As all Polish drum maniacs know (and the rest of the world is going to find out now), Radek Owczarz is one of the best studio and touring drummers in Poland. He has collaborated with some of the platitum-selling acts on the Polish scene, such as Kasia Kowalska, Pilichowski Band, Edyta Bartosiewicz, Patrycja Markowska or Jan Borysewicz.
Very recently, apart from testing some heads from Aquarian, he has also checked out quite a number of Zildjian cymbals from the K Custom Special Dry family.
Zildjian K Custom Special Dry Cymbal Set
15″ hi-hat
20″ crash 
22″ crash 
23″ ride
1. The test
The test was carried out in professional studio conditions, at the CLC recording facility in Piaseczno, Poland. We useda Ludwig kit (Radek himself does not remember what model it is, maybe you could help?) and a Ludwig Supraphonic LM402 snare. The cymbal set tested by us is comprised of the following: a 15″ hi hat, 20″ and 22″ crashes and a 23″ ride.
2. Basic specification of the cymbal set tested here:
- Company: Zildjian
- Series: K Custom Special Dry
- Cymbal set elements: 15″ hi hat, 20″ crash, 22″ crash, 23″ ride
- Finish: Natural
- Character: dark, sandy, dirty, dry, short decay
- Weight: thin (crashes), medium (ride), medium heavy (hi hat).
3. The product and the sound
With the K Custom Special Dry family, the Zildjian company are hoping to ride the crest of the tsunami wave of dry and dirty-sounding cymbals with fast attack and short decay. High frequency band harmonics have practically been eliminated. What we are dealing with is beautiful-looking, wonderfully crafted instruments with noninvasive sonic characteristics which can work miracles in any musical genre as even metal drummers like to have one or two cymbals of this sort in their arsenal just to add some colour. We are especially impressed by the hi hat from this set, which sounds rather crispy, has a nice, soft chick and does not blow the ear drums out. Nice one!
4. Summary
We think we should Radek Owczarz himself sum up the whole experience:
“These Zildjian K Custom Special Dry cymbals have undoubtedly passed the studio test. All the cymbals in the set have a common sonic denominator, i. e. they simply are ONE set, which can sometimes be crucial when recording. It is really good when individual cymbals are matched in a set as far as brightness and EQ are concerned. These are exactly that. I can also say that dry Zildjians compliment my drum kit and don’t overwhelm with high frequencies. They are fit for any style of music, really“.
Producer: https://zildjian.com/
Distributor in Poland: http://www.adamusic.pl/
OUR VERDICT: 5/5 TOP
Advantages:
- Very well crafted
- Fashionable, dry, earthy sound
- Stylistic versatility
- Magnificent look
Disadvantages:
- None
Drummers and Drummerettes! It’s time to put the Zildjian K Custom Special Dry set of cymbals (still relatively unknown to drummers in Poland) to the most important test of all, i. e. the en.beatit.tv viewers’ test! Exclusively for you, we give you Radek Owczarz!
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