Dream Contact 18" ride cymbal Audio #CRI18-01C

The following comments were written by Rob Zollman of Brandon Trading Emporium/Whole Music Learning.

SOME GOOD INFORMATION ABOUT CYMBALS

It's not the brand, it's the cymbal
I've never bought cymbals by brand, because the only important thing to me is how good a cymbal sounds. Every brand has its good ones and bad ones, and everything in between. A good cymbal is a good cymbal regardless of the company that made it. But what's a good cymbal? One's man's pleasure is another man's poison, i.e. we all have our opinions.

To make things more complicated, except for low budget mass produced cymbals, no two cymbals sound alike. That leaves it up to you, the player, to search and discover the best cymbals for your needs. Judge each cymbal's sound in terms of how you like it and how you plan to use it.  

Standards
I don't mean to attack some of the common notions about brands, and even models. Cymbal companies create different models so they can 1) give you a system to help you organize and maybe make sense of all the possibilities, and 2) make more money. What I'm saying is that, even though there are so many choices, it boils down to what's good to your sensibilities.

But now I'll go out on a limb. Certain cymbal sounds and general qualities, just seem more pleasing to a greater number of listeners and players than others. And some of us, including me, have listened to cymbals for so long and in so many different applications that we have arrived at some rough standards, which, surprisingly, we sometimes agree on. We've even developed a cymbal "vocabulary" of terms and descriptions, in order to verbally describe cymbals to each other, and explain why we like or don't like them. We use words like dark, bright, dry, thin, full, buttery, edgy, trashy and washy, along with common terms such as highs, lows and mid-range frequencies. We also bring in historical references: old K's, very old (Constantinople K's), '60s Zildjians, etc.

In the end, though, if you could use words to fully describe the experience of listening and playing cymbals, we wouldn't need the cymbals. 

Dream Cymbals: high quality, low price
While I've said that cymbal companies are all about the same to me, I've also observed a couple of companies make an unusually high percentage of better sounding cymbals, at least to my ears. One such company is Dream Cymbals.

A relative newcomer to the market, Dream has been breaking ground in the cymbal industry. That's because their cymbals don't sound quite like any of the other companies' cymbals. Not altogether different, and reminiscent at times of the old "K's" or "A's". They're intriguing to me, and I'm still trying to decide to replace some of my old favorites. I like them, and, more importantly, I've found very few "bad" ones. Different, but almost never unpleasant. And they're very reasonably priced. I've concluded that a good Dream cymbal sounds equal in quality to a good Zildjian, Sabian or any other brand, and costs significantly less.

Audio Files
Here at Brandon Trading Emporium, we make a recording of each cymbal we sell (click below). This is intended to help you make intelligent and appropriate choices, so that you feel good about the cymbals you play.

In each audio file, I make comments and play the cymbal in a variety of ways (see below Listening Guide). I try to be objective, but I also give my opinions. While it may be better to avoid giving opinions altogether, as a long time cymbal player, I draw on my experiences to recognize and identify certain characteristics and communicate these to you. Fortunately people have generally appreciated me doing this.

If you're just starting out and don't already possess an ear for cymbals, I urge you to gather your own experiences and make your own judgments. I hope I'm able to help.

Listening Guide

Each cymbal has its own unique set of sounds. Accordingly, you will not hear the same sound file for two different cymbals. However, there are some things that don’t change from one sound file to the next, so to avoid saying the same things on each sound file, the following applies to nearly all of my cymbal demonstrations.

1.  Each cymbal demonstration starts with telling you the cymbal brand, size and model, followed by its unique stock number. For example, “here is the Dream Bliss 20” crash/ride #BCRRI20-01”. Then I may give a brief visual description of the cymbal.  [Please note: Most of the photographs are taken indoors using reflective daytime light, and not using a flash. Highlights are particular to these lighting conditions and will change depending on other conditions.

About cymbal weights   It has become common practice to give cymbal weights, usually in grams. In over 40 years of cymbal buying and collecting, I have never weighed my cymbals, nor have I ever made a spending decision based on cymbal weight. That being said, in consideration of my customers’ requests for cymbal weights, I’ve purchased a digital scale. If not already included, cymbal weight will soon be a part of each description.

2. Different sticks result in different qualities of sound. Variables include tips, size, shape, weight, material and brand. While I can’t go crazy demonstrating lots of different sticks, I do believe the single most variable, particularly when it comes to the sound of a cymbal ride, is the shape of the stick tip.

Accordingly, most cymbals are demonstrated with olive, acorn and ball tips, usually in that order, and always explained on the sound file. Unless otherwise noted, sticks are hickory and generally around a 5A weight. I believe that covers a fair amount of ground where sticks are concerned.

3.  Different locations on the cymbal result in different sound qualities. I demonstrate rides close to the edge, in the middle and closer to the bell or cup. I also demonstrate the sound of the stick tip and shaft on the bell.

4. Crashes are demonstrated using the shaft (upper shoulder) of the stick.

5. Each demonstration includes a roll played with marimba mallets. For splash cymbals and smaller crashes, I’ll play a choke.

6. Hihats are demonstrated with a variety of open and closed techniques. I also strike each cymbal individually, and may roll on each cymbal. Some pairs of hihats have “top” and “bottom” written on them, others don’t. In any case, I’ll start with the lighter cymbal on top, and I may reverse the cymbals as well.

7. Comparisons and uncommon uses: From time to time I may compare a cymbal of one brand, model and size with others of the same model and size. I may also point out uncommon uses I’ve found for a particular cymbal or cymbals. For example, I’ve found pairs of 12” splash to be interesting as hihats, or pairs of 18” crashes to work very well as a pair of handheld crash cymbals for band or orchestra.

All demonstrations are subject to microphone, recording and reproductive qualities and differences. No demo can replace the actual sound of being there. Even live experiences vary from room to room, playing with or without music, etc.

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*  SELLER'S CHOICE means that of all the in-stock cymbals of this brand, model and size, this one is rated by Rob Zollman as the best sounding. This is simply an opinion and should be taken as such. Cymbals are by nature unique and we recognize that everyone has their personal tastes. But why does Rob feel qualified to state his opinion? Over the 40+ years he's been playing and collecting cymbals (he currently has over 60), Rob has noticed that people frequently ask if his personal cymbals are for sale, and upon finding they're not, he is often asked to rate and select cymbals for them.   

** In order to offer free shipping on our items, we reserve the right to seek the least expensive shipping prices available to us. In some cases that will be USPS Parcel Post. If you want to receive your item in the shortest amount of time and are willing to pay a few dollars additional in order to do so, please email us and we will let you know the difference in shipping cost. Thank you.

International, Hawaiian and Alaskan buyers -- We now give you $10 off your shipping cost to partially compensate for the free shipping we would have given you if you were a US buyer.