Technology and Teaching - Zildjian L80 Low Volume Cymbals

The Musician's Notepad takes a look at Zildjian's new L80 Low Volume Cymbals.... They're full of holes!

Special Thanks to Mike Sutton over at Zildjian for all his help!

Graphics Used:

[Paiste]

I have the L 80s and Remo's Silentstrokes. I can now play ANYTIME of the day or night. I'm a Happy Camper (drummer). :-)

[laurdessvalentino]

This is by far the best video if you are looking for a real review by a drummer. Seriously... thank you for taking the time to post this.

[Astroyan]

Each 3dB drop correspond to a volume divided by 2, then :
-3dB = 1/2 = -50%
-6dB = 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/4 = -75%
-9dB = 1/2 * 1/2 *1/2 = 1/8 = -87.5%

[ejj]

Thank you for the video.... this is one of the most down to earth and easily understandable reviews for the product I’ve seen. You took the time to break down and specifically talk about all of the features etc... without sounding like a recording of the writing you see on the “product description” section. Definitely Subscribed, nice work

[garbagepailkids]

Thank you for including decibels, that was helpful.

[BearHands]

I find these to be a great option for low-volume playing! I have a set of REMO SilentStroke heads on my PDP LX Maple drums, and they sound great! The L80's would complete that configuration for me and allow me to play well, sound good, yet quietly in low volume situations.

The L80's are still in their infancy as a product line. They were born out of the Gen16 Acoustic/electric cymbal line (which is also in its infancy as a whole new market in the world of percussion)! I wouldn't be surprised to see all sorts of sizes and configurations of these babies!

They really are not flimsy at all. They are made from a unique proprietary alloy unlike any other cymbal they make. The folks at Zildjian have made many improvements since the original Gen16 Nickel cymbals. They learned that the nickel was too rigid, and did not flex like bronze does, so they came out with the buffed bronze series. Out of the buffed bronze series came the L80's.

They also learned that with the original pickups on the first generation Gen16's, that there was a lot of cross-talk between them. So the direct-source pick-ups became the solution to that issue.

I am fortunate enough to live within 10 miles of the Zildjian factory in Norwell, MA, so I stopped by one day last summer. When I was there, I was looking into the Gen16 Buffed Bronze series of acoustic/electric cymbals, and they were experimenting with all sorts of different configurations of how to use the direct source pick-ups for the central processing unit. I thinks there are some great things yet to come from Zildjian in the near future!

Check out some videos from NAMM 2017 for some insight on the latest gear!

[stringsdiezel]

The Decibel scale is logarithmic.
For every increase of 3dB the sound pressure level has doubled (technically twice as loud by measurement), however, the average listener tends to report/estimate that a sound source is twice as loud when the SPL has increased by around 6dB.
83dB is twice as loud as 80dB, but we would probably hear 86dB as "sounding twice as loud" as 80dB.

The reverse of this is also true, a decrease of 3dB represents the sound pressure level being halved.

[hul]

This is a good video. Here are a few ways you can optimize the feel of the cymbals. If you feel it has low mass Meinl cymbal magnets could be of some help, also based on the mounting location you can actually tune your cymbals for nice feel.

[InstantKarma]

Great vid..i have tinnitus and this was big for me...protect those ears guys..T sux

[DoKsTa]

great info tks, as far i know they have a 20"' ride now,

[veerchasm]

Best review of these I’ve seen. Thanks for the the useful video

[stevenhorning]

Ok I have them... and I usually exclusively use sabian lmao. I play regular gigs but I live in an apartment so to practice I use them. Never had any complaints about noise and I maintain my sticking. That being said my apartments are newer, it's not SUPER quiet in context of a kit even with silent strokes i can play over the other four guys during practice fine.

[razacli]

Those cymbal mutes you were using, what are they called? (Not then l80

[mickavellian]

About 5 years ago I was in Germany and saw a "cymbal muting kit" Yeah not the coolest of branding but these were just a clear flexible 1/8 thick transparent polymer. Very flexible, very clear.
As a circle it was the standard cymbal sizes but you could wet them by pieces and stick to the back of a VERY clean cymbal . With the transparent rubber thoroughly wet you'd patch certain areas of the cymbals or ALL of is since the size was precize for standard cymbals. Once the Adhesion (or is it Cohesion) clung to the cymbal and it dried . the cymbals were MORE muted that the swiss cheese solution . if you wanted a little more "ring" you'd tear off a strip from around the edge. I recall the actual bounce and response was as that of any other cymbal it just did not have the attack and the volume crest. To go back to your regular cymbals just peel an edge and once up the whole rubberized material would peel right off. It was by no means an easy or fast configuration but they felt a lot more natural that the honeycomb and since they were graduable (I doubt you can increase/decrease amplitude or change tone on the Swiss Cheese design.
I wish I remembered the name .. but
They were NOT made in Germany
They seem to be from a middle east country.
Anyone else has seen and played with these ?

[julsrique]

Db's measure in logarithmic scales...
so 10 units is not ten units... just a little brief sample
1 is one in logarithm but two is tree four is six.
Five is 6.9
and continue in crechendo.
10 Db's is great!

[davidjames]

What would be interesting to me is to hear an L80 cymbal withOUT the holes so we could make an assessment of how much difference the holes actually make.

[mghc]

Great job..is there a warranty..I hit hard..playing for 35 yrs so I know how to hit..but I do still hit hard

[dumdumbrown]

Great video and good observations - thank you. Would you compare these to Sabian’s Quiet Tone Practice cymbals? They’re made of stainless steel, and are heavier than the Zildjians - would love to know if the way they move is closer to real cymbals. Cheers!

[fidgetmuffin]

Great video, thank you. Are you familiar with the gen16's? If so, how do these compare?

[fideoioioi]

How come the muffled crash and ride are louder than the non muffled ones? Something's wrong in your meassurement.