Meinl 18" Byzance Thin Crash

This is perhaps a strange review, because although I bought it, it was for the drummer who has been playing in the pantomime I've been in charge of for ten weeks. Dr Brian - a real Doctor of Music, has been playing in the pit for shows for as long as I've known him and many years before. He's a hard hitter and an excellent player - he's very popular with our sound people too because when he plays, there's a very particular sound, and lots of his work for panto is single crashes, effects and suspense stuff - not just normal drummer stuff. This means lots of cymbal work, and he had had one of these cymbals for quite a while - it sounded excellent. Although described as a 'thin' crash, this isn't a lightweight cymbal - the reason I had to be another was because it got damaged. The only available space in the pit was really too small for his big kit, and every time the cymbal was hit hard, the rear edge would rise up and make contact with the underside of the stage. This caused the rim, at it's thinnest point to crack - repeatedly making contact with a sharp corner on a metal bracket. By the time Brian realised it was too late - so he carried on playing, and at the end of the run, I replaced the cymbal with a brand new one. It sounds to me - a non-drummer, but someone who has recorded far too many over the year - like a thicker one, but has that lovely sizzle up tom when the very rim is hit hard. I'm currently working on the video recording of the show, and you can hear this cymbal really cutting through. It's a bit strange to do a positive review of a cymbal you've managed to actually damage - but on the back side of the cymbal there are a number of sharp indentations where it's made contact with the bracket so I'm perfectly happy with the cymbal, and so is Brian - who I'm sure would have asked for a different one if he'd been unhappy with it. So it's good choice, comes recommended by the owner, and the sound operator, and me - the person who paid for it!