CRAZY-BOINGY-GONGY-TRASHY-DARK

Earlier this month I saw a pair of these Silken Trois Thin Ride 20"s at a local music chain for the list price of PhP 9,990.00. They had the same basic ugly-looking, crazy-boingy-gongy-trashy-dark sound as my other Trois cymbals, but was a better alternate ride than my 20" crash because it had a higher ping, and had the same roaring wash as my 16" crash. While I passed on them because I'm a cheapskate, I told the salesperson that I'd get one if they dropped the price by half.

My wish came true a few weeks later when the store FB page announced that all Silken cymbals were discounted by 50% (PhP 4,995.00). They had two available. The first one had a higher ping, a relatively focused wash that went on forever, and a hum that lasted even longer. The second had a lower ping, and a very scattered but shorter wash and hum. Also, I just noticed last weekend that my two Trois crashes had spots with slightly different "pitches" when played softly with mallets, as much as a major 3rd. I checked this out on these rides and the same was true. Apparently, the hammering is not even, hence the intervals. It was a good thing that I was the only customer in the store so it was quiet enough for me to really hear every little sound. In the end I chose the first, more focused one because it slotted in with my other cymbals. I have a recording session on Monday, and this will surely tag along. 

THE PAISTE TRIO

Just before Christmas, I saw a locally rare 22" A Zildjian Swish Knocker in JB Music MOA. I've always been intrigued by the concept, but never actually played one. So I couldn't fathom why it didn't live up to the hype when I finally played it. I didn't know if it was this particular cymbal, or the model in general, but it just sounded uninteresting. Nevertheless, I kept thinking about it over the holidays. A few days into the New Year, I saw someone unloading his stash of Paiste cymbals at insanely cheap prices on the Facebook Marketplace.

I always liked small bells. My mother had an old set of four small ones on a rope, and I tickled them every time I passed by them. But I never had any of my own. So when I saw the seller had a pair of bells, I checked the models up on Youtube.  They seemed to perfectly fit a sound installation I was preparing for a hip art gallery, featuring cymbal wash.  Because they were so cheap, I jumped on them immediately. The 10" 2002 Mega Bell sounds like a cymbal passed through a wah-wah, and the 6" 2002 Bell Chime sound is like an energizer bunny, it goes on, and on, and on and ..... . I don't know if I'll ever use it for a band gig, but I'll surely tickle these whenever I pass by them.    

I had already sealed the deal on the pair of bells when I saw the seller also had a 20” Sound Creation Dark China, which I’ve read is the stuff of legend. My mind was still on the Swish Knocker, and I hesitated because it wasn't something I felt was needed. I asked the seller to bring it along anyway, just in case 1) I would like it if I heard it, and 2) I could cough up the extra money. He was clearly trying to seduce me when he said it was the one cymbal in the collection he didn’t really want to part with, but offered me an additional discount if I added it to the package. All I had to do was tap it once with my finger and I was so blown away that I couldn’t leave without it. And just like that, the dissonance over the inexplicable dissapointment with the Swish Knocker, and the fear of having too many China cymbals, vanished. If my Stagg Traditionals sounds like Chinese opera singers, and my Paiste 2002 22" roars like a typhoon, this one sounds like a mellifluous baritone.

2019 is shaping up to be a great sonic year :-)