Gen 16 is a division in the Zildjian cymbal company responsible for the Digital Vault – software with samples of the best and benchmarked Zildjian cymbals for digital use. Zildjian wanted to take this new affiliation with the electric world further and so the research and development team came together with the guys from Gen 16 and developed a true hybrid cymbal that is both acoustic and electric for a unique experience and the future of the way we can create music.

Unlike an electronic drum kit’s rubber cymbal triggers, the Gen 16 cymbal pack offers you real cymbals. When I say the cymbals are real, I mean it. They are made of a unique alloy and when played, feel exactly like a normal cymbal. Except they don’t ‘look’ like a conventional cymbal. Each cymbal is perforated with what appears to be millions of small holes and is a high polished silver look with the trademark ‘Z’ printed in a cool blue. They look very slick and dare I say it – futuristic.

Now comes the interesting part. Underneath the cymbal, mounted in the bell is what appears to be the ‘trigger’ mechanism for transferring sound to the module. The innovation here is that that trigger is not a trigger at all. It’s a pick up or in other words – a microphone. That’s right, the cymbal’s natural acoustic sound is recorded and multiplied like a normal microphone. Only one that’s specifically designed for this purpose.

As a result of this unique method, I have never experienced this level of response from an ‘electronic’ cymbal through a set of headphones. In an instant, you realise that no matter how fast you play or how you do it, the sound will be transferred to your ears. A conventional trigger cymbal might have three zones – crash, wash and bell. And while they’re not bad, you can’t play with anywhere near the amount of detail you normally would on a real cymbal. Honestly, it was pretty amazing. I’m converted.

The cymbals also sound nice acoustically but the major difference is the volume they output – basically half or more that of a normal cymbal due to those holes. The ultimate practice cymbal ladies and gentlemen? The pitch is much higher than normal too but the hats are crisp, the ride washy and the crash sharp. Pretty cool.

The cymbals come with a module – the Digital Cymbal Processor (DCP) that has five inputs for hats, crash, ride, splash and china. Each channel has 20 presets to play with. But since we’re reproducing the cymbal itself the presets are mainly different pitches rather than out right effects. But this means you can have a set of 13″ vintage style hats or 16″ rock hats in the same cymbal. I suppose Zildjian does make real cymbals, not effects, so this makes sense. Other simple cool features are panning so you can still make the cymbal sound like its coming from where it’s set up on the kit before you send it to front of house, which is neat. You can also adjust your cymbal/kit mix to your liking and control individual volumes.

As I mentioned before, I’m converted. The Gen 16 cymbals look the part, sound the part and more importantly feel the part. Check these out.

Check out more from Zildjian and the Gen 16 Range below:
Zildjian.com
Gen 16.com