I obtained this particular cymbal because I wanted to see how it compared to my own 18″ 2002 crash cymbal that I purchased more than 20 years ago.
I was amazed at how similar they sounded in tonality (compare the sound samples in the link shown below), which indicates that (1) Paiste’s manufacturing processes are extremely precise, and (2) the cymbal didn’t “mellow with age”. Of course, the test cymbal is labeled “Crash” while my own version is the “Medium Crash”, but the test cymbal appeared to be close to a medium. By tonality, I am referring to the balance in high frequencies vs. low frequencies. My own cymbal has a slightly higher pitch than the one reviewed here. But “Pitch” is different than “Tonality”. In any case, they both sound marvelous, which is why I bought mine in the first place.
The spectrum shows peak levels between 3 kHz and 8 kHz, then a decline to about 55 kHz. The peak volume is at 0.2 seconds, with a moderate rate of decay. Overall, it is a very balanced sound, not dark or bright, and I often see this cymbal described as being one for “general purposes”.
From the closeup photo, it appears to have been hand hammered and hand lathed. In my opinion, a full set of 2002’s would make most drummers very satisfied with their kit sound.
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Click to 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).
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