What is it?
Back in the ‘90s, cymbal brands periodically leaned into the ever-increasing popularity of electronic music, offering drummers the opportunity to recreate the pitched-up, crunchy sounds emerging from sampled breakbeats used in hip-hop, jungle and house music. This led to a number of options from Sabian’s VFX line (a collaboration with Tony Verderosa), Meinl’s Generation X partnership with Johnny Rabb – who quite literally wrote the book on playing live drum ‘n’ bass – while Zildjian joined the fun with its Remix range.
Now, despite the fact that technology means it’s now easier than ever to not only replicate, but create a perfect facsimile of any given sound and play it from the comfort of our kits, options in the cymbal world are now far more varied than ever, too.
Zultan’s designers are clearly aware of this, because its 8” Raw series hi-hats tap into the more recent version of this trend, most associated with German groove-wizard, Benny Greb. Here, Zultan delivers a pair of B20 bronze cymbals, served up in their un-lathed but heavily-hammered Raw finish, where the cast blank is finished with a wax coating, allowing that earthy patina to really pop through. Oh yes, and there are holes. Six of them, to be exact, which removes a fairly large amount of the top cymbal’s surface area. Un-lathed, cast B20 bronze cymbals of this type are known for their already-dry tonal character, but with the additional perforations, we're expecting desert-level conditions. After a gulp of water, it’s time to dive in.
Performance
These are mini-hats, and are unlikely to be a first choice for ‘main’ hi-hats, but in order to try the full count of articulations, we begin with the cymbals mounted on a regular hi-hat stand. First up, it’s worth noting that while the top part of the hi-hat is missing (perhaps these parts fuel a Zultan B20 tambourine?), the bottom cymbal is intact and weighty. This is a classic pairing for hi-hats, designed to enhance the fatness of the ‘chick’ sound. It’s exactly the case here, with heavy attack coming both when played with the foot or – more likely for these cymbals – with a stick in a fixed position. Except it does so with a bit of a twist, because the combination of the dryness from the simplified finishing process and the Polo-ing of the top cymbal creates an additional layer of trash, sort of like layering a traditional hi-hat with a burst of electronic white noise.
Played semi-open open for tight barks and accents, you get a fast, dark response, with some of that trash still present, while separating the hats fully for more sustained eight-note lifts, the sound dries out again, bringing the effect of those holes into play.
Finally, we mounted them in the ‘Greb’ position (to the right of our rack tom) using a fixed X-hat on a boom. As an addition to a larger setup, this feels like the hats’ natural home, allowing for some cool two-handed patterns between these and a more conventional 14-inch pair of hi-hats, while also having the option for ‘riding’ on the mini-hats. We found the most responsive fixed clutch setting was to have them closed to about 85-90% of our X-hat’s range, delivering a solid, staccato note without losing the trashy element. One thing that stands out, though, is the versatility of these cymbals. Tensioned carefully and they’re a trashy pseudo-stack, but they could just as easily be incorporated into percussion and hybrid setups when you want to add some additional colour.
Verdict
You might expect a pair of 8-inch hi-hats to sound thin, high-pitched and great for reliving those early ‘90s Acid Jazz grooves (much like our long-lost Zildjian 10-inch Special Recording hats). But that’s not really what’s on offer here. These are chunky, organic, trashy and very characterful. The fact they’re made of ‘proper’ cymbal alloy means that they feel and sound quality, and let’s be honest – they should do. Zultan has been making its name for over 25 years, and while it has a reputation for making high-quality yet affordable cymbals, these hi-hats still cost just shy of £200.
They’re not going to cut it as a main pair of hi-hats in any sort of rock-derived band setup, and it’s debatable even outside of those genres. But they are a brilliant auxiliary addition, and as mentioned, can serve multiple purposes. In that regard, they represent excellent value and a lot of fun.
Hands-on demos
Zultan
Alternatives
Specifications
Price |
£198 |
Type |
Mini-hi-hats |
Material |
B20 bronze |
Finish |
Un-lathed, hammered, wax-polished |
Contact |
