Dream 24″ Bliss Half Cup Ride Cymbal

Dream Cymbals are manufactured in China, being totally hammered and lathed by hand, directly from the cast bronze disc, rather than put through rollers to flatten them before hammering. The results are cymbals that have a very strong wash that sustains. The current review covers their 24″ Bliss Half Cup Ride Cymbal. This basically means the bell is about half the size it normally would be. This gives the cymbal a strong ping, and just enough wash to make it interesting. The bell is crisp without a lot of ring, because the bell is small in relation to the bow. The crash is gong-like, and therefore, it is not really suitable for crashing for any type of rock or jazz.

Shown below is the spectral analysis of a single ping. There is a very large peak at 240 Hz, and this gives the cymbal its gong-like character when crashed. Notice that after 2 seconds (yellow graph line), that peak is almost the same intensity. The overall main body of the response is relatively flat, notwithstanding a large peak at 2.9 kHz. This is not a high enough frequency to make the cymbal “bright” but adds substance to the wash. The response extends out to 15 kHz, which gives riding some sheen, before declining to 40 kHz.

The ping is fast, with a short sustain. So, a single ping does not produce a lot of wash. It is only with continual riding (which is what you would be doing when playing) that the wash emerges.

Click HERE to listen to an audio sample, which will include crash (when appropriate), ride, and bell sounds (these are 24 bit, 176.4 kHz wav files, so be sure your sound card is capable of handling these high resolution sound files).

If your sound card cannot play the high resolution file, click HERE to listen to an MP3 sound file.

RETURN TO DREAM INDEX.