Wuhan S Series Cymbals Review

History: Hi, I have been playing for 40+ years and the band I’m with now plays Classic Rock & Country. Being 56 years young I figured my new Gretsch kit bought Dec. 2004 would likely be my last new kit and I wanted to get new cymbals to complete the new kit. Cymbals from the big three are very expensive and I hadn’t planned to look for a cheap alternative but the Wuhans did save me quite a bit of money. But the sound is what got my interest and they sound great. I also own several nice vintage Zildjians that are now with my practice kit.

Purchase: I was in the market for a “China” cymbal and Wuhan has a great reputation with china’s so in my search I found that Musicians Friend had a special that included the 18” China along with a 16 & 18” “S” series crashes. The china was exactly what I was looking for and I thought the “S” cymbals would work nice with my practice kit, wrong. I was so impressed with their sound I replaced my Zildjian 16 & 18” crash with the Wuhan’s right away. I decided to take a chance and order a 20” ride, 18” crash/ride, & 14 inch hats to go along with my other Wuhan cymbals. It’s always a gamble when you order and have never heard the product but when I received the cymbals I wasn’t disappointed at all. I bought the second purchase from Drum World of Pittsburg Pa. http://www.drumworld.com/. My total cost for the Wuhans was about $360.00. Had I bought from the big three that cost would have been almost triple.

What I Like About This Unit: The Wuhan “S” series cymbals are not Zildjians so don’t expect them to sound the same. They are however great sounding cymbals and not unpleasing to the ear at all. All of the Wuhans are bright sounding cymbals, my Zildjians are more on the warm side when compared to the Wuhans. The 20” ride has great stick definition and a little more simmer than my Zildjian 20”. The 16” crash is like glass braking and very cutting in its sound. This cymbal is most like my Zildjians in sound, unbelievable cymbal. The 18” crash is very strong with a little more over tones than my 18” Zildjian and by no means do I think of that as a bad thing. The 18” crash/ride is beautiful sounding with almost a gong sound when played with a strike to the edge of the cymbal. The 14” Hats have great stick definition, chick sound, and they cut threw the music. The only place they don’t quite compare to my Zildjian hats is in its wash sound, just not quite as clean. I contribute this to their bright sound as the Zildjians are more a warm sound and to me that translated to a smother sound. Nothing to be disappointed about at all. Oh yea, the 18” china is as trashy as they come, perfect for a china cymbal.

What I Do NOT Like About The Wuhan S Series Cymbals: Only playing these for a couple months I’ve found nothing to be unhappy with. These are cast cymbals and a little on the thick side and some folks have talked about brakeage but I have had only one cymbal (a Zildjian A) crack on me in my 40+ years and that was from fatigue not hard hitting. If you play with proper technique this shouldn’t be a problem (I Hope).

S Series Cymbals Quality: As I said these are cast cymbals and hand made to boot. This means that their balance is not perfect but this comes with a hand made cymbal. This would also affect the sound of each cymbal, no two should sound exactly the same. They are finished with a beautiful polished shine and look great on the kit. No visual flaws at all.

Summary: Every cymbal purchase is a personal taste thing and the Wuhans may not be every players cup of tea and I took a gamble on buying these with out hearing them first. It was a good gamble for me. Now if I can get the lottery to work for me that way. Bottom line is Wuhan cymbals are a competitive product and at a price that makes them a great deal as well. If you’re looking for great sounding cymbals and the name isn’t as important as that sound give the Wuhan “S” series a listen.

Rating of this product: 5

This Wuhan Drums Percussion Review Submitted By: Gretsch / Slingerland Drummer

Date: 2006-02-26