Comparing 3 Zildjian dry ride cymbals – Uptown Ride, K Custom Dry Ride, FX Raw Crash

Let's compare a few "dry" Zildjian rides.

I bought the Zildjian FX Raw Crash a few years ago, and I love it. I know some people think it's overpriced for a cymbal that's not fully formed. But I think it looks and sounds awesome. I mainly use it for a ride that I can crash. And I only use it once in a while.

Recently I decided to try out a few other dry rides—rides that have a ton of definition possibly without much or any "wash." I rented two from Cymbal Swap (https://cymbalswap.com), so here are all three together.

My thoughts?

The 18" A Zildjian Uptown Ride is pretty cool. It kind of sounds like a kinder, gentler version of the Raw Crash. Very similar, but less trashy, a little more musical. And a little more muted than the Raw Crash. Not a ton of volume, even when you crash it. But I like it a lot. I might wind up getting myself one.

The K Zildjian Custom Dry Ride is probably not for me. I really like the definition when you play on the bow of the cymbal (the main part). But good grief, that bell is too piercing for me. You can't see my expression in this video, but every time I hit the bell with the shoulder of the stick, pain shot through my brain. I think this cymbal would work really well in very loud situations—it would totally cut through. But I can't see using it.

What do you think?

Equipment used:
—Zildjian cymbals
—DW drums
—Blue Hummingbird overhead mics
—AKG D112 kick mic
—Element 88 A/D interface
—Logic Pro
—Final Cut Pro
—Fujifilm X100V camera