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If you ever hear the song "Take it to the Limit" by The Eagles from the 70's you will hear the ride sound that is close to how my dry ride sounds in person while riding on the bow of the cymbal. The bell isn't really anymore clangy that a normal ride. I have a 21" Sabian Dry ride that is only about medium weight. A Zildjian Z custom or a Paiste RUDE might be dry but they are also very heavy for the most part. Yes the more extreme dry rides are very tight and clangy sounding. A dry cymbal is less washy with less overtones, BUT it is NOT always more pingy or clangy! It just mostly refers to less build up while playing. Rhythm of your timekeeping to come across above the wash.Ī dry cymbal is better for more intricate playing where you need each hit to be heard, such as jazz. This will give you more attack on each hit and allow the steady You can combat this on a cymbal that has a lot of wash by using nylon tipped sticks. This isn't a bad thing, as this white noise can fill up the sound and make a song sound fuller. Meaning that the sound from the last hit is carried over into the next hit and the definition of the hit can get lost in the steady wash. While others are quick to generate a sound and any overtones die off fast.This is from the way it is manufactured - the method of lathing, the thickness of the cymbal, the hammering, the type of metal used, etc.Ī dry cymbal as stated before can be quite pingy and bright, but I would characterize the sound of a dry ride as "tick tick tick" while a "wet" sounding ride would come across more like tick-hmmmmm,tick-hmmmmmm, tick-hmmmm.
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Some cymbals take longer than others to "recover" from a hit before becoming quiet. It comes from the vibrations that the cymbal generate while hitting. Some cymbals "build up" this steady wash or "white noise" that gets more pronounced as you play.
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