Until I switched back to Paistes exclusively, I had the following set up:

14" K top/Z bottom hats (still miss that pair)

16" A Thin Crash

18" K Custom Fast Crash

16" A Crash

10" Sabian HHX Dave Weckl Splash

21" A Sweet Ride

Each complemented each other well, I found. I even used Sabians in my set up and found they mixed very well with the A's, K's and Z's.

Mixing is what it's all about!!! Sometimes the music you play call for a certain sound, and having a huge collection of cymbals helps with that. I fear that I have pigeon-holed myself into one sound by going with nothing but Colorsound-coated cymbals, so I am starting to mix it up myself. I will probably have a mixed set of Colorsounds, RUDES, Sigs and 2K2's. I also will see my pies be used differently for almost every gig.

Yes indeed. I'm coming to the conclusion that I don't feel the need to stick to a certain sound--cymbal wise. I've decided that multiple sounds can work well. Kind of like that with snares too.

For rides...might the Armand 21, might be the K custom dark or k dark medium, regular k, k con medium, or A crash ride. After all, why not?

For hi hats...might be New Beats or Armands, or regular K or K Custom Darks. All cymbals I have and love to use. Zildjian makes it too hard to pick a favorite! And mixing it up keeps things more interesting...

Heck- mix up your hats!!!! That's the beauty of it!!!!

Even though Paistes sound right to my ear, Zildjian puts out SOOOOOO many nice cymbals that I agree- it's hard to choose!!!

I liked a K dark crash on my right and a custom A 18 on my left it was my fav crash for a long time maybe my all time fave but I am expanding my horizons now and playing Paistes 2002's not sure the 18 medium crash has the volume that the A custom had...

If you're looking for sheer balls in the volume department with Paiste crashes, get an 18" or 19" Alpha Rock Crash. It's about 30% cheaper, as well.

Paiste makes some great pies as well. A few of my favorite drummers play them. But broadly speaking, I'm forming the conclusion that there are really no rules when it comes to cymbal selection. I think at some point in the future, I will begin to narrow my choices down a bit further...but am certain that I will always have at least 4 or so different rides and at least 3 pairs of hi hats...for crashes, I've been happy lately with K Dark thins...they seem to be my favorite for any application so far.

Exactly.

Use your ears, as I say. And I have some...