Meinl Cymbal Selection Part 2

Ok, so picking up from last time, this little selection mainly features models that were new for 2021, plus the Chris Coleman ‘C2’ ride that came out last year.

22” Byzance Traditional Extra Thin Hammered Crash

I found this to almost be a cross between a china, a crash and a gong. Bit of a mix, I know, but that’s what it reminded me of.

Despite this being a big cymbal, I didn’t find it to be typical of that size.

The ‘extra thin’ should give a lot away with this crash and that’s why I described it as I did. I find that Meinl do this type of cymbal well; thin, dark, lots of spread with character. This is a delicate, sensitive and complex cymbal, which I think does well as a crash, an effects cymbal and maybe even a dark trashy ride.

https://meinlcymbals.com/en/products/b22ethc-m19057.html

21” Chris Coleman C2 ride

This cymbal is properly named ‘C Squared’, and as is quite obvious, is a bit different.

First off, it looks all rough and unfinished, which to me instantly means it has character. It’s a heavy, unlathed cymbal which has sixteen small holes around the edge that are intended to control the amount of wash. Both sides are heavily hammered.

It has a good strong bell and a solid bow sound. It’s got a heavy fundamental ping and feel to it but – with the aid of the holes – has a drier sound with reduced overtones, but not so far that it’s just dead, as it definitely has overtones in there. I found it’s also fairly crashable too considering its weight and profile.

This is a great cymbal and even a friend of mine, a diehard fan of another brand, liked it.

As a ride, I think it’s maybe a little too heavy for more general purpose situations but it’s not so heavy that it’ll overpower everything else. Being heard won’t be an issue though.

https://meinlcymbals.com/en/products/b21c2r-m14582.html

19” Pure Alloy Custom Medium Thin Crash

I like this cymbal. I like the way it looks and how it sounds. To me, it’s a good size and even though it’s 19” it doesn’t necessarily feel that big or clumsy.

Despite the darker look and what that might conjure up in your head, the sound of this cymbal is clean and modern. I could happily live with a full set of these.

https://meinlcymbals.com/en/products/pac19mtc-m19065.html

19” Pure Alloy Medium Crash

Due to a technical issue, this cymbal isn’t in the video.

However, it plays and sounds very much in line with the Pure Alloy line which I reviewed here –

http://mikedolbear.com/reviews/meinl-pure-alloy-cymbal-selection/

The sound it produces is clean and glassy, and like the previous cymbal, doesn’t feel overly large when striking it.

https://meinlcymbals.com/en/products/pa19mc-m19064.html

18” Byzance Extra Dry Trash Crash & Vintage Pure Trash Crash

When the ‘cymbal with many holes’ design/concept first came out years ago, I was a bit skeptical about them. This was mainly due to wondering how something with so many holes could structurally survive more than a few hits. Since that point, I’ve actually managed to pick a whole bunch of cymbals with all sorts of holes in them and I do enjoy them.

If you’ve not tried this type of cymbal before, they’re interesting. They’re fun too. Think of a cross between a crash, a china and a baking tray. Trashy and crashy, who’d have thought?

These two cymbals are very similar, yet still audibly different.

When I took them out of the box I genuinely went back to my initial thoughts above; how can cymbals this thin and with these size holes actually be practical? Well, they are, although I think there’s an obvious limit as to when and where you’d want to play them unless you’re either absolutely loaded or have an endorsement. These are thin cymbals and they are big holes…

The bottom line for me with this pair was they were similar in sound but one was more dead/shorter than the other, that one being the Vintage Pure model.

They both have instant attack, are dry and are unsurprisingly dirty in a trashy sense. I think by themselves they sound ‘nice’ although maybe a little underwhelming. But, when played with a full kit and a kick drum underneath them for punctuation, they really come alive and have great punch and presence, and make an explosive statement.