wash riding, a music style

zakhopper316

Silver Member
So it appears the guys at Sabian gave keeping time with your crash cymbal a name and "music style" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMwtc4qA9KM

To me this video seems like the start of a marketing ploy to sell a line of "wash rides"...its nothing new really. Listen to pop rock and metal and you will hear it.

will anyone here pay decent cash for a ride that only sounds good when washed on (in other words a crash cymbal)?
 
are they really going to introduce a whole new line of cymbals? that video seemed to be comparing what different existing cymbals sound like when they're played with that "wash ride" technique (as they call it). the term i've heard before is crash riding.
 
HAHAHA!!! Did you check out the link-washride.com? It's hilarious. "Join the dialog on wash riding on facebook!"

That being said. It's a very effective technique and I love doing it, but I'm not sure it's necessary to focus on it so much.
 
Yes, hardly new, although I liked how the video gave an easy and clear comparison of different crashes being ridden. Back in my day "wash riding" was just something you did when everyone decided to crank up to 11, even though I never had a name for it back then.

Not a big or new thing IMO ... pretty well every hard rock rockin' drummer's done it at some stage or another.
 
Someone from the less-is-more-police should go tell them ASAP what they are doing is objectively wrong!

(=P)
 
are they really going to introduce a whole new line of cymbals? that video seemed to be comparing what different existing cymbals sound like when they're played with that "wash ride" technique (as they call it). the term i've heard before is crash riding.

Agreed....isn't this why they make crash/rides??? I had one on my first P.O.S. drum-kit
 
are they really going to introduce a whole new line of cymbals? that video seemed to be comparing what different existing cymbals sound like when they're played with that "wash ride" technique (as they call it). the term i've heard before is crash riding.

I don't know if they will or not. I just thought it was funny that they gave it a new name and made a video on it.

I do " wash ride" a lot tho and if they where to come out with a cymbal that you could really get all ring out of with no attack from the stick hitting it repeatedly, i might get it. Not like a big crash but a cymbal that has a fluctuation in the ring.

I wander why "wash ride" was used instead of the widely known term crash ride?
 
I wander why "wash ride" was used instead of the widely known term crash ride?

To make it seem like this is something new, which of course it isn't. I'm sure plenty of poor saps will fall for it too...just the latest (and saddest) in a line of sad attempts to "revolutionize" the drum market with a new product. It's not just Sabian (and not just cymbal companies either), in fact I think Sabian is doing some great stuff otherwise, but when they market junk like this, it just bugs me.
 
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<tries to quickly come up with and trademark a name for using smaller chinas as hi-hat cymbals before someone else does>
 
<tries to quickly come up with and trademark a name for using smaller chinas as hi-hat cymbals before someone else does>

Next thing you know, they'll be coming up with hi hats with rivets in them and marketing them as "Snake Hats, for that unique sizzling sound that can't be found anywhere else!"

Then after shelling out hundreds o' notes for this innovative new product, some poor kid will realize they can get a sizzle sound by adjusting the clutch a little.
What's the world coming to.
xoxo
 
Just this morning I was watching a documentary from 1970 on The Who called "Listening:The Who" and I was watching Keith Moon closely and admiring his big Premier kit when I noticed he had no hats at all! He had two floor toms on either side of his kit and simply rode a large crash on the left for time. But he also had a large ride to the right of his kit. I guess that freed up both feet for the basses, not sure. He would simply use the tip of his stick on the left ride for quieter passages in the tunes and crashed the edge for more volume and dynamics during the louder parts of the songs. To each his own I guess. I have tried many different setups over the years, drums as well as cymbal placement but that one never crossed my mind. That might be explored as an alternative to hats by some cymbal marketing company, I don't know. I can always "wash" my ride, but I DEF want hats.
 
In the past couple of month's, I've been noticing that a lot of "post-rock" has wash-riding cymbal parts.

I dig that sound!... and I've been trying to play with a bit more wash, since then. The only problems I've encountered are: 1. during rehearsals, my bandmates constantly complain about how "the cymbals are too loud" even if I'm barely tapping them! It seems as though they have associated the visualization of me hitting the cymbal with the edge of my stick, instead of tapping the top with the tip, with a loud abrasive sound; and 2. If we ever play a small venue, wash riding is only possible with a cracked cymbal, or flat ride cymbal who's wash isn't that loud or sustaining to begin with. If I were to wash-ride on a normal ride cymbal or large non-cracked crash, the whole band turns up and people end up migrating away from the dance floor/front of stage because it's too loud.

Also, a lot of electronic music I've been listening to has samples of that wash-riding sound, but those are dynamically controllable samples, and can be mixed in with the music as to add that washy texture without overpowering like a real cymbal might in a live situation.

The cymbals that work best for wash-riding, for me are:

20" Paiste Flat Ride
A cracked old 16" Zildjian crash.

Anyone else have any great wash-ride cymbals for low-volume gigs or rehearsals?
 
In the past couple of month's, I've been noticing that a lot of "post-rock" has wash-riding cymbal parts.

I dig that sound!... and I've been trying to play with a bit more wash, since then. The only problems I've encountered are: 1. during rehearsals, my bandmates constantly complain about how "the cymbals are too loud" even if I'm barely tapping them! It seems as though they have associated the visualization of me hitting the cymbal with the edge of my stick, instead of tapping the top with the tip, with a loud abrasive sound; and 2. If we ever play a small venue, wash riding is only possible with a cracked cymbal, or flat ride cymbal who's wash isn't that loud or sustaining to begin with. If I were to wash-ride on a normal ride cymbal or large non-cracked crash, the whole band turns up and people end up migrating away from the dance floor/front of stage because it's too loud.

Also, a lot of electronic music I've been listening to has samples of that wash-riding sound, but those are dynamically controllable samples, and can be mixed in with the music as to add that washy texture without overpowering like a real cymbal might in a live situation.

The cymbals that work best for wash-riding, for me are:

20" Paiste Flat Ride
A cracked old 16" Zildjian crash.

Anyone else have any great wash-ride cymbals for low-volume gigs or rehearsals?

you can crash on a cymbal softly and get a nine ring thats fairly quiet, you just have to practice playing softly on the cymbal while playing at regular volumes on the snare drum and bass drum.
 
Next thing you know, they'll be coming up with hi hats with rivets in them and marketing them as "Snake Hats, for that unique sizzling sound that can't be found anywhere else!"

Hehehe

DrummingIsArt, it sounds like you need a very thin crash cymbal to ride on - something you can open up with light taps.

By NEW IMPROVED WASH RIDING ... it will get your music brighter than bright!
 
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