Meinl Ghost Ride

Meinl, as I've observed before I think, isn't one to generally sit around on its laurels and so its never a surprise to find they've released yet more new products. For what I am sure will be the first of several reviews this year, I've recently been playing around with one of the new Ghost Rides developed with Brann Dailor of the band Mastodon.

As you'll see from the photos, the Ghost Ride looks a little different.

It's a medium weight 21" B8 cymbal and from looking at it you'll see the obvious contrast between the lathed and unlathed rings, as well as the distinct dark unlathed bell. The cymbal is finished off with some striking gold/orange logos that strongly compliment the dark surface.

I have to say that I was initially quite surprised at the weight of the cymbal.

For some reason, given who was involved in designing this cymbal - Brann Dailor - I was expecting it to be a bit heavier and little more 'metal' (as in rawk!!!). However, that's not to say I was disappointed.

The audio example is broken down as follows - edge being crashed, bell, single strokes from bow to bell and faster single strokes around the middle of the bow - and was recorded with two overhead mics about twelve inches over each side of the bell.

The bow sound is what I would consider as 'medium', being neither overly heavy or light, but it is clear, with definition being no problem, and the overtones tend to diminish as the stick moves up towards the bell which means you'd be able to play fairly quickly without things getting too mushy.

The bell is clear, cutting and relatively dry and while, as you'll hear, when crashed the edge sound is a little thick and heavy, I doubt this is probably something you'd necessarily be overly concerned about.

The Ghost Ride is a fairly unique looking cymbal. I think, upon looking back, the word 'dark' would be a word I would use to describe many aspects of the cymbal but not in any restrictive sense. It's also potentially quite versatile too, which is where not being just another 'metal' cymbal proves to be a real strength and I think you'd easily get away with using it in most genres and not just its intended one. Very much an interesting addition to the Meinl range.

http://meinlcymbals.com

Dave Bateman
May 2012