A Fast Splashes and Crashes

GEARREVIEWS
098 RHYTHM JANUARY 2006
initial response. The difference is that
while the new Fast crashes are indeed
lightweight, fast and fairly deep in
timbre, they nevertheless retain their
brightness. So yes, they’re incisive,
but they also have body and character.
Zildjian suggests this is in part due to
the newly designed, smallish bell. I’ve
got a couple of ’70s A Zildjian Medium
crashes and I sometimes fi nd them
heavy going because they have large
bells making them a little too full for
me. The bigger the bell on a cymbal the
more ride-like it becomes and crashing
it can feel a bit oafi sh. So it was with
great pleasure I found these new Fast
crashes responded instantly and have
that lovely silvery smoothness – Zildjian
describes it as ‘buttery’ – which really
does make your mouth water. You know
you can slip a Fast crash or splash in
at will without getting the evil eye
from your singer.
The smaller bell and lighter weight
also mean the cymbals are not so loud,
but are quicker to build up and to decay.
They spark into life with the merest of
glancing blows, provide just enough
wash and then die gracefully. They don’t
hang around muddying up the sound.
Somehow Zildjian have achieved this
without sacrifi cing too much body,
so that the overall tone is extremely
pleasant. There’s an orchestral purity
which is tasteful without being insipid.
Starting with the 14" and 15" these are
lightning strikes which will serve to
make precise interjections in any style
of music, adding colour and variety. As
you get to the 16" and 17" the pitch is
getting ever deeper, but the leading
edge is just as sharp. A beguiling
mix. For some reason the 18"
crash has a proportionally bigger bell
than all the others. In fact, in profi le it
looks more like my old medium As. The
result is that it does seem to have more
of a ‘ding’ than the rest, with ever so
slightly more complex undertones,
although it blends in with the others
perfectly well.
Making a splash
When these characteristics of light
weight and small bell are transferred to
the splashes, the result is the quickest
response and decay of all the A Zildjian
splashes. Since the smaller a cymbal
gets the greater proportion its bell takes
up, all splashes tend towards a high
pitched dinner gong ‘ding’ when you tap
them. This is certainly noticeable on the
8" and 10" splashes. There is a razor-
sharp, hissing attack followed by a
bell-like afterglow. But once again, the
fact the new bell is a bit smaller helps
diminish this effect and it’s nowhere
near as off-putting as it is with some
splashes I could name. If you bash the
8" or 10" and then trap it with your
other hand then you just get the sharp
impact, and believe me, sharp is the
right word.
The 12" by contrast is almost a mini
crash cymbal and has correspondingly
less of the bell sound and more of the
silvery splash. It seems to me to sit
They spark into life with the merest of
glancing blows, provide just enough wash
and then die gracefully. They don’t hang
around muddying up the sound.
KEY FEATURES
The ‘Fast’ of the title refers
to the fact that not only do the
cymbals have a lightning response
they also have a fast decay.
The A Zildjian has come a long way over the past eight
decades and these latest additions are sophisticated,
sensitive and musical. You only have to glance them and they
explode into life. But don’t be put off by the lightweight tag –
Matt Sorum plays them so they are by no means fragile
wallfl owers. I took three out on a gig last night and found the sound
to be recognisably A Zildjian but with a clarity and brevity that buzzes
with energy. They are extremely easy to get along with and make a
valuable addition to the estimable A Zildjian family.
These are the fastest, brightest and smoothest of the A Zildjian
crashes and splashes, setting a new standard.
The light weight inevitably brings
a slight loss of body and power.
★★★★★
RATING
The new profi le small bell
helps shape the characteristic
fast and smooth sound of the
new crashes and splashes.
Each cymbal is delicately
lathed, hammered top and
bottom and polished to a
gleaming golden sheen.
neatly between the splashes and
the crashes – which is a very handy
niche to fi ll.
RHY120.gear_zild 098RHY120.gear_zild 098 6/12/05 10:49:21 am6/12/05 10:49:21 am