I will describe my opinion on the Meinl Byzance 20” Vintage crash 1621 gr, 15” Jazz Thin Hi Hat 881/1098 gr, and the 22” Foundry Reserve Light Ride 2345 gr. as a set, rather than each by itself so that everyone can judge how they fit together. All together as a set those three models can be seen in a video by Adam Tuminaro that anyone can find.
In recent years I've been moving towards a darker, drier and softer vintage drum sounds, so I had to find the right cymbals as well. I owned Zildjian Kerope and Constantinople cymbals - 19" Kerope 1636 gr, 22“ Medium Thin High 2525 gr. and 15” Kerope hi hats 923/1178 gr. What I was not happy about was the 19” Kerope, which was not that easy to open in a light playing situation with the thinner 8A Wincent sticks and the traditional grip I use – in a lower position the left crash was always and issue for me . On the other hand the 20” Byzance Vintage Crash opens even with a light touch with a finger, despite the fact that it does not look much thinner (according to the 19” Kerope Crash). It sounds like a combination of a darker big crash with a slight thrash effect and some dryness. It is not too short in sustain, nor too long. And the softness upon impact feels very pleasant. Exactly the balanced crash I was looking for. On recording, it sounds more like a big effect cymbal than a crash, so if it's going to be your only crash, think twice and compare it to the slightly more versatile Byzance 20" Extra Thin Crash.
The Medium Thin High ride had too dominant bell and really short crash effect. Which was not optimal for me. The Foundry Reserve Light Ride is approximately 200 gr. less which makes it more crashable, but at the same time has great control and the crash is not overpowering the sticking. You can ride it, you can crash it and the bell opens the whole body of the cymbal without being dominant. Records beautifully. It's like the perfect cymbal ever! The Holly Grail!
There was nothing I wasn't happy about the Zildjian 15” Kerope hi hats. The only downside was that it didn't fit well with the softer, darker, mellow and drier sound of the Vintage Crash and the Foundry Reserve Ride. The thing is that Zildjian has a bit more metallic overtones even in the Kerope/Constantinople series than the mellow Byzance cymbals, so that they just don't fit together. At least not for me. So the closest hi hat I found was the 15” Jazz Thin hi hat. Almost the same in weight, but a bit warmer, softer to the touch, mellow and a bit drier - it's a perfect part of the Byzance family. When I recorded it it's not that pronounced like the Kerope hi hats, but that makes it more controllable and easy to manipulate dynamically.
All in all I found the Byzance cymbals easier to record and more pleasant to the ear.
I'm happy with the purchase.
