Categories: Cymbals

Zildjian 22″ Z3 Rock Ride Cymbal

The Z3 represents Zildjian’s series of high power (heavy) cymbals that are made for metal drummers who want to project their sound all the way into the restrooms at concerts. They have large bells and symmetrical hammering, which are factors that are partly responsible for their high volume output. This 22″ Z3 ride typifies the sound you can expect. It will punch through, with a bright, crisp ping, no matter how many guitarists you have.

Some drummers who are not familiar with the Z3 might think that they are entry level (budget) cymbals, but that’s not the case. These are very high quality, B20 cymbals, made for a specific purpose (wear your ear plugs when you are playing them).

Specifications

Manufacturer Line: Z3
Type: Rock Ride
Style: Heavy
Alloy: B20 – CuSn20 – 80% Copper, 20% Tin
Diameter: 22″
Metal Work: Machine Hammered, Machine Lathed, Brilliant Finish
Weight: 5 Pounds
MSRP: $541 USA; Street Price $315
Zildjian

The close-up photo shows the wide, deep lathing across the entire cymbal, including the bell. The hammering is deep and consists of concentric rings around the cymbal. They also appear as spokes, radiating out from the bell, and they are interleaved, meaning that a hammer mark from one spoke is in between the two hammer marks on the spokes on either side. This very unique, and very precise hammering, is part of the sound.

In the spectral analysis shown below, you can see peaks at 340 Hz, 490 Hz, 690 Hz, and 890 Hz. Then the sound level declines in the 1 kHz – 4 kHz region before rising to have several peaks in the 5 kHz – 9 kHz band. At this point, the response plummets 40 dB and trails off to 40 kHz. The concentration of peaks in the 5 kHz – 9 kHz area is what gives this cymbal its sharp ping sound. As you might imagine, this cymbal is not really for crashing. The bell sound is pretty good, but I have heard other Zildjian ride cymbals whose bell sounds I like better.

The ping on this cymbal decays at about the same rate as the Zildjian 22″ A Custom Ping Ride Cymbal.

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.