They are not generally power cymbals like modern day power rides and such, but many are louder that what you describe.

Thanks!

I add the weight. Both are 20".

an Intermediate - 1930g

an old stamp - 1810g

so they are not heavy.

Maybe they are played through many years and sort of dying?

oh, I really like both by the way.

No, not dying.....just drying.

The relatively quiet and subtle quality of K's is exactly why so many jazz palyers favored them. They blend with other instruments and bring out their sound.

Yes! That's what I wanted to say.Kiss

Thanks for great tips!

I have always found my old K's, which are what I play mainly, have much less severe peaks than others. In the drum to cymbals ratio, it gives you way more drums, and that's always been the sound I've been after. Many drummers should be called cymballers not drummers. I want to hear drums mainly, especially bass drum. My main two cymbals are 16" and 17 1/2"... I find big cymbals like 20"s and 22"s get into the "too much cymbals" zone too easy.

When I hear many drummers, especially newer ones play a basic rock beat, almost always the hi hat is way too loud. I love the hihat almost buried. The whole sound should be dark and mysterious, not Pat Boone bright light obvious.

My Old stamp Ks seem to be a little quieter or "softer" feeling. My new stamps, seem to have a more brittle surface and seem to project much more. Not sure if zildjian was trying to accomodate the rise in electric instruments with "new stamp" old k's, but my new stamps seem to work better in modern music than the old stamps.

When I went to visit Roberto Spizzichino, I played over 100 of his cymbals. I've noticed some of his cymbals are quieter and some project a little more and it had nothing to do with the weight. I had two 22"s of the same weight up side by side. One was soft and one was Hard. He explained to me that he makes three different types of cymbals. 1) One where the metal is a little more malleable, (soft feel), 2) a stiff (new stampish Old K) hard surface, and 3) a cymbal in between the hard and soft cymbal. He said the more malleable cymbal feels softer but is better suited for harder hitters because of it's ability to withstand impact of a stick without breaking.

Very enlightening to learn this from the greatest cymbalsmith in the world.

As others have suggested, they basically are more quiet than many cymbals, especially those intended more for rock. But Old K's are not alone in that. I have several Bosphorus ride cymbals that are "very quiet", even more so than my old K's. That includes a fairly heavy 22" Bosphorus Feret Turk unlathed ride which feels heavy but the edge wobbles like a son of a gun. Its a big cymbal, but with a stick like an VF AJ6, you can really dig in and still not overwhelm a piano trio!

My K. Zildjian Constantanople 22" Medium Thin High and 22" Medium Thin lows are actually almost a 1/2 wider than my various Turkish made rides. Thats probably because the Turkish rides (icluding old K's )were are measured in mm and the inch measurements are only approximate. These two KCons are also very quiet and will not overwhelm. You can't use 'em for rock.

I don't play much anymore, but my son is primarily a jazz drummer so this tendency towards a subtle quietness is right up his alley. He'll graduate this coming June with a degree in Jazz Performamce and been working quite a bit this summer. He had an outdoor gig this evening and was using a 20" newer new stamp K (probably from the mid '70's) with his Gretsch BroadKaster bop kit. I was there. The cymbal was. for want of a better word, PERFECT for the musical context!

For us, the worse professional cymbals out there are the current crop of A's They are too bright, too strident and way too pingy, with an unpleasant wash and are, to our ears, very unmusical. We own close to a dozen A rides, a few pair of A hats and few other assorted As, but they are all from the mid '40s to the very early '60s. We have no interest in any A's later than the '60s.