DRUMMER CAFE

Masterwork Cymbals

Over the past few months, I've been playing 2 Masterwork Cymbals which I've just fallen in love with and they're really the best cymbals I've ever played. I've got a 21" Masterwork Jazzmaster Sizzle Ride and a 16" Masterwork Custom Crash. As many of you guys know, these cymbals are handhammered and handlathed by artisans in Turkey so they among the lines of a Bosphorus, Istanbul, Constantinoples, etc...

First the ride. It's dark with stick definition and warm undertones. Without the rivets, she sounds like the Sabian Legacy. With the rivets, it sizzles like it's got 6 rivets and yet under the sizzle, stick definition is still clear. It's a very good ride which blends very well because of the warm undertones and swings well cause of the sticking definition. It is also very crashable despite the size. When crashed, it is not very explosive. But there is a burst sound sound followed by warm undertones again. It blends very very well.

Now the 16" crash. It is a pretty thin cymbal. And it sounds very very dark. Like a tam tam. The initial attack is there but it is not explosive or piercing. It sounds like a singers voice. Dark with warm undertones and the decay is just nice to blend with most music but. Not too long, not too short. Also very rideble. When riden on, there is stick definition followed by warm undertones and obviously more then the 21" but every stroke can be heard. The decay is fast enough for that to happen.

These are the best cymbals I've ever played. I was once a Sabian guy playing HH and HHX... Then I moved to the Zildjian K... And now I'm playing the Masterworks... I dont think I'm going to be moving anymore. These cymbals make me very happy...

Sounds 10/10
Great for jazz, latin stuff, blues, some rock, some pop. Overall pretty versatile cymbals but not for metal or headbanger music or people who do not appreciete the art of fine cymbals

Looks
Pictures dont do it justice... the hammering and lathing is beautiful.

ps: I'm getting rid of those hats soon... once I get money for some hats... hahaha

I've played drums for 12 years and have became insanely picky on the cymbals I use. I even recently just bought a 17" signature series Paiste crash that put me back $450 canadian just cause of I fell in love with the sound it made and spent a lot of days testing others, etc, and I don't make a lot of money at this age. I've played in metal bands for the last 6 years. I think that is a poor assumption, I very much appreciate the fine art of cymbals, and good drums for that matter as well.

PS: nice cymbals, I've heard one of them crashes and really liked the sound. 

Evans J1 Heads

When I was thinking of getting some J1s for my new Hipgig-like Keller kit I wasn't able to find many reviews on them in this forum so here's mine.

Note:On my toms only so far because I've heard for snares the tackiness of the surface wears away in a few sessions if you use brushes a lot.

Evans site has sound clip of Erskine demoing them and it peaked my interest primarily because I stop using coated heads pretty much as soon as the coatings(G1 and Remo Ambassadors) begin to wear off. Kinda wasteful but I can't stand striking a drum with brushes to get a slippery smooth mylar sound.

These heads to me are the greatest innovation for my style of playing because I like a surface with some friction for brushwork yet I like the open sound of a thin head. The etched surface is like a cross between an uncoated head and coated head. Coatings by nature take away some resonance and some people don't like the papery response when struck. The J1s to me sound more responsive or immediate than a coated and yet don't sound plasticy like a clear head. J1 = Best of both worlds(clear vs coated) if that's the kinda sound you are after.

My toms now sing more than ever and to me sound unencumbered and reeaaally wide open(bad for some people but peachy for me). If you like fast, punchy and resonant drums these could be for you whether you use brushes or not. The heads add a real sense of immediacy of response. I think players that can(or need to) play very softly will really appreciate these heads because I find that they are really expressive even at low volumes.

Erskine states that players that use really high tensions on heads may not want these. I can't elaborate on why because I don't know reasons. I tune to typical tensions for Bop playing medium-high.

I liken the sound diff between a coated and J1 etched to be like the diff between a thick vs thinner wood used for an acoustic guitar. You simply get more of everything with the J1. Can't testify to long-term durability but Erskine says they're durable. Even if I have to replace heads more often,the trade-off works for me cuz I love the transparent sound of em.

Now everybody go out and buy em so they don't get discontinued...please . I had to order some because stock was limited at all local stores.