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New at NAMM A number of new products were launched at one of the music industry’s biggest events, the NAMM dealer conference in Anaheim, California. digitalDrummer wraps up some of the gear announcements.
THE BIG BUZZ prior to NAMM was Zildjian’s entry into the electronic market with its Gen16 AE (Acoustic Electric) Cymbal. According to Zildjian, the AE Cymbal is not a sample trigger device. “Instead, it’s an actual cymbal, and plays like one, but at reduced volume levels, utilising a unique dual microphone and DSP (digital sound processing) engine to amplify and model the cymbal’s output.” “One of the most important things for us in creating the AE Cymbal was that it had to feel and play like a real cymbal,” says Paul Francis, Zildjian’s director of R&D. “Most of what’s currently available for drummers are rubberised, cymbal-shaped trigger pads, and they typically lack the feel and responsiveness of a real cymbal. For us at Zildjian, we’ve always been about the real feel.” The original concept for a low-volume acoustic
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cymbal was proposed by Korg, which came up with the basic perforation pattern. Zildjian adapted that design and also developed an alloy formula “that could deliver the feel, sound and durability we needed, and could be manufactured in a wide range of sizes and shapes”. The cymbals are not triggers that plug into a module, but rather amplified low-noise cymbals that plug into a five-channel controller, and then into an amp or PA. The product will go on sale in about a month, and will be offered in three-cymbal (hi-hat, ride and crash) bundles with additional crash and splash cymbals offered separately. There’s no information yet on pricing. Those who heard the AEs at NAMM were impressed with both their acoustic tones and their electronic output.
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