John E. Johnson, Jr.

Zildjian 18″ A Custom Fast Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

There are so many lines of cymbals manufactured by most cymbal companies, it is difficult to imagine what they sound like from their name. If someone asked you what is the difference in sound between an 18" thin crash and an 18" fast crash, would you know the answer? I wouldn't. That's the sort of thing we will be working out here at Percussion Reviews. The current article is a review of the 18" A Custom Fast Crash from Zildjian.

Cymbals

Zildjian 18″ A Custom China Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Zildjian first released a China cymbal back in the 1950's in collaboration with Gene Krupa, calling it a Pang cymbal (the collaboration also resulted in the Swish, which is like a Pang, only higher pitched and with more wash). The China went out of production for a while, then came back. Not only does the China cymbal continue to be manufactured today, but in numerous styles. This Zildjian 18" A Custom China Crash looks similar to the original ones, except that it is in a brilliant finish. The sound remains classic though.

Cymbals

Zildjian 18″ A Custom ReZo Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

In my opinion, the A Custom ReZo is one of the best models that Zildjian has ever designed. They have a very distinctive sound because they are thick near the bell and thin near the outer edge, but also because of alternating regions of heavy and fine lathing. Here, we review the 18" A Custom ReZo Crash Cymbal, which turns out to be my favorite of all the ReZo crashes we have reviewed (19" and 20"). It has a beautiful high pitched bell-like ring to it that cuts like a razor.

Cymbals

Home Theater Movie Renter’s Guide – March, 2011

SECRETS Movie Review Team

Sword of War (DVD), The Last Unicorn (Blu-ray), Bambi (Blu-ray), Memento (Blu-ray), Dances with Wolves (Blu-ray), For Colored Girls (Blu-ray), Thelma & Louise (Blu-ray), Raging Bull (Blu-ray), Skyline (Blu-ray), Les Miserables: The 25th Anniversary Concert (Blu-ray), The Miracle Maker (Blu-ray), Rainman (Blu-ray), The Switch (Blu-ray), Last Tango In Paris (Blu-ray), Moonstruck (Blu-ray)

Movie Reviews

Zildjian 18″ A Custom EFX Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

It used to be that about the only special effects cymbal available was the China. All that changed in the past few years when lasers acquired the capability of cutting holes in metal. Recently, there has been an explosion of cymbals with several shapes of holes as well as the number of holes. In a few cases, it almost looks like there is more hole than cymbal. The Zildjian A Custom EFX has its own personality, and it is very agreeable. I suppose "trashy" is appropriate, but that word is used with a lot of cymbals that don't have holes in them, nor are they classified as special effects cymbals. You just have to listen for yourself. This one is 18" in diameter and thin in weight.

Cymbals

Matt Nolan 22″ Bronze Heavy Ride Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Well, sooner or later, I figured I would get around to purchasing one of the cymbals forged by specialty cymbal smiths who make them by hand, one at a time. Matt Nolan, of the UK, is a very well known and respected cymbal smith, and I have been browsing various websites to find one of his cymbals that I would like to have. So, I chanced upon this beauty, which is a 22" heavy bronze ride cymbal, weighing 3583 grams (7.9 pounds). I purchased it for $500.

Cymbals

Earthquake Titan Tigris Floor-standing Speakers

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Earthquake Sound is a company best known for producing knock your socks off subwoofers and amplifiers for home theater. They also manufacture several lines of speakers, including the Titans. The Titan Tigris weighs 89 pounds each and stands nearly 5 feet high, with an MSRP of $9,500 per pair. They are certainly imposing speakers that look the part, and are priced to compete with the crème-de-la-crème of tower speakers. In this review we'll see how they perform.

Floor Standing Speakers

Classe CA-M600 Monoblock Power Amplifier

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Classé updated their Delta power amplifier series in late 2010, including the CA-M400 which is now the CA-M600. The entire amplification signal passes on a single circuit board, and they have introduced a new cooling system called ICTunnel™, which utilizes a fan on the inside front panel of the amplifier that draws aire into the chassis and over some fins that absorb heat fromt the circuit boards. In use, I found the fan to be whisper quiet, with just a gentle breeze coming from the front amplifier port. This kept the entire chassis cool, but also, the temperature of the circuit board is electronically controlled by adjusting the fan speed, to optimize the performance, which turned out to be stellar.

Power Amplifiers

Sabian 18″ HH Hand Hammered Medium Thin Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Sabian's HH series represents vintage sound, meaning dark, with lots of deep undertones. Cymbals in general - except those from Turkey - are machine hammered these days for a number of reasons. One is that the demand for cymbals is high enough that hand hammering every cymbal would just not produce enough product, unless the factory had 100 cymbal smiths hammering away every day. Secondly, machine hammering produces consistency in the sound for any particular model, so if a drummer breaks a cymbal, he can be reasonably sure that the replacement will sound pretty close to the one he broke. Nonetheless, there is a demand for hand hammered cymbals, because the cymbal smith can fine tune the sound and make it unique, and essentially, one of a kind. This review covers the 18" HH Hand Hammered Medium Thin Crash.

Cymbals

Sabian 19″ HHX X-Plosion Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Sabian's classifies their HHX series as "Modern Dark . . . drier, dirtier, funkier". The word "Dark" translates to lots of low frequency undertones, and I think, after having analyzed quite a few cymbals, "dirtier" means more midrange wash . . . more "SHHHHH" to the sound. One of the models is the HHX X-Plosion Crash, and that means it plays loud and is meant to be hit hard. The 19" version reviewed here delivers.

Cymbals

OPPO BDP-93, BDP-93NE (NuForce Edition), and BDP-95 Universal 3D Blu-ray Players

John Johnson, Chris Heinonen, Stephen Hornbrook

OPPO has just released its first universal 3D Blu-ray player, the BDP-93, and will shortly release the BDP-95, which adds a pair of balanced outputs (having their own dedicated DACs). At the same time, NuForce has released two upgrade boards that the consumer can install in a BDP-93 player, or purchase the player direct from NuForce with the card installed (Called the BDP-93NE and BDP-93NXE). This review will cover the audio performance of the three players (only the BDP-93NE, not the BDP-93NXE), as well as the video performence using our Benchmark tests. As you will see, OPPO has overturned price/performance expectations, and especially the BDP-95 is reference quality for less than $1,000.

Universal Players

Sabian 18″ Vault V-Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Sabian's Vault series, from their description, represents cymbals that came about through experimentation. Some work out, and others get tossed back into the melting pot. The present review is on the 18" Vault V-Crash. It has an intense bright sound that will cut through guitar amp stacks. It also rides well and has an excellent bell sound.

Cymbals

Home Theater Movie Renter’s Guide – February, 2011

SECRETS Movie Review Team

Buried (Blu-ray), Saw The Final Chapter (Blu-ray), Alpha and Omega (Blu-ray), Amazing Alphabet (DVD), Numbers Ahoy (DVD), Virus X (DVD), Soul Kitten's Cabaret (DVD), Ray (Blu-ray), Piranha (Blu-ray), "My Soul to Take" (Blu-ray), Almost Famous (Blu-ray), Out of Sight (Blu-ray), Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (Blu-ray), Alice in Wonderland 3D (Blu-ray), RED (Blu-ray), Merlin: Season Two (DVD), You Again (Blu-ray), It's Kind of a Funny Story (Blu-ray), Death Race 2 (Blu-ray), Let Me In (Blu-ray)

Movie Reviews

Sabian 18″ HHX Legacy Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Sabian's HH line represents the dark side of the force, and the HHX are classified as "Modern Dark", with the Evolutions being a specific set of crashes, splashes, high hats, and rides that have special dynamics that make them easy to play. Another variation on the HHX is the HHX Legacy, and the 18" HHX Legacy Crash is reviewed here. It is darker than the 18" HHX Evolution Crash. The HHX series only comes in several diameters, not specified weights, and a Sabian distributor told me that they vary in weight depending on the particular style (Evolution, Legacy, X-Plosion, Studio, etc.)

Cymbals