New Ride: 20" A Ping Ride or 21" A Sweet Ride?

[Drummertist]

Just need some advice. I hear them on the Zildjian site (which I don't trust), but I want some feedback from people who have actually played one or both of these.

Thanks!

[GRUNTERSDAD]

I have a 21 sweet ride but have not heard the ping so I can't compare. I do like the sweet ride however.

[tbmills]

i own the 20 a ping and want the 21 a sweet
i am wanting something larger with a little more crashability and wash.
TTNW messaged me about it a while back. i didnt want a sweet until i played one.

i can setup a recording of my ping later if youd like one. btw, mine is a little lower and more broken in than new ones.

[Drummertist]

That really would be great if you could do that tbmills. Thanks!

[tbmills]

That really would be great if you could do that tbmills. Thanks!

it wont be until later tonight but yeah ill do it.

[BattleArmor]

What are you looking for in the cymbal? The ping is obviously more pingy. I have played a sweet ride and I like the sound of it. It has more wash to it. The bell of the one I played was really lacking though.

[TTNW]

I own a 20 A Ping. It is less versatile than the Sweet Ride.

As TBMills said, I also have the Ping but want the Sweet.

As a rock ride for medium to loud situations you can't go wrong with the Ping. I have played the Sweet Ride many times and the stick sound is quite similar. The bell on the Ping cuts just a little more but the bell on the Sweet is classic. Supposedly Bryan Adams' drummer recorded all those hits for Bryan with a Sweet Ride. The end chorus on "Run to You" is the best example of this ride. Great bell.

Travis Barker crash/rides the crap out of the Sweet and Wuv from POD uses the darn thing as a crash. A bit much for me but you get the picture.

Peart, Ulrich, Aronoff and Sorum have all used the Ping (the 22" version though, I think) and it does what it's supposed to do.

There is also a difference cymbal to cymbal. I saw in a post a while back that TBs Ping weighs in at 2,810 grams. Mine weighs in at 2,590 grams. That's a ½ pound difference. Even though mine is a little lighter and maybe thinner, it still doesn't give too much.
This isn't really a criticism, just an observation. If it were supposed to be an "everything" ride then they wouldn't have named it a Ping Ride.

For me the nod has to go to the Sweet Ride for being more versatile and still having that classic A sound.

Hope this helps you.

[tbmills]

ok got home way too late and cant record until tomorrow.
but i WILL do it.

and TTNW, i played two sweets at gc and am in love.
i apologize for not letting you know.

[drumtechdad]

I don't know the sweet ride, but I've played the ping quite a bit and heard several of them--it was on the short list for my son's next ride, and I've heard it in context on a two week gig.

IMO (YMMV, etc.) it has a great ping and a very good bell. It does not crash well and the wash is not pleasant to my ear. The wash is not overbearing, it's just the tone of it. The ping sounds quite similar no matter where you hit it.

A lot depends on what you want to use it for. If you don't want to crash it, it could be ideal for some purposes.

For my kid (who plays rock, almost always unmiked) we settled on the K Custom Hybrid ride. The ping is almost as good as the ping ride but with more variety of tones available from the top, it crashes very well (my kid's lust for a big crash just disappeared), has a very nice-sounding wash, and the deal-maker was that it has a killer bell, even better than the ping ride.

It wouldn't be my first choice for a jazz ride--I'd want something darker and trashier--but for his purposes it's perfect.

Hope that helps. As always, cymbal beauty is in the ear of the beholder! ;-)

[tbmills]

your right...
it does seem to gong a little...

[Drummertist]

I'm also wondering about the Zildjian A 21" Armand Ride

[TTNW]

I played the 21 Armand at Guitar Center a few weeks ago. Very nice. Sort of traditional sounding A series. It seemed to be just a tad lighter than the Sweet, just as crashable and a decent bell.

Zildjian is offering Armands as a thinner version of the current A line. A series cymbals in the 60s and 70s (maybe) seem to be thinner than the current A series.

[tbmills]

ok here it is... finally.
we didnt have any of the recording equipment setup, so the normal 1 minute project took alot longer than i had hoped. but, its done and it came out good.

i recorded with one audio-technica 3035 condenser about 8" above the cymbal right in between the edge and bell. the track is completely un-eq'd but ended up with a low-end bellow because of how close the mic was to the cymbal. you cant really hear that in person. let me know what you think!

[TTNW]

Wow!

That sounds remarkably like the Zildjian sound file especially your bell hits.

Good recording. As always the Ping sounds better when I listen to it recorded or somebody else is playing it.

When I play mine I don't like the sound as much sitting above it.

I'm going to keep my Ping and hopefully pick up a Sweet used one day.

Thanks.

[razorx]

Just need some advice. I hear them on the Zildjian site (which I don't trust), but I want some feedback from people who have actually played one or both of these.

Thanks!

Yeah i don't trust their sound files at all either. Im thinking of getting a sweet ride. I went to my local shop and just tapped it a few times and crashed it.....i'd be using it more as a crash tho. what genera of music are you playing?

[guidrummer]

You are asking, should I eat an apple or an orange? These are two different animals.

Ping Ride is going to be mostly bright stick definition.

Sweet Ride will have lots of wash and is crashable.

[Ainulindale]

hey Drummertist, you mentioned being leary of Zildjians sound files on their site, now i will say first that i am a big proponent of playing before buying, but the files that Zildjian has up i found to be quite accurate, its sabian files that need some work...
and if your still taking ballots, my vote is for the sizzling, trashy but sexy Sweet Ride!
just my .02$, good hunting!

[Cymbalrider]

I love the Sweet Ride myself. I use mine for big band swing, small jazz combos, rock, funk, latin, it even makes a great suspended cymbal. This cymbal will do what you want it to do. Ping rides usually have a nasty ring to them and really don't work when playing in really open loud situations.

[TTNW]

Ping rides usually have a nasty ring to them and really don't work when playing in really open loud situations.

What do you mean by "open loud"? I find that my Ping is not a subtle ride so it seems to work better for me for loud music.

I've never come across that expression before.

[Skacatz]

I play a 20" Ping in a church orchestra. The cymbal belongs to the church and was there when I took over. For the music we play I think it is too lively and penetrating, it can be down right annoying if I play on it too long. I have compensated somewhat by putting a piece of Moongel on the cymbal. dSeems to tone it down a bit and it still sounds nice.

It's probably a great cymbal for a louder musical application though.

[Drummertist]

I think I was going to get the Sweet Ride, but I heard that there is a TON of wash which really isn't what I'm looking for. I was looking at the 21" Armand Ride. It looks to have the qualities of a Sweet Ride but having better access to the bell and less wash which is really important. Is it just as crashable as the sweet?

EDIT: Also, for those who were asking, I play rock, funk, and gospel. I play at my local church so that's why I'm counting out the ping since you said it is loud, penetrating, and not very versatile.

[TTNW]

I...a TON of wash which really isn't what I'm looking for. I was looking at the 21" Armand Ride. It looks to have the qualities of a Sweet Ride but having better access to the bell and less wash which is really important.

Is it just as crashable as the sweet?

...that's why I'm counting out the ping since you said it is loud, penetrating, and not very versatile.

The Armand Ride is thinner than the Sweet. The Zildjian site lists the Armand as a medium-thin and the Sweet as a medium weight cymbal.

I wouldn't say the Sweet has a TON of wash but crashable rides are going to have wash.

A Ping, less so. The Armand has as much wash as the Sweet. In a band setting though, you're not going to be noticing it very much.

Don't get a Ping for playing at church. It is not frowned upon from up high in the heavens but your worship leader won't like it's cutting qualities.