Benny Greb New Sand Ride

RobertM · #1 09-07-2009, 12:50 AM

Has anyone seen or played this yet? I accidentally bumped into one yesterday: a beige-colored, bendable, sandy (yes, sandy-feeling) ride that has a cool dark, extremely stick articulate sound. I was puzzled, though, because I had never seen this Meinl ride before. I thought it was some kind of bizarro prototype, since my local drum shop tends to purchase some cool Sabian prototypes in the HH and HHX and AAX series.

I then researched later and found out that this is the new Meinl Byzance Jazz Sand Ride, developed by and for Benny Greb. Pretty cool cymbal.

Here's a marketing pic:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Meinl-Byzance-...16134001r28561

Note: Oops--should have posted this in the Cymbal section. Sorry.

GRUNTERSDAD · #2 09-07-2009, 03:47 PM

What is the sandy texture going to do to the tips of sticks??

Les Ismore · #3 09-08-2009, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GRUNTERSDAD

What is the sandy texture going to do to the tips of sticks??

Sand (media) blasting doesn't necessarily mean the texture is 'gritty', it can come out smooth depending on the media used.

Blasting will definitely make the cymbal look worn.

A thinner cymbal with spread/give and a tight bell is something a lot of drummers are looking for.

GRUNTERSDAD · #4 09-08-2009, 02:42 PM

I only comment on what I read. The quote was......

sandy (yes, sandy-feeling) ride that has a cool

Les Ismore · #5 09-08-2009, 08:36 PM

Yes "sandy feeling" wouldn't be good for sticks, though Im sure it could be brought smooth with a green scrubbie pad.

Memphis D has a look/see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oRCJu0GmNo up.

wolfgang · #6 09-09-2009, 05:40 AM

Waiting on sound clips, but so far I think I want one.

Nichalson2112 · #7 09-09-2009, 06:15 AM

Wow! Think of what different sticks/brushes/mallets etc would sound like on that thing! Plus you could "scrape" along the ride and I bet it would sound great. Maybe even use things like plastic forks or combs to scrape exotic sounds out of the ride.. I may need to play one of these!

Les Ismore · #8 10-17-2009, 05:58 AM

Sand Ride vid up at MD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkMQsZvezck

Muckster · #9 10-19-2009, 03:46 PM

That is a great sounding cymbal!

TTNW · #10 10-19-2009, 04:28 PM

Nice washy sound with pretty good stick definition.

Did you see the edge wobble on that thing? Must be thin.

slingerland755 · #11 10-19-2009, 05:12 PM

What do they run? $300 - 350 US?

Ainulindale · #12 10-19-2009, 10:57 PM

very cool ride, the edge starts out paper thin and gets thicker as you move "up" the bow then finishes in a pretty solid bell, good ride for brushwork, i played around with one this weekend and liked it, pretty reasonably priced too for a signature ride...

guidrummer · #13 10-19-2009, 11:07 PM

Most of these are around 2350 grams which is typically a med-thin for a ride

But this thing is thin towards the edge for easier crashability and heavier towards the center and bell for more definition. It's not a rock bell by any means but it is definitely louder than typical bells on thin jazz rides.

My concern is going to be the durability of that thin edge. Maybe it's no problem with 7A type sticks.

maddrummr · #14 10-19-2009, 11:15 PM

Wow....this makes my ride decision so much harder...

Ainulindale · #15 10-20-2009, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guidrummer

My concern is going to be the durability of that thin edge. Maybe it's no problem with 7A type sticks.

big sticks don't kill cymbals, bad technique kills cymbals - regardless of weight...

a lesson i learned myself, the hard way unfortunately...

guidrummer · #16 10-20-2009, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ainulindale

big sticks don't kill cymbals, bad technique kills cymbals - regardless of weight...

a lesson i learned myself, the hard way unfortunately...

You're right. I just wouldn't use 5Bs on this thing. lol!

Ainulindale · #17 10-21-2009, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guidrummer

You're right. I just wouldn't use 5Bs on this thing. lol!

i think the taper and head are different, but i'm pretty sure Benny's signature sticks are 5B's! you would'nt think his style would demand quite that size...

caddywumpus · #18 10-21-2009, 12:46 AM

Here's Benny talking about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5oP5...eature=related

I've been wanting to check one out for a while. They haven't shown up in my neck of the woods yet, unfortunately. I'll be keeping my eyes glued on craigslist...

Ainulindale · #19 10-21-2009, 01:21 AM

awesome video Caddywumpus, thanks for the link!

Solaris · #20 10-21-2009, 11:02 AM

I wish Meinl were more readily available in Australia, I would love to get my hands on one of these.

freehandstyle · #21 10-25-2009, 06:24 AM

is it just me or did it suddenly get really tempting to sandblast your cymbals to get a great finish like that? :P

now i'm just wondering how doable this idea would be and what tonal characteristics it would actually give to the cymbal...

anyone willing to give it a try?

Chaos_Inferno · #22 11-01-2009, 03:54 PM

I've decided I either want this or a 21" Zildjian A Sweet Ride....

I like the bell of the Sweet Ride a LOT more and the ping is still that really cool, chilled out clicky jazz-like ping but it's brighter than this Sand Ride and I can't decide which ping I like better....

I also only really play a lot of jazz with my school's ensemble so I'm thinking the Sweet Ride would be a bit more versatile