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| Cymbal Buying Advice | | |
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servantrek
5,660 posts (1 today)
1 Awards
12 November 2009
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However most stores around here don't carry the kind of inventory to make the selection techniques practical
Billy
Member since Feb. 15 2008
A Jester,unemployed,is nobodies Fool
And the Lord said "LET THERE BE DRUMMERS..." and all the creatures big and small started tapping their feet.
Hezikiah 13.2
| | Message posted 818 days ago |  IP Logged |
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gclin
4,402 posts (4 today)
0 Awards
12 November 2009
| I also pick a ride first and build around that.
Gene | | Message posted 818 days ago | IP Logged |
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malletjazz3
1,063 posts (1 today)
0 Awards
20 November 2009
| Interesting article. I do follow some of the approaches the author mentions, but I don't think his way is the only way to go about selecting cymbals.
I don't agree with the blanket statement that "mail order is bad." It is what it is - you give up the opportunity to play before buying, but you also gain access to cymbals you might not be able to find locally. I haven't ever seen any 24" pre-serial Paiste 602s for sale in any of my local shops, but my 24" 602 - purchased online without even the benefit of a sound file - is going to the grave with me. Buying online is a gamble, that's true - but it can pay off if you find the right cymbal.
Funny thing - I don't have any prefab setups ("this is my 'jazz' setup...this is my 'rock' setup...etc.) - I tend to mix and match liberally from on gig to the next (brands, alloys, you name it). However, for the gig I've got at the moment - playing in the pit of a musical production - I've settled into what I think is a fantastic (albeit limited in number) setup. The thing is, I didn't hear any of these cymbals before obtaining them:
- 24" 602 - bought on eBay, no sound file
- 18" Bosphorus Traditional crash (traded another cymbal for it), no sound file
- 14" New Beats - a gift from my parents back in 1978 or '79.
Is it dumb luck that I found a set that works together so well? Maybe - but I'd be hard pressed to find another ride-hat-crash combination that I liked better, if I were to hit the stores within a few hours' drive of my doorstep.
Even though I've had a fair amount of good fortune buying cymbals online, these days I'm generally limiting myself to what I can find locally. I have my bases covered, so to speak - I don't need to gamble on a new cymbal. (If I find something cool on eBay, sure, I may take a shot - but it's not my main approach these days.)
I enjoy the thrill of the hunt, as well as the serendipity - going into a local store to buy a set of bell mallets, and instead stumbling onto (essentially) the swish cymbal I've been looking for. Or, there's the old Paiste Sound Formula ride I found in a local shop this week, which had been mislabeled as a "Paiste Prototype" because the SF logo had been cleaned off by a previous owner. (It probably would've cost me another $60 if the store knew what they had.) 
Re: hats vs. ride as a starting point - it depends on the music. For jazz, I start with the ride(s). For steel band gigs, I'm living and dying with the hi-hats, so that's where I start.
"I played with Holdsworth, Fripp, and Belew...I wish we drummers could play that differently. Drummers are starting to homogenize into the same guy, which frightens me." - Bill Bruford
http://www.malletjazz.com
http://www.facebook.com/malletjazz | | Message posted 810 days ago | IP Logged |
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