Categories: Cymbals

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.

Specifications

Manufacturer Line: Bliss
Type: Ride
Style: Medium-Heavy
Alloy: B20 – CuSn20 – 80% Copper, 20% Tin
Diameter: 24″
Metal Work: Hand Hammered, Hand Lathed, Buffed Finish
Weight: 7 Pounds
MSRP: $449 USA; Street Price $292
Dream Cymbals

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.

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Editor-in-Chief Emeritus. John E. Johnson, Jr. founded Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity in 1994, shortly after publishing a hardcopy book of the same title. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity until 2022. John has been involved in audio and video for more than 50 years, having built radio transmitters, amplifiers, turntables, and speakers from scratch. He was also one of the founders of the Northern California Audio Video Association, now The Bay Area Audio Society. John holds four university degrees, including a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, and has published numerous scientific books, along with dozens of scientific articles on biomedical research topics as well as imaging technology. He was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of two medical/scientific journals for 20 years. John holds several patents, including one on high resolution image analysis and one on a surgical instrument. He has been affiliated with NASA, The National Institutes of Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Stanford Research Institute, and The University of California at Berkeley. He is President of the consulting firm Scientific Design and Information, Inc., which is based in Redwood City, California. John resides in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife and multiple kitties! His daughter, Cynthia, who was an integral part of SECRETS for many years, resides in San Francisco.