Fusion/Breakbeat Ride Cymbal

techtrax

Junior Member
So I've decided to change up my ride cymbal sound and can't seem to decide which ride to go with. FWIW I play mostly Latin, Breaks, DnB, Funk, and Fusion. Nowhere to try rides locally, so all I can do is download sound bytes, listen to advice, and hope for the best.

I'm currently using a Paiste Twenty 20" ride. I love the sound (VERY silky and shimmery, fantastic full wash), but I find that the stick definition is largely overtaken by the wash when I play denser patterns. I'd call this cymbal almost a little bit too airy and legato for the kit sound I'm after.

So I'm looking for something with a more defined stick attack, a darker wash (not too dark though!), and a slightly faster decay. Gotta have a nice melodic bell as well! Crashability would be fantastic, but is not absolutely necessary. Would be matched up with Sabian AA 13" Fusion Hats, so something that doesn't have TOO much sheer volume/projection would work.

Any suggestions? I would *really* appreciate any help! Cheers!
 
I REALLY like the Sabian AAX 21" Raw Bell Dry Ride. I like rides that are pingy, without very much wash/overtones. Good luck.
 
Zildjian 21" Special Dry Ride or Jojo Mayer Fierce Ride

+1 to both of these.

Couple of others...

Zildjian K Custom Light Dry Ride (more wash than medium version)
Zildjian K Custom Dry Ride (more ping than light version)
Any Zildjian Dry Complex Rides
Sabian HHX Legacy Ride 20" or 21"
Sabian AA Raw Ride 20"
Paiste Dark Energy Light Dark Ride 21"
Meinl Byzance Sand Ride 20"

lol that's a lot.
Out of all of these, my top picks are the Jojo mayer, the special dry, the dark energy, and the sand ride.
They're all great though, lol.
 
Zildjian 18" Breakbeat ride ......
 

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Confused enough yet?

These threads always crack me up. The OP will get 699 suggestions...and be more confused than when he started.
I'd say use the internet soundbytes to your full advantage. Narrow your choices down to about 5. Definitely buy from a place that has a 30 day return policy. Get something you think you like, get it home, and if it isn't cutting it, return it and repeat w/ a different cymbal until you're happy.
 
Check out the Zildjian K Custom High Definition Ride.

The newer version of this cymbal is a little thinner than the original design (which I have) and sounds a lot like what you're looking for.

The newer version has a little better crash qualities than the original.
 
Wow, thanks for all of the suggestions! Seriously, didn't expect this much feedback so quickly. Awesome!

I'm not out for an extremely DRY sound, just something dryer and more articulate than the Paiste Twenty that I'm using.

As far as the Sabian Fierce and AA Raw Ride - I don't think that the quality of the wash of these cymbals floats my boat (I did play them both in person). Perhaps it would just take some time for them to grow on me.

Just listened to the Zildjian K Custom Dry, Special Dry, and High Definition rides this morning. Really like all of them, although prefer the K Custom Dry the most overall. Zildjian lists this as a high volume cymbal, so I'm a little concerned that it might overpower other elements of the kit a little bit. Of course technique plays a major part, but I do really like it when a stroke of the same velocity produces a similar volume level on different parts of the kit.

I've listened to lots of clips of the Meinl Sand Ride (Benny rules!) and I'm really intrigued by it, would love to try it out in person since it's a pretty unique sounding cymbal (to my ears, anyway).

I've been considering the Sabian El Sabor as well (definitely more washy than most recommendations here), but really need to try one in person to see if it's too washy or not. Just heard the Sabian Omni this morning too. VERY cool cymbal. I wonder why they don't make a 20" version...

Looks like I might have to go on a trip to test some cymbals in person...
 
Wow, thanks for all of the suggestions! Seriously, didn't expect this much feedback so quickly. Awesome!

I'm not out for an extremely DRY sound, just something dryer and more articulate than the Paiste Twenty that I'm using.

As far as the Sabian Fierce and AA Raw Ride - I don't think that the quality of the wash of these cymbals floats my boat (I did play them both in person). Perhaps it would just take some time for them to grow on me.

Just listened to the Zildjian K Custom Dry, Special Dry, and High Definition rides this morning. Really like all of them, although prefer the K Custom Dry the most overall. Zildjian lists this as a high volume cymbal, so I'm a little concerned that it might overpower other elements of the kit a little bit. Of course technique plays a major part, but I do really like it when a stroke of the same velocity produces a similar volume level on different parts of the kit.

I've listened to lots of clips of the Meinl Sand Ride (Benny rules!) and I'm really intrigued by it, would love to try it out in person since it's a pretty unique sounding cymbal (to my ears, anyway).

I've been considering the Sabian El Sabor as well (definitely more washy than most recommendations here), but really need to try one in person to see if it's too washy or not. Just heard the Sabian Omni this morning too. VERY cool cymbal. I wonder why they don't make a 20" version...

Looks like I might have to go on a trip to test some cymbals in person...

Be careful with the Zildjian K Custom Dry Ride, I agree, it is a little too overpowering. I'd go with the light dry ride or the high definition.

Sand ride is another great choice, very versatile!

I don't really like the omni's, I think they're a gimmick, especially the sizes. Somehow sabian is trying to put out that the sizes were specifically selected. Not true, I'd bet that a 20 or 21 would sound a lot better than the 18 and 22.

El Sabor is a nice cymbal too, it's not very dry at all though. Might be too similar to your paiste.

I was gonna mention the zildjian a breakbeat ride (like harry posted), but it's not a lot of wash, so might not be exactly what you want.

Here's a soundclip of a zildjian dry complex ride 24", I have a feeling they're very close to what you want
 
Yes, that last ride you posted is getting close (the bow sound, anyway)! The wash is awesome, but perhaps a bit too low for my tastes. I also am not huge on the crash sound...

The good news is that I left town yesterday so I'll be able to hit some bronze in person! Really hoping that a store around here has the sand ride in stock.
 
Tried out a number of ride cymbals in person yesterday. Zildjian Ks and K customs, some Sabian HHX stuff, an AA medium ride, a couple of paragons, and quite a few Zildjian As. Luckily there was a Paiste Twenty as well so I had a frame of reference.

End result: I still liked the Paiste Twenty more than any of the other rides. For some reason it seems like all of the rides I've tried have frequencies that just don't sound musical to my ears. The Twenty has the nice highs and lows, without any harshness.

I am thinking I'll play around with some tape or muffling on the underside of the cymbal, and if that doesn't work, perhaps a Paiste Dark Energy Mark 2 might be in order.
 
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