I love the 24" - I crash it all of the time (you can see it to my left in the picture above). The 20" and the 18" compliment it beautifully. The Giant Beat cymbals are the cymbal sound that I have been waiting for my whole life.

I found the hats to be a little mushy for me; the hats that I normally play are 2002 15" Heavy Hats (black label) from 1978.

Is it my imagination or do the giant beats remind me of Paiste 602's?

Great shot, Tim!

I see your ride is on your left - do you play open-handed (left hand on hihat/ride, right hand on snare)?

Frankly I think it's the most sensible way to play.

I had already turned pro when I started thinking about switching, and found I couldn't afford the "down time" of not always sounding my best on the gig, so I abandoned my plan to convert to that approach. But I still taught some of my students that way, unless they opposed it (which many did, because they thought playing with their hands crossed "looked cool").

With me, it was a little bit of pre-teen hubris; I sat down at a kit and saw the hats on the left so I began to play them with my left hand. I was later told that this was "wrong" and that I should cross my right hand over my left in order to reach the hi hat. My reply, "That's stupid!" Aaahhh....the unbridled self-confidence of a twelve year old.