Meinl Byzance Extra Dry 14" Medium Hihat

Group: Hi-Hats
Type: Medium Hihat
Size: 14 Inch
Series: Byzance Extra Dry
Weight: Top: 814g / Bottom: 1394g (2024 Serial Numbers)

Top: 857g / Bottom: 1413g

Top: 860g / Bottom: 1384g

Top: 870g / Bottom: 1379g

Median Weight: Top: 859g (n=4) / Bottom: 1389g (n=4)
Years of production: 2007 - Present
Sound file: Byzance Extra Dry 14" Medium Hihat
Byzance Extra Dry 14" Medium Hihat
Byzance Extra Dry 14" Medium Hihat
Meinl's Description: <<< - >>>
Review: "The main sound quality you get from these hi-hats are dry tones. This means that when you strike them, you get a somewhat low-pitched sound that doesn’t resonate for very long.

The sound gets out of the way very quickly, meaning the hats never sound too overwhelming or loud.

This is fantastic for drummers who want plenty of wash without a lot of impact. And it’s why the hats work so well in jazz and low-volume settings.

This just comes with the sacrifice of articulation, meaning you don’t distinctly hear every single note that you play on the hi-hats. They tend to blend into each other more than you hear on traditional hi-hats.

The B20 alloy used for these hi-hats makes them incredibly musical. They’re highly responsive to varying levels of dynamics, so you get full playability from each strike.

But the main construction feature to focus on is the unlathed top hi-hat cymbal. Since this cymbal has a raw surface, it produces very raw and earthy tones.

Not every drummer is a fan of these sounds, but they sound incredibly unique and diverse. The brilliant bottom hi-hat cymbal evens out the sounds a bit, making the hi-hat pair more versatile than if both cymbals were to have unlathed designs.

The bell of the top cymbal is also unlathed, so it has a very earthy tone when you strike it.

Overall, we’d say that these hi-hats work best in jazz settings. The sounds they produce cater most to that sort of musical environment.

As a drummer, you can hit these hi-hats really hard. They’ll sound forceful and effective, but they’ll never produce overwhelmingly loud tones. This makes them perfect for high-energy parts of songs that still need to have some sort of restraint.

These hats are too soft for rock, punk, and metal settings, though. Since they aren’t very articulate, the sounds blend into the music instead of cutting through. And in those louder settings, you want hi-hats that cut.

So, we wouldn’t say that these are too versatile.

High-end hi-hats can be quite expensive, and it’s no different with these 14” Extra Dry Byzance hats.

However, we can confidently say that the price tag is worth the performance quality that they offer.

If you’re a fan of dry cymbals, you’ll love these hi-hats. They’re undoubtedly one of the best pairs of dry hats on the market, so the price-to-value is very high."

Review written by thedrumninja.com (retrieved May 18, 2025)

Review: "The 14" hi-hats partner a light top cymbal with a heavy bottom. First impressions are of a fairly thick and sloshy sounding pair of hats. There is an element of top end to them, but none of the usual high frequencies, so they sound full and meaty, even when played quietly.

Relaxing the pedal finds them accelerating to a dark, frothy wash and stepping brings about a fat, positive chick. These hats possess bags of tonal individuality along with the power to be heard."

Review written by Music Radar Team ("Meinl Byzance Series Spectrum Ride 22" review", MusicRadar.com, December 7, 2007)

Review: "The 14" Extra Dry medium hi-hats fall right in line with the dry, dark characteristics of the rest of the series. Both cymbals have the same underside-lathing pattern as the crashes. The top cymbal is very thin, while the bottom cymbal is very heavy. The closed stick sound of these hats is very defined, low-pitched, and dry. And there was a distinct difference in timbre between the light, Jabo Starks–type sound that was achieved with tip strokes on the top cymbal and the chunkier sound of shoulder strikes. The foot “chick” is also dark without sounding weak. Like the crashes, half-open strokes don’t give off the sustained sound of other types of hi-hats. Instead, each note has a distinct attack and short, trashy sustain. This quality kept me from playing a lot of sloshy Bonham-type beats, but it did inspire me to explore grooves that capitalized on the cymbals’ unique sound."

Review written by Michael Dawson ("Meinl Byzance Extra Dry Series And Spectrum Ride", Modern Drummer, May 2008, p.35)

Artist/song where it can be heard: Benny Greb