Talk about your cocktail cymbals

matthew medeiros
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Location: Hollister Ca.
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Cymbals

Post by matthew medeiros »

hey Multiperc, just to reply real quick to you. The paiste hats are actually hi hats, they are red ink, medium 14's. The place I got those is Starving Musician in Santa Clara, Ca. (they have a website) The drum guy there is named Dave, and He is a great Vintage guy, really knows his stuff. Anyway, He sems to have some kind of "in" up at Stanford, always has a shipload of near new stuff from them. The Marching stuff does have differant sounds, though, if that's what you are looking for, I think the Marching cymbals are many times a little heavier. I haven't been in in a while but I used to be able to get a real decent pair of hi hats for under $100. Maybe check Starving Muscian dot com? Paiste seems to fall all over themselves to give Stanford new stuff every year so you can see their name at all the televised games. anyway, If you happen to hit the Starving Musician at the right time, good deals can be had....I rarely,rarely, very rarely buy 100% new gear anymore, A well taken care of cymbal still sounds good at 2 or 3 years old. What say you :?:
Matthew
multiperc
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Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2006 3:14 pm

Post by multiperc »

That's such a coincindence! I live in the NY area but have relatives in the Bay Area; everytime I visit, I drop into that shop in Santa Clara to pickup anything interesting tucked away! I'll have to give them a call and see if I can time the Paiste unload. I'm actually looking for an extra pair of hats, 13" preferably so maybe I'll get lucky. Great idea - thanks Matthew
And I do enjoy 2nd hand gear quite a bit - I concur. My favorite recording hats (Sabian 12" AA) used to belong to someone else before I bought them at Rogue Music in NYC. Just like buying a car, the first year or so isn't necessarily worth the cost premium. Maybe that's in part why we're cocktail drummers?.....
matthew medeiros
Posts: 161
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2006 6:43 pm
Location: Hollister Ca.
Contact:

Starving Musician

Post by matthew medeiros »

Multiperc, I've got private messaging enabled, drop me a line, if there is anyway I can help you pick up some items (save shipping) let me know. Would love to hook up with you when you are out here. I'm about an hour south of Santa Clara, We do a lot of oak wood B-B-Qing in our neck of the woods.Let me know :!: :!:
Matthew
multiperc
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Post by multiperc »

Hey Matthew
That's very generous of you - thanks!
milwaukee
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Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 4:04 pm

Post by milwaukee »

On the topic of cocktail cymbals...

I've had the Club Jordan for a few months now. I've tried it in a few different settings, from a small semi-acoustic blues combo to a rather loud indie rock band.

I think I've found the ultimate hihat pair for cocktail drumming. It's an 11" Zildjian prototype. The top is a K Constantinople and the bottom is a very heavy A Quick Beat, flat with 4 sound holes plus rivets. It sounds incredible (even with a fullsize kit) and is perfect for the Jordan-style cymbal arm - small in diameter and height (because of the flat bottom) so you can more easily play a cymbal mounted underneath it, even on the bell.

I haven't hit the jackpot on a single all-purpose cymbal to use yet. I have several candidates that are decent but nothing too great yet. For most situations I'm using an 18" '70s A that has that 'out-of-date' sound that famouswilly talks about earlier in this thread. It's a little too washy to ride and too gongy to crash... but it mostly gets the job done with proper technique and judicious use of a Rattler.

I've also tried a 16" old K and a 15" Paiste 602 (both too valuable to gig on much, and not quite versatile enough anyway). I had some ideas about using Sabian or Zildjian timbale cymbals but in brief store trials, they didn't quite set my world on fire, either. (Maybe I'm just being too picky?)

A friend has a 17" K medium-thin crash that I'm going to give a spin in that role; other than that I'm just keeping a continuous vigil for specimens of the infamous 17" Re-Mix Ride. (What goes with a 15" kick/snare combo better than oddball cymbals, right?)

I've got an LP Claw with splash cymbal mount - I can throw one of my little Wuhan splashes on there, or it's sturdy enough to hold a thin 16" crash. In that scenario I can go with a dedicated ride and a crash, but I'm still driven by the simplicity of the single cymbal arm.

What have you guys found to be a good multipurpose cymbal in that 16 to 18" wheelhouse? I know the perfect crash/ride doesn't exist, but we cocktailers are known for our ingeniuty in making things work...
fw
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Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:12 am
Location: Lansing, MI

Post by fw »

I don't like them in general, but I'm wondering if something in Zildjian's new ZHT line might work. The crashes I've played were kind of stiff and dead sounding...they might work.

Also, here is an oddball candidate--Paiste PST5's--the total bargain basement Paistes--the sub Alphas. They sound like drum machine samples...I think they're pretty cool. The 16" crash might do it.

Interstate Music is selling discontinued Paiste Dimensions 18" crashes for $118. I played one in my local music store the other day and thought it was too dead for a crash but doable as a ride.

I don't know what it is with the Remixes--they barely made any 17"ers and all the jazz guys have snatched up the 18" breakbeats.

One last one--the Wuhan S series 16" crash--cheap, very rideable, decent crash sounds once you clean them (the protective wax wrecks the sound), good bells, and they are B20 cymbals. You can pick them up on ebay for nothing.
multiperc
Posts: 241
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2006 3:14 pm

Post by multiperc »

Mil
Following Will's post regarding Wuhan, look back to page one of this thread and see my vote for the Wuhan traditional 16" thin crash. Note mine is the traditional, not 'S' type and as such, it's a softer washier sound than the 'S.' Very musical tho, espeically for an inexpensive cymbal. All in all currently the crash/ride choice for my cocktail kit.
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