Paiste Cymbals

Cymbals-wise, Stewart Copeland is best known for his association with Paiste cymbals (pronounced "pY-stee"), which he had been an endorsee of since March 1981.

Before the endorsement, Stewart was mostly playing Zildjian Cymbals on The Police and Klark Kent. Other than Zildjian, he'd been using a few Paiste cymbals since the Curved Air days in 1975-76: 2002 series 16" and 18" Crashes, and a 15" hi-hat according to Melody Maker reports during this time. During the early years with The Police, he'd occasionally slot in at least one or two Paiste cymbals into his mostly Zildjian setup, probably the same ones from playing in Curved Air. Eventually, it wasn't until the Zenyatta Mondatta tour that he properly looked into Paiste cymbals and decided to endorse them.

With The Police, he liked using cymbals from the RUDE series in concert on tours for Ghost In The Machine and Synchronicity. However, those cymbals were less suited for use in the studio, simply because they were too loud and would clatter up the sound achieved in the living room at AIR Studios Montserrat. So he was using mainly Paiste Formula 602 or 2002 series cymbals for that purpose.

Cymbal setups
Paiste Profiles March 1981 lists the following:
 * Formula 602 13" Medium hi-hats
 * 2002 8" Bell
 * RUDE 14" Crash/Ride or 2002 16" Medium Crash
 * 2002 8" Splash
 * 2002 11" Splash
 * Formula 602 12" Paperthin
 * Formula 602 16" Thin Crash
 * Formula 602 22" Heavy Ride or RUDE 22" Ride/Crash
 * RUDE 16" Crash/Ride or 2002 18" Medium Crash

From a 2000's Paiste advert (see image for reference):
 * 8" 2002 bell
 * 13" Signature Heavy hi-hat
 * 18" Signature Fast Crash
 * 8" Signature Splash
 * 10" Signature Splash
 * 16" Signature Full Crash
 * 22" Signature Dry Heavy Ride
 * 16" Signature Fast Crash
 * 18" Signature Full Crash