How did the electric cymbal look? Like a regular cymbal with wires coming off it?
Your question reminds me of Amon Düül II's 1969 album Phallus Dei (great album, BTW), on which drummer Dieter Serfas is credited as playing "electric cymbals." Given the technology of the day, I assume that Serfas's cymbals were amplified with contact mics, but I have yet to confirm this... Perhaps something similar was done in the setup you saw?