Gear

Cymbals

Meinl Classics Custom Brilliant Ghost Ride, Brann Dailor Signature (CC21GR)

Review of the Meinl Classics Custom Brilliant Ghost Ride (CC21GR): Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor's named Meinl signature cymbal. 21-inch B8 bronze, chargrilled dark finish, glassy ping with a cutting raw black bell.

Cymbals

Meinl Byzance Brilliant 20" Medium Ride (B20MR-B)

Meinl Byzance Brilliant 20-inch Medium Ride cymbal (B20MR-B). Hand-hammered B20 bronze, made in Turkey. The premium boutique alternative to Zildjian and Sabian, with a darker, more vintage-leaning tone profile.

Cymbals

Paiste 2002 Big Ride "Reverend Al's" (1061824)

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.

Cymbals

Paiste 2002 Classic 18" Crash (1061418)

Paiste 2002 Classic 18-inch Crash cymbal (1061418). The legendary Paiste sound bronze formula. The classic-rock crash since the late 1960s, used by John Bonham, Stewart Copeland, Nicko McBrain, and the working pro canon of arena rock.

Cymbals

Paiste 2002 Ride 20" (1061620)

Paiste 2002 Ride cymbal (1061620), 20-inch. The tighter, quicker sibling to Paiste's workhorse 22-inch 2002 Ride, documented in Eagles drummer Don Henley's live cymbal setup.

Cymbals

Paiste 2002 Ride 22" (1061622)

Paiste 2002 Ride cymbal (1061622), 22-inch. The workhorse general-purpose ride behind Paiste's legendary 2002 line, documented in Ian Paice's (Deep Purple) live setup since 1971 and Patrick Carney's (The Black Keys) kit since 2008.

Cymbals

Paiste 2002 Power Ride 22" (1062922)

Paiste 2002 Power Ride cymbal (1062922), 22-inch. The heavier, louder ride in Paiste's 2002 line, built for rock and metal. Documented in Larry Mullen Jr.'s (U2) live setup since 1983.

Cymbals

Paiste Signature Power Crash 18"

Paiste Signature Power Crash cymbal, 18-inch. The louder, heavier crash in Paiste's Signature series, built for cutting through a loud rock mix. Documented in Brad Wilk's (Rage Against the Machine) live setup, a Paiste artist since February 2003.

Cymbals

Sabian AAX X-Plosion Hats 16" (2160287XB)

Sabian AAX X-Plosion Hats, 16-inch pairing (2160287XB), brilliant finish. Medium top over medium-heavy bottom, B20 bronze. Bill Ward's documented current hi-hat choice for Black Sabbath-scale volume.

Cymbals

Sabian HHX Evolution 14" Hi-Hats (11402XEB)

Sabian HHX Evolution 14-inch Hi-Hat cymbals (11402XEB), brilliant finish. Dave Weckl signature design with HHX top over hand-hammered bottom. The fusion and modern-jazz hi-hat reference.

Cymbals

Zildjian A Custom 20" Medium Ride (A20519)

Zildjian A Custom 20-inch Medium Ride cymbal (A20519). Brilliant-finish B20 bronze with rotary hammering, the ride most working rock and pop drummers reach for when the recording needs definition without harshness.

Cymbals

Zildjian A New Beat 14" Hi-Hats (A0133)

Zildjian A New Beat 14-inch Hi-Hat cymbals (A0133). Louie Bellson's medium-top, heavy-bottom design, in continuous production since 1970. The reference hi-hat pairing across rock, jazz, funk, and session drumming for over five decades.

Cymbals

Zildjian A Zildjian Swish Knocker w/ 20 Rivets (A0315)

Zildjian's current 22-inch A Swish Knocker (A0315), 20 rivets, B20 bronze. The direct descendant of the swish cymbal tied to jazz drummer Mel Lewis, and the exact cymbal Charlie Watts named as his own in a 2012 interview.

Cymbals

Zildjian A Zildjian Medium Ride 22" (A0036)

Zildjian A Zildjian Medium Ride 22-inch (A0036). Cast B20 bronze, classic bright A Zildjian voice. Ginger Baker bought his first Zildjians in 1963 and rode a 22-inch A-family ride, modified with rivets, through Cream's 1968 tours and beyond; this page reviews the plain modern version of that same family and size.

Cymbals

Zildjian A Zildjian Thin Crash 18" (A0225)

Zildjian A Zildjian Thin Crash 18-inch (A0225). Bright B20 bronze crash from the A Zildjian family, the same line Avedis Zildjian was developing when Gene Krupa asked him for thinner cymbals in the 1930s, a request that helped create the crash and splash as categories.

Cymbals

Zildjian K Constantinople Medium Ride 20" (K1016)

Zildjian K Constantinople Medium Ride 20-inch (K1016). Hand-lathed B20 bronze reviving the dark, dry "Old K" sound. Zildjian and DRUM! Magazine credit bebop-era vanguard drummers, Elvin Jones foremost, as the reason the modern K Constantinople line exists.

Cymbals

Zildjian K Custom Dark Crash 18"

Zildjian K Custom Dark 18-inch Crash cymbal. B20 bronze, traditional finish, special over-hammered design for fast, bright attack with extra-fast decay. Tré Cool's documented Green Day crash.

Cymbals

Zildjian K Custom Session Hi-Hats (K0993)

Zildjian K Custom Session Hi-Hats (K0993). Modeled on Steve Gadd's personal pair: a 13 15/16 inch medium-weight top over a 14 inch medium-thin bottom, brilliant finish. Built for controlled studio work, reversing the usual heavier-bottom hi-hat formula.