I can remember walking down the street as a nineteen year old clutching my first set of 13" new beat hi hats. A tow truck could not have prized them away from me that day. Little has changed with my enthusiasm for these cymbals in the twenty years that have passed since.  I am just really lucky to be part of the Zildjian family of endorsers and use these cymbals aplenty.

Playing such a wide variety of instruments in so many different settings I am really called upon to create many different colours and textures and this page is here as a little insight into where and when I use particular cymbals and what tonal qualities specific cymbals can bring to various situations.

Percussion in the studio needs many timbres beyond the traditional cymbal swell or ride cymbal pattern.  I am going to begin with some of the specialist items I use.  I shall go on to the more conventional cymbals farther down the page.  First up is the newest addition to the Zildjian family and a long awaited innovation for metal resonance.  It is the new 'Gong sheet' and is basically a 24" flat gong which is designed in such a way as to sound very close to a larger Tam Tam.  It is perfect for situations where you are short of space, short of a budget for a 30" gong or simply too lazy to carry it up the stairs.  It is great struck pp or ff with a large gong mallet, bowed, dipped in water or struck with a small acorn definition stick.  It is a good contrast to the 20" wind gong which has been round the world with  me many times on a whole variety of different projects.

On the subject of gongs, I also make great use of the smaller gongs and Balinese nipple gong.  These sing nicely with smaller beaters and also bow really well.  Combined with the Earth plates and Burmese bell (both great struck with a metal beater) this is a great little pack of additions for the studio.  According to the Zildjian website I am the only endorser to use a Burmese bell.  I can't believe so many players are missing out on this 'spin and sing' goodie, not forgetting of course the amazing resonant Zil bells that ring on for a good twenty seconds when struck well.  I like to mount two on a mini 'lo-hat' stand for a real crisp 'chick' sound.

Continuing with things great for the studio, we have to look at the cymbals that are 'warped'.   People are always coming up after a show enquiring about my 'wrinkled' cymbals.  The first of this set has to be the 'crash of doom' invented by Denis Chambers.  This is a fairly thin cymbal, pressed in such a way as to be wavy around the edges.  It creates a much darker tone than a standard finished cymbal and is truly fantastic to roll with mallets or bow, as is the smaller ZXT version from the effects range.  They also sound well when struck with the hand, which is important when you are playing hand perc without sticks.  You obviously need to take great care with this so you don't hurt youself!

Finally, on the subject of warped, check out these.  They were inspired by the clock which used to be in the office at Zildjian Europe.  They had made the clock from an unfinished cymbal, straight from the smouldering melting press.  I spied the potential and asked Bob and Tina at Zildjian to get me some cymbals like this made out in Boston. Then, four months later I took receipt of these amazing half made cymbals, all wierd shaped and amazing, complete with logo.   They are really a cross between a cymbal and a gong and sound truly dark, a little bit like an earth ride run over by a steam roller in the middle of a horror movie.  They go on all my film sessions.

In case you think that I only play the more ecentric type Zildjians, here are a selection of thoughts and applications for some other Zildjian products.

'A' Zildjians

These are my standard kit cymbals. The new wrinkle edge mastersound hi hats are top notch, with a really clear foot 'chick, whilst the larger crashes 16" & 18" are great.

'Re-mix' range

These are a very interesting range for me when it comes to adding cymbals to a percussion set up.  The 'jingle ride' stands out as a must have for any percussionist.  Mount it on its own stand though because the jingles rattle if it is part of a rack set up.

'Azuka' range

Another very interesting range  when it comes to adding cymbals to a percussion set up.  The good thing is that they are darker than the smaller splashes often used by kit players so you won't clash in that tonal spectrum.  They also sing well when struck with hand or mallets.  I particularly like the little square edged bell on some models. (Above).

The oriental range has some great goodies as well.  Great chinas in various sizes that offer a great alternative to the more conventional china sound.  I love to get a matching pair and use them with marching cymbal technique like they do traditional Chinese cymbals.  They sound the real deal.  The giant chinas I use with my large Taiko drums.  They make some impact with those thick sticks, but you can break them easily like this so take it easy.

 
It's got to have the logo!

With Tina & Bob at Zildjian Europe

Wondering about what cymbals you need?   Email pete here

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