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(NOTE: I thought I had already posted here at tigerbill.com about this cymbal, but a search yielded nothing. If this ends up being a double-post, my apologies.)

I'm actually going to break this up into two posts. If it's OK with everyone, I'm going to cut-and-paste a couple of posts I've put up on other forums. Not only is it because I'm lazy,

but this was my first time dealing with a cymbal that really was brand new - as in, I played it within a week or two of it being completed by the cymbalsmith. I noticed after some time that the sound and feel of the cymbal changed perceptibly. With that in mind, I'm going to post a review of the cymbal that I penned shortly after taking delivery of it, and then I'll post a follow-up that I wrote about a month later, discussing some of the changes I'd observed.

July 2007

Well, the FedEx truck arrived this morning, with the Skiba-fied Paiste in tow. I'm still getting acquainted with it, but I thought I'd share some pictures and sound files.

First off, let me share what this cymbal was originally. I picked up a Paiste Prototype on eBay (what it's a prototype of, I have no idea), but it turned out to be a little too close in sound to my 2002 Power Ride to justify keeping it.

Sound files (no EQ, single overhead microphone):

• Single strikes: bow of cymbal, then bell
• Riding on bow of cymbal
• Riding on bell of cymbal
• "in context" (bow and bell along with full kit)

Not a bad cymbal, but I found the wash to be a bit overwhelming - it took a serious effort to balance this cymbal against the other components of my kit.

After a few failed attempts at selling it, drawing only minimal interest, I decide to explore the option of sending it to Mike Skiba for reworking. We exchanged a few e-mails, in which we discussed the cymbal (Mike agreed, upon inspecting the cymbal, with my assessment that the cymbal didn't seem to be a "finished product" - it's like it left the factory before they finished working on it.) I also mentioned the other rides I own, and told Mike what kinds of playing I normally do.

Since I didn't really need or expect Mike to morph this into a specific ideal of a cymbal, I opted to give him carte blanche - to see where the cymbal wanted to go.

So, three or four weeks after I originally sent the cymbal off to Mike, the FedEx truck arrived this morning with this in tow:

(and a few more images, presented as links to save bandwidth)

http://www.malletjazz.com/cymbals/skiba/skiba_005.jpg
http://www.malletjazz.com/cymbals/skiba/skiba_006.jpg
http://www.malletjazz.com/cymbals/skiba/skiba_007.jpg

Sound files:

• cymbal alone (5A stick, same as in the original sound files in this thread)

• cymbal w/kit (5A stick, same as in the original sound files in this thread)

• cymbal w/7A stick, with and without chain

(I tried to match the way I recorded the cymbal originally - same sticks, same mic', no EQ, etc.)

My initial impressions? It's hard to tell - but the more I play it, the more I like it. It's a far, far more intriguing instrument than the one I sent to Mike.

I knew going in that this wouldn't end up being the typical Mike Skiba creation that I usually see - i.e., a thin, wobbly, jazz-oriented ride. I knew it wouldn't be an "Old K" sort of sound, perhaps due to the alloy (EDIT: which Mike confirmed is B8), and the shape - the bell is really, really big. The more I play it, tho, and the more I listen to these sound files, the more I like it. It's not shy, but unlike the original incarnation, I don't seem to have any trouble getting it balanced in the "mix" of my kit. It's definitely drier than the original version - the wash on that cymbal was very strong, perhaps a little too strong.

(I'm also surprised at how much I like it with a chain draped on it.)

It doesn't have quite the "instant 'ooh!'" factor that my other rides have (22" pre-serial 602, 20" Paiste Dark Energy proto, 22" Agop LE '06), but I think that's more a reflection on the kind of cymbal that this is, and not the quality - this strikes me as a cymbal which sounds its best within the context of a band, and not by itself in a practice room. The quality definitely is there - from what I can tell, the cymbal seems to be "in tune" with itself - no bizarre overtones - and from a player's perspective, the feel of the cymbal is consistent. To me, the most important thing about any musical instrument is that the player feels comfortable playing it - and I definitely like playing this cymbal.

(And that bell should flat-out kill for Caribbean music.)

To me, the best thing about having this cymbal modified: in its original form, there wasn't a whole lot of depth to the cymbal. By that I mean, that after about five minutes of playing it, I got the sense that I knew everything that cymbal had to offer. ("OK, this one sounds all right - yep, 'is what it is.' Next!") Post-Skiba, it's a far more interesting cymbal - something I want to spend time exploring. The old version of this cymbal probably wouldn't have gotten used much, if at all. This cymbal on the other hand, will get used.

It's definitely going to fit a niche in my collection - useful for situations where my old 602 wouldn't be loud/cutting enough, but not as loud/cutting as my 2002 Power Ride. It should be good for more amplified gigs, maybe even big band work. (Now, if only I could GET some big band work!!) Surprisingly, this cymbal sounds far more at home with my non-descript 1970s A Zildjians than it does with any of my Paistes, at least at first blush.

For those of you keeping score at home: this is a 21" cymbal, and Mike lathed it down from 3050g to its current 2770g.

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moderator, mallet forum

Edited by James Walker (Sun Jan 04 2009 06:36 PM)