Zildjian Low Volume cymbals

[Kazaamski]

Has anyone seen/played these? I was wondering how much quieter they sound. Apartment acceptable quiet maybe? With some mesh heads on the kit?

[pcs90]

Based on videos, they reminded me of playing thoseZildjian electronic cymbals without any amplification (just the acoustic cymbal sound), which was very quiet. If these are similar as far as volume, then for your situation they should work well. Hopefully someone who has tested them in person can confirm this.

[longgun]

Check this thread out

http://www.drumchat.com/showthread.p...ighlight=gen16

[jgziegler]

ahhh the gen16s... As I say, they are really cool looking, and certainly interesting, however they are very expensive and fall into the trap of trying to be two different things at once (albeit rather successfully). While they aren't as loud as real cymbals, I wouldn't exactly call them low volume...

I guess the question is why do you need them? If it's for practice, why not just use mutes? If you really want to get a great feel for how your cymbals sound, their higher frequencies don't really carry through walls so they shouldn't upset the neighbors. If it's for band practice, tell your band to invest in good ear plugs (they should do that anyway).

If money were no issue for me, yea I'd def have them, but I'd also buy before that 1-2 extra drum kits and some percussion stuff as well. If I were playing live electronic music, then I'd def get them, because that would look so awesome, all the ravers would stare at you all night!

[Russ]

It seems like they're marketing them as something to use in smaller limited-permission areas, like apartments and dorms. Good to control the excess noise, but doesn't really seem like the greatest for an e-kit, as you'd want closer to 90-95% of the noise gone at least(Alesis surge, Roland, Yamaha, etc would be ideal in this application).

[jgziegler]

See Russ, I see it a bit differently for the Ekit.

The one thing the Ekit is defo better than an Akit is versatility. You might not use the bell much on a 16" crash, but with an Ecymbal, that bell can become whatever you want it to be. For me, that's really the biggest draw back of the Gen16s, you can modulate their sound, but not change it completely.

[marko138]

These intrique me. I haven't played or heard them but I've seen pics. In theory I like them.

[pcs90]

See Russ, I see it a bit differently for the Ekit.

The one thing the Ekit is defo better than an Akit is versatility. You might not use the bell much on a 16" crash, but with an Ecymbal, that bell can become whatever you want it to be. For me, that's really the biggest draw back of the Gen16s, you can modulate their sound, but not change it completely.

I think what it comes down to is what you are wanting to get out of your electronic cymbals. If you want to be able to make them create any possible sound (IE non-cymbal sounds), then yeah ECymbals would work. The problem is they are not going to be as dynamic or responsive as the Zildjian ones. With the Gen16's, they feel and respond much more like regular acoustic cymbals, and they can certainly be processed a lot to get really cool sounds. If I was going to get an electronic setup, the Gen16's would absolutely be the cymbals I'd choose, no question.

[Russ]

See Russ, I see it a bit differently for the Ekit.

The one thing the Ekit is defo better than an Akit is versatility. You might not use the bell much on a 16" crash, but with an Ecymbal, that bell can become whatever you want it to be. For me, that's really the biggest draw back of the Gen16s, you can modulate their sound, but not change it completely.

If you can afford at least a dual zone?

[jgziegler]

Gen16s are 900USd for the system new. That buys a lot of dual/triple zone ecymbals and some real ones as well! That's my biggest issue with them, they are too expensive for just a practice ekit, and they are a bit too unusual for an akit.

I've seen one really cool application of edrums to live music someone posted here a few months back. I wish there were more, cause I'm sure people would go nuts if you were playing an ekit with glowing blue cymbals!

[pcs90]

The gen 16 cymbals, as in the original ones with the electronics, aren't just meant for practice...the new low volume cymbals that this thread is about are based off of that design but unless I'm wrong there is no electronic stuff with those, they are simply meant to be quiet cymbals for practice. The low volume cymbals are definitely not anywhere near $900, I am guessing a lot of the cost is in the electronic components that the practice cymbals would not have.
Also, there are drummers playing acoustic kits, and hybrid acoustic / electronic kits that have used the Gen 16 cymbals, so it's certainly not out of the question if you like doing things differently.

[Kazaamski]

I have moved into an apartment, and i was thinking along the lines of these with some mesh heads, would allow me to keep a little kit setup for funsies

[longgun]

I really like mine.............great for practice