This excerpt is taken from the complete review that appears in the August 2015 issue, which can be purchased at: http://wp.me/p1bQfj-fuj

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Zildjian FX Series Spiral Stacker

Inspiring, funky sounds delivered in compact sizes.

Seizing on the current trend toward drummers incorporating small, trashy stacks and effects into their setups, Zildjian has added several new compact effects, including 10″ and 12″ versions of the coiled Spiral Trash, called Spiral Stacker.

The Spiral Stacker is a paper-thin cymbal cut in a semicircular fashion and designed to be stacked on drums, crashes, rides, and Chinas for a wide range of sounds. It’s made of more affordable B8 bronze and is available in 10″ and 12″ sizes. We were sent a 10″ version.

Our first experiment was to put the Spiral Stacker on top of a set of 14″ hi-hats. This created a really funky, layered sound that retained the expressiveness and open/closed texture of the hats while adding a flanger-style effect. You could also strike the Spiral Stacker for a whip-like response. Advertisement

Next we placed the Spiral Stacker on top of 16″ and 18″ A series crashes. The basic bright, clean tones of the crashes remained intact, but the sustain was shortened and the fluttery flanging effect caused by the Spiral Stacker was very pronounced. On a 20″ A series Medium ride and on a thinner and darker 22″, the Spiral Stacker provided a strong rattlesnake-like hiss while also making the ride much more articulate.

For very short, trashy sounds, the Spiral Stacker worked great when placed on top of smaller Chinas, like the 10″ Oriental. That configuration added a unique visual element; each time I struck the Stacker, it uncoiled several inches toward me and then recoiled back onto the China. The Spiral Stacker is also a much better option for creating industrial, trashy, metallic backbeats when placed on the snare. In that application it was much more stable than a regular splash (it didn’t jump off the drum as easily), and there was a greater variety of usable sounds, depending on whether I struck the bell, the spiral section, or just the drumhead. You need one of these.

For the complete review, which includes the new China Trashes and Volcano Cup Zil-Bel, check out the August 2015 issue, which can be purchased at: http://wp.me/p1bQfj-fuj

Review by Michael Dawson