New Ride Cymbal

MikeM

Platinum Member
Yay! Sort of...

I'd been getting overwhelmed by the choices on eBay and Craigslist and lost sight of what I was looking for in a ride so I went out to a couple music stores to reacquaint myself with the possibilities.

One store had a Sweet Ride, Rezo Ride, 21" K Hybrid, and a 22" A Medium Ride. The Hybrid was the one I was most interested in hearing and also happened to be on clearance.

I ended up with the 22" A Medium Ride (for $30 more than the Hybrid), but before you start yawning, let me just say that this particular cymbal is unlike any other like it that I've ever heard. It is thin and has that thin cymbal roar. It's almost like a 22" Sweet Ride with a high profile as it's very crashable and not as pingy as you'd expect from one of these. Although I've never heard a Sweet Ride as pingy as this, that isn't saying much. Playing a ride pattern on its bow sounds more like a gentle rain than it does a hail of bullets.

Anyway, it's the diminished ping that's making me unsure. I took it to band practice last night and it played really well, but ideally, it could have had just a touch more ping and it would be perfect. Knowing that perfect isn't possible without a trip to the factory with band in tow, I'll probably keep it (but I'll probably also keep my 21" AAX Stage Ride, which I wasn't planning on doing).

But even if I don't keep it, it's still curious that Zildjian, given all their variation, would put out a Medium Ride as light as this. I could be a new trend for them considering how well Sweet Rides have been selling and how they've taken a beating from vintage purists complaining that all the new Zildjians are too thick.

Or it could be that Zildjian has just widened the parameters of what is acceptable for that model.
 
In keeping with the theme of another thread, just a small amount of tape might solve your 'ping' issue. You might think that's a bad idea - but give it a quick go. Sometimes we can find the tone we want but not the stick definition - I find this is particularly the case with thinner cymbals. I think it's worth a go before you swap it out.
 
Are you familiar with the click grip? It's the old-school jazz technique where you can make the washiest cymbal have a clear attack that cuts above an ensemble. However, the attack becomes more of a "clicky" one rather than a ping. If you dig the sound/tone/vibe of the cymbal, but feel it doesn't have enough attack, see if you can find a 70+ year old jazz cat to show you how to play the click grip.
 
Are you familiar with the click grip?
I've heard rumors of such a technique but have never seen it used - at least not that I'm aware of. Know of any links to vids I could check out? I'll do a search. Thanks.
 
Zildjian's quality control is so poor that you never know what you are going to get just going by the stamp on the cymbal. About a year ago, a local Atlanta store had a 22" Ping Ride and a 22" Medium Ride (both A. Zildjian) side by side. The Ping Ride had wash - the Medium Ride had a pronounced "ping". Just the opposite of what they were stamped !

Zildjjian's lack of quality control drives me nuts when I am looking for a particular cymbal sound. This is the reason a lot of people have switched brands !!
 
I tried an A 22" Medium Ride recently. It had a good sound to the body, quite pingy, but the bell was really sharp and stiff sounding. Also, for me, factoring in the drastic curvature of the cymbal, I didn't even think it would fit in my bag with my other cymbals. I ended up with a Paiste 2002 22" Power Ride, and it is one impressive ride cymbal.
 
I tried an A 22" Medium Ride recently. It had a good sound to the body, quite pingy, but the bell was really sharp and stiff sounding. Also, for me, factoring in the drastic curvature of the cymbal, I didn't even think it would fit in my bag with my other cymbals. I ended up with a Paiste 2002 22" Power Ride, and it is one impressive ride cymbal.

Paiste 2002 cymbals are manufactured with very consistent quality. I own a set of 14" Paiste 2002 Medium Hi-Hats that have the most beautiful sound of any hi-hats I have ever heard. In fact, they are my first choice in the studio. I love Zildjian cymbals as well, but it takes too long and far too many cymbals to find the ones that I like.
 
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