need recommendation - ride cymbal...

Hi guys, wife's the drummer [i'm not, please forgive] and am looking for a gift (it's been something she's wanted though I probed, she doesn't have a specific make/model n mind)

looking for a ride with a real chimey/pure sound up on the bell

It's a secondary so the particular sound off the bow isn't quite as important (though something not too washy would probably compliment her kit as it is - but I'm sure she could find a use for the different sound either way - something that has a lot of variation as a "color cymbal" would be cool)

she plays at lower/moderate volumes (at least when she's hanging out on her ride ) so something that responds well to a ligher/medium touch would be cool

any suggestions?

and sorry if I didn't give enough info

I have a Zildjian K Custom Dark ride which I love and works well with the light touch. It's just a great cymbal IMHO. Check one out, she might really like it.

thanks man!

Bosphorus has some great lines.

Check out their site and listen to some sound samples. I play a Versa, but they have several weights and variations to choose from.

Mike Vosbein is the contact.

www.bosphoruscymbals.com

Try either a Sabian AA (if she likes a brighter sound) or HHX (if she prefers a darker, drier sound) Raw Bell Dry Ride. I own the AA model and the bell sound is great. You can hear sound clips of both cymbals at www.sabian.com.

Also, it's good to know you make a habit of probing your wife, keep doin them husbandly duties!

I pretty much walked into that one

(ah, the only forum where actually applies)

thanks for the recs!!!

Tell us what her other cymbals are if you can - that will help.

I appreciate when people from other forums come to ask us well-written, good questions about drums, especially for gifts. For that reason I'm going to do everything in my power to refrain from pointing out that he mentioned "wife" and "probed" in the same sentence. :poke:

Edit: Just realized Whiplash beat me to it.

Seconded on the K Custom Dark. It's a good all-rounder with an awesome crash sound to boot. On the other hand, it's a bit on the washy side, but try it out and see what you think. Try out a bunch of the other hand hammered (as in K, K custom, HH, HHX, hi end Paistes) as well, and don't be afraid to go with your gut instinct when you hear each one. Some guys who work in music stores are knowledgeable, but some aren't, so take advice from them with a grain of salt.

Sabian HH Raw Bell FTW!

The AA Raw Bell is also very good...

So, you're lookin to give your wife a ride?

*guh guh....guh.....giggidy*

"The hot chick who was Italian or maybe some kind of Spanish"

anyway, thanks guys -- gives me some direction and places to start with

pretty cool that you guys are willing to work with a no-nothing know-nothing

Of course my friend, did you thought this was the guitar forum?!?!?!?

hehehe

What other cymbals does she use? Maybe a pic of the kit might help give some better suggestions. You can tell a lot about a drummer by look at the kit.

+1 on the Bosphorus suggestion. BOTH of my main rides are Bos -- a New Orleans 20 and a Turk Medium 22.

I don't think you can usually buy direct though, so if you want to get hooked up with a great dealer I can help you with that. Just drop me a Private message.

whoops!

yeah I guess knowing her kit/style could be important

now this is from a non-drummer, so bear in mind some of the qualitatives might be a bit skewed (and I'm probably using bad terms -- FORGIVE!!!)

her primary ride is a hand-me-down (not in a bad way, just mean it has "history") Zildjian -- it's decently old 22", fairly flat profile , the bell is kind of small and clanky and crashing it is maybe a little...I don't know gongy maybe (though maybe that's typical for a ride that size?)

She tends to (now this is coming from a neophyte - so grain of salt) maybe "underplay it" or not excite it that much so she gets quite a bit of 'tick' from the sticking itself..or maybe that's just the cymbal itself..but she doesn't really lay into it hard

[don't get me wrong, I mght be misclassifying her as dainty...I wouldn't say that's true, back in the day she used to play with a heavier hand - she's just a more subtle type player these days]

One thing I have noticed, she will switch to riding her cowbell...and I think that's kind of part of the deal, since she doesn't really have a "clear" bell sound on a cymbal, I think she's substituting

her hats are just Sabian AA regular 14s (she has a pair of other 15s somewhere that are darker - but I haven't seen em out for months and months - so kind of a non-issue, hell maybe she sold em) -- I'd say she plays em open (like maybe sometimes she using them as a cheap substitute for a second ride????) or plays with the pedal quite a bit as opposed to keeping em closed (rock style?)

she'll sometimes mount something for color, but that's more a toy - like she has an 18" china with rivets and a cheapie or two...she never has more than one up at a time and it's just kind of "for fun"

her kick is like 22" but pretty damn shallow and plays with a single pedal -- she's not into "thunder"

she has mounted toms, but I think that's more for keep the kit fairly standard and for guests and such - I don't see here using em much

she tends to sit in her "triangle" kick, snare, cymbal (ride or hat depending) and for fills tends to do rhythmic change-ups on those pieces for instead of throwing to toms or crashes

eh, hope that helps

I think she's kind of looking for a ride that's maybe a little more aggressive that how she's using her (for lack of a better term) dark jazzy kind of ride

like when I she her go to the cowbell I'd say she's kind of driving things a little harder off that as opposed to playing more sly lines which she's do when she's laying back...if that makes any sense at all

Try either a Sabian AA (if she likes a brighter sound) or HHX (if she prefers a darker, drier sound) Raw Bell Dry Ride. I own the AA model and the bell sound is great. You can hear sound clips of both cymbals at www.sabian.com . Also, it's good to know you make a habit of probing your wife, keep doin them husbandly duties!

I also have the AA Raw Bell Dry ride (21") and really like it. Nice bell sound without it being too obnoxious, defined sticking on the bow and a nice combo sound on the bow when your close to the bell. It doesnt crash well, but I dont really use it for that. Nice sounding overtones when riding it. Overall, I think its a great ride cymbal.

I got off CL from a guy for $120 !! just awesome. I probably would have gone with the HH Raw Bell as I liked it slightly better, but for that kind of price, I couldnt pass it up.

Edit: If she's digging those AA hats, the AA raw bell dry might be a good choice after all. BUt if you think a darker jazzy sound is what your after, the Sabian HH Raw Bell Dry Ride would be an even better choice.

Zildjian armand.

K custom dark ftw

^ This

/thread

I would have agreed with you up until recently, but the last couple of HH Raw Bell Dry Rides I played didn't do it for me. Not sure if they were just dogs, or if I've gotten spoiled by my Bosphorus rides. I will say this -- for a nice musical "chime-tone" bell on a very versatile ride cymbal, check out a Sabian HH Medium Ride. I have one of those for sale right now, too.

I know surprise presents are a great thing, BUT...

A ride cymbal that is perfect for her might be best tried out in person.

When I bought my current ride cymbal about 4 years ago, I tried several placed on a drum set and played the pattern from "time loves a hero" by Little Feat, similar to the studio versiopn of "Susie Q" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, just a snare, bass, ride bell pattern. I picked the PAiste Signature Dry heavy ride 20". It has a great bell sound and a clear sticking sound off the rest of the cymbal with only a mild wash build up that did NOT over power the stick ping. This was chosen with my wife listening across the room with a few other customers and then with my wife playing the pattern with me across the room.

MY trip to the drum shop was a short day trip (90 minute drive one way)and included dinner and other shopping. Keeps 'em happy ;>)

boomerweps

It does tend to be a problem in our relationship - it's extremely difficult for us to buy surprise presents for each other for those kinds of reasons.

But the conversation is helping anyway for the direction (sooo many options) -- she doesn't really define or communicate her tastes or sometimes isn't really aware of em, but she MOST definitely has em (she's very willful)--I've had to learn to mine that info over the years

It's not atypical for me to do some initial legwork to present her with options or deal with some of the detail work

for example, I have a drumkey on my keychain...she doesn't. She would not be able to tell you that her hats are Sabian AA regulars...to her they are "my hats"

On the plus side, it's not meant to be her primary, so there is a little more wiggle room.

In some ways, getting her something she has to stretch to fit into might be kind of fun - but OTOH something she won't enjoy won't be so fun

she's knows she wants something new but resists change

If I just let her loose, there's a good chance she'd come home with a second ride exactly like her first...or possibly some mallets and an ice cream cone (she did that once when she left to pick up some fish food)

It doesn't help that she's like 3 times smarter than me, but also completely disorganized in her personal life

either way I'm learning a lot and the input is helpful

I use the Zildjian A Custom, it has a booming bell, a bright punchy tone, and when you want to ride the edge it has a killer bright sustain. It's also very versatile and can be played with any kind of music.

I understand, I bought my HH used, so the patina and the mojo of the previous owner may be helping... I have never played a new one. How are those Bosphorus rides? What type of music do you play with them, jazz, rock? I was looking for a "rideable" crash, mostly for jazz and funk (even though most of the time I play alternative/grunge/modern rock), and was looking at the HHX Evolution 18" crash....

Sorry, back to topic.