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Soundcheck Blindfold Challenge: Crash Cymbals

Jared Falk  /  UPDATED Nov 2, 2023

Can you name that cymbal?

Jared and Bruce are back with another blind test, and today they’re crashing. Cymbals, that is.

Technique guru, Bruce Becker is known for over 35 years of drum education, as the understudy of Freddie Gruber, and for his game-changing Drum Technique Made Easy course on Drumeo.

Jared and Bruce tested three 18″ crashes to see if they could identify each one while blindfolded:

18″ Zildjian A Custom Medium Crash
18″ Sabian AAX X-Plosion Crash
18″ Paiste Signature Full Crash

With all three of these crash cymbals a similar weight and size, which one will they think sounds the best? Every drummer has their own personal taste. Of the three iconic brands in this video, Bruce plays Zildjian and Jared mostly plays Paiste. They wanted to see which of these cymbals they preferred based on what they heard, not what they saw.

Who guessed correctly? Who flubbed? Play along by closing your eyes at 2m20 and open them at 7m12 to reveal the answers.

How did you do? Did your favorite crash cymbal align with the brand you have on your drum set?

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Jared Falk is a lifelong drummer, drum teacher, and the co-founder of Drumeo. For over 18 years, Jared has been a leader in the online music education industry, publishing his first online video lessons in 2003 and founding Musora in 2005.

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