Let's talk cymbals...

LifeGoesOff · Post by **LifeGoesOff** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:44 am

I'm a crappy drummer at best. But as an engineer I'm tired of fighting with sounds when drummers bring in their P.O.S. kit with crappy loud ass gigging cymbals, so for the last couple of months I've been buying drum stuff here and there (kicks snares hats etc) so I can offer these guys a better alternative that's going to translate better for recording.

I'm looking for a nice ride now that's going to sound nice in the mix, somewhat dry but soft. I checked out the Zildjian K Custom Dry ride and it had a really nice ping to it and the decay was great but too heavy I think for recording purposes.

Anyone have favorites? I'm assuming I'm going to get a thousand votes for the Constantinople here.

xonlocust · Post by **xonlocust** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:49 am

zildjian sweet ride. goes great from defined attack w/o sounding like a super heavy metal ride, all the way through washiness. can also be used as a super large crash.

this cymbal rules. sounds great crashed. or quiet light riding. everywhere in between. readily avail on ebay.

it's been my ride for about 4 yrs now w/heavy use no probs. a good friend of mine uses a pair as his crashes as well.

i have 2 but only use the main one on my main kit, the other is for home/studio.

you can hear it go from really light riding at the beginning to full on whaling the fuck out of at the end. it's a long song though so be forewarned. and it starts w/drum machine so drums dont come in till like 2 min in.

http://www.newblack.net/mp3/05devilinmycar.mp3

Gebo · Post by **Gebo** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 12:36 pm

I hate cymbals... seriously.

LifeGoesOff · Post by **LifeGoesOff** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 12:52 pm

Embryo Electro wrote:I hate cymbals... seriously.

oh cymbals can be a beautiful thing!

I'm trying out the Zildjian K Custom Dry Ride right now. I threw up some mics and I'll see how well it sits in the mix.

JASIII · Post by **JASIII** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:29 pm

I've had good luck with simple A zildjian mediums on everything and new beat hats. Constantinoples can be a little loud IMO, a constantinople medium ride is a big hunk of metal and can be disproportionately loud to the rest of the kit. K's are generally pretty nice.

The Scum · Post by **The Scum** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:36 pm

I've played a couple of Paistes that I really dug. One was a 3000 series, I don't remember the model. Very clear and forward sounding without being overbearing...the "Dont fear the reaper" sort of sound.

The other is a Signature "Dark Dry Crash Ride" or somesuch. I'm still playing it for lighter gigs. As long as you don't hit it too hard, it sounds great...and brighter than the name would imply.

I've got a pretty boring 22" A medium ride that's very middle-of-the-road for heavier gigs. If you find old Zildjians from before they were silkscreening the logo on them, snap them up.

Finally, I just broke down and paid $40 on Ebay for a Wuhan 20" medium-heavy ride. Very interesting dry cymbal. It's also very responsive to the type of stick it's hit with...wood-tipped 5a's are very dark and alive...every hit is a little different, while nylon-tip 5b's are brighter and more consistent.

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 2:02 pm

I've noticed the same model and size cymbal can sound very far apart in tone..more so with the hand hammered stuff and less so with the paistie(sp?) type stuff that is engineered to sound exact so you can drop a new one in with little fuss..

Current cymbals I like are the K custom fast crashes..real nice recording crashes..

I'm using an Istanbul Mehmet "nostalgia" ride which is nice too..

You got to get ones that sing and have a balance with each other and the kit..

it's a very big task to put together something special..keep on listening and trying till you get it..

xhavepatiencex · Post by **xhavepatiencex** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 2:07 pm

check out http://www.saludacymbals.com/ I just got a 20 inch crash from them, and its great. I've recorded a little with it. It meshes well with my older A 20" medium ride. and they are cheap! it was like 120 with shipping for the crash i bought!

??????? · Post by **???????** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 2:15 pm

Look into some hand-hammered cymbals currently available (NOT from the big 3):

Istanbul, Bosphorus are good places to start. Hand-hammered cymbals have much more complexity and individuality so much of the time.

LifeGoesOff · Post by **LifeGoesOff** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 2:45 pm

I just finished demoing the K Custom Dry Ride and I like it quite a bit. It cut right through the rest of the kit. Maybe a bit too much for me though, I think I'm going to go with something mellower.

yardleyone · Post by **yardleyone** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 4:43 pm

For new cymbals alot of drummers I know like the istanbul stuff. I gather it's pretty affordable. Everyone keeps telling me the best stuff is 30 years old though. Old zildjians I think.

eeldip · Post by **eeldip** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 4:55 pm

i third the istanbuls... they have a pretty big price drop on the used market. make them a very good value.

i like old A's and K's as well..

another "theory" that i have about buying cymbals for recording is that you think about what sound you want, then buy a cymbal 2" small in diameter and one tick thinner.

like, if you see a band and you like the drummer's 20" medium ride, you should record an 18" thin cymbal.

something about recording upscales cymbals....

Everybody's X · Post by **Everybody's X** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 5:30 pm

old zildjian A's and new beats are hard to beat in price and performance.

I have a full set of hollow logo A's that once I set them up and "roll tape" they get used on every session

Marc Alan Goodman · Post by **Marc Alan Goodman** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:26 pm

I love really great sounding cymbals.

That being said any nice cymbals you buy for the studio in order to replace their crappy ass pieces of tin foil are gonna get SLAMMED! And you're going to have to sit across the glass watching some dude who has no idea how to glance off the side bashing full force into the middle of your Constantinople until it finally cracks. To top it all off if he doesn't know how to hit the things the really expensive cymbals aren't going to sound that much better than the middle of the range ones (though they'll probably beat the hell out of super cheap ones).

I would suggest keeping your eyes open for used cymbals and craigslist and the like and buying a few that you're not too attached to just in case you can tell the drummer is a real Neanderthal.

Now that that's out of the way, I was working on a record with Shazahd Izmaily recently and he had a pair of Bosphorus Masters series 14" high hats that blew my mind. And I hate high hats!
And as you well know you can't lose with a Constantinople. The really big heavy ones sound AWESOME live but can be a little overpowering if the person you're recording doesn't know how to hit the drums hard and hit the cymbals light.

-marc goodman

Electro-Voice 664 · Post by **Electro-Voice 664** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 7:17 pm

The right cymbal can really help the guitar sound; not to mention the whole mix. Queen comes to mind as having great cymbal accents with the guitar parts. I lean toward thinner cymbals too, but have found having a variety has saved the day.

I?d also like to say that there are occasionally great deals in buying used complete sets. Look for classified ads reading, ?old drum set with chair and symbols?, I once got a roundbadge and some Ks this way.

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Let's talk cymbals...

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