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Brandon Trading Emporium
CALL 802 345-1714
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GOOD INFORMATION ABOUT CYMBALS
by Rob Zollman
Click here
for Cymbal Audio Listening Guide (below)
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It's not the brand, it's the cymbal
I've never bought cymbals by brand, because
the only important thing to me is how good a cymbal sounds.
Every brand has its good ones and bad
ones, and everything in between.
A good cymbal is a good cymbal regardless
of the company that made it. But what's a good cymbal?
One's man's pleasure is another man's
poison, i.e. we all have our opinions.
To make things more complicated, except for low budget mass produced
cymbals, no two cymbals sound alike. That leaves it up to you, the player,
to search and discover the best cymbals for your needs.
Judge each
cymbal's sound in terms of how you like it and how you plan to use it.
Standards
I don't mean to challenge some of the
common notions about brands, and even models. Cymbal companies create
different models so they can 1) give you a system to help you organize and
maybe make sense of the many possibilities, and 2) make more money. What
I'm saying is that, even though there are so many choices, it all boils to
what's good to your sensibilities.
But now
I'll go out on a limb. Certain cymbal sounds and general
qualities
just seem more pleasing to a greater number of listeners and players than
others. And some of us, including me, have listened to cymbals for so long
and in so many different applications that we have arrived at some rough
standards, which, surprisingly, we sometimes agree on. We've even
developed a cymbal "vocabulary" of terms and descriptions, in order to
verbally describe cymbals to each other, and explain why we like or don't
like them. We use words like dark, bright, dry, thin, full, buttery, edgy,
trashy and washy, along with common terms such as highs, lows and
mid-range frequencies. We also bring in historical references: old K's,
very old (Constantinople K's), '60s Zildjians, etc.
In the end, though, if you could use words to fully describe the
experience of listening and playing cymbals, we wouldn't need the
cymbals.
Dream Cymbals: high quality, low price
While I've
said that cymbal companies are all about the same to me, I've also
observed a couple of companies make an unusually high percentage of better
sounding cymbals, at least to my ears. One such company is Dream Cymbals
and Gongs.
A relative newcomer to the market, Dream has been breaking ground in the
cymbal industry. That's because their cymbals don't sound quite like any
of the other companies' cymbals. Not altogether different, and reminiscent
at times of the old "K's" or "A's". They're intriguing to me, and I'm
still trying to decide if I will replace some of my old favorites. I like
Dream cymbals, and, more importantly, I've found very few "bad" ones.
Different, but almost never unpleasant. And they're very reasonably
priced. I've concluded that a good Dream cymbal sounds equal in quality to
a good Zildjian, Sabian or any other brand, and costs significantly less.
This is especially good news for beginners.
Dream Bliss cymbals are generally better than, yet comparably
priced to the entry level B8 and XS lines by Sabian. Now beginning
students can play quality cymbals from the start.
Audio Files
Here at Brandon Trading Emporium, we make a
recording of each cymbal we sell (click below). This is intended to help
you make intelligent and appropriate choices, so that you feel good about
the cymbals you play.
In each audio file, I make comments and play the cymbal in a variety of
ways (see below Listening Guide). I try to be objective, but I also give
my opinions. While it may be better to avoid giving opinions altogether,
as a long time cymbal player, I draw on my experiences to recognize and
identify certain characteristics and communicate these to you. Fortunately
people have generally appreciated me doing this.
If you're just starting out and don't
already possess an ear for cymbals, I urge you to gather your own
experiences and make your own judgments. I hope I'm able to help.
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C
CYMBAL AUDIO FILE LISTENING
GUIDE
Each cymbal has its
own unique set of sounds. Accordingly, you will not hear the same sound
file for two different cymbals. However, there are some things that don’t
change from one sound file to the next, so to avoid saying the same things
on each sound file, the following applies to nearly all of my cymbal
demonstrations.
1. Each cymbal
demonstration starts with telling you the cymbal brand, size and model,
followed by its unique stock number.
For example,
“here is the Dream Bliss 20” crash/ride #BCRRI20-01”. Then I may give a
brief visual description of the cymbal. [Please note:
Most of the photographs are taken indoors using reflective daytime light,
and not using a flash. Highlights are particular to these lighting
conditions and will change depending on other conditions.
About
cymbal weights
It has become common practice to give
cymbal weights, usually in grams. In over 40 years of cymbal buying and
collecting, I have never weighed my cymbals, nor have I ever made a
spending decision based on cymbal weight. That being said, in
consideration of my customers’ requests for cymbal weights, I’ve purchased
a digital scale and cymbal weight is a part of each description.
2. Different sticks result in different qualities of sound.
Variables include tips, size,
shape, weight, material and brand.
While I can’t go crazy
demonstrating lots of different sticks, I do believe the single most
variable, particularly when it comes to the sound of a cymbal ride, is the
shape of the stick tip.
Accordingly, most cymbals are
demonstrated with wood tips in olive, acorn and ball, and olive nylon,
usually in that order, and always explained on the sound file.
Unless otherwise noted, sticks are
hickory and generally around a 5A weight. I believe that covers a fair
amount of ground where sticks are concerned.
3. Different locations on the cymbal result in
different sound qualities.
I demonstrate rides close to
the edge, in the middle and closer to the bell or cup. I also demonstrate
the sound of the stick tip and shaft on the bell.
4. Crashes are demonstrated using the shaft (upper shoulder) of the stick.
5. Each demonstration
includes a roll played with marimba mallets.
For splash cymbals and smaller crashes,
I’ll play a choke.
6. Hihats are demonstrated with a variety of open and closed techniques.
I also strike each cymbal
individually, and may roll on each cymbal. Some pairs of hihats have “top”
and “bottom” written on them, others don’t. In any case, I’ll start with
the lighter cymbal on top, and I may reverse the cymbals as well.
7.
NEW The next round of audio files will include playing
cymbals while playing the drum set.
8. Comparisons and uncommon uses:
From time to time I may compare a cymbal
of one brand, model and size with others of the same model and size. I may
also point out uncommon uses I’ve found for a particular cymbal or
cymbals. For example, I’ve found pairs of 12” splash to be interesting as
hihats, or pairs of 18” crashes to work very well as a pair of handheld
crash cymbals for band or orchestra.
All demonstrations are subject to
microphone, recording and reproductive qualities and differences.
No demo can replace the actual sound of
being there. Even live experiences vary from room to room, playing with or
without music, etc.
For maximum fidelity we recommend you
listen through headphones or bigger speakers.
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