not leave any feedback at all. Ebay should really address that issue. Why not say they're automatic positives with not responce or something. If a person has an issue they'll let you know. Most times a satisfied customers don't do anything but enjoy there prodcut. Were looking foward to hitting 500 feedbacks and when we do we'll revisit the feedback issue. T

Wave from the East --- Silken Cymbals

If nothing else the Chinese are probably the most pragmatic people on the planet. If something isn't working they change it. With their economy moribund the worlds most populated communist nation did what no Marxist state would ever think of doing. It became capitalist, ( sort of ) and in doing so set off an economic boom felt around the world. Industry after industry would feel the unbridled enthusiasm of a people who's work ethic and ingenuity lay stiffled under decades of one of the worst aspects of the communist economic model centralized planning.

Your saying that's all well and good T, but what has this got to do with cymbals ? Everything !! The explosion of private manufacturing has ushered in a period that I personally believe will be the beginning of a Renaissance of Chinese Cymbal production. The strides that the Chinese cymbal makers have made in just the last 5 years is astonishing. Until then the only good quality cymbals to come from china were Wuhan's (Universal supervised) china's. Their western style cymbals left much to be desired.

An absolute perfect example of the "new" Chinese cymbal companies is Silken Cymbals. Under the leadership of Master Cymbal smith Chengken Silken produces Cymbals that are easily on par with it's American, European and Turkish counterparts. The Chinese are a quick study from sheet brass stamped cymbals sold on kits at sears and walmart to hand made B20 bronze high end cymbals in 10 years is pretty amazing. For those of you who doubt Silken is the proof.

Originally making gongs and supplying blanks to companies like the euro uber cymbal maker Paiste Chengken decided it was time for him and his company to enter the cymbal market with it's own brand. Originally marketed under a different name, the name Silken was adopted last year and since then there's been no looking back. Silken Cymbals are not manufactured they are created. From some of the best B20 bronze available today it is reported that bronze is created in batches as small as 1 gallon at a time to ensure the resulting alloy is absolutely an 80/20 mixture guaranteeing the bronze is exactly B20 all this done under the watchful eye of chengken.

It is often said a poor cymbal comes from a "bad pour" at Silken that ain't happenin. Each cymbals is completely handmade from as we've already established B20 bronze. Considered by many to be the premium alloy for cymbal making because of it's superior sonic characteristics and Musical tonalities. The cymbals themselves are hand cast, hand hammered, lathed, shaved and buffed resulting in a one of a kind instrument who's voice is of a unified theme, But each posses it's own uniqueness and individuality. No mass produced cymbals here.

Silkens are both visually and sonically pleasing. Just look how nice the pics of the ones are we posted. You can see the craftsmanship and care that has gone into each one. The splashes are explosive with a nice aggressive attack and a quick decay exactly what you want in a splash/accent cymbal. Silken currently offers 4 lines something to please everyone. At the moment Cymbals & Snares is offering 2 the Vintage series a dark , smoky almost brooding sounding line of cymbals very K ish in sound and reminiscent of the cymbals of the 1960's. We also carry the Hansun line clearly made for rock they are brighter and peppier the crashes are aggressive in attack and classic in sound while the rides have a clearly defined bright ping allowing for excellent stick articulation.

Our next order which we will complete in a few days will include a number of cymbals from Silkens other 2 lines the Jazz and Dark energy for obviously our jazz and alternative customers. As well as more of the Hansun and Vintage series. One of the best things about Silkens is their price. They are so competitively priced the BIG3 had better watch themselves or they will wind up like Detroit. Cymbals & Snares prides itself as being the "home of the other name brand" and Silken fits our corporate philosophy perfectly. Offering products who's quality is at least equal too or exceeds the larger brands but who's price is often lower. Bringing Drummers the world over the best possible value for their money. Silken cymbals are clearly some of the "best of the rest"

Companies like Silken shatter the price to value ratio in cymbals. Price is simply no longer a barometer to quality. The Chinese can bring excellent quality Cymbals to the west at good prices because the cost of living is lower. It's that simple. Silkens are inexpensive by western standards but they are not cheap. There's a huge difference. As President of Cymbals & Snares I am overjoyed to add Silkens to our product offerings. I know every time we sell one a drummer somewhere has just purchased a great looking great sounding cymbal, and who's value may be unparalleled in the Cymbal market at the moment.

I encourage everyone to visit us at www.cymbalsandsnares.com and check out our Silken offerings. Each listing has an in depth description of the cymbal and has a Audio/video presentation of that cymbal. You get to see and hear it before you buy it. In closing I am very enthusiastic about Silkens future as a major cymbal player there just too good and priced perfectly for a newer company entering the US market. For alot of Drummers the jury is still out for Chinese cymbals in general. With the quality chengken turns out of his factory, Silkens can only help tip the balance in their favor. Until next time keep rocking T.

Wuhan "New Traditional" Series--A homerun all the way

In the closing weeks of July Wuhan has released it's latest line of Cymbals , called the "New Traditionals". This series of cymbals has replaced Wuhan's three previously available lines. The Rock, S series and Traditionals all have been discontinued as Wuhan decided to concentrate ( for the moment) on just one line of cymbals. Wuhan has bucked several of the ongoing trends of cymbal companies. Offering more and more supposedly specialized lines of cymbals, and within those lines are a plethora of sizes and weights to choose from. One of the larger cymbal companies in a particular series has 4 or 5 different versions of just the 16" crash to choose from Heavy, medium, med-hvy, you get the point. Here again Wuhan diverges from the masses and offers consumers just one line a very straight forward but complete selections.

There's 3 splashes available an 8, 10 & 12" . In crashes there's a 14, 16 & 18" the 18" is a crash/ride ( In retrospect a very wise move it gives the line a little more flexibility) there's one ride it's a 20" medium and one 14" set of Hi-hats also a medium version. At first I thought this was a risky move for Wuhan. Their line of China's which are unaffected by this move are wildly popular, Their western style cymbals you either loved them or hated them, still in this competitive market a single pared down line of cymbals didn't sit well with me. Was I in for the surprise of my life.

If I were an executive at one of the BIG3 cymbal companies I'd be worried , very worried. The rising tide of excellent quality inexpensive cymbals coming from the east is soon going to be a flood. Companies like Silken, Dream and Wuhan ( they started it all way back) from China and Diril and several others from Turkey will soon begin to eat away at market share of the BIG3. But for now let's concentrate and Review Wuhan's outstanding New line of cymbals.Which of course are available at our retail site www.cymbalsandsnares.com as are all of Wuhan's products including their wildly popular China cymbals

In my opinion Wuhan has single handedly made entry level sheet bronze B8 cymbals from the BIG3 completely obsolete. For essentially the same price ( If not Cheaper) you can get handmade Wuhan's from B20 bronze. Why would anyone want sheet stamped massed produced B8 cymbals ? Wuhan's new product entry is not just good they are excellent. It's the kind of product Wuhan needed to come up with to keep competitive if they wanted to be considered a serious cymbal manufacturer. It's equivalent to hitting a home run in the bottom of the ninth. They did just that. Wuhan has done more than just release their best line of cymbals ever, the company itself underwent some consolidation on the corporate level. Moving all manufacturing to one facility instead of two. The factory that produced their excellent China's now makes all Wuhan's. That facility also produces Dream cymbals. So Wuhan's and Dreams are made by the same factory. Just to different specs. It begins to get a little clearer why Wuhan's new line sounds so great and why their china's are the leading brand of that style cymbal. This is a line we use at C & S to describe our products including Wuhan's. It's especially true with These New Wuhan's. They are inexpensive not cheap. Cheap is a poorly made low cost item. These are totally the opposite. There's a big difference between cheap and Inexspensive, get one of these new traditional cymbals and you'll understand what I mean instantly.

The New Traditional are brighter and warmer overall than anything Wuhan has previously produced. The splashes as previously stated are the standard 8-10-12 sizes each one has it's place the 8 and 10 are explosive and bright with a nice sonic signature and presence, followed by a quick decay the perfect crash and accent cymbal. The 12" splash is almost a mini crash it's bright and loud but with a longer sustain and decay. Still perfectly able to fill the roll of splash but with a nice glancing blow with your stick or a good head on hit it will mimic a mini crash. a very versatile splash indeed.

The crashes are also available initially in 3 sizes 14", 16" and a 18" crash ride. If your line is only gonna have 3 crashes in it those are the sizes to pick. As each crash is two inches larger (or smaller) than the next that leaves just enough sonic spacing to justify buying all three ( plus the pricing is right). Each crash covers it's "zone" in the line up perfectly hitting the three sequentially one quickly realizes how well balanced and evenly distributed their sound signature is. The crashes are extremely direct, bright well balanced with a nice cutting attack. However there is a subtle warmth and complexity that eliminates and high end harshness common in cheaper cymbals. Wuhan's NT crashes attain a high end devoid of that ear splitting shrill. These are nicely done. One of the nicest features of the crashes goes to the 18" crash ride. To help fill the gap a bit in it's NT line up the 18" C/R does both better than average. Sometime the C/R loose a little on both sides, Wuhan does a better than average job on the C/R. When crashed the 18" fills the room with an explosion with a little longer decay than the other crashes which are fairly short. When riding the wash and overtone can get ahead of you a bit if your riding fast and hard. I find a small piece of moongel cures that for any C/R or ride and this is no exception. the 18" ride capabilities really shine on a ballad or slower piece.

There's only one true ride to this line in it's initial release and it's a 20" medium. Of all the cymbals in this series the ride is Wuhan's most improved cymbal by far. It plays surprisingly smooth and buttery not stiff at all, yet offers enough resistance to your sticking that it produces a woody sounding stick definition that should please most drummers. It's bell is bright and fairly large having a definite visual presence on the cymbal while producing a classic "rock" sounding bell sound. Oh that B20 sings nice and loud and crystal clear when she's struck.

The Hi-hats are available in the most popular size for hat's 14" and like the ride it's a medium weight. a good choice when it's the only one available for the series. These also show definite improvement over previous Wuhan hat's. Although in all fairness the S series hats were decent hat's in their own right. these just go further. They are very versatile producing a nice well define brite "chick" when played with your foot for time keeping and can vary from sloppy messy loud at half open for some classic rock or produce excellent clarity for intricate stick work on a more complex musical score.

Overall Wuhan's New Traditional series is a home run. All handmade from B20 bronze from start to finish. These not only are Wuhan's best sounding effort so far they are also they're best looking. Hand buffed to a brilliant finish the cymbals have a mirror like quality to the finish. They look as good as they sound. This should give a reason for many drummers to take a look at Wuhan's in a whole new light. It's like a whole new company. Consolidating to the one factory was the way to go. It's results can be instantly seen and heard.

Priced like entry level cymbals but believe me they are anything but. There look and sound quality suggest a cymbal that should be more expensive. If they had another label on them they would sell for more. Speaking of the label although unchanged it's much more subdued and smaller than previous lines giving the cymbals a touch of classiness to them. Like I alluded to before there's no longer is any good reason to play entry level B8 cymbals any longer. Not having the cash for pro level cymbals is gone. At MINIMUM these are as good as any mid line priced cymbal from the BIG3 easily. These easily outclass in sound , looks, quality and performance any entry level cymbal from any company. These are in the same price range as B8 but put them to shame. I urge any newbie looking for his first set of cymbals get these you can cut out an entire category in your cymbal evolution. Experienced players like myself , hobbyist and guys on a budget will love how little it costs to add some excellent new pies to your set up. It's nice to see the brand that started bringing western style cymbals from china literally re-invent itself and release such a great line of cymbals. My hat's off to Wuhan and Universal percussion. I know these are going to be a succesful line for Wuhan, I'd love to see it get expanded. some 13" hats 15 & 17" crashes. Oh I know Wuhan's first Flat ride how cool would that be? Again Congrats to Wuhan and Universal percussion for producing one great sounding and looking but most importantly affordable line of cymbals yet.

Cymbals & Snares "Home to the Other Name Brand"

Being that this is our debut on blogger we would stick to the basic's and simply introduce ourself's, our goals and what we are all about. We are an internet Percussion company. We carry a full line of merchandise for the drummer in your family. I know big deal right? There's a ton of Musician retail sites out there, what makes are's different ? Well I'm glad I asked that.
As a active musician for 30 years I have alot of experience in my field. Quite frankly the brick and Mortar stores over the last few years have begun to change considerably. The rise of the catagory killers ( Sam ash and Guitar Center to name the two biggies) have single handedly changed instrument retailing, and IMO not for the good. Yes they have good prices, yes they have larger selections than your average independent shop. But they also bring a corprate mentality to Instrument retailing that didn't exsist to the level it now does.
With the rise of the mega retailer comes the decline of the Independent retailer. There also comes a decline in competition and for any industry that is really bad news. Over the last several years the number of brands that are available at B&M stores has declined. The Mega retailers carry only the mega brands that dominate the instrument scene. There by reducing my choices in product catagories to only a few. With less competition also comes a decline in Customer service.
It use to be I knew the drum department managers at my local SA & GC and most of the sales staff that worked there. Sadley that is no more. Everytime I walk into one of those places there's all new faces. Any chance on developing a long term working relationship with store personal doesn't exsist any longer. There's no rapport. Percussion sales are slightly different than regular retail. A relationship with a drum manager is critical to your shopping experience. You will return time and time again to purchase replacement parts ( sticks, heads) to upgrade your equipment Cymbals, hardware hell even a new kit. Today it's all about the single sale, it's all about upselling customers stuff they don't need. The Corporate number crunchers are running the show.
So we decided to start Cymbals & Snares a internet drum shop that would specialise in smaller up and comming and newer brands. Who's quality is atleast equal to or better than the uberbrands that dominate the drum market today. Who's pricing is generally lower than it's big name competitors and if it's not lower you get way more for your money than you would with a lager established brand. We want to establish long term relationships with drummers, because as drummers ourselves we know how important that relationship is. We are far less intrested in doing one big deal with you than having you come to us for all your drumming needs year after year. We know things break, we know technology changes, we know style changes including your personal style. We want to be there to service you through all of that.
Our brand selection is unique we don't carry brands that are different just to be different. We carry brands that provide a drummer with a quality product that usually will save them money. A brand we carry must meet our specifications for quality, durability, uniqueness and of course pricing. So far the drumming community has responded well our tag line " Home of the Other Name brands" has hit a note in the drumming community so I know were on to something.
A quick rundown of some of the brands we carry are: Drums- Taye, Cannon, Peace and TKO. Cymbals- Wuhan, Silken and Diril. Drumheads- evans, remo ,Attack and Aquarian. and various other products, Purseound, HQ, Headbanger the list goes on and on. Currently we have an ebay store our own proprietary website is being worker on and hopefully in the next month or two we will launch that in addition to our Ebay store.
We are striving to create a web portal that is a truly one stop shop for percussionist. We will do product reviews, have a drummers forum, video lessons and of course the store. In addition we are looking to expand our web presence like having a prescence on Blogger and some bigger social sites. Here on blogger we will post product reviews and our views about overall trends in the drum industry. If we succed at educating drummers to be better comsumers at least here we feel were making a positive contribution. If you get a chance visit our site We think you'll enjoy it. www.cymbalsandsnares.com Thank you T.