UPDATE: Creating my order right now— I'll be picking up cymbals probably on Monday the 7th, with new listings with videos coming Monday or Tuesday. I'll be getting the Extra Special Janavars, some Special Janavars (with heavy patina, some with rivets), A-type Holy Grail rides, crashes, and hihats.
CYMBALISTIC: I got a look at the new shipment of Cymbal & Gong cymbals yesterday— I played a whole lot of great cymbals, until my ears gave out. I'll be taking some into my own stock, and many will be going out to other dealers, so if you hear something you like, let me know the time it appears and its placement in the frame (right or left side), and I may be able to get it for you. Contact me through the email Todd link in the sidebar, or through the contact form at my Cymbalistic site.
The new Extra Special Janavars sound great— a slightly darker take on that series. Like all Janavars, they're full crash-rides, with a great crash sound. One of them will be getting the full heavy patina, the other two have the regular Holy Grail patina.
Update: I've gotten to play the regular-patina Extra Special Janavars a bit, and compared them to other C&G cymbals of the same weight. They're similar to a K-type Holy Grail, but fuller— the K-types have a more compact sound in comparison. And the XS Janavars have a bigger bell sound. Regular Janavars have a brighter, less complex sound. Again impressed that despite how well they crash, and how full they sound, I never feel there's a danger of them washing out.
There is also a new design of Chinese cymbal that are going to be part of the Second Line series— they have a small hard-cornered bell, with an aggressive, funky, rather fast decaying Chinese sound. The 20" especially I think will make a great swish knocker type cymbal. Chinese cymbals can sometimes be unruly, gong-like, and annoying— these new cymbals are aggressive, but never cross that line. And they have a kind of deep funk, with the 20 especially, that I don't hear in other Chinese-type cymbals. Sort of a 1920s sound.
More comments at the bottom....
Here's what's played when— watch on YouTube to click around to the various cymbals:
0:00 - Extra Special Janavars 20" - approx 1850 grams [one on hold]
0:57 - another Extra Special Janavar
1:33 - 19" and 20" Second Line Chinese [20" on hold]
2:50 - 16" Second Line Chinese
3:39 - 20" Holy Grail A-type ride
4:19 - 20" Holy Grail A-type
4:54 - 20" Holy Grail A-type
5:30 - 18" Holy Grail A-type
6:05 - 18" Janavar crash-ride
6:39 - 18" Janavar
7:15 - 18" Janavar
8:04 - 20" Janavar crash-ride - light, approx. 1650g
8:28 - 20" Janavar crash-ride - standard, approx. 1750g [one on left sold]
9:01 - 22" Janavar crash-ride - approx. 2250g
9:24 - 22" Janavar
10:26 - 18" Holy Grail crash - K-type [one on hold]
I played a number of A-type 20" Holy Grail rides— mostly around 1800 grams, possibly. These are some of my favorite C&G cymbals now. They have some substance, kind of a brawny quality . As I commented in the video, there was maybe 5% variance in quality among them— I say quality, but I mean best to my own taste. Different people would pick different ones; I could probably pick one at random and use it forever.
The 18" A-type Holy Grails are pretty stout, and I didn't spend a lot of time with them. With rivets they would make good left side cymbals for a jazz drummer. They're quite a bit like an Alejian cymbal I talked about this summer. I may go back and compare them.
The 18, 20, and 22" Janavars were all wonderful. Supposedly they're rock cymbals— inspired by the Paiste Giant Beat— but the weights are all squarely in jazz territory, and of course they're hand made out of B20 bronze. They're bright cymbals, but they're complex, and very musical. They have a very full sound, without washing out— your results might vary if you use heavier sticks. They may have the best crash sound I've heard anywhere in a long time. A couple of the ones I played will get heavy patinas to become Special Janavars.
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