Zildjian Armand Cymbals

96 RHYTHM OCTOBER2007
ZILDJIAN ARMAND CYMBALS
From £143 Bearingthe name of alegendarycharacter in thecompany’s history,
Jordan McLachlanmeetsand greetsZildjian’sArmand
I
fthere’sabetter drumproduct name
than Zildjian’s Armand ‘Beautiful Baby’
ride,then I’ve yettohear it.
At once the name is both afond nod to
the man who inspired its creation and stirs
an image of carefree ‘60s abandon. And
since its introduction in 2004,the ride has
won itself adedicated little niche of fans.
Its 19” sizeand three rivets mean it’s
hardly the most mainstream offering
in the current Zildjian catalogue,but it
was good enough forArmand, and the
recreation of the man’s favourite ride
has caught the imagination of many.
So much so that Zildjian has pushed
the button and developed acomplete
rangeofArmand cymbals, takingtheir
leadfromthe Beautiful Babyblueprint.A
couple morerides, four crashes, twopairs
of hats and a10” splash now bear
the great man’s name,and while there’s
stillonly one BeautifulBaby,the rest
of the family don’t seem to shape up too
badly at all.
Build
Given that aflavour of the ‘60s runs through
each of the new Armand cymbals, it’sfitting
that they’re unadorned by aflashy modern
finish and accoutrements. Instead, this lot
sport atraditional finish plus the understated
Avedis-style logo and model description. It’s
the perfect waytoturn out instruments like
these –they already look slightly vintage-y,
and the lack of mirror finish meansthey
should develop aglorious ‘hard lifeof
rock’n’soul’ patina after afew yearsofsweat-
soaked gigs.
The rangeisalso characterised by
relatively light weights across the board.
Eachinstrumentiseither thinormedium-
thin, again perfectly reflectingthe retro
nature of the collection. Thereare certainly
no XXL Meathead Death ride types to be
found bearingthe Armand moniker.And
lathingand hammeringissubtle too; small,
even hammer marks areevidentonall
cymbals (except the splash) and the precise
lathingissimilar to that found elsewherein
the Avedis line-up.
In terms of sizes, the Armand rangeis
conservative, with 13”and 14”hats, 10”splash,
16”and 18”crashes and 20”and 21”rides now
joiningthe original 19” Beautiful Baby ride.It’s
agood choice of dimensions, and one that
allows youtoput together afull Armand set-
up without leavingany obvious gaps in your
cymbal array.Unless, of course,you’refrom
the Mike Portnoyschool of ‘one of everysize
from 6” to 22”, with acouple of gongs for
good measureplease’.
Hands On
If you’re moreofatradcat,however,these are
going to be right up your street.And Idon’t
just mean trad in the jazz sense.For anyone
playingMoon-inspired rock,dirty funk,grown-
up pop or,indeed,electric jazz,there’s
somethingherefor you. That’sdown to a
great blend of warm, vintage body tone and
crisp articulation that each of the series
deliversinone form or another.Clearly,each
cymbal is designed to sound different from
PRICES
Splashes/crashes/rides
£143-£363
Hi-hats(13”) £407,
(14”)£424
COUNTRYOF
MANUFACTURE
USA
HAND/MACHINE
HAMMERED
Machine
FINISH
Natural
ALLOY
B20 Bronze
CASTORPRESSED
Cast
DIAMETERS
AVAILABLE
10”- 21”
SUITABLE FOR:
Pop,rock,funk,electric
jazz, blues
CONTACT
Yamaha-Kemble Ltd
Sherborne Drive
Tilbrook
Milton Keynes
MK7 8BL
Telephone
01908 366 700
Website
www.zildjian.com
ESSENTIAL SPEC
ZILDJIAN’S
BEAUTIFUL
BABY
provides the
blueprint for
this complete
range of
Armand cymbals
RE
CO
MME
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