Cymbal setup ideas for your drum kit

[@gnosticnomad8389]

Very similar to my setup as of late. My hats are 14” special dry bottom with kerope top, 18” K Con, 19” Kerope, 20” K Con med thin low. My rock setup is vintage A 14” hats, 16” and 18” 90s A med thin crashes, 20” EAK heavy ride.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Great! Thanks for sharing your setup too! Keep swinging my friend 🤙

[@daviewavie112]

I just picked up a set of k con 14” hihats and a 20” kerope off Facebook market yesterday. I was on the fence, but this video helped me make my decision. Trying to get that von baron sound😊

[@jazzdrumschool]

Davie congratulations on your new cymbal purchases! I'm honored that my cymbals inspired you to find some that you enjoy playing. I'd love to hear them in action if you feel like sharing a video. Have fun swinging my friend 🤙

[@philipnestor5034]

Hi Von, I forgot to mention I do have some cymbals with rivets that I find sound nice with the vibes, bass drums and female singer set up since we do a number of ballads. Have you ever tried the IstanbulAgop 21” Mel Lewis ride with two rivets.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks Philip! Yes I have tried the Mel Lewis Special! I love that cymbal but couldn't convince the club owner to sell it to me 😂 Sounds like you've got some choice choices for your gigs my friend 🤙

[@boomerguy9935]

Although I don't agree with all of your choices, I love the video! I do agree with mix and matching the hi hat tops and bottoms to get the right recipe for a specific sound. Vintage hi hats can surprise you. Ignore the labels and listen with your ears instead of your brain.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks for chiming in here too!

[@boomerguy9935]

@@jazzdrumschool I actually have some vintage 14" Zildjian Avedis (pre-"A-series") hi hats in different weights that are darker than several of the 14" Zildjian K hi hats that I've owned. Labels can lie! Don't trust the weights. There are also big effects from bell shapes and lathing.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Always a wealth of drumming knowledge!

[@toddhue6392]

Aloha Von. Glad I came across your channel! I met you at The Kahala shortly after you got that Crescent china. We chatted about drumming for a bit, and you were so excited about that cymbal. I recall it being super-responsive despite its size. Absolutely gorgeous sound!

[@jazzdrumschool]

Mr. Clean! Glad to connect with you again! Wow, when was that? Funny, since moving to Japan, I rarely use it because I take the train to most of my gigs. Way too heavy!!! Still, it's a keeper. Mahalo for watching and commenting my friend! Aloha 🤙

[@JMcNultyDrums]

It was interesting to see what you use and why. I'd been wondering why your K Con hats sounded different than mine.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks Jonathan! I'm glad the video was helpful. I'm glad you also solved the mystery of the strange sounding hats!

[@najnacisi]

can you tell me more about the K Con Flat Ride? can you maybe link the exact model of that cymbal? i think weight is telling - do you know how much it approx. weights? and im interested also inthe weight of the Kerope 20 and why did you choose it over lets say a K Con med thin low 20 or 22" which is really praised in the jazz world. I am searching for a flat ride which could be used for more styles but most important is that they are "quiet" cymbals for practicing at home. There is also the Zildjian K Light Flat ride. Did you maybe try it? I like your channel and I would be really intrigued to watch a opinion of you on the smallest ride cymbals you ever tried. I want to go light and small as possible. Maybe you have some advices.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks for the kind comments and great questions! My 20" Kerope is about 1162 grams (marked on the back). My K Constantinople Flat seems about 900-1000 grams. No markings but when I hold both, that's my best guess. When I got both cymbals (in different locations), I just simply knew the sound I wanted and when I heard it, I bought it. If the other cymbals you mentioned sounded good at the time, I might have gotten them instead, LOL. For me, the smallest I would go for using a cymbal as a ride is 18" and I actually use my Zildjian 18" A Custom Fast Crash as a ride and crash on my compact kit when I take to gigs. It works really well. Here's an article I wrote about it: vonbaronmusic.com/zildjian-a-custom-fast-crash/ Other than that, I haven't played rides smaller than 20". Hope that all helps and keep swinging my friend 🤙

[@najnacisi]

@@jazzdrumschool wow. that are some weights! do you know that all Keropes 20" i found for sale are over 1800g?? why do you think this is so? anyway if you ever will sell both: the flat and the kerope let me know haha. :D and thanks for all the answers! helps a lot :) i think its better to buy a cymbal from a independent cymbal maker like Timothy Roberts if you have no big cymbal shop around. these are made with soul and buying online can be risky.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Wow! Those are some heavy duty Keropes! I had no idea. Yes, thinner and lighter is better with Jazz in general I've found. Yes, there are many great cymbal makers. Another one I know is Big Island Cymbals in Hawaii. He's does really nice work and you can follow him on instagram to check them out: instagram.com/bigislandcymbals?igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== Here's also his website: bigislandcymbals.com/ Happy hunting and let us know what you end up getting 🤙

[@philipnestor5034]

Hi Von, I enjoy all your videos,lots of good information. This video is good. I’ve been playing in a group that is. Vibes ,drums and bass and on some dates we have a female singer. The repertoire is mainly old American songbook standards and a few pop songs.I’ve listened to some iPhone recordings of my playing and my cymbals seem to be too washy.I like the dark hammered traditional jazz cymbals but maybe I can find a happy medium? I do have a K Con 22” flat ride that I should probably use for the singer,any other cymbals that are dark but would be good to back up a singer? Maybe old A’s or a bit heavier K ? Thanks again for all your great videos.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Philip thanks for the awesome comment and for always watching my videos! You may want to try a different mic. Here's a review I did of the mic I use for all of my live recordings, Shorts vids etc: vonbaronmusic.com/mic-for-the-iphone/ It's awesome and you can adjust the eq, compression and more to avoid that washy sound. Give it a look see if you have some time. Keep giggin' my friend 🤙

[@philipnestor5034]

@@jazzdrumschool Thank you!

[@MichaelGibson5047]

Are the drum heads ambassador or diplomat. I play a sonor bop kit. I have a paiste 22 inch masters dark ride.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Sounds like you've got some nice gear man! I mix it up with the heads. In general now I play Diplomats for my snare and rack tom. I use an ambassador for my floor tom (gives me a meatier sound). Keep swinging my friend 🤙

[@howardk4016]

Von, I really enjoyed this video. The points you made about the your different setups depending on playing situation were interesting and helpful. One thing I am curious about is the cymbal with the "notch" in it (repaired crack?) that I have seen in many of your recent videos ("drum roll drum fill" a few days ago). I don't believe it was mentioned in this video, Just wondering - thanks!

[@jazzdrumschool]

Howard thanks for the comment, question and for watching! My cymbal bag flew off of my bike going to a gig. I repaired it and that's the notch you see. I'll make a video about it soon! Keep swinging my friend 🤙

[@Anton_Nikolaus_Mangweth]

Could you please tell me your sticks - because I found it makes a huge difference on the cymbals?? Thanks toni from austria

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks Toni! My sticks are generic 7a’s. I’m actually going to try some smaller tipped sticks soon like the old Joe Porcaro sticks. I absolutely agree, stick tip makes a big difference in the sound.

[@Anton_Nikolaus_Mangweth]

Whow the k cons flat and the Kerope sound great…is the kerope a 20? Thanks for posting

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks Toni for watching and commenting! Yeah, these are my go-to cymbals now. The flat ride works really great with singers.

[@MichaelGibson5047]

glad I found this video.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Michael, I'm so glad you found it too. Thanks for connecting 🤙

[@brucecenters7312]

Cymbals have been a lifelong quest as well as a constant frustration. I ping around at the store and throw down several hundred bucks only to get home with disappointment. Thanks for mentioning thickness. I am finding that this is actually more defining than diameter. Zildjian are my favorites. I don't know where you find the different named Zs. As in Const. And ?

[@jazzdrumschool]

Bruce, thanks very much for your comment and for watching my video on my cymbal setup! I completely get what you're saying about cymbal shopping. I've been there and done that wasted money many times too. Thickness is really critical. In fact, you can probably just pinch the edge of each cymbal you're looking at when shopping. That'll tell you if it's even worth playing. I'm with you on Zildjian. I've tried many other brands but always come back to Zildjian. I got my K Constantinople Flat Ride here in Japan in 2009 when I came to play music for the first time. Usually good drum shops will have a mix of Zildjian rides. Incidentally, I'm going to do a video in the near future about how I buy cymbals. I'll take you with me on a trip to my favorite local drum shop. Keep swinging🤙

[@boomerguy9935]

I share your pain. I've listened to cymbals online and bought them, only to find they do not sound at all like I expected. I've also gone into drum shops thinking I know exactly what I want, only to find out that I was completely wrong and purchased something completely different that sounded so much better than expected. Do not pay attention to the labels and logos, they lie. You have to listen to them in person. I recently bought a sweet crash that was much darker than a dark thin crash. A's are not always brighter than K's. All the rules will be broken in the real world. My suggestion is to go into a store with an open mind and forget about what you thought you knew. Although I think I'm done searching, I know deep down inside that I am not. Enjoy the search.