120-125 Soundlab
3/10/08
3:22 PM
Page 122
ZILDJIAN Armand Series Cymbals BLAST FROM MY PAST BY ANDY DOERSCHUK
E
ver feel victimized by the fine print? Do you long for some truth in advertising? Well so did I, until I got the chance to play the muchballyhooed Armand Zildjian series. Zildjian introduced these cymbals in the Summer of ’07, touting them as classics that harkened back to the sound of ’60s drummers like Hal Blaine and Ginger Baker. Named after the company’s deceased patriarch, Armand Zildjian, who cut his teeth in the family factory, these cymbals promised to bring back the nostalgic sound of early A’s – fertile territory for old codgers like me, who consider Are You Experienced and Wheels Of Fire to be the first and last words in drumming. So after taking an extra swig out of the Geritol bottle, I opened up the package and began throwing cymbals on stands. Within minutes, I became a believer.
CLASSIC PROFILE
You have to give Zildjian credit for showing restraint. At first glance, the Armand series is most notable for its traditional qualities rather than wild reinvention. With a low profile and a large, gently tapered bell, each size and type features
DETAILS Armand Zildjian Series Cymbals MODEL
SIZES
PRICE
20" Ride 21" Ride 16" Thin 16" Medium Thin Crash 18" Thin Crash 18" Medium Thin Crash 13" Hi-Hats 14" Hi-Hats 10" Splash
$471 $517 $348 $348 $410 $410 $518 $578 $198
FEATURES Tight lathing on top, A Zildjian lathing on the bottom; machine hammering; uncoated finish. CONTACT Avedis Zildjian Company,
22 Longwater Dr., Norwell, MA 02061. 781-871-2200. zildjian.com
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tight lathing on top and the company’s standard A Zildjian lathing underneath. Small and shallow machine hammered dimples encircle the bell in virtually indecipherable rings that are spaced approximately 0.5" apart. Nothing is overstated or flashy – from the low-key silk-screened logos on both sides of the disc to the untreated finish, which promises to give Armand cymbals a nostalgic road-worn patina over time, these cymbals seemed as if they had just stepped out of a time machine.
RIDE CYMBALS
Noticeably heavy in your hands, the 21" ride cymbal packs a lot of bronze. It offers a vast number of sounds and dynamics, including a surprising delicacy when played softly in the middle of the bow with a wood-tip stick. At this volume it emits a dainty high-end ping hovering above a warm smokiness, which enjoys a long hang time. It’s surprising how quickly the character changes as you gradually increase the attack – suddenly it shouts with much greater authority, adding a host of complementary frequencies to that cutting ping. All these characteristics explode violently when you glance a blow across the lip. Playing the bell with the taper of your stick brings out a new set of even higher-pitched tones. Predictably, the 20" ride sings in a higher voice than the 21", although I found that pitch wasn’t the only difference a measly inch could make. By comparison, the fundamental tone of the 20" was more focused, with a narrower range of overtones that replaced the smokiness of the 21" with a more metallic undertone. Crashes delivered less of a roar and more gong-like notes, while riding the bell offered a better approximation of a cowbell than on the 21".
CRASHES
My selection of Armand crashes came in two sizes (16" and 18") and two weights (Thin and Medium
Thin), which offered an excellent opportunity to explore the differences inherent in such specs. Speaking in ballpark terms, the small sizes erupted with a more diminutive crash while the larger ones were decidedly more assertive. Similarly, the Thin crashes possessed more high-end overtones while the Medium Thin models hovered somewhere in the middle of the scale. Let’s take a look at each one individually. The 16" Thin crash revealed an appealing bell-like tone with ample splashy-ness that effectively cut
through amplified performances and a shimmering decay that quickly dissipated. Though the 16" Medium Thin model felt beefier in the hand, it reacted to a swift stick stroke in a manner that was remarkably similar to its thinner cousin, with almost precisely the same degree of volume and decay. The only discernable difference was the fundamental pitch, which inhabited a lower range. A strong stroke quickly opened up the 18" Thin into a wide range of dancing high-end overtones, which faded just as rapidly into a