Are you looking to buy the best electronic crash cymbals for your edrum set? There are many choices, but which ones will suit you perfectly? Is budget a concern? Is module compatibility a concern? Is durability a concern? These are all important questions to consider, since crash cymbals tend to take lots of abuse during play!
Crash cymbals generally are dual zone cymbals. Most crashes trigger on the bow and the edge. However, some cymbals, combined with some modules, can trigger the bell zone also for much more realistic functionality. A few crash triggers only trigger on 1 zone. Additionally, some crashes will trigger 360 degrees around the pad, while others will only trigger properly on half (or less) of the pad’s playing surface.
If you are looking for the best edrum crash triggers, then this is the post for you. We will discuss some of the best options and provide a list of our personal favorites when it comes to electronic crash cymbals.
Worst and Best Electronic Crash Cymbals
Before we get into the best options when it comes to edrum crashes, let’s look at some of the worst:
Single zone crashes can be used as a splash or china, where a second zone is less important. However, they are really limiting when used as traditional crash cymbals, so we tend to group all single zone cymbals into the worst category for this reason.
Off brands like the vast number of OEM made by Medeli and generic Chinese brands, and virtually all cymbals made by Alesis, are not durable. They WILL break, probably sooner than later. If yours are an exception and still work, feel grateful! You are in the extreme minority of consumers.
Roland CY-8 is one of the most popular crashes on lower end kits. We do not like the triggering response of this cymbal. We also do not like the balance and weight distribution. Trying to make it swing like an acoustic cymbal is virtually impossible. The CY-8 is a bad design and is out-performed by its baby brother the CY-5 in our opinion.
WARNING! Controversial pick: We dislike the expensive ATV cymbals. These beauties have a very awkward edge zone angle that feels completely unnatural to us. We never witnessed this angle on any other e-cymbal and hope we never do again. We were leaning towards ATV for our own sets, but changed our mind after viewing these crashes as epic failures… Do you like them or hate them?
Best Electronic Crash Attributes
Ok, let’s talk about features that we really want when it comes to e-crashes:
We like them to swing with balance and feel like a crash when hit. We really dislike crashes that feel stiff and hard, especially if they are not designed to swing.
We like triggers that can offer a bell zone over a single cable, although this is not a common feature.
We like extreme dependability and durability. We do not like manufacturing defects and poor reliability. This alone eliminates ALL the newer Made in Malaysia Roland cymbals that have failed so many users with faulty edge zones.
Controversial Point! We are not really crazy about the larger size crashes for edrums. Yes, they are more proportionate. Yes, they are closer in size to acoustic cymbals. However, they also take up much more room on the set. They are difficult to mount in small space and can occupy the room needed by 2 smaller cymbals. This is just our POV. We feel 12” or 13” crashes are sufficient in size for most kits and most users, especially if creating a kit with many triggers. On our Flagship Roland TD50X kit, we use all 12” crashes and keep the kit in a very small footprint. We have also seen a dramatic upturn in failures on the newer larger Roland CY14CT and CY16RT cymbals, due to the same well known Malaysian factory QC issues. If you want bigger sizes, we recommend older Roland CY14C or CY15R cymbals as being far superior in durability!
Best Electronic Crash Cymbal Recommendations
Ok, without further delay, here are our favorite crash cymbal pads, in no particular order:
Yamaha PCY135 is a true workhorse! This incredibly durable cymbal is not the most beautiful, not the best feeling and has a stupid (but effective) anti-rotation mechanism. However, the PCY135 features 3 zones over 1 cable on select modules and is almost impossible to break. This cymbal has been around for a long time and has proven its worth with 2 zone crash compatibility on most major drum modules, including Roland. The PCY155 and newer PCY175 are great, but harder to find and more expensive.
Lemon is a much newer entrant to this field and we are not sure how their durability will hold up over time. However, early adopters report great durability and triggering from these very inexpensive cymbals. Lemon is a company worth watching. The question is: Will they continue to improve customer service and product quality at a fair price or slide progressively into poor quality all around like so many Chinese companies that preceded them. We will watch closely! Personally, we had a bad experience with their customer service, so we do not use their products, but would like to use and sell them if we felt valued as a client… which we DID NOT.
Older Roland CY-12C and CY-13R cymbals with the white bottom are our best all around pick. These cymbals feel great, look nice and have great balance and playability. Most importantly, they trigger flawlessly and are super durable. Superman durable in most cases. Age should not be a deterrent when buying these cymbals. Older ones are more desirable than newer ones in our opinion. The older Roland stuff was literally made for war. You just can’t go wrong… As mentioned above, The older Roland CY14C and CY15 R cymbals are equally awesome, but definitely more expensive, more difficult to find and larger (which could be a pro or a con).
We will be watching the market carefully and will update the list as newer contenders come into focus more. EF Note is a company worth watching. Yamaha might update their antiquated line at some point. We are always hopeful for better options when it comes to all edrum components, including the best electronic drum crash cymbals.
