Question re Brians's Cymbals

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Re: Question re Brians's Cymbals

Postby dave robinson » Thu Dec 24, 2020 9:45 am

The Hybrid K is a ping/ride, that's the meanining of the word Hybrid, the cymbal has two surfaces, an inner and outer.
That's what Brian had on the big tour of 2009. In the early days he had a Zidjian Ping.
Yes I did ask him last night, in fact he has just this minute whilst typing this he replied to me as it flashed up on my screen, "Zildjian A 20" ping", great for smooth, quiet grooves, no overtones". Happy days. :)
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Re: Question re Brians's Cymbals

Postby dave robinson » Thu Dec 24, 2020 10:35 am

Back in the early sixties when I was starting out on this musical journey, our song choices were largely determined by what we heard on radio, as that was the main vehicle for hearing the latest releases. Not that radio was a great sound quality but differences could still be heard.
It was evident very early on to me that Cliff & The Shadows had a very special rhythm sound going on behind them that had a superb quality, compared to many others. I wasn't informed enough to know why this was as it was difficult to describe, but I read an article in one of the magazines around at the time where Tony Meehan mentioned cymbals and the importance of buying quality cymbals before spending heavily on actual drums. He said that an average drum kit would sound great with quality cymbals, but a quality drum kit would suffer with cheap cymbals, which I put to the test and found to be great and invaluable advice.
Brian Bennett continued that theme and when he joined The Shadows the recorded sound was just as good as Tony's. Some records of the time sounded poor by comparison and whatever it was in the sound made it easy to identify Shadows recordings, though a handful of other groups used the same gear and matched the sound, but there were quite a lot that stood out as not so good. OK the talent and playing makes a difference too, but I'm talking subtle nuances here, enough for mum and dad to notice and mention it to me at the time, which I thought unusual as they weren't really into my music - or so I believed.
We now understand that with Bruce's rhythm, played largely on the Gibson J-200 and skilfully mixed with the drums and cymbals, it produced an almost 'magic' sound that embellished whichever track it was.
Those cymbals at that time were largely made by Avedis Zildjian and were very expensive for lads like us to afford, so not until later in life did I experience the importance of having them on my studio kit, but I chose every cymbal carefully, each for it's purpose and I have used my very old Zildjian 14" hi hats, 16" Zildjian crash for over forty years, finally adding the ping about fifteen years ago, although mine is a Sabian of similar spec to the Zildjian 'A", as I compared dozens in the shop and chose the one I liked the sound of best. I did buy two more of the same model over the years and each sounds slightly different, as it seems impossible for any to be identical. I'd say you need to bear this in mind when selecting cymbals and having discussed the subject with Brian, he has the same dilemma every time he purchases new cymbals. Before we played Shadowmania in 2002 I was privileged to go through comparing several ride cymbals with Brian before he chose one for that gig. They all sounded great, but slightly different. :)
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Re: Question re Brians's Cymbals

Postby suspend6 » Thu Dec 24, 2020 11:33 am

Many thanks Dave, appreciate your time and effort. Now on the lookout for a Zildjian A 20" Ping Ride !!!!
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Re: Question re Brians's Cymbals

Postby dave robinson » Thu Dec 24, 2020 1:25 pm

There are a few on eBay for attractive prices, but I like to try them and listen before buying, it can be a minefield.
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Re: Question re Brians's Cymbals

Postby suspend6 » Wed Dec 30, 2020 1:03 am

In the Land Downunder, testing is not easy, as there is not an abundance of top cymbals on the market. I usually buy at the best price I can, hope for the best and on-sell if disappointed. Fortunately, I have always managed to sell for a small profit.
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Re: Question re Brians's Cymbals

Postby suspend6 » Tue Aug 24, 2021 12:00 pm

To Dave R,

I got glimpses of a China cymbal on the Cliff and The ShadowsFinal Reunion DVD. Do you have any more detail? I believe it was a Zildjian China Boy. Brian uses it sparingly, but it is very obvious in "We Say Yeah". Don't suppose you know the diameter? Looking to get one :-) They certainly vary radically in sound, just by changing diameter - more so than crashes and rides IMHO.
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Re: Question re Brians's Cymbals

Postby suspend6 » Mon Sep 26, 2022 7:06 am

Just in case the passage of time has unearthed anything new :D


To Dave R,
I got glimpses of a China cymbal on the Cliff and The ShadowsFinal Reunion DVD. Do you have any more detail? I believe it was a Zildjian China Boy. Brian uses it sparingly, but it is very obvious in "We Say Yeah". Don't suppose you know the diameter? Looking to get one :-) They certainly vary radically in sound, just by changing diameter - more so than crashes and rides IMHO.
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