On drums...

Since I sold the Classix, I treated myself to a new cymbal. 22" Ultra Thin Istanbul Signature Ride, very dark and mysterious, with rivets; three light and two heavy.

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Gregory

Alright, I'll go first: How do you like it? How does it sound/characteristics....

Dave, I just had a rehearsal and used it for the first time. I love the cymbal.

The rest of my cymbals are all quite focussed and dry. I chose them to allow the sound of my drums to be more distinct, particularly when those drums are played at lower levels, but I wanted something messier, to provide wash when I want it. This cymbal is loaded with wash; there's enough rain to float the Arc, but it is dark wash, not bright. The rivets were added to give a bright sizzle over the top of the dark wash. The cymbal is explosive, can be easily agitated by a brush, yet it is controllable.

It can be ridden to produce a wash of rain, crashed like powdered snow (particularly effective as a dark explosion at the end a descending roll of toms), or used as an accent, when tapped, providing a bed of sizzle over the wash, but without adding the usual brighter tones a lathed cymbal adds. It also provides a great change up from the character from the rest of my cymbal set.

I could have said,"Just like Elvin Jones's cymbal", but then I couldn't have used all that descriptive metaphor and hyperbole.

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Gregory

Interesting..Being mainly a "rock" guy, I have mostly viewed cymbals as accents instead of as a voice. So, most of my cymbals are loud. I look forward to someday exploring more sides of all of my instruments, perhaps when that happens I will have lots of loud stuff to sell....

Yer jus'spos'ta lookit it 'n say it's perty!

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Gregory

It's perty.....

Although I prefer shiny ones....

I still play rock - or something like rock - along with other things. The difference is not so much in the musical form but rather in the volume at which it's played. My drumming still has force and energy (as much as I'm able to produce), but once a certain volume is achieved, I'm done. At levels exceeding that threshold, either someone needs to provide amplification or I'm not playing. Fortunately, the guys haven't rebelled: if they can see me playing my flatride but can't hear it patterning along, it's time to turn down.

We play a lot of songs that are tempting to bash out. In rehearsal, I just stop playing and we have "that" discussion again.

When I was mid-thirties, I had to learn to play loud. It didn't come naturally to me, although once I started, it felt not only natural, but it also made me feel masterful. Unlearning 'loud' is much more difficult than learning it ever was. Kinda like learning to live without drugs, I assume.

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Gregory