Rock It Old School - Instrument Catalogue

TYLER'S
SABIAN CYMBALS

Sabian Cymbals
Sabian Cymbals Homepage

With his drum kit, Tyler plays Sabian Cymbals (Also favoured by Red Hot Chili peppers, and Phil Collins, among many others).

Tyler appears pretty middle of the road, cymbal-wise. He has more than some of the basic four-cymbal sets used by artists like Green Day, but nowhere near the sixteen cymbals that adorn Dave Matthews Drummer's kit. Tyler uses seven cymbals in his tour set. He gets a versatile sound from his versatile playing style, rather than a whole mess of cymbals.

TS: "If you look at my cymbals, I have two levels. On the first level I have a hi-hat and splash, which is to my left, and on the right side there's a splash and a ride. There's also a tambourine on the hi-hat. For the next level up, there are two crashes and a China. It just makes sense from a mechanical point of view."
     - Modern Drummer, Feb 01

Most of his cymbals are standard Hand Hammered (a series) cymbals:

Traditional. Warm, imaginative, and emotional. Hand Hammered speaks with a musical darkness steeped in nearly 400 years of cymbal making history. SABIAN artisans craft our secret process bronze into soulful cymbals, rich with dark, traditional tone. It's a complex blend of sounds that comes together in a warm, musical mix capable of motivating the musician in any discerning drummer. Individually unique, Hand Hammered is the cymbal with a sound that is a piece of art.
     - Sabian Website

His larger splash is from the AA series:

Explosive. AA cymbals combine musicality and energy for sounds that are bright, bold and explosive. Reinforced with the power and strength of multi-rolled, secret-process bronze shaped under 75 tons of hydraulic pressure, AA delivers with inner strength and outer energy. Cool for retro, right for now, these highly durable cymbals move a lot of air in any kind of music. From the Latin flavor of El Sabor to models that rock, swing, and groove, AA is extremely versatile.
     - Sabian Website

The 20" Steve White Signature Ride, designed for Steve's funky blend of Rock, R 'n' B and Jazz is a medium weight model with a strong bell, definite stick articulation across the bow, and a fullwash ride sound across its edge. These rides are fully hand hammered for warmer and more toneful responses (for more of a 60's sound).
Hand crafted from pure B20 SABIAN bronze, Steve White Signature Ride cymbals are available in Natural and Brilliant Finish.

I'm not a drummer, so I can't make any commentary on the arrangement or positioning of the cymbals. If you have any information about what makes Tyler's setup unique, feel free to contact me (link on the menu to the left).

Cymbal Specifics:

A - 14" Hand Hammered Dark Hats
B - 8" Hand Hammered Splash
C -16" Hand Hammered Thin Crash
D - 20" Signature Steve White Live Ride
E -18" Hand Hammered Dark Crash
F - 13" AA El Sabor Salsa Splash
G - 18" Hand Hammered Chinese

	14" Hand Hammered Dark Hats These cymbals are described by Sabian as: Responsive top and controlling bottom combine for dark, dusky tonality, with defined, dry sticking. He uses a Tama pedal for his hats (and his bass drum). He also puts a tambourine on his hats.
	8" Hand Hammered Splash This cymbal is described by Sabian as: Small, thin and fast, with a dark touch of tone and its own special character. I haven't noticed him using this cymbal very much, but, as a small splash, it's not the loudest and most noticeable cymbal to pick up.
	13" AA El Sabor Salsa Splash This cymbal is described by Sabian as: Small, thin and fast, with a dark touch of tone and its own special character. I haven't noticed him using this cymbal very much, but, as a small splash, it's not the loudest and most noticeable cymbal to pick up.
	16" Hand Hammered Thin Crash This cymbal is described by Sabian as: Very musical sound is low, dark and warm. Full-bodied response is impactful, with rapid decay rate. Tyler splits his crashes between his crash cymbals. He also likes to play fills which include both crashes, and switch up which crash he uses in a song (eg, changing which crash he uses at the same point in two different choruses, like Shoebox)
	18" Hand Hammered Dark Crash This cymbal is described by Sabian as: Dark responses are dry and moody, for fast crashing, quick accents and added punch. Like the above, this is one of the two crashes Ty has and he usually uses them together.
	18" Hand Hammered Chinese This cymbal is described by Sabian as: Raw in response with dark, musical overtones. Effective for riding, accents, crashing and effects. I haven't noticed him using this cymbal very much, but I don't watch the drums as much as I watch the guitars.
	20" Signature Steve White Live Ride This cymbal seems to have been discontinued, and as such, information and images are hard to come by. One site lists this under 'AA Signature series'. This cymbal is described by Sabian as: Clean sticking definition is enhanced with a controllable wash of warm tone. Play the edge for increased aggression and a bigger, fatter sound. TS: "[I have my ride tightened] so it doesn't move too much and hit the microphone. I use the ride a lot, and I like to close-mike it. Also, it's clamped down because I've been crashing a lot more on the ride - probably not the best for tendinitis! ... I love ride cymbals. When I had my first set of decent cymbals back in 1982, I had a Zildjian Ping ride. I loved that cymbal. I've always liked a bit of ring and lots of definition. Over the years I've gone in the opposite direction, towards the more Jack DeJohnette (Sabian) concept of a cymbal, where you get lots of spread and definition as well. It's not an overwhelming ping. Sabian's Steve White Signature ride is amazing because it's the best of both worlds: I can crash and ride on it." - Modern Drummer, Feb 01 (see top section for Sabian's info on this cymbal)

1) Thin Crash, Splash, and Hats with tambourine (l. to r.)
2) Dark (top l.) and Thin Crashes (top r.) and Ride (bottom l.) setup. Chinese visible (far left)
3) Front view showing the positioning of the Crashes (top) and Ride cymbals

1) Top field of 3 drums visible, Ride cymbal visible, 2 Splash cymbals have slim profile to the camera
2) Chinese, Dark Crash, Thin Crash (top, l. to r.), Ride in front of Tiny, Splashes have slim profile to the camera