Meinl Byzance Fast HiHats

TRIED
AND
TESTED
MAY RHYTHM 87
PRICES:
13" Meinl Byzance
Fast hi-hats £239
14" Meinl Byzance
Fast hi-hats £269
CONTACT:
FCN Music
Melody House
Farningham Road
Crowborough
East Sussex TN6 2JJ
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: info@
fcnmusic.co.uk
www.fcnmusic.co.uk
www.meinlcymbals.
com
These babies
live up to their
‘Fast’ name tag.
T
hat Thomas Lang’s been a
seriously busy boy just lately,
with his latest project being a
collaboration with Meinl for the
production of his ideal hi-hat pairing. This
isn’t the first time Thomas has teamed up
with the good folk at Meinl either. Back in
2002, he collaborated on the Tom’s Becken
line, designing a range of innovative crashes
for electronically-inspired dance music.
This latest endeavour, the new Byzance
Fast hi-hats, is altogether more traditional,
both in terms of looks and construction.
Available in 13" and 14" sizes, Meinl
describes the Byzance line as traditional
and individual, whereas the Generation
X Tom’s Becken cymbals are all about
pushing boundaries and using
non-traditional alloys. As such, the Fast
hi-hats are made from B20 alloy, with
80 percent copper and 20 percent tin,
and look aesthetically far more ‘normal’.
Having said that, there are a couple of
crucial features that set these babies apart
from the rest of the crowd.
Breaking ground
The first is that the top and bottom cymbals
are finished rather differently from one
another. The bottom has Meinl’s Dark
finish, with an untreated surface and very
heavy hammering marks, while the top
is Brilliant and highly polished. In addition,
the top cymbal has eight small holes
drilled toward its edge to allow the
speedy exit of air when the two cymbals
are brought crashing together.
Meinl says the Dark bottom cymbal
is designed to produce earthy tones,
with short sustain and plenty of low end.
This is apparently balanced by the bright,
but rich characteristics of the top cymbal.
We’ll find out if these claims are
justified shortly, but in terms of appearance,
everything’s just dandy. The heavier bottom
cymbal looks gorgeous, in a moody, rugged
sort of fashion, with its speckled,
neo-leopard-print hammering hinting at
plenty of raw, dark tonal response. The
glistening polished finish of the top is
alluring too, as is the fact that Thomas’s
moniker doesn’t appear on the cymbals at
all. The top simply features the Meinl logo
and the simple-script Byzance marking,
along with the tiny product description
Meinl
Byzance Fast Hi-Hats
Are you a speed demon who won’t accept anything less than lightning?
Meinl’s new hi-hats are just the thing, reckons
Jordan McLachlan
ESSENTIALS
If you’re playing louder, frenetic rock or
metal, then the 14"s make a great choice.
RHY111.tt_meinl 87RHY111.tt_meinl 87 22/3/05 6:29:09 pm22/3/05 6:29:09 pm