Vinnie's new cymbals

[Paul Marangoni]

http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/showca ... s-a-series

The age-old adage – “don't fix it if it ain’t broken” – may be wrong after all. At least that’s how it appears with the new and improved profile of the Zildjian’s legacy A Zildjian line.

Don’t worry – Zildjian’s cymbalsmiths haven’t thrown the baby out with the bathwater. Instead, the factory has adjusted the curvature and weights of the line to capture the sweet spot of the A sound, resulting in enhanced crashes, rides, and hats.

Besides the overall facelift, you can look forward to some new A Zildjians in 2013, as well as the return of a couple familiar models. The company will reintroduce the larger sized 19" and 20" A Zildjian Thin Crashes, with their classic, full-bodied sound, and broad sonic range and wash.

You should also check out the all-new 23" Medium Thin A Zildjian Sweet Ride, inspired by the best selling 21" model, which offers clean stick definition for riding as well as a powerful crash component.

http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/c ... iste-602s/

It was pretty monumental news last April when Vinnie Colaiuta decided to revamp his endorsements, which included a big move to Paiste cymbals. Considering his past record of hands-on involvement with cymbal development, it was only a matter of time before Colaiuta put his mark on some new Paistes.

Well, that didn’t take very long! Today the company announced the launch of a trio of new Formula 602 models that reflect Colaiuta’s concepts.

Included is a set of 15" Medium hi-hats that, like the existing 14" size, are soft in feel and finesse but possess a slightly richer low-end tone. Next up is a 24" Medium Ride, which sings with a wide array of deep, complex frequencies, has more overall volume, and is distinctly crashable. And while on the subject of crashes, a new 22" model completes the trifecta with additional accent power that enables a drummer to achieve the characteristic Formula 602 sound on bigger stages and medium-loud volume settings.

If you think this is the last we hear of Colaiuta’s cymbal experiments, well, we suggest you think again.

[circh bustom]

Drumpal, while I understand what you are saying, I still don't understand how you can feel that something as subjective as "they sound good" is concrete. I think Pearl drums sound horrible. TO MY EARS. That doesnt mean they suck or they are inconsistent, I just don't like them. Maybe the inconsistency you are hearing is just your opinion. Maybe, just maybe, you just dont like Z's the way I don't like Pearl. If I hit a Z and it doesn't sound good to me, I just don't buy it. It doesnt mean that it's a bad cymbal. The only time Z's have ever been bad to me was when I would use the wrong cymbals for the wrong gig and they would wind up cracking. I even recently bought 2 new K's on eBay from two different sellers and I have been as happy as can be with them. And that was with taking a chance on the cymbals unheard. There has been only one Z cymbal I've purchased in 20 some odd years of buying quality drum gear. It was a n.o.s. 18" K Dark Crash MT. It cracked on me. Part of me knew it had an issue in one spot. The sound seemed dead in one area of the cymbal. It cracked in 3 years. Again, partly from misuse and partly because of something when it was made. No biggie. I live I learn. Something about the inherent sound of Z's and the feel when I hit them makes me always go there first and I can usually find what appeals to me.

[Paul Marangoni]

I remember an 18" thin Zildjian crash I bought back in '78. Man, that thing was incredible. It cracked about 3 or 4 years later, but it was seriously beautiful sounding. I've never heard anything like it since.

[langmick]

I have a 19" thin crash and yeah, that is a killer cymbal.

[Kurtis]

http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/c ... iste-602s/
It was pretty monumental news last April when Vinnie Colaiuta decided to revamp his endorsements, which included a big move to Paiste cymbals. Considering his past record of hands-on involvement with cymbal development, it was only a matter of time before Colaiuta put his mark on some new Paistes.

Well, that didn’t take very long! Today the company announced the launch of a trio of new Formula 602 models that reflect Colaiuta’s concepts.

Included is a set of 15" Medium hi-hats that, like the existing 14" size, are soft in feel and finesse but possess a slightly richer low-end tone. Next up is a 24" Medium Ride, which sings with a wide array of deep, complex frequencies, has more overall volume, and is distinctly crashable. And while on the subject of crashes, a new 22" model completes the trifecta with additional accent power that enables a drummer to achieve the characteristic Formula 602 sound on bigger stages and medium-loud volume settings.

If you think this is the last we hear of Colaiuta’s cymbal experiments, well, we suggest you think again.

those are some huge sizes. 24 inch ride, 15 inch hats and 22 inch crashes. seems the trend these days is to go super massive with cymbal sizes. for certain music big sizes do fit the bill. heck why not a 26 inch ride and 17 inch hats. need some heavy stands to hold those beasts.

[Riddim]

They look like the old 602/Sound Creation transitional Dark Ride cymbals from the mid seventies, those with the dense smaller moon craters. Actually I thought that Paiste would have unearthen the SC line since they are so much in demand. But those new 602s are probably just as good. Very exciting news, but one will need a deep pocket to but a set of those *cough* *cough* $$$$ + a leg + taxes *cough* *cough*

The SC connection is pretty apparent. I'll have to hear and A/B them.

[langmick]

The 602s are very soft cymbals...not loud at all, and definitely have a high limit in volume.

I have an old series 7 pangish type of china, and it does not have much volume at all. Nice sounding, but it is an odd duck compared to 2002s and most of the Zildjians I've played.

[Matus]

When I say "consistent" I mean sounding alike and having a similar playing experience. It's no secret Paiste has a "master" cymbal for each model, to which every piece coming out of the oven is compared.
When you gig and tour hard, cymbals break. It's part of the job. And you need replacements fast and consistently. And Zildjian just doesn't deliver that IMO. I used them for many years, some of them endorsing the brand, and every time I broke one I refused to order replacements from the brand, I went and picked one from the shop, which didn't mean it was the best choice, but only the best available.
About sound, every time they re-designed a line they kept killing the high end and durability. Just look at Ks, compare a dark crash from the 90s (big capital letters) to the modern ones (classy letters). In comparison, modern lines sound like crap and just don't cut through. Even the Z Customs were ruined. And A customs sound thinner now than back in the day. I have the old A Custom hats and picked my Paiste Sigs trying to emulate them because nothing in the Z catalog sounds like that.

[bstocky]

A lot of massive cymbals are actually quite thin. They're not that heavy to pick up or put on your stands. I bet Vinnie's cymbals are thin and easy to bend. I have a 24" K.Light ride and it's thin. I've picked up Rock/Earth/Leopard rides that required far more strength to carry.
A bunch of guys do use 16-18" high-hats already. I've been experimenting with that idea for years. I use a 16" Ozone and 16" EFX as a weird distorted high-hat. The big hats are not louder or heavier. They're lower in pitch and have a mellow, not so bright and cutting sound/vibe to them.
As far as using a 26" ride, don't be surprised if you see it. I think Sabian makes custom cymbals up to 26" or 28". It just takes one popular guy to do it and then every company needs a monster ride in their line up.

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Paolo Vinaccia uses a 40" Hubback ride. That's a big cymbal.