Meinl Pure Alloy Custom and Polyphonic Selection
I really enjoy the variety of cymbals that Meinl produce and that I’ve been able to try so many of these different models and ideas over the years; there’s been a lot off them and I can’t really think of any that I’ve disliked.
Recently, I was given a selection from the Pure Alloy Custom and Polyphonic lines.
Meinl says of the Pure Alloy Classic line that – Made in Germany from pure Alloy bronze and hammered into shape. To make these cymbals visually stand out, we applied a finish on top called custom smoked-brone and polished the bottom to a brilliant finish.
The selection I was given consisted of 8” splash, 12” Trash splash, 18 & 20” Extra Hammered crashes and a 20” Medium Heavy crash.
I like the way these cymbals look; a dark, patterned top with a brilliant underside.
8” splash – I have to say, this is possibly one of the ‘splashiest’ splash cymbals I’ve come across.
I admit that I do like many different splash tones. As with anything cymbal-related, it’s dependent on what I’m doing, but as a general base line sound, this is it; quick, bright and sharp. The type of thing that would cut through a loud band.
12” Trash splash – Having tried many ‘trash’ offerings from different companies over the years, I’ve found they tend to vary somewhat in that trashy quality. This cymbal, however, given that it’s supposed to be a splash, hit a good balance between that ‘trash’ quality whilst remaining splashy.
18 & 20” Extra Hammered crashes – Whilst I’ve only had limited time with the thinner, darker type of cymbals that Meinl makes, these seem to be a cross between that type of thing and a more regular type of cymbal. They’re thinner, but not so thin that they have a huge spread.
I found the 18” to have a bigger spread than the larger version and they both seemed to noticeably top out after a certain point. That aside, they both sound cool to me.
20” Medium Heavy crash – To be honest, this mostly sounded exactly like its description, albeit maybe a little darker than a regular model. A nice clean sound, slightly on the heavier side.
The Pure Alloy Customs offer something a little different both visually and sound-wise and there’s a tonne of different models to choose from.
https://meinlcymbals.com/en/cymbals/PureAlloyCustom
The Polyphonic models fall within the Byzance Traditional range. Meinl says that – Starting with hand-hammering and following with hand lathing in Turkey, the word ‘traditional’ accurately describes their hand forged shape and deeply rooted sound. The Traditional series features our broadest voice for Byzance, with a wide variety of sizes and weights that blend into any musical setting.
10” Polyphonic splash – This was darker than the Pure Alloy Custom splash. For me, this is a good all-round splash sound; thin, quick and pleasing. I really liked the way it sounded in combination with the Pure Alloy Custom 8” splash.
15” Polyphonic hihats – A long time ago, I used to think that 15” hihats were too big for me and I’d never use them.
Ok, so people change with time, but with these hihats, I barely even noticed they were 15s. They’re not overly heavy and play very easily, they’re buttery smooth and sound wonderful. I would happily use these as an all-round hihat.
These B20, hand-hammered hihats are only available in the 15” size.
22” Polyphonic ride – This B20, medium weight ride cymbal is hand-hammered and also quite versatile. It definitely feels like a medium weight cymbal, with a good balance of wash, definition and bell sound being available from it. The darker undertones are very pleasing and it’s also pretty crashable too.
The Polyphonic ride is also available in a 21” size.
https://meinlcymbals.com/en/cymbals/ByzanceTraditional
Once again, I enjoyed all of these cymbals.
I liked the distinct visual of the Pure Alloy Customs with the range they offer, and the deep contrast of the Polyphonic models with their darker tomes and more traditional look.
More over at – www.meinlcymbals.com
David Bateman
May 2023