Meinl Byzance Extra Dry 16" Medium Thin Hihat

Group: Hi-Hats
Type: Medium Thin Hihat
Size: 15 Inch
Series: Byzance Extra Dry
Weight: Top: 969g / Bottom: 1518g

Top: 998g / Bottom: 1496g

Top: 1010g / Bottom: 1496g

Top: 1012g / Bottom: 1477g

Median Weight: Top: 1004g (n=4) / Bottom: 1496g (n=4)
Years of production: 2014 - Present
Sound file: Byzance Extra Dry 16" Medium Thin Hihat
Byzance Extra Dry 16" Medium Thin Hihat
Byzance Extra Dry 16" Medium Thin Hihat
Meinl's Description: <<< - >>>
Review: "Playing this big 16" Extra Dry pair, we recall that oversized hi-hats are hardly new - 18" hats were briefly played by some post-bop 1950s jazzers. And in 2007 this writer interviewed Herman Matthews when he was Tom Jones's drummer and he had 18" hats that sounded great on the gig. It's worth recalling his comments:

"They're darker so they get out of the way of the vocalist and they feel good when you're driving a band. They sound like what I hear on records through compression. And you can play a great shuffle."

Old skool groovers like Steve Jordan and Charlie Drayton also play mega-hats, so they are obviously favoured by the bluesy-r'n'b-soulful crowd. We must say we enjoyed the sound of these when closed. With them being medium thin they really are dark and earthy, dry with an attractive, warm quality. But still with just about enough stick definition and a mighty half-open wash.

The problem comes when you try to pedal them - they are achingly slow and ponderous and the 'chip' sound is much muted. In fact if you don't set the bottom tilter angle just right you don't hear any chip at all. And as for the 'shoop', it's more like soup - turgid, slow and washy. We think a heavier bottom cymbal is needed to overcome this."

Review written by Geoff Nicholls ("Meinl Byzance Extra Dry 16" hi-hats review", musicradar.com, February 20, 2014)

Artist/song where it can be heard: unknown