Cymbals Direct

Meinl, one of the leading heavy weights in the cymbal market, has come crashing through with another fantastic line of German made cymbals. The M-Series, created from B20 bronze alloy and manufactured through a high-tech computerized process, gives off a traditional vibe yet are as loud as you need them to be.

Created with versatility in mind, the M-Series aren't cymbals that are pigeon holed into one type of music. Whether you are a professional that plays jazz or a metal drummer that thrashes on your crashes, the M-Series will provide you with crystal clear stick sound.

The M-Series is available in a variety of sizes including; 14" hihat, 16 and 18" crashes, and 20 and 22" rides. These cymbals all come in medium weight.

If it's control you are after, the M-Series Hihats give you a powerful yet constrained response. The bottom of this cymbal is heavy, which results in a fat chick and a clear stick reaction.

The M-Series Crashes are warm in ways that other cymbals cannot match. The sound is rich, with quick response and a shimmer that practically glistens on it's way off the cymbal.

Definition is the name of the game when you grab an M-Series Ride. This Ride is warm, bell like, and gives you a rich, sparkle sound that lasts as long as you need it to you.

Drummers of all genres are talking about the M-Series across the web, and they like what they hear. Following conversations in the MEINL Cymbal talk forum, you will find those who feel the M-Series with go head to head with Sabian cymbals; "The German-made M-Series looks like it will give the Sabian XS20 a good match." For some, the new M-Series means a transformation for their current rig, "Let the MEINL transformation begin!"

Whichever M-Series cymbal you choose to add to your set-up, you are sure to be thrilled with the sound and high quality engineering that is the cornerstone of MEINL products.

Labels: M-Series, Meinl Cymbals, New

Go behind the scenes with Sabian Cymbals. Chris Stankee (Sabian AR manager) & Chris Sears (SMI drum instructor) talk about how Sabian Cymbals are made with footage from the factory. Definitely worth watching!

Part 1: The beginnings
Learn about the copper and tin materials used to create the B20 Bell Bronze castings and the B8 Sheet Bronze. Then see the tempering process, how the hole is drilled in the center and the finishing process.

He then talks about how they tweak the sounds of each cymbals for the various series including hammer marks and lathing.




Part 2: The Sound

Getting more specific on changing the sounds for each cymbal, including the unfinished bell tones.

Interesting insight on how the O-Zone Cymbals were developed.

Session ends with Chris explaining each model with sound samples.

Labels: Cymbals Tips, Sabian Cymbals

Christopher James Adler, more popularly known as Chris Adler, is the drummer of the metal band Lamb of God and the older brother of Willie Adler, the band's guitarist.

Chris was born on November 23, 1972 in Washington, D.C. He went to Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia. He attended college at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia where he was planning a career on network engineering. While in the university, he met his current bandmates John Campbell and Mark Morton.

The multi-talented Chris Adler plays other instruments like the piano, saxophone, acoustic guitar and bass guitar. From 1991 to 1994, he toured the USA. In September of the same year, Chris contacted some members of his freshman dorm year and asked them who were interested in starting a band. It was when Chris decided to go full-time on playing drums.

In 1999, the band signed a recording contract with Prosthetic records. They started to call themselves the Lamb of God. Their debut CD titled "New American Gospel" was released on September 2000. Compared to other underground metal bands, their album was unique because of his unique style, timing and speed combined with amazing guitar work. During the same year, the Modern Drummer Magazine approached him for his first feature article. As the Lamb of God gained popularity, Chris's reputation as an exceptional drummer in the metal genre also grew.

Chris Adler prefers to use Saturn Series Mapex Drums and Gibraltar Hardware. He is the first person from Mapex Drums to have his own signature snare, the Black Panther 12x5.5-inch snare. Chris also uses a Roland pad and TD-7 Module to trigger an 808. He also endorses several drum equipments including Aquarian Drumheads, Pro-Mark signature Sticks, Trick V-1 PRO Pedals and Meinl Cymbals. Chris also helped with the creation of the 12-inch Soundcaster Custom Distortion Splash.

Chris Adler helped Meinl produce the 24" Mb20 Pure Metal Ride. This year, his cymbal setup includes 14" Soundcaster Custom Medium Soundwave Hihat, 14" Generation X Filter China, 8" Classics High Bell Effect Cymbals, 12" Soundcaster Custom Distortion Splash, 8" Byzance Traditional Splash, 14" Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash, 24" Mb20 Pure Metal Ride, 18" Byzance Medium Thin Crash, 17" Byzance Traditional China, 16" Generation X Filter China and 16" Mb8 Medium Crashes.

Chris admits that he still gets nervous before big shows until now. He says he has to watch the video after the show because he blacks out and simply runs on adrenaline rush and muscle memory.

Labels: Artists, Meinl Cymbals

Drum Corps International is the non-profit governing body managing the North American drum and bugle corps circuit for members aged between 14 and 22. Founded in 1972, its mission is to impart a life-changing experience for the junior corps through music and performance. Drum Corps International represents "excellence in performance and in life" for more than 7 million youth in the US participating in musical arts programs.

DCI is composed of a small group of full-time executive and administrative staff. Their office is located in Addison, IL but relocated to Indianapolis, IN on 2008. Since its creation more than three decades ago, DCI grew to be an influential, international youth activity with influences on arts, education and organization. Drum Corps International is the Major League of Marching Band Music.

DCI is the counterpart of Drum Corps Associates (DCA) which controls the senior or all-age drum corps. It is an international association of competitive and aggressive drum and bugle corps. Over 8,000 students compete each year for less than 3,500 available slots in the elite member corps.

The annual DCI Tour provides leisure and entertainment to millions through live performances and nationally-televised events. The tour is made up of over 100 events different cities across the United States. More than 400,000 fans attend this drum event each summer while over 5,000 members directly participate in the event.

The competitive drum and bugle corps is an extreme, choreographed musical event that is shown on football stadium fields. The members of this drum and bugle corps are students with superior levels of excellence in performance of their instruments including band cymbals, drums and horns.. Each drum corps is classified into three competitive categories. Each drum corps is distinctive on how management, staff and members deal with the drum corps experience. Through this experience, the youth acquire different skills and values in life such as discipline, leadership and teamwork.

Labels: Drum Corps

As a drummer new to your instrument or perhaps ready to move beyond your starter kit, the choices for cymbals can get overwhelming. There are so many brands and styles to choose from, it's hard to know which models will best fit your musical style. While a standard drum kit will typically come with a ride cymbal and hi-hat, the other accent cymbals are left up to you to build into the kit. After reading this, you will be able to define your musical style and get pointed in the right direction for cymbals that deliver optimal tones for your style of play.

1. What is your style of play? Who are your drumming idols?
A great starting point for finding an optimal family of cymbals for your style of play is to research other drummers that inspire you and have the tones you're after. Make a list of these players and the cymbals they're using. If any of the players are endorsed by a major brand, that brand's website will typically have a player profile for him/her detailing their entire artist setup.

2. Research the cymbals in your list
Once you have your list, seek out videos of drummers playing them in a full set performance, or better yet... go see them play live. By seeing the cymbals in various settings, you'll learn the tonal differences between the various models and brands quickly and know which cymbals will best fit your setup.

3. Budget is a factor
With this strategy for finding the perfect cymbal, you might find yourself with a list of cymbals totaling $1,000.00 or more. So, at this point, before getting too attached to your dream cymbal, let’s look in the wallet and see what we have to work with.

If the cymbals on your list are outside of your budget, that's OK, we can work it out.

At this point, if you have narrowed down your picks to a specific brand and model, but they are out of your price range, take a look at the cymbal features and write them down.

Next, check out all of the cymbal collections for the specific Brand that you like and understand the hierarchy of the collections. For example, if you decided that you like the Sabian AA Ride Cymbal, you will see that collection is in the upper tier of their models. You’ll also see that Sabian offers a B8 Pro and a B8 Intro series collection where the brand is the same, but the price is much more affordable. So take the list of features from that Sabian AA Ride and see which of the less expensive models have similar features and start a new list of "affordable cymbals".

4. Sample the finalists
Now that you have two lists of options, start sampling audio and video performances of the cymbals on the web and learn as much as you can about the versatility of each model. If possible, as mentioned above, see a live performance of a drummer with the cymbals. You want to hear them played by different people in different scenes to really understand their range and give each one a fair chance.

5. Time to buy
At this point, you probably know which cymbal you want and you can make the purchase. If you are still stuck between a few models, call ahead to a local drum shop to make sure they have the cymbals you are considering and make an appointment to test them.

One warning about in-store testing: the environment for testing cymbals in a store can be quite unnatural as the cymbals are sometimes hung on the wall or you are put into a tiny room to ping it with a stick. This is why your research is so important and why you want to see your cymbal played in a full performance setting whenever possible.

And don't stress: A drummer can never have enough cymbals, so know that your choice today isn't permanent. As your performance demands change, you'll expand your cymbal collection to be more dynamic and increase your range.

Some basic tips for beginners:

• Learn the various terms associated with cymbals, so you can identify a washy sound as opposed to a trashy cymbal. Heavy cymbals deliver a bright response with an extended sustain. Light cymbals provide you with lighter sounds and less of a resonance.

• If you favor hard rock/metal music, you may be interested in heavy rides and crashes in large sizes. For jazz and contemporary music, you could choose medium weight cymbals like 16 inch rides with a few smaller Chinas thrown in.

• The weight and size of a cymbal will influence its sound quality, so brush up on the types of cymbals that are available and what they are made from. Sabian cymbals, for example, are made of bronze alloy and can be purchased in various weights. Sabian recommends starting out with a mid-weight cymbal so you can gauge the cymbal's response to your specific type of drumming. A cymbal with heavier weight has a more powerful response that the thin or light cymbals.

Labels: Beginner Cymbals, Cymbals Tips, Tips for Drummers

The most eye-catching part of your drum kit is the cymbals. They flash and reflect light when you are crashing them, so not only do they sound great, they become part of the show you put on as well. When purchasing cymbals, drummers are attracted to both the sound quality and the appearance. Cymbals can come in different finishes, including dark, aged, extremely dry looking cymbals to those with such a brilliant finish that you can see yourself reflected in them. Not only do cymbals with a natural finish look differently than that of a brilliant, the finishing process can affect the sound of the cymbal.

The difference in appearance between a natural cymbal and a brilliant cymbal starts with the way it is created. A natural cymbal is only lathed. You can see the tonal grooves in the cymbal but there is no extra polish or shine. In contrast, a brilliant cymbal goes through a high heat, high-pressure process that causes it to have a luminous, reflective quality. Each cymbal is hand buffed to a dazzling shine. Brilliant cymbals are favored by those who want a lot of flash with their clash, as they are eye-catching in appearance. Natural cymbals, while still somewhat reflective of light, do not have the same glow a brilliant cymbal would as they are not polished in the same way.

Although some may say that the difference in finish does not affect the sound of the cymbal, most drummers would agree that the brilliant cymbals sound drastically different than the natural. Particles from the cymbal creation process are jammed into the grooves or lathe marks of natural cymbals. Because of the extra particles that are present, the natural cymbal is capable of creating a different sound or tone. Sound travels along the deep grooves, and as it travels it creates a different tone as it encounters the particles along the way. As the brilliant cymbal is heat pressured and hand buffed, an extra layer is removed and all of the particles that would be present in a natural cymbal are shaved off. Smoother grooves would be present, without the distortion of extra particles to slow the travel of sound. The result? The sound of a brilliant cymbal is washier, glassy, and more open than a natural cymbal. Another way to equate the sound differences of the cymbal is that the brilliant provides a brighter sound quality, whereas the natural gives a lower tone.

The differences in the brilliant and natural finishes are like night and day. Choose brilliant for effect, as the shine alone is a showstopper. Cymbals with a natural finish are chosen for their classic, natural sound quality. Either choice will provide you with a great cymbal for your kit.

Labels: Cymbals Tips, Tips for Drummers

Congrats to the winners of the Meinl FACES OF PERCUSSION contest!

Anne Amrehn (Germany), Olivier Verger (France) and Mareike Wagner (Germany) will have their have their smiling faces on the cover of the 2010 Meinl Book of Percussion and will win new Meinl Percussion Instruments!

Labels: Meinl Cymbals