Paiste 2002 Cymbals

GEARREVIEWS
088 RHYTHM OCTOBER 2005
While not every member of the 2002 family will go over
big with everyone, there’s not one cymbal among this
lot that doesn’t impress when judged on its own terms.
In other words, if you’re not keen on any of the line it’ll be
because it doesn’t suit your mood, rather than a case of being
badly conceived. Updated for 2005, the 2002 series makes as
much sense now as it did nearly 35 years ago.
Consistently impressive across all cymbal
types and legendary reputation too.
Pro quality carries a price and the
breadth of range makes decisions harder.
★★★★★
RATING
mid-range; similarly the benchmark
20" Rock ride washes very nicely if
pushed, but remains controllable. The
piercing bell tone and near-perfect stick
defi nition place it fi rmly in the
‘dominating’ category though.
I was very impressed with the
performance of the Rock crashes
especially here. The 16" version is
supremely punchy with an attacking
front end but it’s silvery and quick-
decaying, so it retains some real class;
its big 19" brother meanwhile boasts
massive tone and is lovely and full –
riding this cymbal is completely
addictive. Falling between the two
crashes mentioned, in terms of size
at least, the 18" Rock China hits the
target too, being explosive and
pleasingly shrill, delivering a wall
of marginally useful white noise only
when over-provoked.
Crush and crunch
Two of the most intriguing product
titles in the current 2002 line-up are, as
far as I’m concerned, the Crunch hats
and the Crush ride. So these two, along
with a couple of Full crashes (16" and
18") and an 18" Thin China, were next
up on the stands.
The Crunch hats are available as 14"
or 15" types – I supersized and went for
the 15s and was immediately pleased I
had. The medium thin top and medium
heavy bottom of the pair conspire to
produce a gorgeous funky, slightly soft
and dark response which isn’t as
voluminous as you might expect when
played closed. As soon as you reduce
pressure on the hi-hat stand footplate,
however, there’s a real leap – these
babies get loud very suddenly. The cool
tonal characteristics remain, however,
and the half-open roar of the Crunch
hats is very enticing indeed.
The also-new-for-2005 Crush ride
makes for a good partner to the Crunch
hats. It’s a brighter-sounding affair, but
still displays no little depth and richness
of tone. Paiste describe the Crush as
being suited to ‘forceful playing’ but
don’t assume it’s just for thick-
forearmed rockers. The sweet ping
tone and balanced wash make it a
real consideration for electric jazz
and other generally funky stuff.
So far there’s not been a bad cymbal
in this bunch. And the Full crashes keep
things right on track. Softer than the
tough-edged Rocks, the 16" and 18"
crashes are blessed with a sizzly, crisp
top end and a clarity that secures their
‘perfect pop’ credentials. The 18" is big
but not unwieldy and the extra warmth
over the Rock line adds sophistication.
Rounding out this particular array, the
18" Thin China is a great choice as an
all-rounder – it’s stunningly fast to
react and decays with haste too, so it’s
an ideal accenter, if less powerful than
the Rock China when ridden.
Riding high
Such is the diversity of the 2002 ride
offering at the moment that I couldn’t
ignore three more of the 20" cymbals.
So the Cool, Deep Full and Wild rides
came under scrutiny before I packed
up shop with the playing part of this
review. And what a wide range of
characters they prove to be. The Cool
version is dark, soft and woody and
while its versatility is limited by its
medium thin nature (it’s not heavy
enough to be used at the louder end of
the spectrum), it acquits itself well for
jazz-inspired styles.
The medium-weight Deep Full ride
is quite different. Each stick impact is
very clearly defi ned and strident, but
backed up with an easily excited but
warm wash. And it makes a cracking
crash if you’ve got the biceps for it.
Stepping up the weight ladder another
rung, the Wild Ride would challenge
most biceps in trying to crash it
consistently, but it fulfi ls its primary
function – as an up-front, washy and
full-fi gured ride – marvellously.
KEY FEATURES
The instruments that fall into the Rock
sub-series are clean-toned and big-lunged,
and will power most medium-to-heavy bands.
At completely the opposite end of
the 2002 series, the 13" Thin/Heavy
hi-hats and 14" Flanger splash were
the last two instruments to come under
my increasingly weary sticks. The hats
deliver a tight, confi dent ‘chick’ and
would be great in the studio – they
don’t take up more sonic space than
necessary and are totally controllable.
The splash, on the other hand, is gong-
ier than your typical splash (and bigger,
too) but works well to provide a slightly
wobbly, fast decaying crash tone.
Certain cymbals are heavily
hammered and brilliantly fi nished
while others are natural with
distinctive lathing marks.
The Rock branch of the
2002 range is perhaps the
easiest to get to grips with.
They may have been born in the early ’70s
but Paiste’s 2002s range is far from outdated.
With everything from
funky hi-hats to raging
rides, the 2002s cater
for every application.
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