Zildjian 22″ K. Zildjian Constantinople Medium Thin High Ride Cymbal

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 sound is very complex, as you will hear in the sound file. It can be used as a crash, but its primary purpose is as a ride. It has a nice ping that is matched in level with a strong musical wash, as does riding the bell. This cymbal would appear best suited for jazz ensembles because of the strong wash being as loud as the ping.

The close-up photo shows the deep hammering and wide, deep lathing. The bell is also lathed and has some smaller hammer marks.

The spectrum has peaks at 290 Hz, and the largest peak is at 380 Hz, which is the primary tone of the wash. There are other peaks at 680 Hz and 750 Hz, followed by a lower reasonably flat response in the 1 kHz to 16 kHz, then a rapid attenuation to 30 kHz. Notice that there is very little sound below 300 Hz.

The attack is quick with a rapid decay.

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 ZILDJIAN INDEX.