A cymbal Story

[tuchel]

I would enjoy comments to this.

I operate a studio, where all kinds of cymbals have passed through. I was frustrated specificly at the average hi hat. Some Drummers had made there choice and I respected that, but the majority were less a-tuned and for what ever reason have HH's that record average to poor. I went on a quest a year ago to find a good solid recording HH. I went to dozens of stores including all the majors, borrowed from the guys who's HH had impressed me prior and really educated my ears. Then one fateful afternoon I found myself in a real tough part of town, following directions to a funky house from a newspaper contact who had claimed "his brother had a deal with Zildjian" and he was unloading a few cymbals.

I had recorded some nice New Beats successfully and thought what could it hurt to check them out? Though I was sure I would be mugged, I met the courteous seller who proceeded to let me audition some really, really great hi hats. When I happily plunked down $100 for year old new beats and maneuvered my car safely home I couldn't help but think about what the guy said. "You can't buy these anywhere, they're for Zildjian endorsers."

Since then nearly every drummer prefer these to their own when I work with them. When I added a quickbeat bottom, I was in HH heaven, and frequently don't bother with EQ at all. I have been offered some serious dough for these in their single year of use. I feel lucky to have them.

But I can't help but wonder if the good cymbals go to endorsers, and the rest of us wonder why we can't get a great HH sound.

I should have gone back for crashes...

Can anyone shed some light?

 

tuchel

[C_F_H_13]

That's an interesting story. My theory (and I should add, that's all I can contribute), is one of three things.

 

A) Since most endorsers are allowed to come down the factory and pick out the cymbal(s) of there choice, it would only be logical that they would pick the "best" sounding ones out of the entire collection of cymbals. Since these particular cymbals would probably be the cream of the crop, they would sound drastically better than the "stock" models and no one else could have them without going to the factory!

 

B) Despite the fact that if this was true I would feel severely cheated, Zildjian may make better sounding cymbals for endorsers. I highly doubt this because I'm sure they're all made the same way, and some are better simply out of chance. However I wouldn't put it past any company for that matter, to make superior product for the purpose of "selling" a particular trait that isn't an exact replica what the product you will purchase will be like.

 

C) Maybe he was pulling your leg . I'm in no way calling you gullable or him a liar, but maybe they were just great cymbals; a silver dollar in a sea of pennies if you will. It's also very possible.

 

this is just my thought on the subject and I thought I would share them.

 

-Chris

[djarrett]

tuchel:

Here is the deal. All of the cymbal manufacturers make many, many cymbals a day. (I would venture to guess hundreds)

Yes, they have folks that are highly trained to select great cymbals for artist, but unless a specific cymbal is being specially made, these cymbals come from the same stock that go to everyone.

They also keep some of the better sounding selects in vaults to "age". This does not mean that you are getting any less of a cymbal than the next guy, but these guys just get the benefit of cymbals selected from literally thousands of cymbals ... whereas ... the average buyer only gets to select from the limited selection at the local music store.

DJ

[joeq]

I know a guy who got to pick from the "goodie pile" at the Zildjian factory. Instead of having to go thru the whole place he was ushered into a room of preselected cymbals. He was told this was the room that endorsers were brought to.

 

The story is that unlike some other hi-tech companies, the Zildjian manufacturing process has a certain amount of randomness in it. The secret formula and all that... you don't buy a Zildjian from a catalog.

 

Supposedly, every cymbal crystallizes differently - like snowflakes.

 

When they come out they have to be played in order to be sorted- this 18" may be a crash and that one may be more of a crash-ride. Another one may be a dud and gets sent back to be melted down and some few go to the "goodie pile" to be checked out by endorsers.

 

This is how I heard it from my friend and I believe it because the cymbals he has are gorgeous.

 

Like djarret said, there are plenty of great Z's out there but you have to go to a lot of stores and play a lot of cymbals. They make thousands and thousands of cymbals and not every good one gets set aside.

[Jazzman]

Are cymbals heat treated or pre stressed? Has anyone ever heard of a cymbal go bad on it's own from the production process?? How is a cymbal tested with tone when hit? Is it like a wine tester to see if the wine meets a certian criteria??

 

Just curious......

 

Jazzman

[where02190]

Anyone is welcome to go to the Zildjian factory and hand pick their cymbals, as is the case with all cymbal manufacturers. jsut call them ot make arrangements.

 

Of course if you are not an endorsee expect to pay some hefty prices for the top notch ones...

 

Hope this is helpful.

[AlanThomas]

I think most drummers spend little time, if any, selecting their cymbals. They simply go to Guitar Center, pick 'em out by brand name & plunk down the cash (or plastic).

 

It wouldn't be quite as nice as flying to the factory to hand select your cymbals from an already presorted batch, but if more drummers would spend some time going around to their local retailers and selecting their cymbals for thier sound quality rather than brand, it would sure help raise the bar over all.

 

My personal cymbal collection is comprised of three different manufacturers. I don't care if the labels don't match...