[COLOR="DarkRed"]$500+....jeez, I don't even think I have ever seen one that would be so light.....it might be cool, though....[/COLOR]

I don't even know if they made "paper thin" 24" rides. But if you had one and it was in great condition, I would put it anywhere between $600-800 at least, with the option of a bidding war on a rare cymbal driving it up higher.

I agree, it would be super pricey. The odds of it being crack free - due to being so thin and 602 are not high. If it was pristine- I would pay more than 600$. There are lots of nice modern 24"s out there for less- and are more durable.

When was the last time you heard one?

what would you reccomend?

http://www.rarevintagecymbals.com/cymbal_data.php?weight=2895

Well somebody felt the 24" formula 602 Paper thin was worth $1200.

Maybe a less expensive alternative would be the Dream Cymbals Contact Series Small Bell Flat Ride 24"

Contact Small Bell Flat 22, 24"

The Contact version of the small bell flat is one of the

most responsive rides available today. A bright, articulate,

crystalline stick sound produces a fantastic ride sound,

shimmering, cutting but never jarring or out of pitch.

The wash supporting it never gets in the way but has such

a complete spectrum it fits in any tune, any key. The ride just

dances with life and the crashes on this cymbal can be show

stopping, but quickly get out of the way letting that ride pattern

come through clear and sweet.

I would be willing to pay over 600$ to own one, but as they are rare and I am only 40 years old I have never played one (vintage one). I have only seen those old beautiful, glittering 602 24" rides in classic vintage catalog pictures. I`d love to have one and know that 602s crack easily- pristine thin ones are said to be rare today.

I have enjoyed playing a gorgeous 602 22" ride and 602 14" hats here at a local jazz club. I am sure you own one Bill.

I do own and play a Dream 24" (which I know you don`t care for)

I think the Dream Contact 24" is a great sounding ride and worth it`s price.

Hi there all - sorry for reviving this very old thread - I stumbled across it and I am just curios as to whether Paiste ever manufactured "Paper Thin" 602 rides? I have a 3400g pre-serial 24" Paiste 602 without markings - based on the weight I always assumed that it was a "Medium", but if there were thin rides or paper thin rides around in the 602 series in the pre-serial times, maybe my 24" is not what I thought it was. Thanks guys and cheers, Erik

Hi Erik,

Old threads like this make for interesting reading.

As far as my research goes the PAPER THIN model came in after serial numbers. The pre serial models were:

[img]http://black.net.nz/cym2013/602-models.jpg[/img]

For 24" I only have a few weights where the model ink was intact

PAPER THIN (all Blue Label and range from 2895g - 2920g)

THIN (3138g pre serial)

MEDIUM (3212g, 3452g, 3523g all pre serial)

HEAVY (3925g black label era)

THIN CRASH (one Blue Label era but no weight available)

MEDIUM RIDE (3947g, 3936g modern reissue)

In general the 24" cymbals without ink run from 2948g up to 3875g. But these weights are not able to be assigned to specific models on that basis alone. I still haven't worked out if there are other shape differences or hammering differences which will let us tell the models apart.

I've recorded sales of other models like MEDIUM RIDE and HEAVY from the blue label period but the seller didn't supply weights. Yours fits the MEDIUM weight range.

The median expected selling price is $500 with half selling for between $355 and $600. Then there is a separate cluster of Blue Label PAPER THIN cymbals which sold in the $1100 to $1500 range. This is where that $1200 sale sits which was reported above. Based on the consensus model fitting from all of my Paiste cymbal price research, these are higher in price because:

[LIST]

[*]they are in pristine condition with logos intact

[*]they are Blue Label

[*]they were sold by premium sellers

[/LIST]

One was also part of that Gottlieb collection which was sold off in 2013.

* EDIT * in July 2018 my fellow researchers in all things Paiste found catalogs from the pre serial era which do offer the PAPER THIN model. So it now appears that it was just Ludwig who declined to put them in the Ludwig catalog. But they were available elsewhere. Since Ludwig was also the USA importer this helps explain why pre serial PAPER THIN are so rare. The large USA market probably had little access to them.