Just A Quick Question

jmhudak17

Member
I got a used 21" Zildjian Sweet Ride (traditional finish) today that I got off ebay. I've only played one ride in my life before (a really low level TAMA one that came with my Imperialstar.) Anyway, when I play the sweet ride, it seems like the individual stick hits get lost and a lot of vibration and sustain is happening. After I play a large amount of 8th notes, the cymbal doesn't stop like my other one did; it continues to vibrate unless I choke it. I'm completely fine with this; I actually like the sound, but is this what the cymbal is supposed to be like, or is there something wrong with it? Just checking.
 
Aye, it's perfectly fine. The technical term for the sustain you're hearing is 'wash'. Really low end cymbals you get such as Zildjian ZBT's and Solar by Sabian have hardly any wash at all, that said there are high-end rides that have little sustain such as Dry-Rides.

There's a large variety of choice when it comes to rides and all cymbals as a matter of fact, some rides have lots of stick definition and little sustain, some have an equal amount and others lots of wash and little stick definition. Aside from that, the way you play has a big effect on the sound; if you use the shoulder of the stick you'll open up a lot of the wash of the cymbal but if you play with the tip of your stick you'll get more of a defined sound.

Some people don't like a lot of wash with the rides when they're playing their drumset on their own but what some don't realise is that this wash it going to help your ride have presence in a live situation when you've got Guitars etc in the mix.

Hope you're well,

Kev
 
Actually, I guess I didn't describe it well enough. I had my drum lesson an hour ago, and my drum teacher found two large cracks near the bell (I quickly examined early and didn't see anything). I bought it on ebay (the guy doesn't accept returns), so I'm going to have to try to argue with him or ebay, unless I can find some miraculous way to fix it.
 
Back
Top