UPDATE: Videos for most individual cymbals are now on YouTube, including the Swish and Krut. Videos for more Holy Grail cymbals coming tomorrow.
Amazing day Friday picking out cymbals at Cymbal & Gong headquarters here in Portland. I continued to be amazed at the quality and consistency of their products.
Among the things I picked up, and currently available for sale on my Cymbalistic site:
• 18, 20, and 22″ Holy Grail — These are the classic K sound. Ten fantastic rides and crashes, all in jazz weight. Many folks have been interested in 20 and 22″ rides, but these 18″ crashes are GREAT— I encourage you to consider them.
• One set of 15″ thin Holy Grail hihats. That thin, washy, dark 50s sound. I played several equally good sets.
• 20″ Mersey Beat ride— I have two currently available.
• 22″ custom Turk-style ride— or “Krut”, as the smiths call it— unlathed, thin, with a low, complex sound, with good definition.
• 20″ Swish. I’ve never gotten to play C&G’s Swish cymbals before, and they were very interesting, with a unique profile— larger bell and wider flange than is found on most other brands. Medium-thin, available sizes from 18-24″.
I got to play another interesting custom line, “Midnight Lamp.” It is cosmetically similar to another brand’s “Anniversary” series, but these are a whole different thing. Dark, well-defined, somewhat more aggressive than the Holy Grails. These were special-ordered by a dealer in California, who has first option to buy them. I think they’re very cool, and will buy them if that dealer passes.
Here is a very rough edit of the video from the session, with me and company owner Tim Ennis. Videos and descriptions of the cymbals I picked out will be coming on the Cymbalistic site in coming days.
List of cymbal models played and times after the break:
Order of cymbals played:
0:00 – 22″ Holy Grail rides Richard and Louis, with patinas. I believe Richard is on the right.
0:41 – 19″ Holy Grail rides and crash/rides. None of these were purchased, but we can likely get them if you contact us before 11/5. Same with other cymbals in the video.
1:35 – 20″ Holy Grail jazz rides. We took several of these.
3:28 – 20″ Holy Grail rides – adding some slightly heavier cymbals. Cymbal & Gong 20″ medium rides are typically in the 2050 gram range— very light for a medium, and very versatile.
6:00 – Two 20″ Mersey Beat crash/rides. We took the one on the left.
6:45 – Two 20″ American Artist rides. This series has more medium-weight cymbals, with a bright finish.
7:25 – 20″ Kervan jazz ride or crash/ride. Kervan is the same as the Holy Grail jazz weight, but with a natural finish. Patinas can be applied to all cymbals if you wish.
7:50 – 22″ very light Holy Grail jazz rides— under 2100 grams— and the unlathed “Krut” ride. The Krut is a little thinner than the jazz rides, with a deep but well-defined sound. Normal HG jazz rides are ~2300 grams.
12:00 – Playing more 22″ Holy Grail rides. At 14:30 we discuss doing a special, extra heavy patina on that cymbal, which has a distinct muting effect. That cymbal is on hold at C&G if anyone wants it— we won’t be listing it on this site this week.
15:00 – Adding some slightly heavier 22″ Holy Grails.
17:48 – New custom series “Midnight Lamp.” I believe sizes are 14, 16, 18, 21, and 22. Let us know if you’re interested in this series— it may be possible to get these cymbals if the dealer who ordered them passes; certainly more can be ordered. It’s undecided whether this will be a regular series.
22:25 – 18″ Holy Grail crashes; I believe some rides and crash/rides are mixed in. I had a hard time deciding— there were a lot of nice 18s that sounded similar (I continue to be impressed by C&G’s consistency), and I only took three.
29:39 – Chinese/swish cymbals. Sizes are 18-24″. Fairly unique design with a wide flange and large bell. Weight is approximately medium-thin. This was not a great room for listening to swish cymbals; at the time they seemed very explosive and somewhat uncontrollable for riding. But the one 20″ I brought back to my studio is actually a great performing swish; should be great for light riding (typically you only ride lightly or extremely loudly on a swish anyway), very responsive for light accents, and of course the powerful crash is always available. Cymbal & Gong smiths have controlled the more obnoxious/abrasive overtones that are often a problem with Chinese-type cymbals.
34:30 – 15″ Holy Grail light hihats. Again, there were several excellent sets of these, and I had a hard time choosing.
