field trips – Cymbalistic

CYMBAL DAY – 2/26/19

Posted on February 27, 2019February 28, 2019 by todd6ishop

I visited Cymbal & Gong HQ yesterday to play cymbals and acquire stock, and the theme of the day was GREAT LITTLE RIDE CYMBALS. I played a number of really good 18 and 19″ rides and crash-rides, and as always, the consistency of these cymbals was impressive. Everything I played was very solid, and most of my selections were made on very subtle distinctions, or just stylistic choices of what I wanted to have in stock. I’ve noticed that each shipment of cymbals has its own character; this group was generally moderately light, with prevailing clean, controlled sounds, rather than very dark, funky, or exotic sounds.

Here is what I got:
Two 20″ Holy Grail Jazz Rides
Two 20″ Mersey Beat Crash-Rides
19″ Holy Grail Jazz Ride
Two 18″ Holy Grail Crash-Rides
18″ Mersey Beat Crash-Ride
18″ Leon Collection Crash
Two 18″ Custom unlathed “Krut” Rides – Both dry cymbals, light-medium, one very dry, with a handsome smoky finish.
Two sets 14″ BARGAIN Hihats – one medium, one light. Nothing particularly wrong with these— they were just used by endorsers a little bit before being returned to C&G. Generally bright, higher pitched cymbals with a bright finish.

Here is the video of the selection process— the sticks I’m using are Bopworks Birdland model, and Mel Lewis model. The Birdlands are very light, and I have struggled a bit to find my touch with them. The Mel Lewis sticks are more robust 7As, and get a little fuller sound from the cymbals.

If you hear any cymbal you like, let us know, and we may still be able to get it for you. Many of these will be shipped to other dealers soon.

Here is what is played in the video:

0:01 20″ Holy Grail Rides – Took two of these— left and right, not middle. 1907 and 1915 grams.
1:17 19″ Holy Grail Rides – Took the one on the left. 1628 grams.
2:46 18″ Holy Grail – Selected one the left. 1411 grams.
3:39 18″ Holy Grail Rides – Selected cymbal on the right— same as the one above. 1717 grams.
4:33 20″ Mersey Beat Crash-Rides – Took the two on the right. 1907 and 1915 grams.
5:34 20″ Leon Collection / Leon with patina – I was looking for a Leon ride cymbal, but all of these really handled like crash cymbals. The patinated Leon on the right was very good, and came closest.
7:21 22″ and 24″ Leon Collection
8:42 18″ Leon Collection – I think I took this cymbal. 1336 grams.
9:19 18″ Mersey Beat Crash-Rides – I took one 18″ MB, possibly the one on the right. 1411 grams.
11:38 18″ “Krut” custom unlathed Rides – Took the center one, and the special patina cymbal set up at 13:08. 1472 and 1569 grams.
14:29 14″ Mersey Beats Hihats
14:58 14″ Hihats – Possibly HG?
14:37 14″ Leon Collection Hihats
16:12 14″ Leon Collection Hihats
16:51 14″ Leon Collection Hihats
17:32 14″ Hihats – The light set of bargain hats. I believe both sets of bargain hats are American Artist series. 765/902 grams.
18:05 14″ Hihats –
18:39 14″ Hihats – These may be the medium bargain hats. 942/1159 grams.
19:09 16″ Holy Grail Hihats – I was looking for 16″ hihats, but these were all a little heavier and lower pitched than I was hoping for.
19:55 16″ Holy Grail Hihats
20:29 16″ Holy Grail Hihats
21:31 16″ Janavar Hihats – This is a series of rock cymbals, but these are not particularly heavy— nice lively mediums.
22:11 18″ Holy Grail and Kervan Crashes – Most of the 18s were in ride and crash-ride weight this time; here I was looking for a fast, thinner crash. Took the one on the left after 23:33.
23:55 8″ Holy Grail Splash
24:07 10″ Holy Grail Splash
24:35 20″ Holy Grail China
24:54 22″ Holy Grail China – This was a very interesting cymbal— not as thin as most Chinas, it really handles like a ride cymbal. I actually don’t know how it compares to Mel Lewis’s famous swish knocker, but it seems like this would make an excellent big band China ride cymbal.
25:22 24″ Holy Grail China
26:20 22″ Holy Grail China (same as at 24:54)
27:53 Two Chinese-made cymbals, one modified— not Cymbal & Gong products

Another visit to Cymbal & Gong

Posted on November 9, 2018December 11, 2018 by todd6ishop

A few videos from today’s visit with Tim Ennis at Cymbal & Gong headquarters.

Labeling and cold-stamping the Krut 22″ Ride “Clevon”:

As we discuss in the video, we should see more of this “Krut/Turk” style cymbal in 2019, under the series name “Midnight Lamp”— there was another new series that was going to have that name, that will now be called “Oaktown.”

Briefly demonstrating four new Holy Grail Jazz Rides— a 19″ selected for Michael in Berlin, a 22″, a 20″ and another 22″. These 22s especially are rather deep, mysterious, funky cymbals. The 20″ will be getting a special heavy patina. The stick I’m using in all of these videos is a hickory Vic Firth American Classic 5A— a much heavier stick than I normally use.

Playing a lot of 16″ Holy Grail Crashes, 20″ Jazz and Medium Rides, and a few other items. Most are Holy Grail, or Kervan— which is HG without a patina. Also some Leon Collection, which is a custom line of generally light, bright, airy modern cymbals. The last cymbal played is a prototype of a new series of rock cymbals. If you hear any cymbal you like, email us with the exact time it appears in the video. Many of these will be shipped to other dealers soon.

Playing some Mersey Beat 18″ Crash-Rides. These cymbals will be on hold for a short time.

Choosing cymbals

Posted on October 28, 2018October 29, 2018 by todd6ishop

UPDATE: Videos of individual cymbals are now on YouTube, with more coming tomorrow (10/30). All will be listed on this site this week.

While we are getting the recordings and descriptions of the new cymbals together, here is a rudely-edited video from the cymbal selection process on Friday. If you want to purchase anything you hear, send us a note, including the exact time that the cymbal is being played, and we’ll do our best to locate it.

Recorded on an iPhone with a Rode VideoMicro microphone.

Order of cymbals played:

0:00 – 22″ Holy Grail rides Richard and Louis, with patinas. I believe Richard is on the right.

0:41 – 19″ Holy Grail rides and crash/rides. None of these were purchased, but we can likely get them if you contact us before 11/5. Same with other cymbals in the video.

1:35 – 20″ Holy Grail jazz rides. We took several of these.

3:28 – 20″ Holy Grail rides – adding some slightly heavier cymbals. Cymbal & Gong 20″ medium rides are typically in the 2050 gram range— very light for a medium, and very versatile.

6:00 – Two 20″ Mersey Beat crash/rides. We took the one on the left.

6:45 – Two 20″ American Artist rides. This series has more medium-weight cymbals, with a bright finish.

7:25 – 20″ Kervan jazz ride or crash/ride. Kervan is the same as the Holy Grail jazz weight, but with a natural finish. Patinas can be applied to all cymbals if you wish.

7:50 – 22″ very light Holy Grail jazz rides— under 2100 grams— and the unlathed “Krut” ride. The Krut is a little thinner than the jazz rides, with a deep but well-defined sound. Normal HG jazz rides are ~2300 grams.

12:00 – Playing more 22″ Holy Grail rides. At 14:30 we discuss doing a special, extra heavy patina on that cymbal, which has a distinct muting effect. That cymbal is on hold at C&G if anyone wants it— we won’t be listing it on this site this week.

15:00 – Adding some slightly heavier 22″ Holy Grails.

17:48 – New custom series “Midnight Lamp.” I believe sizes are 14, 16, 18, 21, and 22. Let us know if you’re interested in this series— it may be possible to get these cymbals if the dealer who ordered them passes; certainly more can be ordered. It’s undecided whether this will be a regular series.

22:25 – 18″ Holy Grail crashes; I believe some rides and crash/rides are mixed in. I had a hard time deciding— there were a lot of nice 18s that sounded similar (I continue to be impressed by C&G’s consistency), and I only took three.

29:39 – Chinese/swish cymbals. Sizes are 18-24″. Fairly unique design with a wide flange and large bell. Weight is approximately medium-thin. This was not a great room for listening to swish cymbals; at the time they seemed very explosive and somewhat uncontrollable for riding. But the one 20″ I brought back to my studio is actually a great performing swish; should be great for light riding (typically you only ride lightly or extremely loudly on a swish anyway), very responsive for light accents, and of course the powerful crash is always available. Cymbal & Gong smiths have controlled the more obnoxious/abrasive overtones that are often a problem with Chinese-type cymbals.

34:30 – 15″ Holy Grail light hihats. Again, there were several excellent sets of these, and I had a hard time choosing.

Holy Grail

Posted on September 15, 2018October 4, 2018 by todd6ishop

Originally posted on the CRUISE SHIP DRUMMER! blog in February 2017.

I’ve been paying some visits to the Portland company Cymbal & Gong recently, and needing to write a full-fledged profile of the company. Until I get that done, here are brief reviews of a couple of cymbals I bought— it’s very hard to be around C&G’s products without buying them. The company is run by Portland drummer Tim Ennis; working with a Turkish cymbalsmith, he has K-type and A-type cymbals manufactured to his specifications, and he applies a variety of patinas to them. Full details on his products coming soon.

17″ Holy Grail Crash – 1067 grams
Holy Grail is the name of this line, and aptly so. I never thought I could get so excited by a 17″ crash. 1067 grams puts this in the thin category, with traditional, uneven lathing as you might see on an old A or K Zildjian. Patina is a very rich antique bronze— again, like an old K— with some green accents. And the cymbal plays like an old K. Have you ever played a 50-60 year old cymbal that has seen thousands of gigs? That’s the way this cymbal feels; by itself it seems slightly dead, with a slight funny twang. Played on the drumset with a band it sounds incredible; it’s a very responsive, fast crash, but it’s also a shockingly good ride cymbal, with great definition and no riding up. And it has a great bell sound.

Jazz drummers today seem to feel anything smaller than 22″ is a joke, but this is a true bebop cymbal— the sound from all those 50s albums. Best cymbal I’ve ever owned.

Cymbal & Gong seems to really excel at these crash cymbals, because we played a number of them at their headquarters (Tim’s house), and a number of them sounded great.

20″ Custom Ride – 2023 grams
Custom is not a line of product, it’s a catch-all name for short runs or one-offs to a variety of specifications. I would categorize mine as a light medium ride, which is lathed like an Istanbul Sultan or Bosphorus Antique— unlathed bell, unlathed band in the playing area, fully-lathed bottom. And it has a similar sound to those cymbals, which is difficult for me to define. The upshot is that it is a great-sounding K-type cymbal, which plenty of definition, that crashes beautifully, and has a really nice bell sound. This one has a beautiful hand-oiled finish that gives it a very deep bronze color; he had another similar 20″ with a matte green patina, which was rougher, more aggressive-sounding, and a beautiful honey-colored 19″ that was a little higher-sounding, very tight, and slightly more refined.

Here’s my friend Stephen Pancerev playing those cymbals. The 19″ is on the left, and my cymbal is on the right: