Paiste 2002 Big Ride "Reverend Al's" review: Alex Van Halen's signature ride cymbal
Review of the Paiste 2002 Big Ride "Reverend Al's" (SKU 1061824): a 24-inch ride cymbal Paiste's Sound Development team co-designed with Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen, introduced at 2010 Winter NAMM. Full, silky, powerful sound with real crash-ability.
Reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
The Paiste 2002 Big Ride "Reverend Al's" (SKU 1061824) is a 24-inch ride cymbal Paiste's Sound Development team co-designed with Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen, introduced at 2010 Winter NAMM. Based on the Giant Beat's design parameters, it delivers a full, silky, powerful ride with a glassy ping over dark, cloudy wash, plus real crash-ability for classic-rock work. Paiste's own site still lists it in his current setup.
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What it is, in one paragraph
The Paiste 2002 Big Ride "Reverend Al's" (SKU 1061824) is a 24-inch ride cymbal that Paiste's Sound Development team co-designed with Van Halen's drummer, introduced at 2010 Winter NAMM. It borrows the Giant Beat series' shape, weight, bell size, and hammering pattern, then finishes it in vintage 2002 sound-bronze style. The result is a full, silky, powerful ride with a glassy ping over dark, cloudy wash, and enough crash-ability to double as a second crash on a big kit. The name and the modified "exterminator" artwork from Van Halen's 1984 tour, both stamped on the cymbal, are Paiste's tribute to his role in developing it.
Who Alex Van Halen is, briefly
Alexander Arthur Van Halen, born May 8, 1953, co-founded Van Halen with his brother Eddie in 1972 and drummed across the band's entire studio catalog, Van Halen (1978) through A Different Kind of Truth (2012). A Paiste artist since March 1983 per Paiste's own artist page, with cymbal setups built around the 2002 line since the band's earliest records. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Van Halen, 2007. Full profile at /drummers/alex-van-halen.
Spec sheet
Paiste 2002 Big Ride spec
- Size
- 24 inches.
- Weight
- Light, despite the large 24-inch diameter.
- Volume
- Medium, responsive at soft-to-loud dynamics.
- Stick sound
- Washy, with a somewhat papery attack.
- Sustain
- Long, dark and misty wash under the ping.
- Bell
- Fairly integrated and smooth, not an aggressive cutting bell.
- Based on
- Giant Beat series design parameters (shape, weight, bell size, hammering), finished in vintage 2002 style.
What it sounds like
Paiste's own product copy describes the sound as "full, silky, powerful, deep," with a "fairly wide range, fairly complex mix" and a "responsive, soft feel with powerful attributes." The stick sound reads as somewhat papery with a glassy undertone, sitting over a big, dark, and misty wash. That combination is what lets it work as a genuine ride/crash hybrid: enough wash and crash-ability to punctuate big arena-rock hits, enough ping definition underneath to still function as a ride pattern through a verse.
The Paiste partnership
Paiste artist since March 1983 · Current setup listing
The documented endorsement
Alex Van Halen co-founded Van Halen with brother Eddie in 1972 and built his cymbal setups around Paiste's 2002 line from the band's earliest records. Paiste's own artist page still lists this 24-inch Big Ride in his current setup, alongside 2002 Crash, China, Medium, and Sound Edge Hi-Hat models.
Source: Paiste artist page.
2010 Winter NAMM · Co-designed
How it was developed
Paiste's Sound Development team built the Big Ride in direct collaboration with Alex Van Halen, adapting the Giant Beat series' shape, weight, bell size, and hammering into a 24-inch cymbal finished in vintage 2002 style. The "Reverend Al's" name and a modified Van Halen 1984-tour "exterminator" graphic on the cymbal are Paiste's tribute to that collaboration.
What the cymbal is built for
- Big-kit arena rock. The 24-inch size and Giant Beat-derived weight are built to fill a large stage sound without disappearing into a loud mix.
- Ride and crash in one cymbal. The wash and crash-ability mean a drummer can build a kit with fewer dedicated crashes if the Big Ride is doing double duty.
- Classic-rock and hard-rock players chasing Alex Van Halen's documented tone, not just any large ride.
- Not for players who want a tight, cutting ping. The wash is dark and misty by design; players who need a dry, articulate ride for jazz or fast metal should look elsewhere in the 2002 line.
Verdict and the affiliate hook
If you want the documented ride cymbal behind Alex Van Halen's Van Halen setup, this is it: a 24-inch Giant Beat-derived ride with a full, silky, powerful voice and real crash-ability. Pair it with the Regal Tip Alex Van Halen Signature stick for the rest of his documented gear.
2002 Big Ride "Reverend Al's" (1061824)
Why this one: The documented Paiste ride cymbal co-designed with Alex Van Halen: a 24-inch Giant Beat-derived ride with a full, silky voice and real crash-ability, still listed in his current setup on Paiste's own site.
Drummers documented using this cymbal
Each drummer profile cites this product in their stick / head / cymbal / kit frontmatter. Click through for the full editorial profile + sourcing.