Ik heb toestemming om deze review op het 2Box forum over te nemen voor ons. Ik denk dat dit verhaal de moeite waard is!
Hi everyone!
A newbie here; I'm not a drummer, but I run a duelling piano band in the Netherlands, and I came across a review for the Gen16 here. We've been using the Gen16 cymbals for nearly a year now, and I think we're probably at the front end of the user experience, as we were the first people to get them here in NL. My descriptions may not be very 'drummer'-like, and for that I apologise ... I am but a lowly keyboard vocalist! :-)
Firstly, although much of what I have to say is necessarily critical, I want to applaud Zildjian for their innovation; aside from the 'issues', the system does what it is supposed to do, and makes my sound engineering job easier, whilst keeping my drummer happy!
Our Drum Set-up: we use a Pearl ePro Live set, running into a Roland TD9 module, because we didn't like the lack of functionality on the Pearl Red Box. We are currently moving to purely sample-based drums (minus cymbals), using Battery running through Logic / Mainstage. We use the Gen16 14" hi-hat, one 16" cymbal, one 18" cymbal and the standard ride, and of course the Gen16 module.
Our FoH & Monitor Set-Up: we use a JBL VRX system, in both pole mounted and line array configurations, with Crown iTech 4000 amps, and a set of JBL SRX728 sub. We use IEMs exclusively.
Our 'Style': like most piano bands, we play covers, but probably slightly harder than would be the case in my experience in the US.
Sound Quality: the initial sound that comes out of the module is tinny. This is to be expected, because the easiest way to reduce the amplitude of the sound and still retain the resolution, is to reduce the lower frequencies, which is what the holes in the cymbals do. The mics, apart from looking good, do a fairly good job, and being closer to the target cymbals, are much less prone to cross-talk and feedback than a normal mic set-up. (To compare, we almost always use AKG C430 for OH and HH when micing an acoustic kit; these are OK mics price / quality, and a lot less hassle than my matched Neumann pair!) As I said, the output sound, on all the presets, is fairly tinny; but after some judicious frequency analysis in Logic, and EQ adjustment in our Allen & Heath iLive iDR32, we have always managed to get a VERY good sound through the FoH and into the monitors. At no point have we had to 'gate' or put aggressive LPFs. Once you compensate for the design of the cymbal, you get a GREAT cymbal sound, with relatively little stage noise (my bug bear) and very little feedback.
Playability: one of the main reasons for going for the Gen16 was the drummer(s) complaining about hitting rubber instead of brass. Our supplier, the very excellent Dennis van Hoorn from Rock Palace in The Hague, suggested the Gen16 system, although it wasn't yet out. We waited and waited, but the drummers reaction was worth it. These cymbals, to all intents and purposes, are just regular cymbals, especially when using IEMs with a correctly engineered drum sound.
Build Quality: unfortunately, this is where it all goes wrong. We have played around 60 gigs on the Gen16 system, in 10 months. During that time, we have had to return a total of 7 cymbals (2 HH tops, 1 HH bottom, 2 16" and 2 18" crashes). The first breakage was a HH top after 6 gigs. The cymbals have been replaced each time, and the 'new' ones seem to be of a heavier gauge. Additionally, the clever little mics break apart from fatigue:
This is because the cymbals move, thus flexing the mix on its very inflexible cymbal stand. To be fair, we've gaffa'd them and they work fine!
However, all joking aside, the system has great design functionality, but the failure rate is too high.
Conclusion: drummers pay a lot more than the purchase price of Gen16 for good cymbals. For professional users, the difference between €1k and €2k makes very little difference, over the lifetime of a product. What IS important is reliability, and without the efforts of our supplier, we would be writing a different summary here. I think that Zildjian can solve the quality issues, if they want to, and I'd be happy to pay more for a more reliable product.
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On an additional note, I would be happy to receive advice about digital cymbals from you guys, who know more about it than me / us!
Thanks!
Guy Harris
PianoJam
