Zildjian K Sweet Cymbals

92
| APRIL 2018 WWW.MUSICRADAR.COM/RHYTHM
GEAR REVIEW
B
efore their offi cial launch at the
Winter NAMM show in January,
Rhythm was invited on a secret
mission to Headstock Distribution
in the Midlands to check out the brand new
Zildjian K Sweet cymbal collection. Following
on from the success of the infamous 23" A
Sweet ride and a few select Sound Lab
Prototype K hats and rides, Zildjian has decided
to take the sweetness to the next level by
applying it to an entire set, this time falling into
the more traditional K series.
Build
In keeping with the more vintage vibes of
the K range, K Sweets feature a traditional
fi nish, meaning the cymbal’s surface has
not been buffed to a shiny or ‘brilliant’
fi nish. This inherently gives the cymbal a
darker, warmer character. Other shared
K characteristics include complex and
deeper lathing patterns, in addition to
laborious hand-hammering which goes
a long way to shaping the overall sound
of each cymbal.
The full range of available models in the
K Sweet range includes 15" and 16" hi-hats,
16", 17", 18", 19" and 20" crashes, and two
rides, in 21" and 23" sizes. The bells of the
hi-hats and crashes are left un-lathed top
and bottom which adds to the complexity
of tone and also gives them a cool, earthy
appearance. Rather than that burnt-on look
that some un-lathed cymbals have, the K
Sweet bells have a much smoother, marbled
oil effect which is very unique. The ride
cymbals are the only members of the K
Sweet family to be completely lathed for a
uniform fi nish, leaving them with a brighter
bell projection.
The overall profi le of each cymbal is
fairly low except for a raised bell, particularly
on the rides. This fl atness makes the rides
more crash-able and the crashes more
ride-able, which ultimately makes for a much
more versatile instrument. The cymbals are
also thinner than regular Ks which renders
them a little darker in tone. The edges are
even thinner still. The result is that these
From £275 The classic Zildjian Sweet ride
is reborn as a whole K cymbal range
ZILDJIAN
K SWEET CYMBALS
WORDS: TOM BRADLEY
THEY SIT IN THE MIX PERFECTLY,
REGARDLESS OF STYLE. K SWEETS
COULD BE DESCRIBED AS THE
CHAMELEONS OF THE CYMBAL WORLD
1
ZILDJIAN A
CYMBALS
We say: “Zildjian has
kept faithful to the
essence of the A Series
cymbals’ unmistakable
sound, while awarding
them with a clearer and
brighter top-end.”
2
SABIAN HH
REMASTERED
We say: “Sabian got the
remake dead right here.
The HH Remastered are
brilliantly musical and
show a great level of
versatility.”
cymbals feel softer under stick and their
thin profi le enables more potential for
dynamic playing.
Hands On
Versatility is a word that gets knocked around
a heck of a lot when discussing instruments.
One of the main reasons being that when we
make a large investment in a kit or set of
cymbals, we don’t want to have to go out and
RAW BELL
The bells are left un-lathed on
all cymbals except the rides
do it all over again in order to play a different
style of music. This is where a cymbal range
like the Zildjian K Sweets really comes in
handy. Not only are the cymbals deeply
musical and complex in tone – making them
very applicable to jazz or acoustic styles of
music – but they also have enough brightness
and presence to work well for rock, country,
funk, you name it. They just sit in the mix
perfectly, regardless of style. K Sweets could
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RHY279.gear_zildjian.indd 92 22/02/2018 18:21