I got a cymbal to replace a similar model I sold to our man in Berlin, Michael Griener, last year: a 20″ Cymbal & Gong Holy Grail Jazz Ride, 1893 grams. Has a special heavy patina, which dries the sound somewhat. In selling them I name them all individually to differentiate them— let’s call this one Werner. I have another C&G 20″, but I was looking something for a “left side” role. Usually I want something a little airier for that, but in this case the relative dryness contrasts nicely with my 22″, which has more spread. This 20 also serves nicely as a main cymbal. I made sure I had a nice pitch differential between this cymbal and the others I regularly use— a 22″ A-type Holy Grail, and a funky 17″ Holy Grail thin crash.
By the way, in selecting this cymbal, I played a dozen Holy Grail 20s in rapid succession, all of them fantastic— the weights varied, but every one was absolutely solid. My final selection (the whole process took about 15 minutes), was based purely on pitch and weight. I love this cymbal, but every other cymbal I played was just as good.
