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Meinl Cymbals 18-inch Classics Custom Dark China Cymbal

18" Medium-weight China Cymbal with Dark/Natural Striped Finish
$199.99

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Meinl Cymbals 18-inch Classics Custom Dark China Cymbal
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This article was Written By

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Accent Cymbal with Bright Bite and Dark Tone

Meinl's 18-inch Classics Custom Dark China cymbal combines the rich and lush body of a classic China crash with the light and dark balance of the Classics Custom series. When you strike the 18-inch Classics Custom Dark China, the initial attack is bright and clear, the way you expect B12 bronze to sound, and if you wail on the oversized lip, you'll be rewarded with delightfully trashy tone. What Sweetwater drummers particularly like about this China is the contrast of a dark timbre with the brightness of the attack. This allows you to accent notes with the attack and let the short sustain fade quickly into the mix — a real treat for aggressive musical styles.

Classics Custom series delivers bright and loud sound

Meinl's Classics Custom cymbals combine B12 bronze with innovative designs to deliver bright and powerful sound that cuts through the mix without forcing you to play as hard as you can. With its higher copper to tin ratio, B12 bronze rings clearly and brightly, filling the air with complex upper harmonics that provide a cutting attack and a shimmering decay. Many of the drummers here at Sweetwater swear by cymbals like Meinl's Classic Custom line when they need to punch through loud guitar amplifier stacks and serious stage volume. That makes these cymbals a perfect choice for pop, rock, metal, and other contemporary styles.

Meinl Cymbals Classics Custom Dark China Cymbal Features:

  • A unique China cymbal that's ideal for modern metal, rock, and pop
  • Dark timbre and bright attack balance beautifully in the mix
  • Cutting attack and mellow sustain articulate without overwhelming
  • Made from tough and bright B12 bronze for a modern tone
  • Dark finish with natural striation looks as cool as this cymbal sounds
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Tech Specs

  • Type: China
  • Size: 18"
  • Weight: Medium
  • Finish: Dark
  • Material: B12
  • Pitch: High-mid
  • Sound: Dark
  • Sustain: Short
  • Volume: Medium
  • Manufacturer Part Number: CC18DACH

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

INSANE SOUND

This is my first dark meinl cymbal of the series and im impressed with the Mega Chungus Deluxe sound, 10/10, 5 stars
Music background: Drummer for the deathcore band ULTIMATUM, (ULTIMATUM.TX) on media platforms
Rated 5/5

The big one

This thing has an amazing sound to it. You might have to put masking tape on it but that depends because I am in a very echoey room which speaking of which this thing echoes A LOT. But all in all it's very nice sounding and very pretty
Music background: Basement Drummer as a hobby
Rated 5/5

This bad boy is loud!

I'll start off by saying I love this cymbal. I did not expect it to be as sharp as it is. It will cut through anything. It could be too much for some people so beware. I had an old crappy hcs and this custom dark was a HUGE change. Took a min to adjust to the volume. It's an amazing cymbal. Buy it.
Rated 5/5

Amazing

This cymbal is freaking amazing!
Rated 5/5

Great China & Trash Splash

I had never played anything but Zildjian cymbals, I upgraded my cymbals to 18" & 14" Custom A's, 20" K Custom Dark ride, 16" A med thin crash, 17" Sweet K crash, 14" New Beat Hi-hats. But I was looking for a new sound that would blend in with my bright, dark and mellow Zildjian cymbals. By chance I was on YouTube and these Meinl cymbals were being played as a whole set, but I really was looking for a splash and China, so after researching more audio clips I settled on the 18" Classic Dark China & 12" Classic Trash Splash. Besides the stunning color, lathing & design the sound was a perfect blend with my Zildjian's. The splash blended well on my left side where I have my Sweet K crash and 14" Custom A. Because of the holes cut into the splash it mellows the splash nicely and you hit it and get out of the way quick. It's more on the bright side but due to the holes, just when you think it's going to splash loud it mellows out tone wise and cuts out fast. On a gig, if you hit this splash, people will notice it in a good way. The China is everything you can ask for, I play it soft on the edge to get that low rumbling trashy sounded but it never goes into the "Trashy" tone, it's one of those cymbals that has so many shades that you can get many, many sounds, think of it when playing the edge like you would play the edge of your ride, but a bit brighter of course but it still maintains its dark character. So it blends well on my right side where I have a 18" 1980's Avedis medium heavy crash on the right of the China and ibhave my 18" Custom A Crash, so I have a good mix of bright, trashy and smooth mellow sounds. When you really lay into them they are loud with the dark tones, a little trashy which is the sound I was looking for anyways, or I can ride it instead of riding on a crash cymbal to cut through. When playing light on it, it never gets out of control. The best part is that the cost compared to say Custom A's or Crash of Doom China's is way less. I would say the Mienl Classic Dark is more like Zildjian's Oriental Crash of Doom China's.
Due to the exquisite look of these cymbals I'm planning on ordering maybe a mid-sized crash like another 14" and a 18" crash so I can place them in between my Zildjian's, that look would look super impressive on a gig.
So in closing, if you want to spend more on K's and Custom A's and keep your sound very vanilla then by all means go for it, but you'll sound just like every other drummer who stays within his or hers box, but if you want to turn heads and have people stop in their track after playing your trusty Zildjian's and then hit one of these Meinl Custom Dark cymbals, trust me people will notice and say "Wow, what was that?" In a good way.
Music background: Studio/Tour Drummer-Rock music
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