Electronic Cymbal Evaluations

[fartnokker]

2003 A.D.? No problem, I'll be here....

[ufotofu]

Thanks again fartnokker.

[fartnokker]

My pleasure, man.

[fartnokker]

It is now a bit further along, and I've made some new observations & changes...

The Pintech ZB1 - I screwed the pooch on that one. It felt good in the store, and seemed to track well, but I was never able to reproduce that performance at home. The feel was always okay, but the triggering just plain sucked. I tried everything, and I do mean damned near everything, but the tracking was just never consistent. C'est la vie, lesson learned.

My conclusion on the Pintech Zenbals is that they are just not "there" yet. I would not recommend them for any application. For crash cymbals, the Hart ECS is cheaper and works much better.

Now, for the gushing rave: The Hart ECS hi-hat is a keeper. That bad boy is the cat's meow, all that & a bag of cheezy poofs, better than bad sex, best thing since sliced Orowheat, and should be on the next presidential ballot. Definitely the shizz-nat.

Hands-down, that is the one thing I would not replace on my kit, given the ol' theoretical unlimited budget. If you are not using the Hart ECS or EC II hi-hat, you aren't getting the best hi-hat performance. I tried out the CY-12 HH again yesterday, just because, and it reinforced my feeling. It doesn't move when you hit it, and it feels to me like hitting a convex PD-9. No comparison to the Hart, whatsoever.

Now, I am still quite happy using the PD-9 for my ride cymbal pad. After logging some pretty sweaty hours behind the kit recently, the PD-9 is basically transparent to me as a ride cymbal pad, which is exactly what I want. I don't want to be concious of playing a rubber pad & majorly change my technique to accomodate it. I want to play how I play, and have the pads react as close to my acoustic drums as I can.

There were times I found myself wailing away with arms really flailing, and really laying into the electronic kit with passion. That was pretty damned cool, and made me realize that my present setup wasn't half-bad. I now have a Hart ECS splash on the way, to augment my basic setup with a little fru-fru coloration crap, so that'll be even more fun.

Until the next exciting installment,

[Rythmstik]

I agree about the Pintech cymbals. I threw my new ZB2 in a pile in the corner after about 2 weeks of fighting with it and ordered a Hart ECS crash. Took some time to get it dialed in, but it played pretty well at last weeks gig. The ZB2 was just plain unreliable - it never did trigger well, no matter how I tweaked it. I guess that's part of upgrading - my Ejunk pile is starting to grow...

[Thosmos]

I have to agree that the reliability of the Zenbal is bad. As stated here, you have to hit it just right to get the sound you want. Especially on the rim. The outer edge area doesn't sound all of the time, unless it's on the upper part of the edge. Makes for some pretty tricky playing -- if used as a crash, that is.

Who knows, as a HH, it may be fine.

[Ranman]

Look at what Mrs. Ranman picked up off ebay for me!

A Hart Hat!

Ain't she sweet?

(I made the mount for it from portions of an old Perl HH stand.)

[CarlJ]

You married a Saint !

[fartnokker]

Congratulations, Ranman! Quite a coup for the missus. Ain't it just the cat's meow? I love my ECS hat so much, I think it is still my favorite single piece of gear.

I, too, fabbed a mount for mine using spare parts. Had a short piece of tubing from some stand or another that happened to fit the cymbal base of an unused hi-hat stand, so I popped the base on it, inserted the top portion of the pull-rod, and crimped it together at the bottom to hold everything in place. I suppose some folks might not like the cosmetics, but it is functional as all hell & doesn't look too bad. The price was ideal, though!

The wife deserves something nice for that acquisition.

[Ranman]

Originally posted by fartnokker
The wife deserves something nice for that acquisition.

Agree'd! I just need some time to think of a good one.

For my hat mount, I used these parts from a Perl hat stand:

1) the upper tube (with the 'lower cymbal cup holder' still in place)

2) the upper half of the inner rod (it unscrewed in the middle)

3) the clutch.

I drilled & tapped a hole in the side of the tube near the bottom and threded it for a bolt leftover from my recent rack renovation. This bolt goes in and locks the inner rod into place at the desired height. It is adjusted using the hex key from the rack.

It is mounted onto the rack with a Gibraltar clamp (the one I'd been using with the PD7). The cymbals mount exactly as a 'real' pair of hats would.

I'll snap some pics soon.

If I want to return these pieces to the hat stand, all I need to do is remove the bolt and it is good to go.

[Ranman]

You got me!

And what's really funny is that I neglected to mention I will be adding a 'rubber insert' into the tube to dampen vibrations.

[fartnokker]

Originally posted by c. jude
Forgive me for being armchair Freud, but if not mistaken Ranman started that post saying he was trying to think of something nice to do for the wife.

He then switched gears (on the suface) but proceeded to use all the following words/terms all in the few short sentences that followed:

Oh God, I almost pi$$ed myself reading THIS one!

[BamBam]

Funniest post I have ever seen, bar none.

Tears in my eyes, and my stomach actually hurts.... Came halfway out of the chair onto the floor.

Too bad Ranman doesn't have a Roland Session rack which, as we all know, is "ribbed for her pleasure." (I stole that line...)

[Ranman]

Just for the record, Mrs. Ranman says to tell you all "It's the best gift I've ever given her!"

Only problem is now she wants it all te time! What am I, a machine!?!? When am I gonna have time for drumming!??

[Rythmstik]

Originally posted by Ranman
Just for the record, Mrs. Ranman says to tell you all "It's the best gift I've ever given her!"

Only problem is now she wants it all te time! What am I, a machine!?!? When am I gonna have time for drumming!??

A man's GOT to have some priorities!