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Note: This is NOT an expert's opinion, but an unbiased review from somewhat of a newbie to the world of electonic drumming. Enjoy!
After picking up a Roland V-Pro kit a few months ago, I got the itch to go shopping. I was after the same thing everyone else seems to be after; better electronic cymbals. Sure the PD-9’s that come with the kit trigger just find and sound great, but they just don’t look, feel or react like real cymbals. Since the rest of the kit feels and reacts just like acoustics, the hard rubber pad made the kit feel a little unbalanced to me.
After a lot of studying and (and advice gained from online forums) I made my decision and picked up the following:<ul>[*]1 Roland V-Cymbals Hi-Hat (CY-12H)</li>[*]1 Translucent Gold Visu-lite China Type (1800C)</li>[*]1 Hart Dynamics Ecymbals II Ride (ECII 16R)</li>[*]2 Hart Dynamics Ecymbals II Crashes (12” & 14” / ECII 12C & ECII 14C)</li>[/list]Roland Hi-Hat
I picked the hi-hat up at my local Guitar Center (GC). I was pleased to see that their price was as low as any online store I could find. As the first edition to my kit (following the TDW-1 Expansion Board) I was thrilled to get this baby home and plug it in. As usual, the staff at GC was very quick and helpful.
The Pros
The primary functionality I was seeking in a new hi-hat was to have a more natural feel that compared to that of striking an acoustic hi-hat with the shank of a drumstick. I am pleased to report that this Roland hi-hat does the trick perfectly. I also received an unexpected benefit. I wasn’t able to get the original hi-hat sitting up high enough for my comfort using the standard mount that came with the kit. Since the CY-12H mounts a little differently (sits on top of the mount), I was able to get it up to a perfect height. The Roland feels very solid. It appears at this point that it should last me many years.
The Cons
The price. $245 is a little steep in my opinion. Roland’s high prices on V-Cymbals are a primary reason I’m writing a review of 3 different companies’ products, rather than just theirs. To outfit the entire kit with Roland brand V-Cymbals would have been much more expensive.
The Verdict
Highly recommended, if your piggy bank is nice and fat.
Visu-lite China Type
I ordered the Visu-lite China directly from visu-lite.com. The service couldn’t have been better. I placed my order using the least expensive shipping method, and the cymbal arrived in 3 days.
The Pros
Solid product. Triggers perfectly every time. Fits any cymbal stand. Fantastic price at $69.95!
The Cons
It’s made of a very thick, hard plastic (I’m sure they use a fancier name than “thick hard plastic”, but that’s basically what it is). The bottom 1/3 of the cymbal is covered in a very thin rubber. This makes for a very loud cymbal. Much louder than anything I’ve purchased from Roland. Another downside was the color, though I will take all the blame for this. After all, I did have 11 different choices! But I opted for the “translucent gold”, thinking it would be the closest match to an acoustic cymbal. Sorry, not even close. In hindsight, I probably should have picked up an “opaque black” or “opaque white” one. I should also note that the rubber on my cymbal has been coming off since I took it out of the box. It’s only happening on about a 3-inch area, so a little glue should nail it down just fine. I have not yet fixed this, as I’m contemplating swapping the rubber with something a little thicker to dampen the sound.
The Verdict
Because of the noise, apartment dwellers may want to think twice before ordering this product. Other than that, I’d say it’s pretty damn cool. It’s the only china type cymbal on the market that I’m aware of. Just don’t try to mimic the look of a true cymbal. Pick a color that matches something else on your kit.
Hart Dynamics Ecymbals II Ride
I ordered all three Hart cymbals from sepdrums.com. This process was not as timely as ordering from Visu-lite. The shipping choices were “US Priority Mail” and “UPS Ground”. Knowing that US Priority Mail typically takes 2 days (3 max), I selected this option. It ended up getting shipped via FedEx Ground, and taking over a week to get here. Not a big deal, but I would have liked to know this up front. Despite this issue, I would not hesitate to order from them again. They were very prompt, courteous and helpful when responding to my email inquiries. Something that’s rare in the e-commerce world.
The Pros
The Hart Ride is the most realistic electronic cymbal I’ve ever used, hands down. It looks real, feels real, reacts real… It’s even made of metal! The rubber on the bottom third does a descent job of keeping it quiet.
The Cons
Setting up dual-triggering to get a separate sound from the body of the ride and the bell is no easy task. The rubber on the body of the ride is fine, but the rubber positioning on the bell is a little awkward for those of us (probably the vast majority of us) who play the bell with the shank of the stick. I find myself hitting the metal part quite often. This is not a big deal, as the metal part triggers the same way. It’s just not as quiet as striking the rubber.
The Verdict
If you're an experienced V-drummer, who knows your way around the brain, this is a great cymbal for you.
Hart Dynamics Ecymbals II Crashes
RE-RUN: I ordered all three Hart cymbals from sepdrums.com. This process was not as timely as ordering from Visu-lite. The shipping choices were “US Priority Mail” and “UPS Ground”. Knowing that US Priority Mail typically takes 2 days (3 max), I selected this option. It ended up getting shipped via FedEx Ground, and taking over a week to get here. Not a big deal, but I would have liked to know this up front. Despite this issue, I wouldn’t hesitate to order from them again. They were very prompt, courteous and helpful when responding to my email inquiries. Something that’s rare in the e-commerce world.
The Pros
These babies look just like acoustic cymbals. They also come in a variety of sizes. I haven’t had them long enough to test their durability, but I’ve been told by other users that they should last for a long, long time. Tech support for Hart products in unrivaled by any other music instrument manufacturer I’ve ever dealt with.
The Cons
They do require some pretty precise positioning to get the “choke strip’ in just the right place, so you can grab it on-the-fly. The documentation for both types of Hart cymbals (ride and crash) is skimpy, at best.
The Verdict
Out of all the new electronic cymbals I’ve purchased in the past month, the Hart crashes are definitely my favorites. I definitely plan on buying more!
------------------
Drooling Dog
[This message has been edited by Drooling Dog (edited July 03, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Drooling Dog (edited July 03, 2001).]
After picking up a Roland V-Pro kit a few months ago, I got the itch to go shopping. I was after the same thing everyone else seems to be after; better electronic cymbals. Sure the PD-9’s that come with the kit trigger just find and sound great, but they just don’t look, feel or react like real cymbals. Since the rest of the kit feels and reacts just like acoustics, the hard rubber pad made the kit feel a little unbalanced to me.
After a lot of studying and (and advice gained from online forums) I made my decision and picked up the following:<ul>[*]1 Roland V-Cymbals Hi-Hat (CY-12H)</li>[*]1 Translucent Gold Visu-lite China Type (1800C)</li>[*]1 Hart Dynamics Ecymbals II Ride (ECII 16R)</li>[*]2 Hart Dynamics Ecymbals II Crashes (12” & 14” / ECII 12C & ECII 14C)</li>[/list]Roland Hi-Hat
I picked the hi-hat up at my local Guitar Center (GC). I was pleased to see that their price was as low as any online store I could find. As the first edition to my kit (following the TDW-1 Expansion Board) I was thrilled to get this baby home and plug it in. As usual, the staff at GC was very quick and helpful.
The Pros
The primary functionality I was seeking in a new hi-hat was to have a more natural feel that compared to that of striking an acoustic hi-hat with the shank of a drumstick. I am pleased to report that this Roland hi-hat does the trick perfectly. I also received an unexpected benefit. I wasn’t able to get the original hi-hat sitting up high enough for my comfort using the standard mount that came with the kit. Since the CY-12H mounts a little differently (sits on top of the mount), I was able to get it up to a perfect height. The Roland feels very solid. It appears at this point that it should last me many years.
The Cons
The price. $245 is a little steep in my opinion. Roland’s high prices on V-Cymbals are a primary reason I’m writing a review of 3 different companies’ products, rather than just theirs. To outfit the entire kit with Roland brand V-Cymbals would have been much more expensive.
The Verdict
Highly recommended, if your piggy bank is nice and fat.
Visu-lite China Type
I ordered the Visu-lite China directly from visu-lite.com. The service couldn’t have been better. I placed my order using the least expensive shipping method, and the cymbal arrived in 3 days.
The Pros
Solid product. Triggers perfectly every time. Fits any cymbal stand. Fantastic price at $69.95!
The Cons
It’s made of a very thick, hard plastic (I’m sure they use a fancier name than “thick hard plastic”, but that’s basically what it is). The bottom 1/3 of the cymbal is covered in a very thin rubber. This makes for a very loud cymbal. Much louder than anything I’ve purchased from Roland. Another downside was the color, though I will take all the blame for this. After all, I did have 11 different choices! But I opted for the “translucent gold”, thinking it would be the closest match to an acoustic cymbal. Sorry, not even close. In hindsight, I probably should have picked up an “opaque black” or “opaque white” one. I should also note that the rubber on my cymbal has been coming off since I took it out of the box. It’s only happening on about a 3-inch area, so a little glue should nail it down just fine. I have not yet fixed this, as I’m contemplating swapping the rubber with something a little thicker to dampen the sound.
The Verdict
Because of the noise, apartment dwellers may want to think twice before ordering this product. Other than that, I’d say it’s pretty damn cool. It’s the only china type cymbal on the market that I’m aware of. Just don’t try to mimic the look of a true cymbal. Pick a color that matches something else on your kit.
Hart Dynamics Ecymbals II Ride
I ordered all three Hart cymbals from sepdrums.com. This process was not as timely as ordering from Visu-lite. The shipping choices were “US Priority Mail” and “UPS Ground”. Knowing that US Priority Mail typically takes 2 days (3 max), I selected this option. It ended up getting shipped via FedEx Ground, and taking over a week to get here. Not a big deal, but I would have liked to know this up front. Despite this issue, I would not hesitate to order from them again. They were very prompt, courteous and helpful when responding to my email inquiries. Something that’s rare in the e-commerce world.
The Pros
The Hart Ride is the most realistic electronic cymbal I’ve ever used, hands down. It looks real, feels real, reacts real… It’s even made of metal! The rubber on the bottom third does a descent job of keeping it quiet.
The Cons
Setting up dual-triggering to get a separate sound from the body of the ride and the bell is no easy task. The rubber on the body of the ride is fine, but the rubber positioning on the bell is a little awkward for those of us (probably the vast majority of us) who play the bell with the shank of the stick. I find myself hitting the metal part quite often. This is not a big deal, as the metal part triggers the same way. It’s just not as quiet as striking the rubber.
The Verdict
If you're an experienced V-drummer, who knows your way around the brain, this is a great cymbal for you.
Hart Dynamics Ecymbals II Crashes
RE-RUN: I ordered all three Hart cymbals from sepdrums.com. This process was not as timely as ordering from Visu-lite. The shipping choices were “US Priority Mail” and “UPS Ground”. Knowing that US Priority Mail typically takes 2 days (3 max), I selected this option. It ended up getting shipped via FedEx Ground, and taking over a week to get here. Not a big deal, but I would have liked to know this up front. Despite this issue, I wouldn’t hesitate to order from them again. They were very prompt, courteous and helpful when responding to my email inquiries. Something that’s rare in the e-commerce world.
The Pros
These babies look just like acoustic cymbals. They also come in a variety of sizes. I haven’t had them long enough to test their durability, but I’ve been told by other users that they should last for a long, long time. Tech support for Hart products in unrivaled by any other music instrument manufacturer I’ve ever dealt with.
The Cons
They do require some pretty precise positioning to get the “choke strip’ in just the right place, so you can grab it on-the-fly. The documentation for both types of Hart cymbals (ride and crash) is skimpy, at best.
The Verdict
Out of all the new electronic cymbals I’ve purchased in the past month, the Hart crashes are definitely my favorites. I definitely plan on buying more!
------------------
Drooling Dog
[This message has been edited by Drooling Dog (edited July 03, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Drooling Dog (edited July 03, 2001).]
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