SMALL CYMBALS

Ever since I started assembling my mini frankenkit, I planned to match it with a set of equally small cymbals. So when I was invited to play for the UP Cherubim and Seraphim's 2nd semester ending concert in May of 2024, this set a deadline to complete the set. 

I've had my Stagg DH mini-China since 2009, and my 10" Armand splash since 2013. So my first mission was to get a small hihat. I found a number of 13", and a few 12" hats. But I wanted something smaller, and with more contrast than my regular 14-inchers. In late 2023, I found a used Zildjian EFX#1, a heavy 10" effects splash. I thought it would go well as a bottom hat to my lighter 10" Armand. That's exactly how it turned out. The Armand is 281 grams, and the EFX#1 is 595 grams. The weight ratio is around 1:2, just like the average ratio of 14" New Beats. One down. 

My next targets were 12-inchers. After weeks of searching, I found one, a pre-owned 12" A Zildjian with a tiny dent in the hole. I figured I wouldn't be hitting it hard, so the dent would not get worse. Grabbed it. But it sounded uncertain. From the drummer's throne, it sounded like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be glassy like a 10" splash, or punchy like a 14" thin crash. But from the audience, it sounded like a normally softer, higher pitched crash.  I resigned to leave it up to time if and when I got used to it Next I found a Sabian 12" AA Mini-China. Unlike the 12" splash, this China knew what it was. It sounded every bit like a small, Western-made China cymbal. Mildly trashy, and just enough loudness to surprise. 

In my previous post, I already mentioned that I selected my new 20" K flat ride for the concert. So that was set. The last choice I had to make was a strange one. It was for the main 16" crash. I've had my Turkish Classic Thin Crash 16 out for some time, and it sounded just fine in my drum room. But when I took it out in practice studios, it sounded strangely stiff and dull. Not at all what I anticipated. So for the dress rehearsal at the concert venue, I subbed it out with my good old trusty 1977 16' A Zildjian thin crash. It's about 100 grams lighter than the Turkish, and was indeed brighter and punchier in the venue. Just what I needed. 

The concert was fun. The entire kit performed just as I wanted. And the kids enjoyed having a 4-piece pop band backing them up. My only problem with this kit was, while the drums and cymbals were smaller and lighter than my regular kit, I used the same stands, which are all double braced and very heavy when put together in a bag. Carrying it up and down the stairs from and to my drum room on the second floor contributed to sore knees afterwards. If and when I gig with this kit again, my next target will be lightweight hardware. 

THE STORY OF TWO K RIDES

I'm an "A" guy. Until recently, all my Zildjian were A's. I love the brightness and shine of them. So it was fitting that my first two K's were unusual, even for K's. 

For decades I only had one ride cymbal, a mid-1970s Avedis Zildjian 22" medium ride, which I love to bits and have used in almost every style of music I've played. Since then I got two 20-inchers, A dark trashy Silken Trois, and a darkish Istanbul Agop Azure. When I completed my mini bop-frankenkit, I thought it would be fun to have an even smaller 18" ride. Fast forward to July 2023, and a 1990 IAK no stamp 18" K Heavy Ride showed up in the Facebook Marketplace. It fit the bill, and the price was right. So I snapped it up immediately. On the one hand, the sound fit the description perfectly. A heavy ride with more ping than wash. But on the other hand, the sound was bright with lots of top end, rather uncharacteristic of a supposedly "dark" K. It's small for a ride, but quite spunky, and punches above its size. 

Next up, a flat ride. I'm well aware of the characteristics of flat rides, like the legendary Roy Hanes’ 18” Paiste 602 on Chick Corea’s “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” album, and Paul Wertico’s double Paiste 22” flat ride setup in the Pat Metheny Group. But they were so rare and unavailable here that I didn't have much hope of ever getting one. Sometime early in 2020, I saw a 20" Sabian AA flat ride going for cheap. But it was far away in Muntinlupa, from a young and naive seller, and at the time I didn't have so a way to pay remotely like gcash or paymaya. So I passed, and it got sold to someone else. Then in January of 2024, another one surfaced. My suki from Angeles, Pampanga had a 1997 20" K Flat Ride. Again, the price was right so I grabbed it. Its difference from a regular belled ride was conspicuous from the moment I first played it. The ping is defined but controlled. The wash is described as "dry". It's short, but the release is not just in terms of loudness. Onomatopoeiatically, it closes down like "aaaaooooouuuu". Also, it is a quiet cymbal, just right for small ensemble work. 

Earlier this year, I was invited to play drums for the UP Cherubim and Seraphim's 2nd sem closing concert. I decided to use my mini frankenkit. Between these two rides, I chose the flat because it was quieter, and would not compete with the children's voices. Read more about it here. 

I'm very happy with these two, as they are perfect for my mini frankenkit. In my next installment, I'll write about the rest of the cymbals I acquired for this kit.