STEWART COPELAND

Anyone have a favorite Stewart cymbal setup?

Options include the setups for the first three Police lps, the Paiste Rudes and Formula 602s of Ghost and Synchronicity, the Paiste Signatures of the late 80s and 90s, or the Reunion setup of 2002s, Bluebell ride, etc.

I personally prefer to have Signatures, Sound Formulas, or 2002s on my own set, but as far as Stewart's kits go, I think I liked his Rude setup in the early 80s. They looked great and Stewart got a great sound out of them.

I know SC had a lot of cymbals available to him; the equipment list in the Ghost tour book also shows Paiste Sound Creations. Who knows what all was actually used in the recording sessions, but from what I've seen, I like his use of the Rudes.

As a drummer myself, I can honestly say my favorite cymbal set up was the one Stewart built so he couldn't see Gordo!

you are correct, Johnny.

[quote="Johnny O"]As a drummer myself, I can honestly say my favorite cymbal set up was the one Stewart built so he couldn't see Gordo![/quote]


LOL my thoughts exactly!

I initially read this thread thinking "I know nothing about cymbals", but you nailed it! I second (or third, or fourth, hmm, fifth!) the vote.

At the risk of being banned from SC.Net, I really, really loved his ride, hi-hats and splash from the first three albums. I'm pretty sure they were Zildjian. The crashes? Um, no.

I'm not a fan of Paiste splashes. They just don't do it for me. I'll always hear the A Zildjian as THE splash sound.

Having said all this, I did love the RUDES. The 13' 2002 and 602 hats were sweet also, but only he could make them sound so good.

Don't get me started on the AWESOME 8" 2002 bell. Just beautiful.

The Sigs are nice but still lack that certain something.

I had a 2002 8" Bell for awhile, but it wasn't the sound I was looking for. I found the sound in a 7.5 LP ice bell - it's pretty close to the Ufip Ictus 75 bell heard during Secret Journey.

If Stewart had Esperanza Spaulding or Tal Wilkenfeld for a bass player, would he remove a bunch of cymbals from that side of the kit? If it was me, I'd probably remove anything that got in the way of the view, because eye contact is so important, lol.

drummike wrote:I had a 2002 8" Bell for awhile, but it wasn't the sound I was looking for. I found the sound in a 7.5 LP ice bell - it's pretty close to the Ufip Ictus 75 bell heard during Secret Journey.

If Stewart had Esperanza Spaulding or Tal Wilkenfeld for a bass player, would he remove a bunch of cymbals from that side of the kit? If it was me, I'd probably remove anything that got in the way of the view, because eye contact is so important, lol.

Had that bell - sold it. Had a 9" 602 Heavy Bell decades ago. Traded it for a Tama Camco pedal. Still can't decide if I miss the thing. They're going for mega $ on the 'Bay. I Have a 9" Zilbell that gets a smack once in a while. it sounds just like the bell in "Brothers on Wheels" from the Rumblefish soundtrack.

Stagg percussion makes an interesting one called a "Dark Metal Lite Bell". It sounds pretty close to the Ictus, but it has a weird out-of-phase quality. I gave it to my son for his kit.

Well, I have to thank Stewart (and Jeff) for bringing us all these interesting sounds; they certainly added something new and exciting to the drum sounds back in the day. Before The Police, it was mostly low end, mushy drum sounds, all muffled and contained. Stewart, along with some brave recording engineers blew it all up and made the drums sound so much more interesting.

drummike wrote:Well, I have to thank Stewart (and Jeff) for bringing us all these interesting sounds; they certainly added something new and exciting to the drum sounds back in the day. Before The Police, it was mostly low end, mushy drum sounds, all muffled and contained. Stewart, along with some brave recording engineers blew it all up and made the drums sound so much more interesting.

Oh, definitely! I got a splash with my first decent kit in '78, but I had no idea how to use it until Stewart came along!
He absolutely changed the way drums were played and brought them out of the "Studio Stone Age".

Ghost era Rudes and 602s. Such a heavy yet brilliant glassy sound.

BTW I picked up a new 16" A custom Rezo crash to replace the cracked Z custom medium crash and it is AWESOME! Very neat looking too- hope it holds up. Click my youtube link for a few new vids of if in action- beautiful sound.

Spec A! wrote:Ghost era Rudes and 602s. Such a heavy yet brilliant glassy sound.

BTW I picked up a new 16" A custom Rezo crash to replace the cracked Z custom medium crash and it is AWESOME! Very neat looking too- hope it holds up. Click my youtube link for a few new vids of if in action- beautiful sound.

Took a few swipes at an 18" Rezo - pretty nice, but I'm still a K guy - for now at least.

I've really become an A custom dude. Maybe I should change my name to Spec A Custom!?

It kills me how expensive cymbals have become. I haven't had to buy any in years and damn they've gone up like $50 since the last time I had to replace a 16"!

Spec A! wrote:I've really become an A custom dude. Maybe I should change my name to Spec A Custom!?

It kills me how expensive cymbals have become. I haven't had to buy any in years and damn they've gone up like $50 since the last time I had to replace a 16"!

Tell me about it. What's worse, all Zildjians are now hammered by machines! I wouldn't mind paying that much for a cymbal made entirely by hand. The human factor has all but vanished in cymbal making.