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CY-12/14 If you’ve experienced the frustration of a CY-8 and then move up to a CY-12 or CY-14, you’ll wonder what took you so long to make the jump. Both cymbals exhibit similar characteristics. Both have little lateral movement unless you keep the nut very loose. Interestingly, the 12 has a firm edge whereas the 14 is rather soft, and yet both have identical edge triggering characteristics. Swells are easy and more achievable than one might think on a module that doesn’t even support interval control. Another bonus is the transition from edge to bow, with both cymbals, was seamless. Striking the edge literally on the edge produced the best results. The bow sweet spot was a good third of the cymbal with little drop-off moving away from the trigger housing. The 14, being one the bounciest cymbals, was very capable of flams – more so than anything else tested. Another difference is choking. The 12 is the hardest of all the Roland cymbals to choke, while the 14 is fairly soft. In both cases, you have to use your thumb at an angle on the edge in order to get consistent chokes. Combined with needing a tight grip, it makes choking something you need to practice in order to get the muscle memory, otherwise, choking will be erratic when compared to the Surges or Harts. Cymbal hotness wasn’t an issue with any of the Roland cymbals. For example, if sensitivity on the Hart crash was set to 7-8, it was 10-11 on the 12/14. This balanced approach was another reason why edge-to-bow transitions were easier than the rest.
Yamaha The PCY-135 and 155 were almost identical in all regards. Both have soft edges and the choke far easier to achieve than any of the Rolands. Because both are three-zone cymbals, when paired with a Yamaha module like the DTX950, you get the broadest dynamic range of crash sounds – more so than any other cymbal hooked up to a Roland module. One unique feature is if you choke the cymbal while simultaneously hitting the bow, you get another sound, almost a fourth zone. However, the choke wasn’t as tight or distinct as on other cymbals because of that extra zone. The sweet spot was comparable to the CY-12/14 and Harts, easily a third of the cymbal with no drop-off in trigger response until well past that. Flams were a bit harder than the CY-14 but on par with the Harts. Yamaha has an L-shaped bracket that attaches to the cymbal arm which then extends upwards through a hole in the cymbal. 28
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