Zultan 20" Crash Dark Matter

Ok. You've got to put into perspective the price point of these cymbals.

You want a certain sound? You buy a cymbal from one of the big manufacturers and you get that certain sound with that often high price tag attached to it. No thought required though and often good resale value should it not work out.

Are you prepared to take a little bit of a risk and maybe go for something like this which is a bit more distinctive? Then buy something like this if you like the sound of it and you'll get that distinctive sound with a much lower price tag attached to it.

I liked the sound of this cymbal. Therefore for me it was an absolute bargain. When you look and listen to the other offerings around this price point if you like the sound you can't find better. The build quality of it is great, it is a good B20 alloy, stamped made in turkey in that distinctive way which you'll recognize from a certain well known factory which has caused some hearsay on various forums and it does what I need it to do mixed in with my other pies.

It has a slightly thin and trashy sound to it, yet it penetrates and builds a solid layer beneath your playing due to good sustain. It has the presence of those high shimmering musical overtones associated with high quality (and price!) cymbals, yet it is almost like they are not quite loud enough to cut through the more dominant lower tones. Therefore I find it to be a dark cymbal, so while it can be a big crash. I twin it with a heavier 18" crash which is faster, perceived to be louder and cuts better for accents and use this Zultan to sit beneath the start and end of sections with the sustain.

I swapped out a 20" Meinl heavy crash/ride for this which was too gong like and built an ugly overpowering wash.

It builds a nice swell if needed which doesn't become overpowering and crashes easily because it is medium to thin depending on your expectations and the bell is also surprisingly easy to access and musical as well and it is big and varied enough to get some stick articulation in it as well if you want another tone in your palette.

I'm currently really happy with this cymbal. No real competition at the price point and it is distinctive yet versatile enough to earn its space on the kit.

Use a 24" Sabian big and ugly for quiet ride patterns, a 20" Paiste rude crash ride for hot bell action and blasting, an 18" Zultan rock crash for fast and loud accents and this 20" Zultan dark matter for texture and variation in crashes. 13" Zultan RAW hats because they are dry enough, but not too dry, fast and responsive and they don't have too much slosh compared to bigger hats open and they sit in the mix so much lower yet still cut through because of their higher pitch.

Another point is the bell is quite low and flat so the pie sounds good a low, not like some 20" cymbals I've had with giant domed bells which made them pitch 1-2" smaller .