From what I know Gene came up with the names along with Zildjian. I think they coined hi-hats,splash,crash & ride. I could be mistaken.

I'd like to know as well. I would also be fascinated to see/ hear how they used to originally play he early swing/ Dixieland style without ride cymbals I.e. playing time on the snare with buzz rolls and the like,.... but what , just what , did they play and, for example was it more or less the same rhythm like the standard ride patterns that we know. How to swing this way but sound interesting,- not over simple but at the same time not to busy, it makes you realise the ride fills in a lot of space. Surely the ride cymbal stands for a heck of a lot.

Somewhat of an interesting read:

http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/5000-years-in-3000-words-cymbal-history/P1/

Cheers

I thought the idea of a ride cymbal came from the jazz idiom where that element of the drum set became the principal means of keeping time and driving the rhythm by "riding" that voice above the rest in the kit.

The ride cymbal became the way to keep time. I just wonder how the drummers sounded before that.

Here's what Zildjian had to say in a SoundLab report:

[ame]http://black.net.nz/avedis/images/SoundLab-Crash-Cymbals.pdf[/ame]

Also, according to Pinksterboer, The Cymbal Book (p150), the 1948 Zildjian Catalog offered cymbals in 18" to 26". Based on 1950s catalogs, advertisements, and known examples, these larger cymbals weren't always called Ride cymbals. They seemed to have other names in use: BEBOP, BOP, BOUNCE, PING, DANCE are the ones I've recorded ink examples for. I don't know when RIDE ink first appeared. But I was certainly surprised when I came across all those other names on 1950s cymbals.

Fascinating! Thanks for posting that.

& I second that! I love the statement from Hector Berlioz! Thanks Grantro

No problemo!! Glad I could contribute!!

Cheers