In some basic ways, a drum is a drum. As a kid, I figured anyone could buy the same drum head heads as Bonham used with Zeppelin and get the same basic sound, maybe fill in for him once in a while. Well, maybe not quite, but I do still believe you can get a decent boom out almost any drum if you tune it right.
Case in point: my first kit. It was a four-piece, $125, no name, purchased used from a newspaper ad. After some tuning, it sound fine. The cymbals it came with were another story. They were stamped out pieces of junk. They basically sound like ka-ka.
There's a lot of centuries old alchemy in the making of a good cymbal, and even an idiot can tell the difference between crap and the sustained ring, rich with overtones, of a nice forged and hammered Zildjian, Paiste, or even Sabian.
The year I got that first drum kit, cymbals were on my Christmas list. My dad went to Manny's and got me some high hats that were pretty good. They an identifying stamp that said "MANNYS," and the guy behind the counter told Papa they were Zildjian seconds. I don't know about that, but at least they were cast and hammered. They had that CHICK! sound, and when closed down, that PSHTT! that you wanted. They were decent.
Eventually I saved enough money and went shopping for a real Zildjian ride cymbal. A fresh faced kid, 14 or 15-years-old, I approached the counter. The guy asked me what kind of music I played. "Rock," said I. His face lit up. That was apparently enough unique information for him to immediately produce a recommendation. "I have a really nice one in here," he said, and pulled out a 20" Zildjian Ping ride, second from the top in a stack behind him. He played a few strokes on it, gave me a knowing nod and a wink. "Nice, right?" It sounded so different than the junk I had at home. Who was I to argue?
I wouldn't think of buying a cymbal now without auditioning at least a couple of dozen and even then I had the sense that I should have. On the subway, heavy cymbal in tow, I chided myself, "I acted so young, so dumb and shy in there!" I was sure I had a lemon under my arm. "That jerk was just waiting to for a sucker like me to pawn this thing off on."
Once at home, I played my way through a Doors tape. A warm feeling of contentment slowly washed over me as I floated through "Riders on the Storm." I'd been wrong. People weren't bad. The guy was an angel and this cymbal rocked. I loved it.
I was also an instant hit with my buddies in the garage. The signature "Ping" tone cut through the guitars with it's namesake sound. It was super thick and produced a great gong sound when hit with a mallet neat the edge or with a stick on the edge itself.
As I could afford it I purchased a 16" crash, then an 18" crash. After comparing my no name high hats with those in the store costing hundreds, I realized they were pretty good too.
I used the ride for about 10 years. My Ping never cracked, it never failed me. Today, when someone IMs me, "I'll Ping you later," I hear a sound effect in my head. It's my cymbal.
Before I sold it with the rest of my kit, I sampled the thing on my TX16W for posterity.
Good cymbals are essential to a kit and they are what really can help give you your signature as a player. Choose carefully.
Or maybe just get lucky like I did.
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