Not satisfied with bringing out those Platinum cymbals recently, Zildjian have decided to go the whole hog and cover the entire market. They've just launched a range of computer-operated machine-hammered cymbals called 'Z' which are made from exactly the same 80/20 amalgam of copper and tin as the Avedis range. We and our New World cousins are separated by a common language on this name since we correctly call it 'Zed' while they are given to calling it 'Zee'. (One supposes that we will ultimately end up referring to it by their name too in the same way that we effect their mispronunciation of the word 'dynasty'.)

Z is to all intents and purposes, exactly the same as Zildjian's 'Earth' cymbal; the difference is that now there's a whole range. The ingot of metal is heated in a furnace, rolled several times, heated and quenched as per usual, but not shaved on a lathe like Avedis are. This processing pares the cymbal and puts the striations or tone-grooves into it. These grooves give the cymbal its shimmering sound; without them it would sound very much more like a gong. (The cymbal-smith knows exactly where to pare the cymbal to reduce its thickness in certain places and get the right sound.)

The 'Earth' cymbal was only meant for riding on so it didn't actually need to shimmer, but if you wish to turn that 'earth' into a 'crash' then it must be either shaved, hammered or both. These operations set up the shimmer and, since it's not an exact science, no two cymbals sound the same. So, the Zildjian Company would appear to have opted for hammering their cymbals, but using computer control. They liaised closely with one of the Boston Universities and Z is the result of their programming. The computer is linked with a hammer and not only dictates where it hits, it tells it how hard to do it. (This process has been used in making Avedis cymbals for a while, but the company now take it a step further. They use interchangeable hammer heads which actually put a mark on the cymbal for Z.)

There are four different patterns formed by each hit: six point star, five point star, open penta and closed hex. Each of these different hammer marks create a different sound within the cymbal. Heavy Power crashes and Light Power rides have an open penta pattern while Light Power crashes and splashes have a six point star. The Dyno beat bottom hi hat has a closed Hex as does the Heavy Power ride while Power smashes have a five point star.

Some of these shapes form deeper indentations than others. Open Penta, for example, has a deep centre, while Six Point Star leaves a series of small 'v' marks around a circle. The computer places its dents closer together around the bell and they get further apart as they extend in rows to the circumference. They don't actually extend in straight lines from the bell to the edge, instead they curve gently. I tried to make some sense of the patterns and, for those of you who are into statistics, there are invariably 40 open Pentas in the first row (whatever the size of the cymbal) and 25 six point stars or closed Hexes. The larger cymbals have more concentric circles as you'd expect but the marks are still not radial.

Since the computer works with a set pattern of hammer blows for each cymbal of the same size and type it could be expected that all the 18" Light Power crashes would sound the same. Indeed if the cymbals were made from flat discs cut from sheet this could be the case. But, since Zildjian's 'top end' cymbals aren't made like that this isn't the situation at all. The Zildjian rolling process is not (to the best of my knowledge) computer controlled so slight variations in thickness are always present. This factor alone would ensure no two cymbals of the same type would sound alike; there would always be subtle variations.

At the time of reviewing only 14" hi hats were available for me to see, but I understand that 13s are on the way and they are the business. Dyno Beat hi hats are pretty unusual in that their bottom and top cymbals are interchangeable. (Up until now modern hi hat cymbals would not sound right if their positions were reversed). This gives the option of two distinctly different sounds, one slightly harder than the other. One cymbal has open Penta planish marks while the other has closed Hex ones. There's a stronger sound produced with the closed Hex above but I'm sure you'll appreciate just how useful it would be to be able to soften their sound in the studio (or elsewhere) by simply turning them over. It should certainly please recording engineers.

In general these Zs are sharper than all the Avedises except the 'Rocks' — they're very 'edgy' and cut through really well with a strong 'chick' when simply coming together via foot pressure. With the 'crashes' I found it a little difficult to differentiate between Heavy Power (with open Penta) and Light Power (with a six point star). Power cymbals are the equivalent of Powerdrums, and like them tend not to sound really convincing until they're hit reasonably forcibly. When you do this you notice that Heavy has more middle strength and more sustain. These rules of course hold good for 16", 18" and 20" crashes. There was only one 20 which was designated Light but which to me sounded very, very heavy. I can't imagine they'll bother to produce a thicker one. All these crashes had a great deal of shimmer to their sound but with a lot of strength too.

As I said, the whole Z range is very like Earth but as far as the Heavy and Light Power rides are concerned the computer hammering makes a very recognisable difference. It makes the rides more meaty and puts a little more 'clash' into their sound. There is a little more blur build up at high speed but I don't believe this detracts from Z's overall sound; it actually stops it from 'dinging' so much. There is more tonal variation as one plays from the strident bell to the edge than on the Earth, and just a little more 'gong' in this position too. I found that the 22, which was a light Power ride with open Penta had a neater, more contained sound than the 20 and was higher in pitch too. The smaller cymbal was a Heavy Power with closed Hex hammer marks. Both cymbals demanded care in playing — they weren't happy with just being whacked; you really needed to draw the tone out of them otherwise they overreacted.

Zildjian make special effects cymbals of an oriental nature in the Z range called Power 'Smash'. These have the same shape as Pang with a horizontal flange and conventional cup. They are available in 18" and 20" diameters and hammered with a five point starred head. I found the 18" to be much more acceptable — it was bright and higher pitched than its bigger brother. The 20 was a little too deep when played the right way up. However, when they were inverted the larger one came into its own a little more although the 20 still 'cut' better. I felt that these smashes were too thick for my taste and it appears that Zildjian think so too. By the time you read this and your friendly local dealer has stock, they'll be a little thinner and sound better for it. (I have never been so sure about 20" Oriental cymbals. For me they never seem to speak quickly enough unless you take your life in your hands and get a really thin one!)

So now you have almost all the information you need to have on Z cymbals. The only other pertinent gen you need is the price, and how they compare. So far we don't have a definite price, although we know it'll be more than Avedis and less than 'K'. (It is hoped they'll be only two or three per cent more, but with currency fluctuating as it is at the moment anything could happen.)

To compare them is tricky. Are they better than Avedis? Well, they're different, and as with all sounds beauty is in the ear of the beholder. They are definitely more strident and Rocky, mainly because they weigh 50% more than As. They are certainly the equivalent of extra-deep drums and as such need to be hit hard to really come to life. As with the Earth cymbal, which was their raison d'etre, they will tend to be obvious if you use them in your ordinary set. But for me this is the beauty of having a set of cymbals. As far as having a whole Z set is concerned, I don't believe that the other musicians could complain about being unable to hear the cymbals; even in an electronic drum situation!

RRP: See copy