The ride cymbal can be an enigma, albeit a nice one. That’s why the world needs choices. And, the more the merrier in my book.
The search for the ‘perfect’ ride cymbal can be ongoing for many and an absolute for others. For me, out of the several dozen or so rides I own, I can’t honestly say there is one that has or does everything I could possibly ever want. There’s a couple that are close, but still aren’t quite there. That’s why the world needs choices. Enter these new rides from Zildjian.
As part of the big bunch of cymbals we were recently sent we also got four lovely new ride cymbals. These rides were a new 20” Renaissance ride, a 21” K Custom Organic ride and 20 and 22” Kerope medium rides.
20” Renaissance ride
This cymbal was designed to complement the 22” version. Like the bigger model, it is thin in weight (Zildjian says between 1,786-1,871 grams), and is designed to provide clean stick definition and being able to crash without being overwhelming.
Looking back at what I said in 2012 about the original Renaissance ride, I knew I said I had liked it a whole lot, but I had forgotten that I had said it was my favourite of the batch we had been sent at that time.
Move forward several years to now and I will hand Zildjian my absolute congratulations for again making this version of the Renaissance ride my favourite of these cymbals too. There seems to have been a slight refinement in the sound and feel it offers. I will go as far to say I liked this model more than the original version.
Ok, it won’t do loud situations, but it had a lovely bow sound, a big crash sound and had a large dynamic range overall and I like those attributes in a cymbal.
As you’ll hear, the cymbal presents a light, defined sound with lots of wash too.
21” Organic ride
‘Featuring a variety of unique attributes, the 21″ K Custom Organic Ride emits a dry, but articulate and open tone color.’
This cymbal features a wire-brushed finish on its top side for a clean stick articulation, and a clear bell which cuts through.
Being of a medium-thin weight, it”s designed to be heavy enough to play as a ride cymbal but also light enough to open up and crash on.
I have to say that I’d not actually heard of this cymbal prior to it turning up.
As I said above, it has a nice dark hammered top with a Brilliant (that’s shiny in normal language), unhammered bottom. Visually, it certainly is quite organic and interesting looking.
The tone from this cymbal was more defined that all of the other models in this group. The sound was dark and had a defined stick sound, with consistent overtones. There was a heavy element to the underlying sound and feel but this wasn’t overpowering.
Overall, this is not a heavy sounding cymbal but has a solid, thicker than medium sound.
Kerope Medium rides
These two new 20” and 22” Medium ride models have been released to build on the launch of the Kerope line.
Zildjian says this slight increase in weight from the original versions allows for more stick definition without sacrificing the bell, and rich, dark crash sounds. Both models are also said to carry slightly more volume than the standard models, and are perfect for any musical setting.
I found the 20 to have a nice defined ping to it but with a nice underlying build up and a clear bell sound. The 22 was the same, just slightly deeper in pitch. Both cymbals were quite ‘vibey’ and were enjoyable to play. I would say that these two were the most general/multi purpose of the group.
Overall, four very cool new ride cymbals.
More at www.zildjian.com and some more videos on these new cymbals – http://zildjian.com/newfor2015
David Bateman
