A Custom 22" Ping Ride

Group: Rides
Type: Ping Ride
Size: 22 Inch
Series: A Custom
Weight: 3114g, 3220g (2025 Serial Number), 3288g (2023 Serial Number), 3328g (2004 Serial Number), 3411g, 3437g, 3439g, 3450g (2024 Serial Number), 3459g (2011 Serial Number), 3520g (2024 Serial Number), 3545g, 3556g, 3559g (2009 Serial Number), 3561g, 3648g, 3670g (2015 Serial Number), 3674g, 3750g (2009 Serial Number), 3829g (2011 Serial Number), 3893g
Median Weight: 3533g (n=20)
Years of production: 1992¹ - Present
Sound File: A Custom 22" Ping Ride
A Custom 22" Ping Ride
A Custom 22" Ping Ride
A Custom 22" Ping Ride
A Custom 22" Ping Ride
A Custom 22" Ping Ride
A Custom 22" Ping Ride
Zildjian's Description: <<< - >>>
Review: "The two new A Custom rides are 20"and 22" ping models. The two are very similar in character, with the 20" being a little bit higher in pitch. These are both good-sounding rides, with a clear bell sound, a nice tone, and not too much spread. Since this entire line is just a tad softer than "regular" cymbals, I found I could dig into the rides and not over-power the situation— almost as if there were a little bit of tape on them. Something I particularly liked aboutthe rides was their overall tone. The stick sound was clear and high-pitched,but there was still a slight element of what I like to call "trash"— a hint of that good ol' K sound. For me, it gave the cymbals just a little more personality than regular As.

Review written by William F. Miller ("New And Notable - More Zildjian A Custom Cymbals", Modern Drummer, January 1993, p. 40)

Review: "Classic jazz drummers have tended to use ride cymbals where the sound of the ping is just above (in loudness) a broad wash, with the wash being dark. Often, this is a 20″ cymbal that is medium or medium thin in weight. Jazz drummers still use this type of cymbal, but there are also a number of modern jazz drummers, and certainly drummers in the rock scene, where a distinct ping sound in desired. Especially at a metal rock concert, where the amp stacks are maxed out on volume, unless the ride cymbal has a strong ping, it simply will not be heard by the audience. Zildjian makes several ride cymbals that have strong ping sounds to them, but this one is focused on the ping, at the expense of the wash (i.e., making it sound “dry”), for that certain drummer who really loves the ping sound. It is the 22″ A Custom Ping Ride.

There are a number of ways to make a cymbal focus its sound on the ping, rather than expend some of the energy on the ping and some on the wash. One way is to hammer the cymbal heavily and either do no lathing, or very light lathing. A second method – and it does not exclude using the first method along with it – is to form a smaller bell. The smaller the bell, the drier they sound. The larger the bell, the more musical (more wash) the cymbal will have.

Interestingly, if at the last step, after all hammering and lathing is done, the cymbal is heated to just below the recrystalization temperature, and then suspended by a support through the center hole, and allowed to cool on its own in air at room temperature, rather than the usual quenching in water, it can end up with a very musical wash, but yet, still have a bright ping. This process is known as “annealing”, and results in a softer metal product with less internal stresses (hammering produces internal stresses). The process known as “tempering” refers to the same heating and air cooling with metal that has been heated and quenched, but not yet hammered or lathed. For cymbals made from sheet metal, the cold-rolled cymbal alloy sheet metal is cut into the cymbal circular shape, then the bell is formed under pressure, and it is hammered. Because it is not heated during the cymbal-making procedure (except for cymbals made by custom cymbal shops), the metal is now under tremendous internal stress. So, you will usually see very deep lathing on these cymbals, which helps to “open up” the cymbal (literally), relieving some of the stresses, and allowing the cymbal to be more musical.

The Zildjian 22″ A Custom Ping Ride Cymbal is hammered and finely lathed. The bell is small, lathed, but not hammered.

The sound is very dry, with an intense ping. Just what the doctor ordered for those rock concerts, but also, a modern jazz drummer, using a 7A stick, and playing the ride lightly, would obtain a terrific sound that could almost be used by the rest of the band members as a substitute for a click track. I mean, this thing Pings! A metal rock drummer, putting a new Zildjian A Custom Ping Ride in his/her kit for the first time, would certainly get comments from the rest of the group. And, the audience would be able to hear it, no matter how loud they are screaming. I don’t particularly care for the sound when it is crashed, but the bell is as “pingy” as the body, and with more musicality (less dry)."

Review written by John E. Johnson, Jr. ("Zildjian 22″ A Custom Ping Ride Cymbal", hometheaterhifi.com, April 24, 2011)

Artist/song where it can be heard: Adam Carson, Abe Cunningham, Scott Phillips, Alan White

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Source:
¹ "New And Notable" (Modern Drummer, September 1992, p. 122)