Category: news

Seattle event next week / Germany in October

Posted on by todd6ishop

There are two more big events coming up:

SEATTLE: Monday, August 28th, 7:30pm – Seattle Drum School – Georgetown
1010 S. Bailey Street, Seattle, WA. 98108 – (206) 763-9700

Drummer hang with myself, Tim Ennis of Cymbal & Gong, John Bishop of Origin Records, Steve Smith of Seattle Drum School, and a lot of other great Seattle drummers who have been asking about these cymbals. I’ll bring all the unsold/unreserved cymbals I have, and Tim will bring a few more things, so there will be a lot of cymbals to play!

Visit the Facebook event page to RSVP, or just show up!

GERMANY – FRANKFURT / BERLIN / MUNICH: October 11-18
Frankfurt  |  Berlin  |  Munich

I will only be able to bring ONE case of cymbals— about eleven 18-22″ cymbals, several of which are already sold. Order in advance to be sure of getting the one you want, especially if you’re in Munich!

FRANKFURT – Wednesday, Oct. 11th – 5-9pm
Kelsterbach – Showing cymbals, and delivering pre-ordered cymbals by appointment at my hotel, which is attached to Wirtshaus zum Schützenhof.
If you pre-order a cymbal, but cannot come to Kelsterbach on the 11th, it may be possible for me to leave your cymbal at the hotel for you to pick up between Oct. 12th-19th.

BERLIN – Friday, Oct. 13th – noon-4pm
Brunnenviertel – The main event of this visit. Meeting at friend and loyal Cymbal & Gong user Michael Griener’s rehearsal studio, close to the Bernauer Straße U-Bahn stop.

MUNICH – Sunday, Oct. 15th – late afternoon
Hauptbahnhof or nearby – Appointment only! Meet me to receive pre-ordered cymbals only— it is very unlikely there will be any unsold cymbals after the Berlin meet.

Contact us for details, and to reserve a cymbal!

Upcoming events!

Posted on by todd6ishop

We have several in-person events coming up, where you can hang out, play, and buy cymbals. Sign up for our mailing list to get updates!

Chehalis, WA – Sunday, July 30th
Alexander Park, 1101 Riverside Road West, Chehalis, WA 98532
Drum gear swap meet organized by members Drumforum.org. Last year about 15 drummers showed up with gear to sell and exchange, in all price ranges. I’ll be bringing new Cymbal & Gong cymbals, and a few personal used items. The meet runs from 11am-5pm, I will arrive in the early afternoon.

[See newer posts for updated info on Seattle and Germany events.]

Cymbal day!

Posted on by todd6ishop

I visited Cymbal & Gong HQ yesterday and played a lot of great cymbals— they just received a big shipment. This outing I was attracted to the thinner, more characterful cymbals. There were many good options for beautiful, clean toned jazz cymbals, with slightly more straightforward character, which would have been easy choices.

I selected:

2x – 18″ Holy Grail crashes
1x – 18″ Turk crash
1x – 20″ Turk jazz ride
2x – 20″ Extra Special Janavar – jazz ride
1x – 20″ Special Janavar crash-ride
1x – 22″ Holy Grail (K-style) jazz ride
2x – 22″ Extra Special Janavar crash-ride
1x – 22″ Special Janavar crash-ride

Note: the jazz rides and crash-rides are very similar in weight and handling. It’s a kind of a C&G convention that all the Janavars are labeled crash-rides. Virtually all C&G cymbals ride and crash very well.

I’ll have the cymbals in hand at the end of the week, and will have videos and descriptions of individual cymbals posted here next week.


About the cymbals:

Extra Special Janavar: Tim Ennis of C&G and I both are very excited about this series— Janavars with irregular K-type hammering and lathing. I’m happy that this custom design was my idea. He received several each of 20s and 22s. All of the ones I sell will get a heavy patina, and the 22s will get a row of three rivets.

The regular Janavar series are excellent light weight, brighter timbred cymbals for rock/pop— with a very pure, musical, bright cymbal tone. I have Tim give them a heavy patina to make them Special Janavars. The patina seems to give them a funkier character, and makes them more appealing to me as a jazz drummer. They were a big hit in Germany last year, and continue to be very popular. They’re really cool, a brighter jazz sound with character.

I chose the lightest and most unusual ones for how they would handle the patina, there were also some great options available for anyone who wants a bright, clean, musical light-medium crash-ride— contact us to get one.

Holy Grail (K-style): I’ve had fewer of these in stock lately— they seem to be selling slowly. Possibly the “regular” Holy Grail seems mundane now, just from the familiarity of the name? If so, that’s a bad perception! People are missing out on some great cymbals for no good reason. They’re such great instruments, and would serve well as the core cymbal in any jazz drummer’s main axe. I played several really nice 22s today, and was sorry I could only get one.

For awhile the foundry was making the Holy Grail crashes a little on the stout side— a lot of them were functioning better as rides than as very responsive crashes. The current round are generally responding better in a crash role, while still riding well. I selected the ones that functioned best both ways. There are a few available that were better as pure crashes, with a more straightforward crash sound, if anyone is looking for that.

Turks: He received several each of 18, 20, and 22″, all it jazz weight. Usually they make them with no lathing, and with a hammered bell. This time they made them their usual way, which is similar to Bosphorus Turks, with a few mm wide band of lathing at the edge, and no hammering on the bell. That gives the tone a little more shimmer, where the non-lathed versions I prefer are a little darker and drier. Still, the ones I chose are excellent.

These will be listed on the site with videos and descriptions of individual cymbals next week. In the mean time, you can listen to examples of all these types of cymbals on the Get Cymbals page and the Cymbals Sold page.

COMING, END OF JUNE: Becken Deutschland

Posted on by todd6ishop
Dresden meeting, 2018

AT LAST: Our new Germany visit is NEXT WEEK, from June 27 to July 11!

We will meet a lot of drummers to hang out, deliver pre-purchased cymbals, and show as many extra cymbals as we can carry, for you to play and purchase.

We will also travel to Istanbul on this trip, to visit Cymbal & Gong’s manufacturers.

Here are the meets we have planned:

Berlin – Wednesday, June 29 – THOMAS RÖNNEFARTH PERCUSSION
Quitzowstraße 52, 10559 – 1-5pm

Dresden – Thursday, June 30 – Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber
Wettiner Pl. 13, 01067 – percussion department – 11am-1pm

We can also meet in the Frankfurt airport on June 27 (3-5:30pm, @ Paulaner on the Squiare) or July 11 (evening, @ airport Sheraton), to deliver pre-ordered cymbals.

Get on our mailing list to get updates, and to let us know what you’re looking for.

To get the cymbal you want: A lot of cymbals will be pre-bought, or reserved before the trip, so contact us soon and let us know which cymbal you want. If you don’t see what you want in our current stock, I can go to C&G HQ and try to find it for you.

Janavar, Cymbal Foundry, Midnight Lamp

Posted on by todd6ishop

A quick rundown of some cymbal lines, by Cymbal & Gong, that we’ll be seeing more of in 2022: Janavar, Cymbal Foundry, Midnight Lamp, and Second Line.

Janavar series are B20 cymbals inspired by a famous European B8 line of the 1960s. Originally meant to be light-weight cymbals for pop music, we find them to be great in a range of applications. Generally they have a full, non-clangy bright sound.

We’re making some Special Janavars in 20″ and 22″, with a heavy patina with green highlights, that makes them excellent contrasting cymbals in a set with Holy Grails. They remind me of brighter jazz sounds of the 50s/60s, perhaps on Milestones, or Bill Evans’s Vanguard recordings, or on some CTI recordings of the early 70s.

 

Cymbal Foundry series is a bit harder to nail down, but they’re really good cymbals. The line was originally created in partnership with a drum shop, and may be getting a name change, after that relationship expired. They’re generally clean and straightforward, in moderate conventional weights, but not without complexity— it could be described as a more complex 602-like sound.

We’ll be doing a Billy Higgins tribute ride cymbal (think Pat Metheny’s Rejoicing), that is moderate-medium 22″ ride with six rivets, and a light patina.

 

Midnight Lamp is Cymbal & Gong’s name for a Turk-style cymbal. We special order a design that is slightly different— we get them thin, with the bells unhammered, and with no lathing at all. The regular Midnight Lamp has a slim lathed band at the edge, which adds some highs to the cymbals’ sound. I think our version has a more dusky, chocolaty sound.

The 18″ Jazz Ride is a popular item of this line— it’s a tight little cymbal excellent for rehearsals, recording, and other intimate playing. Or for drummers who just want a tight, dry sound.

 

Second Line series consists of two cymbals:  14″ and 16″ Swish or Chinese cymbals. Very thin, with a traditional bell. Cymbal & Gong has been prototyping Swish-style cymbals for several years, but largely hasn’t gone into regular production of them, until now. They are essentially effects cymbals, but are very expressive, with surprising sound possibilities, with echoes of Ed Blackwell.

The ones we’ve played have been outstanding examples of this type— they have that wild energy we want from them, while blending well with a regular Cymbal & Gong set up. Instantly responsive in a range of dynamics, and blessedly non-obnoxious. The larger prototype Swish cymbals have the same excellent qualities, and we hope to see more of them as well.

Billy Higgins special!

Posted on by todd6ishop

Here’s a special-order cymbal which we’ll be seeing more of— a Billy Higgins tribute cymbal! A bright 22″ Medium Ride with six rivets.

For this we used a Cymbal Foundry ride— Cymbal & Gong’s series of basically clean, modern-sounding cymbals— gave it a patina, and installed six rivets, evenly spaced, 1.5″ from the edge:

At 2675 grams it’s about 325-500 grams lighter than the actual model of cymbal Higgins used, and a good deal easier to play, and integrate into a set up of jazz cymbals.

Compare the sound with Billy Higgins’s cymbal on Tears Inside, from Pat Metheny’s album Rejoicing:

Or on Don Cherry’s album Art Deco:

Look for another one of these with the next shipment from Turkey in early February! There are also 20″ and 24″ Cymbal Foundry rides on hand right now if anyone wants a similar effect in a smaller or bigger cymbal. Write us to get yours!

26″ Holy Grails now available!

Posted on by todd6ishop
26″ Holy Grail alongside 14″ Swish cymbal

Cymbal & Gong is now making 26″ Holy Grail ride cymbals on a special order basis!

Price will be in the range of $600, expect to pay more than usual for shipping.

There are a few on hand and available right now but we don’t expect C&G to carry these as stock— they will only be manufactured a few at a time, and all cymbals will go immediately to dealers, so there may be up to a 12 week wait for this very special item.

Contact us if you have questions, or would like to order!

Another visit to Cymbal & Gong

Posted on by todd6ishop

A few videos from today’s visit with Tim Ennis at Cymbal & Gong headquarters.

Labeling and cold-stamping the Krut 22″ Ride “Clevon”:

As we discuss in the video, we should see more of this “Krut/Turk” style cymbal in 2019, under the series name “Midnight Lamp”— there was another new series that was going to have that name, that will now be called “Oaktown.”

Briefly demonstrating four new Holy Grail Jazz Rides— a 19″ selected for Michael in Berlin, a 22″, a 20″ and another 22″. These 22s especially are rather deep, mysterious, funky cymbals. The 20″ will be getting a special heavy patina. The stick I’m using in all of these videos is a hickory Vic Firth American Classic 5A— a much heavier stick than I normally use.

Playing a lot of 16″ Holy Grail Crashes, 20″ Jazz and Medium Rides, and a few other items. Most are Holy Grail, or Kervan— which is HG without a patina. Also some Leon Collection, which is a custom line of generally light, bright, airy modern cymbals. The last cymbal played is a prototype of a new series of rock cymbals. If you hear any cymbal you like, email us with the exact time it appears in the video. Many of these will be shipped to other dealers soon.

Playing some Mersey Beat 18″ Crash-Rides. These cymbals will be on hold for a short time.

Choosing cymbals

Posted on by todd6ishop

UPDATE: Videos of individual cymbals are now on YouTube, with more coming tomorrow (10/30). All will be listed on this site this week.

While we are getting the recordings and descriptions of the new cymbals together, here is a rudely-edited video from the cymbal selection process on Friday. If you want to purchase anything you hear, send us a note, including the exact time that the cymbal is being played, and we’ll do our best to locate it.

Recorded on an iPhone with a Rode VideoMicro microphone.

 

Order of cymbals played:

0:00 – 22″ Holy Grail rides Richard and Louis, with patinas. I believe Richard is on the right.

0:41 – 19″ Holy Grail rides and crash/rides. None of these were purchased, but we can likely get them if you contact us before 11/5. Same with other cymbals in the video.

1:35 – 20″ Holy Grail jazz rides. We took several of these.

3:28 – 20″ Holy Grail rides – adding some slightly heavier cymbals. Cymbal & Gong 20″ medium rides are typically in the 2050 gram range— very light for a medium, and very versatile.

6:00 – Two 20″ Mersey Beat crash/rides. We took the one on the left.

6:45 – Two 20″ American Artist rides. This series has more medium-weight cymbals, with a bright finish.

7:25 – 20″ Kervan jazz ride or crash/ride. Kervan is the same as the Holy Grail jazz weight, but with a natural finish. Patinas can be applied to all cymbals if you wish.

7:50 – 22″ very light Holy Grail jazz rides— under 2100 grams— and the unlathed “Krut” ride. The Krut is a little thinner than the jazz rides, with a deep but well-defined sound. Normal HG jazz rides are ~2300 grams.

12:00 – Playing more 22″ Holy Grail rides. At 14:30 we discuss doing a special, extra heavy patina on that cymbal, which has a distinct muting effect. That cymbal is on hold at C&G if anyone wants it— we won’t be listing it on this site this week.

15:00 – Adding some slightly heavier 22″ Holy Grails.

17:48 – New custom series “Midnight Lamp.” I believe sizes are 14, 16, 18, 21, and 22. Let us know if you’re interested in this series— it may be possible to get these cymbals if the dealer who ordered them passes; certainly more can be ordered. It’s undecided whether this will be a regular series.

22:25 – 18″ Holy Grail crashes; I believe some rides and crash/rides are mixed in. I had a hard time deciding— there were a lot of nice 18s that sounded similar (I continue to be impressed by C&G’s consistency), and I only took three.

29:39 – Chinese/swish cymbals. Sizes are 18-24″. Fairly unique design with a wide flange and large bell. Weight is approximately medium-thin. This was not a great room for listening to swish cymbals; at the time they seemed very explosive and somewhat uncontrollable for riding. But the one 20″ I brought back to my studio is actually a great performing swish; should be great for light riding (typically you only ride lightly or extremely loudly on a swish anyway), very responsive for light accents, and of course the powerful crash is always available. Cymbal & Gong smiths have controlled the more obnoxious/abrasive overtones that are often a problem with Chinese-type cymbals.

34:30 – 15″ Holy Grail light hihats. Again, there were several excellent sets of these, and I had a hard time choosing.