John E. Johnson, Jr.

Dream Cymbals is one of the new companies whose products are manufactured in China. From what we are told, the cymbals are totally hammered and lathed by hand, directly from the cast bronze disc, rather than put through rollers to flatten them before hammering. If that is accurate, I don't think I would want to get into a fight with any of the cymbal smiths, because it must take enormous strength and endurance to perform this task from the raw cast ingot. However, the sound is very revealing, and suggests that it is so. The cymbals have a very strong wash that sustains. Dream has a Bliss 20" Thin Ride and a Bliss 20" Ride, so this cymbal, the Bliss 20" Crash/Ride is a medium thin weight in between the other two. The sound quality is exceptional for a cymbal with a street price of only $144. This represents tremendous value. I expect more good things to come from this new company.

Supernatural Cymbals is one of several small companies that have emerged during the past few years, who are based in Turkey, and who still make cymbals the way they have been made for centuries (except for the electric motor that turns the lathing machine). The cymbals start out as cast bronze discs, which are heated, rolled, cut into the desired diameter for the cymbal, hand hammered, and hand lathed. There is no machining at all. The results are quite distinguishable from machine hammered and lathed cymbals. It is not that one way is better than the other, but rather, you now have several additional choices in sound, and some of them are due to the old world ways of producing them. This review covers the Supernatural 18" Universal Crash. It has a beautiful, distinct, moderately bright crash, and a long sustain. It is one of the finest cymbals I have ever heard, and I think that any of our readers who purchase one will agree with me.

Zildjian has re-introduced the K. Zildjian Constantinople series of rides and crashes, described as being mellow, dry, dark, and warm. Frankly, it is difficult to translate adjectives to the sound, but the proof is in the listening, and I think all four words accurately portray the sound of this particular cymbal, the K. Zildjian Constantinople Medium Thin High Ride. They also have a Low Ride, which we have reviewed, and which sounds somewhat different, but not extremely so. Either one would make a great ride for jazz drummers.

The Z3 represents Zildjian's series of high power (heavy) cymbals that are made for metal drummers who want to project their sound all the way into the restrooms at concerts. They have large bells and symmetrical hammering, which are factors that are partly responsible for their high volume output. This 22" Z3 ride typifies the sound you can expect. It will punch through, with a bright, crisp ping, no matter how many guitarists you have.

The "K" line of Zildjian cymbals have a characteristic "dark" sound, meaning there is quite a strong low frequency component. There is also a K Custom line which is stated to retain some of the original K sound, but with the addition of modern hammering techniques that "enhance the K character." The Zildjian 18" K Medium Thin Dark Crash Cymbal is reviewed here. It has mostly large hammer marks rather than the typical "K" hammer marks. The sound is bright, but with dark undertones, and it has a very fast response. It sounds quite different than the K Custom Dark Crash. It rides nicely, and the bell is very musical.

Classic jazz drummers have tended to use ride cymbals where the sound of the ping is just above (in loudness) a broad wash, with the wash being dark. Often, this is a 20" cymbal that is medium or medium thin in weight. Jazz drummers still use this type of cymbal, but there are also a number of modern jazz drummers, and certainly drummers in the rock scene, where a distinct ping sound in desired. Especially at a metal rock concert, where the amp stacks are maxed out on volume, unless the ride cymbal has a strong ping, it simply will not be heard by the audience. Zildjian makes several ride cymbals that have strong ping sounds to them, but this one is focused on the ping, at the expense of the wash (i.e., making it sound "dry"), for that certain drummer who really loves the ping sound. It is the 22" A Custom Ping Ride.

The "K" line of Zildjian cymbals have a characteristic "dark" sound, meaning there is quite a strong low frequency component. The K Custom line is stated to retain some of the original K sound, but with the addition of modern hammering techniques that "enhance the K character." The Zildjian 18" K Custom Fast Crash Cymbal has the K hammering, plus some bolder hammer strokes. The bell is a bit different than other K cymbals, which gives it a faster response, and also a quicker decay.