MusicRadar

Stick sound is beautiful, a clean metallic ping against a near-perfect shimmer of wash

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• Review

The tuning leans towards trashy but in a gentler manner than that of an equivalent china. Crashing the Pang Thang gives a more china-like response, though with less aggression involved and a longer decay.

Of the two new Smash Crashes only the 16" model was sent for review. It's a warm-voiced crash with an assertive edge that helps it cut through well for a relatively small diameter.

The 20" Trash Crash is the cymbal equivalent of a mutant species. In essence, it's a 20" crash to which seven huge hammer blows have been added around the outer circumference. The blows are so deep that the edge has been pushed into a wave. The effect they have on its sound is just as dramatic, giving it a buzzy and distorted tone.

It's surprisingly good as a weird ride, supplying a recognisable stick sound above discordant pockets of wash. When crashed it explodes in a furious burst and then chokes back rapidly, the hammering also influencing the amount of sustain it produces. An unusual, but strangely addictive cymbal.