mcdrummer!...

The cymbal you are inquiring about is a Zildjian "A" 22" Swish w/rivets. Buddy rarly rode on it... ( but did here and there ) ... but used it primarily for accents/crashes. It was EXPLOSIVE!. That cymbal got out OVER the band with little effort. ( I have chatted with guys that played in BR's band for a first hand view... thay all said it was freaking LOUD!! ) Buddy really dug that Swish... so much so that even after it had lost a "chunk" from a series of cracks, he kept playing it. BR's cymbal set-up never changed throughout his career with the exception of adding in that Swish during the late 70's. It remained in place right up until his passing. I really miss him!!

Tommyp

Cymbal set-ups were the same

But he changed the cymbals in that set-up more often than he changed underwear.

I remember reading an interview with Billy Cobham in Downbeat mag in the 70's when he was in Mahavishnu. He said that his swish was the volume governor in the band, that it was the loudest thing in the band.

If you've ever seen a real Chinese Lion Dance... yes swish cymbals can be loud!

I did indeed say "cymbal set-up"... not the actual cymbal types/weights as Buddy did experiment from time to time. By the way, I am a huge BR freak and can tell you EXACTLY what type of underwear he wore!.. LOL! ... a true and funny story that came to be when I met him one on one back in 1973... but already I digress...

The Swish we are talking about may be the exception as Buddy kept that particular cymbal in his set-up even after that "chunk" fell out of it. Otherwise,

He tried Paiste... ( very briefly and just the Ride ) ... and was also featured in an ad for "K Zildjian" cymbals although I have never seen any evidence in pics/film/vid that he actually played them. His crashes and splash were quite consistent in size/weight over the years: Dual 18" crashes with a Thin on the left, and a Medium Thin on the right irrespective of company. His Splash was usually an 8"... but could also be a 6", with the 6" being more common towards the end of his career. HH's were usually 14" New Beats, but he also tried 13" too. I saw Buddy LIVE 5 times between 1973 and 1978 and always went up to check out his drums/cymbals. The drums were of course his Slingerland's during this period, but once with the infamous Fibes SFT 690/COF!... Ludwig during 1977 and 1978. Anyway, at every peformance that I saw he was using the "A" Zildjian's in the set up I described previously. Regarding his set-up:

Pretty amazing that it remained the same throughout his lengthy career as he saw no need or desire to change it!

Tommyp

Tommy, I've got a nearly NOS old K Zildjian 22" ride that was purportedly Buddy's. Cathy walked into a Guitar Center one day a couple of years ago and sold this cymbal, as well as a number of other items including a 70's Fibes COF snare, some 40's A Zildjians, and another 22" K Zildjian, NOS. This particular cymbal is quite thin and absolutely beautiful. Definitely not a Buddy type sound, though.

Thanks,

Bill

Hey Bill!...

Yeah... I wouldn't think the K's got a lot of use, and again, haven't ever seen a pic of Buddy actually playing them, although I'm sure he did at some point, but not for long as they are most certainly not a sound he could really use to "drive" his bands as only he could. I am again drawing on the TON of media that I own covering BR's career... a lot of it rare. Makes sense that the K's would be NOS doesn't it?... Buddy wasn't a K Zildjian guy!

Freaking Cathy Rich... jeeze. I will say that we were ALL hot for her back in the day!... but now she just seems so shallow and only in it for the bucks. Still... the connection is still there... she is after all, Buddy's spawn!

Tommyp

Tommy, I totally agree. I wouldn't be surprised if the "Buddy likes K Zildjian" ad was some kind of a leverage move on BR's part. The 22" K is a GREAT cymbal...I assume they would have sent him a nice one to lure him over, but he probably tapped on it a couple times and said "Next!". Lol! I'll be selling it on it's own merit as a great old K, but won't be asking additional money just because Buddy may have hit it a few times.

Thanks,

Bill

[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/drumaholic/michaelpaiste/Picture%20037.jpg[/img]

Got the exact same ad in my vast collection of "all things Buddy"... but still have yet to see anything that was taken LIVE with him actually playing/using the K's... as again, I don't believe he ever really warmed to them. He was indeed an "A" Zildjian player for most his career.

Tommyp