Categories: Cymbals

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.

Specifications

Manufacturer Line: K. Zildjian Constantinople
Type: High Ride
Style: Medium Thin
Alloy: B20 – CuSn20 – 80% Copper, 20% Tin
Diameter: 22″
Metal Work: Machine Hammered, Machine Lathed, Brilliant Finish
Weight: 5 Pounds
MSRP: $868 USA; Street Price $495
Zildjian

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.

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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.