James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1283
Loc: Connecticut
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This one is a "work in progress." Long story short, I realized that as much as I liked it, my 20" Paiste Twenty ride just wasn't going to spend much time on my kit - it's a heck of a general business ride, but I have a handful of fine general business rides. After a few failed attempts to find a new home for it, I decided to send it off to a cymbalsmith in the Los Angeles area named Matt Bettis.
I gave Matt license to run with the project, and that's exactly what he did. One of his favorite cymbal designs is a reverse china - similar to the Paiste "Novo China" design - and that's where he is taking this cymbal.
Matt's just about finished working on the cymbal, so I should have it in my hot little hands before too much longer. When I do, I of course will post pix and sound files. In the meantime, just to get this thread started, I'll post a few pictures:
1) What it was:
2) "In progress" (I love this photo!):
3) The most recent photo I've received from Matt:
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moderator, mallet forum
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Alistair
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: May 17 2006
Posts: 572
Loc: New Zealand
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Looks good - do I see a rivet hole in the middle photo?
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James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1283
Loc: Connecticut
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Yes - I actually drilled the cymbal for two rivets a few months ago. (Highly recommended - Twenty rides love rivets, IMO). You can seem them in the "before" photo above, and in the "in progress" photo as well.
Both were drilled the same distance in from the edge, and it looks like they're just beyond the flange that Matt has hammered. It'll be interesting to see how it works out - I'm definitely going to drop rivets back in the holes when I take delivery of the cymbal.
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moderator, mallet forum
Edited by James Walker (Sun Jan 04 2009 10:38 AM)
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awfulldrummer
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Jun 26 2007
Posts: 984
Loc: the internet
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i'm very intrigued about this project James. i have one cymbal i own that i'm just not sure what to do with.
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James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1283
Loc: Connecticut
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There are a few cymbalsmiths in the US who will rework a cymbal. I mentioned Matt Bettis, who is working on the cymbal pictured above. There's also Mike Skiba, in New Jersey, who not only rework cymbals, but crafts his own outstanding originals from Turkish blanks.
I have one ride cymbal that was reworked by Mike. I thought I had posted a review of it in this part of the forum, but a quick search yielded nothing. I could have sworn that I did, but nothing came up.
Hmm - I'll have to start another thread. 
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moderator, mallet forum
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James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1283
Loc: Connecticut
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Here she is, weighing in at a svelte 2030g, approximately 650g less than what she was. Jenny Craig, eat your heart out.
...and the obligatory hideous sound files:
with soft vibes mallet
single strikes with stick
cymbal by itself
cymbal with kit
I also put a couple of rivets in the existing holes:
with rivets
(Single small-diaphragm condensor mic over kit, into mixer, into my computer - no EQ/FX. Vater 7A "Manhattan" wood-tipped sticks.)
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moderator, mallet forum
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Alistair
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: May 17 2006
Posts: 572
Loc: New Zealand
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I like the sound - it sounds deeper than I expected from the size of the cymbal!
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James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1283
Loc: Connecticut
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A profile shot, which really gives a sense of how radically the cymbal has been reshaped:
I've had it for about a week now, and I'm really, REALLY liking it. I'm starting to get a handle on where to strike it, and how hard, to get certain sounds from it. So far, it seems to match up nicely with almost all of my ride cymbals - it's both contrastive and complimentary all at the same time.
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moderator, mallet forum
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James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1283
Loc: Connecticut
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Revisiting this thread after a year has passed, during which time:
- the cymbal has "settled" after a massive reworking
- I've gotten better at playing it
- I've dropped a bunch of rivets in it (five, at the moment, having added three yesterday; I drilled for a sixth, but I ran out of rivets.)
hideous sound file of the cymbal by itself
hideous sound file of the cymbal on my kit
The rivets are just a shade over 2" in from the edge. If I had it to do over, I'd put them about 1-1/2" from the edge. The first two drill holes were done before I sent the cymbal off to Matt, and when I added more rivets yesterday, I decided to make them all the same distance from the edge as the first two. It's not bad as is, but I wouldn't mind it if the rivets spoke a bit more easily.
The thing I really like about this cymbal is the variety of sounds it offers. It's great for riding like a swish cymbal, has a nice edge crash, but also sounds a bit like a smaller china if you strike right on the flange, and the bell is usable - distinctive, but more utilitarian than most swish/pang bells I've tried.
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moderator, mallet forum
Edited by James Walker (Sun Feb 21 2010 06:28 AM)
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pljones
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Aug 30 2006
Posts: 171
Loc: London, UK
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That's a lot of sizzle (like, lots!  ). But the cymbal sounds pretty nice!
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