Zildjian Z series ride cymbal comparison

Here I talk about the original Zildjian Z series from the late 80s. I compare the 20” light power ride,20” Heavy power ride and 21” Mega-bell ride and play them in that order. Enjoy!
The videos below feature the ‘Light power ride’ in a studio environment-check it out!
• Fishbone “Fight the yo...
• MuteMath “Hit parade” ...

[@crazy8sdrums]

These are marketed as better for hard hitters and during my hard hitting phase I bought a few of the Z series cymbals. They definitely sound good and loud! They don't however survive heavy hitting better than lighter cymbals. Being heavier, they don't flex much and don't dissipate the energy as quickly as thinner lighter cymbals...so they cracked more readily.

[@honourisdrumming]

I’ve never cracked one personally. Owned a couple of them from new too! But then I’m not a heavy hitter. Thanks for commenting, much appreciated!

[@woodysdrums8083]

Yep they cracked a lot

[@SoonerAce311]

I love it! “I’m going to be heard!” LOL AWESOME and it’s also CORRECT, so funny and great job on the video sir! I’ve just recently bought the Will Calhoun 22 Z Light Power Ride that is just a beast and that Ride is forever

[@alancarver2511]

This first generation unlathed Mega Bell is pretty incredible. It will always be my preferred cymbal. The one you have is a beautiful example!

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks Alan, I waited a few years until a good example showed up.

[@gregchapman3519]

The Light power ride is really close to the gen 1 K Custom Ride!

[@honourisdrumming]

Wow! Interesting comparison-thanks for commenting!

[@danlc95]

It is! I've had 22" versions of both. Loved those original K. Custom cymbals.

[@chromebull884]

I had a 20" z power crash. I used it as a ride it was so heavy

[@octavius428ball]

I have that 22" heavy power ride 😊 sounds great for blast beats or just hard rock. I Wouldn't even consider parting with it. The hammering pattern is a little wonky on it, I never realised they were computer hammered as it does not look perfect at all

[@honourisdrumming]

Cool, yes it was a big deal back in the day that they were all computer hammered.

[@arenrutter6786]

Just found the channel and loving it. Side note - The “reaction” sound you made about your Motley Crue shirt sealed the deal, forcing my hand to click Subscribe. Epic.

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks so much for subscribing and for your kind words! The Crue album with Corabi rules-glad I’m not the only one who thinks that way 🤘🏻

[@demonicsweaters]

I love the Z series. Had the 20" Ride, totally brutal and unique sounding cymbal

[@honourisdrumming]

Awesome! Thanks for watching🤘🏻

[@ryepie75]

Awesome comparison video--I never had any of the Z Series rides but I had some 14" Dyno Beats in the early 90's solely because that's what Lars played! I also had an 18" Z Medium Crash at one time. That snare of yours sounds amazing--what is it?

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks for the kind words-I have 13” Dyno beats, great cymbals. The snare is a Yamaha Signature Akira Jimbo beech shell 13x6 with wood hoops. Cheers for subscribing 🤘🏻

[@VjeranHursijević]

I had "Z" heavy power ride 20". The best ride I ever had. "Z" mega bell ride is great too ( bell sound) but heavy power ride have a better "body ping".

[@PrinceAsmodeus]

I had a 19" Z Rock crash in the early 90s. It had a great bell.

[@honourisdrumming]

Awesome!

[@Dan-hc1ow]

I wanted a 20" Light Power ride so badly back when they came out. I eventually got a used 22" but it was a bit much. Last year, I found my 20" for a good price. I rarely play it but it's nice to have. I have two original and one Z Custom 12" splashes and all three are really nice.

[@1thess523]

I have a 1980's 22in Paiste Rude 3000 Power Ride, I'm looking to add a 20in Zildjian Earth Ride or a Z Heavy Power Ride or old Mega Bell

[@honourisdrumming]

Good choice, if you scroll through my videos you’ll find one on the Earth ride. Cheers!

[@1thess523]

@@honourisdrumming cool I'll check it out 👍. Just finished watching your Sonor snares video

[@richardobrien4465]

I had a first generation Z 24 inch ride with the hexagonal hammering back in the day and a big 9 piece double bass Yamaha Rock Tour Custom in black sparkle. Yes I did carry it around to gigs. Welsh man are we? So am I. 👍 Yes I remember Picton Music in Swansea. Pembroke boy so not a lot available there. 😂

[@honourisdrumming]

An original Z 24”? Nice! Thanks for watching dude! Yes I’m from Gods country too ;)

[@troyseal9877]

I have a 22" light power ride but looked for four years on eBay to get it. The most versatile in my opinion. My first zildjian ride was a 22" heavy power ride my dad bought it for me in the late 80s. I am looking for an original mega bell right now. They are hard to find.

[@honourisdrumming]

I find the Light power rides are fairly common-it took years for me to find the Megabell with logos intact. Good luck and thanks for commenting!

[@C_475]

I would love to have one of these ridiculous beasts but I just crash my ride too much. I play a K Custom Hybrid with my punk band gets me by just fine. Lovely video

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks for watching, and for taking the time to comment! Cheers🤘🏻

[@MetalPete_the_metalfan]

All very similar to my 22" A Zildjian Earth Ride. This would be my other choice of ride. In fact my second ride on my set is a Z Custom 20" Power Ride. I really wish these would come back but too many of these modern drummers for whatever reason all want crashy rides and cannot appreciate the stick definition attack these have.

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks for commenting and check out my Earth ride demo from a few weeks back. Cheers🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@MetalPete_the_metalfan]

@@honourisdrumming Definitely will.

[@thunderfan77]

I'm not a Zildjian fan, but I've always appreciated the Mega Bell Ride. It's one of the few, if not the only, large bell rides with a distinct higher pitch than the bow which is what I want to hear in a ride. Right now I'm considering the Paiste Blue Bell Ride as my ideal ride sound. A heavy ride with a large bell but still manageable in volume to be versatile for most applications. I've never wanted to crash a ride. I just want a clear ping with little to no wash on the bow and a piercing higher pitched big bell.

[@honourisdrumming]

Thank you. Have a look at yesterdays Paiste Signature power ride vid-that hits the sweet spot between a Megabell, Bluebell and Sabian Phil Collins for me. Cheers!

[@Dan-hc1ow]

The Blue Bell ride is indeed nice. Picked mine up used, so the paint has scratches, mostly on the bottom. It actually has a nice tone underneath the stick sound. There's a Jazz ride buried beneath all that ping. It will crash adequately once you get it humming.

[@SoonerAce311]

Hey buddy, I understand about not wanting to crash the ride. I do like to do that, however I can switch into that mode if needed. I tell you what, I can tell that your a big Paiste fan, which is awesome! And I tell ya, i have the 22 inch REIGN Power Ride (Lombardo Signature Ride) and it’s amazing! With like you were saying, a great ping on the bow, then a huge and cutting bell. I think you will love it and it’s the Ride for you. Get it man! You’ll be in love and why aren’t you a Zildjian fan?

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks for your comments-I own the Paiste ‘Reign’ model you mention. Fantastic cymbal! I love Zildjian cymbals and have played them all my life, that’s why I made this video🤘🏻

[@SoonerAce311]

Yesir! No problem and I love you rockin’ the Z Rides! I’m almost inspired to get a Z Ride again! I used to have the 22 Z3 Rock Ride and the bow with the stick definition was good and the bell was great, it just didn’t crash very good and these Z Rides aren’t made for crashing. They are made for stick definition to cut and the bell to cut and those 2 functions they do perfect! It’s just the rock/jazz/funk style comes out in me where I want to crash on the Ride in certain spots for different accents and it seems I’m always wanting that option when needed, you know? Great job on the video! And if you know Will Calhoun in the band “Living Colour” who is I think very underrated, I really got inspired by him with all the cymbal work he does and he used in the late 80’s and 90’s before he went to Sabian a 21 or 22 Z Light Power Ride and it sounded great with all the split cymbal work he would do between the hi hat and that ride cymbal. SO GOOD and he’s still one of my biggest influences because of that today!

[@1thess523]

That snare works really nicely with those rides! What are you playing on?

[@honourisdrumming]

DWCollectors brass 14x6.5

[@1thess523]

@@honourisdrumming thanks, it's sounds sweet! 👊

[@anglia427]

My 20 '' heavy sounds better with nylon tip sticks

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks for contributing-I’m using nylon tips on all three cymbals in this video. Cheers!

[@gegorybaret9855]

Sa serai bien qu'il ferait une nouvelle série z

[@danlc95]

I think Joey played an Earth Ride on Love In An Elevator.

[@honourisdrumming]

Pretty sure it was the Megabell in that-was in the video anyway. And he used it on a few tours after. Please point me in the right direction if you know otherwise though-cheers🤘🏻

[@remygaron8311]

Love em all there s no bad cymbals they are just diff app 🥁🇨🇦

[@jonashellborg8320]

I occasionally play a set of Planet Z hi hats, hammering looks similar but it’s a different alloy. Here I liked the middle cymbal the most. But appreciate the most hearing someone play a mega bell ride, it’s a very specific sound and I can see it working in hardcore and loud rock situations.

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks for watching and for your positive words! The Megabell absolutely works in hardcore/thrash/rock situations but very little else. The Planet Z range are budget Z’s whereas the Z series were pro-level-different alloy and a very different price! Cheers again 🤘🏻

[@philphilison1623]

All Zildjians have a pretty sound to them. The weight and the application for those weights vary for the purpose that is needed. If you listen to a A Zildjian, Z Series, K Series, whatever, they are all pretty sounding cymbals. It comes down to the pretty sounding alloy they use. Heavy cymbals like the entire Z Series or A Zildjian series Heavy Crash all have that prettiness to them. The treatment of the alloy differs to allow each cymbal's expression to differ. The fast crash at a metal gig is ok. In the metal gig you are going to crack cymbals like a prat because that cymbal is not made for the setting. A medium or projection is going to sound just as pretty as the fast crash, but it can be used at higher volumes. The light power ride works in a big band setting. An A or Constantinople would be way less restricting to play and less caution requiring in a big band setting. Constantinoples and Z series swell and ring out differently, but their underlining Zildjian alloy characteristics are both pretty. I have owned dozens of Zildjians. I have not played the Crash of Doom. Maybe that is an exception, but I cannot imagine that one cymbal not using the same alloy as every other cymbal in their catalog. I see you have a recording custom in the background. Were your ever hip to the Absolute Series when they were in production? Three different wood choices, dozens of color options, different mounting preferences, different lug preferences, an extensive size variation. Shame Yamaha stopped that. I wish more people showed off their kits. It is very likely to see the cranberry finish and black, yet they had intricate sparkle finish that faded and burst.

[@honourisdrumming]

Thank you for your extensive and thorough contribution-much appreciated! I have played the Absolute range but there’s something very special about the RC. If you look at my other videos you’ll see reviews of several Yamaha kits I gig regularly. Cheers!

[@philphilison1623]

I enjoyed your video. I enjoyed its pacing. I enjoyed the name dropping of Simon Phillips. Hadn't a clue about the bell shuffle in love in an elevator. That part is really the bell section and now I can see why. I thought Joey Kramer must have wanted it mixed higher because it is so defined in the mix. Now I know Joey simply recorded it a continent or so away and still it ended up that loud in the mix. If you listen to a fast crash in the A series all the way up to the crash rides, they all sound pretty. Weight determines easy of application. I have looked and found the other Yamaha kitted videos. I miss the Absolute series because of the option of having three different woods making up a kit (beech bass drums are superior due to their characteristic lack of ring and their low tone focus in the bigger sizes thus creating the ideal bass drum sound engineers always look for; beech wood does this on its own due to how its properties resonate), an extensive size range, and color options reflecting the price and name of a high end drum line manufacturer. @@honourisdrumming

[@masterworkz]

I have 22 Heavy Power Ride, 13 Dyno Beats and 12 splash. I used to play 18 Power Crash and 20 China Boy, 20 heavy power ride an d 20 power Light Ride... Awesome Cymbals....

[@honourisdrumming]

Very cool dude🤘🏻

[@goblindrums700]

Heavy power ride all the way! They are monstrous in comparison to later updated Z customs. Own a 22" and a 24" versions. Heavy as heck.. Sticking is pronounced, divine. Bell is cutting but higher pitched then a bell on megabell ride...

[@angelagk4884]

best body ping = the Mega bell. best bell = the Z light. best cymbal = the Z Mega light power ride LOL

[@honourisdrumming]

Cheers for watching! I like the Z heavy power ride the best. They’re all monsters though. Thanks for commenting🤘🏻

[@VjeranHursijević]

they are all great ride cymbals. It is a question of your personal taste.

[@XFL33]

Those sound nicer than I expected! I actually really liked the light power ride. And the Megabell ride was alright, totally usable. The only one I didn't really care for was the Heavy Power Ride. I don't know if you knew, but Ian Mosley of Marillion (he used to play for Steve Hackett before that) has been using a Z Custom Ride ever since they've been released.

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks for watching-I did know about Ian Moseley using one but only remembered after filming the vid. The Z custom he uses is of the newer generation, not the original Z’s in this video. Thanks so much for contributing to the discussion!

[@SoonerAce311]

Whoo hoo buddy! Heck yeah! Maybe in a future video! Thank you for the quick reply! And keep rockin’!

[@vitorarsenio4105]

I have Z Custom rock crash´s (16", 17" and 19"), a Z3 rock ride 20", and I love them... they aren´t very versatile, but for hard rock or metal genres are the best ever!

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks for your positive contribution and for watching. The Z Custom and Z3 lines are great too!

[@Solar.Geoengineering.Advocate]

i was a paiste man and i got a big old z custom projection crash back in the day. and by god it sounded fantastic really gongy and aggressive sounding. i swapped it for a paiste sig power crash later only for the reason that it was too loud compared with everything else and didnt quite fit sound wise. but it was a great cymbal, never understood people that said z customs were trash can lids and not musical. not true at all. glad to see them return

[@LewisBdrums]

as a metal drummer I love mega bell rides. are they versatile? definitely not! but I'm not gonna go blasting on a thin washy riveted jazz ride now are I 😂

[@mattb.7307]

I have a Zildjian Megabell ride which is the original 80s formula? I bought it used 27 years ago. It’s a beast

[@honourisdrumming]

Great stuff, that’s what this one is too🤘🏻Awesome cymbal!

[@mattb.7307]

But I never cleaned the bottom side. It has a very beautiful patina. It gives it a better sound? I still use it to this day.

[@theonecalledvino8165]

I remember seeing Randy Castillo at a drum clinic in 1987 and he had 2 cymbals that stood out. An 18" Wuhan china and that damn Z Heavy Power Ride. Both were amazing. I bought that exact china the next day and I based most of my rides being able to cut through a mix like that Heavy Z.

[@honourisdrumming]

I remember him using a lot of Zs back in the day. They cut so well(if that’s what you need!)Thanks for commenting!

[@alanduncan1980]

Very 90s! I played a Z Custom Ride back in the day, and compared to the K Custom that I played back then, the Z sounded like crap, but perhaps that particular cymbal was a bad one.

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks for watching, much appreciated!

[@Mr.KingsThings]

I've been playing with the Megabell seen here for about ten years now. It cannot be beat! I hear their might be a new release of this cymbal too! I'll be snatching one up if that's the case

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks for commenting-there IS a new version that’s just been released. I’ve owned later versions of the Megabell but I keep coming back to the original!

[@WolfMountford]

Dude doesn't start playing until almost 8 minutes in.....

[@honourisdrumming]

Yes I discuss the history of the cymbals and my personal relationship with them first. Thanks so much for your comments and for watching!

[@chrisphillips554]

Still got a 22” Z series heavy power ride. Lovely loud tone, brilliant live with an unmiked kit. Also records remarkably well. But, no use for smaller acoustic situations or small practise rooms, unless you enjoy watching your band mates’ ears bleed. Doesn’t get much use sadly.

[@honourisdrumming]

Nice!

[@goesjem]

Roger Taylor played Z power crashes only once with Queen at Wembley in 1986. I don't think he liked them, so immediately went back to his K range. I think he was just offered them to try them out, then dumped them. They sound too clanky for my liking. I am more a K guy myself too, but enjoy all cymbal videos. Thanks man.

[@honourisdrumming]

I remember that! I’m not a big fan of the crashes either but the rides work well in the right situation. Cheers!

[@goesjem]

I was actually very surprised Roger used them. I was 11 at the time. Roger switched from Paiste in 1985 when he first played big Ks at Live Aid. Oddly enough, at Wembley, he used a 21'' Rock Ride and not a Z. I think he played New Beat hats at Webley too. I am a big fan!

[@PaulyP_13]

I had a Mega bell ride. It was gifted to me as my first ride. It was one of the ugliest sounding cymbals I have ever heard. And no matter where you struck it it sounded the same due to the size of the bell I believe. Got rid of it pretty quick for a K dark heavy ride and then eventually an HHX groove ride from Sabian.

[@honourisdrumming]

Thank for your comments-much appreciated! I got rid of a K heavy ride and replaced it with an Earth ride funnily enough-we like what we like! I’ve never gigged the Megabell, it’s a bit much for me frankly. An extreme cymbal for extreme music🤘🏻

[@PaulyP_13]

@@honourisdrumming I appreciated the gift and it got me started but like any hobby I think your tastes/preferences develop really quickly early on and you correct and sometimes overcorrect. The HHX groove ride has been my gold standard for awhile, good wash/ping balance, good bell, crashable, haven’t found anything better yet but the search continues

[@honourisdrumming]

Absolutely!

[@davidcurtis4478]

Love the Z Cymbals. Used to love watching Lars with them. Sounded so much better in Metallica 🤘🤘

[@honourisdrumming]

Nice one, thanks for your positive comments🤘🏻

[@davidcurtis4478]

@@honourisdrumming Great rides! would love to hear the Hi Hats. Miss Lars playing them 👍👍

[@honourisdrumming]

@davidcurtis4478 I will be doing a vid on the original Z Dyno-beat hats very soon. Watch this space🤘🏻

[@davidcurtis4478]

@@honourisdrumming Wish they would come out with them again! Always loved them. Keep Rockin' bro 🤘🤘

[@honourisdrumming]

The Z Custom line is very close to the original Z’s. Different hammering but same alloy-worth a look. Cheers dude🤘🏻

[@TomMSTie1138]

I had an 18" China and it was friggin LOUD!

[@honourisdrumming]

Nice!

[@drummer626]

I have a 20” z ride I think I bought it 2001. And I still have and love it. I use it on all my recordings cause it records really good.

[@winstonwolff]

What size was the second one? You never said

[@honourisdrumming]

All the sizes are in the description box dude, thanks for watching!

[@remygaron8311]

Did you try k z. Hi hat sounds awesome🥁🇨🇦

[@honourisdrumming]

Certainly did. I have a set of 13” K/Zs-great hats. Thanks for watching!

[@johnsoos6907]

I also own an original Zildjian Z Mega Bell Ride. The ride I had, at the time when I bought it, was cracked. Then I heard "Love In An Elevator" on the radio. I knew I had to have it. After seeing the video, I still couldn't figure out what it was. I had to wait a couple of weeks for Modern Drummer to come out and saw the ad with Joey Kramer. People either love it or hate it. I love it!

[@honourisdrumming]

Thanks for commenting-the original Z series are great aren’t they? Cheers!

[@yannyloyer7177]

the original z's are awesome. the 24'' heavy power ride was the standard back in the day. heavy beast

[@honourisdrumming]

Cheers dude🤘🏻🤘🏻