CY-8 suddenly very quiet

[Mark4RonPaul]

OK, OK.... I know there are a lot of people that hate the CY-8 cymbal. I'm not one of them. I bought my kit back in 2011 and have had great performance from it in every aspect. Cross talk is extremely rare. All triggers have always seemed to have a good amount of sensitivity. I love my TD9 set!

About a month ago, my CY-8 was suddenly at about half volume. It seems to be worse on the edge as opposed to the middle where the piezo sensor is mounted. Here's what I've found and done so far.

- Plugged the cymbal into other cables, and other cables into the CY-8. The problem follows the CY-8, so I know it's not the cable.
- Replaced the 35mm piezo with a 25mm piezo (it's the only one I could find locally.) I know the smaller piezos don't work as well, but the replacement didn't seem to change the volume at all.

I've found videos on YouTube showing how to peel back the rubber edge and clean out the gunk, but apparently I have a newer CY-8 that doesn't really allow for that. I haven't figured out a way to peel the rubber back.

Would it be worth it to send it in to Roland for repair or should I just buy something else? Recommendations? (I don't have $300 to drop on a cymbal upgrade, though, so that's out.)

Thanks for any advice.
Mark.

[jimorlando]

Peeling the rubber back and peeling apart the green ribbon and cleaning it is the only solution I know.

[Mark4RonPaul]

Peeling the rubber back and peeling apart the green ribbon and cleaning it is the only solution I know.

Yeah, that's what I'm finding out, too. From what I can tell, though, the newer CY8s aren't built to be able to do that. I'm hoping someone has managed to do that and I just can't find it online.

Thanks for the reply!

[KennyinDundee]

How about you buy a new cy8 or triggera cymbal?

[Mark4RonPaul]

How about you buy a new cy8 or triggera cymbal?

It may come down to that. It doesn't hurt to check in with others to see what their experience has been first, though. Clearly there have been many who have repaired their own Roland cymbals. So, if there *is* a way to repair, why replace?

[grog]

Ditch it and purchase either a Yamaha PCY135 or one of the many Simmons/Alesis/KAT models that'll do the same thing:

KAT: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/KT2EP2
(it's dual zone, chokeable but keep in mind it's gray colored)

Alesis: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alesis-DMPad...item35e719804f
(this is frustrating as I can't determine if it's single or dual zone)

Simmons: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Simmons-...09-i2966030.gc
(it's slightly different than the other two but is dual zone and chokeable)

Any of those (assuming you can find a dual zone 12" Alesis crash that's confirmed dual zone) would work just as well as a CY-8. All but the PCY135 are cheaper than the $109 you'd expect to pay for a CY-8. I've been beating on various Simmons cymbals for a couple of years now. They're every bit as robust as your CY-8 has been (although as you've mentioned, the CY-8 is not a yardstick to measure "good" by).

Another thought is to look for a CY-14. They routinely go for around $150 used: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Roland-CY-12...item35e8b95990
(That being said, it now seems the days of Adam C selling em here for $150 including the arm are long gone. Most stuff on ebay is more and charges for shipping)

And as mentioned, Triggera would work fine although it's not chokeable and is single zone. I assume you want the same basic functionality of the CY-8, ie. dual zone and chokeable.

www.digitaldrummermag.com
www.dauphinehotel.com

[ThePod]

I peeled my CY-8 rubber back but didn't take any pics at the time. I'll try to put some up here tomorrow evening for you. I used a screw driver and peeled the glue off of the rubber and took my time. It was doable and plays very well now. Sorry no vids or pics handy.

[hemantpanchbhai]

Having the same issue with my CY-12C and it's been just 10 months since I bought the kit. Were you able to resolve the issue?