Zildjian Gen 16 creating a buzz
(mtebaldi | Posted 2010-11-06)
Recently released, the Gen 16 marks the beginning of a new era for cymbal making company Zildjian, their entry into the digital era. By digging through their headquarters’ cymbal vault, Zildjian created a sample collection of a few of their most famous cymbals series’ that made the brand one of the top of cymbal sellers in the world, along with a few of their never before released cymbals.
After being in the market for a few months, the Gen 16 is capturing music production studios and their composers’ hearts all over America. One of these composers is Glenn Jordan, whose credits include stints as musical director for Pee Wee's Playhouse, productions for artists ranging from Grace Jones and Little Richard to Shari Lewis, and numerous hit TV series including The X Files, Millennium and The Lone Gunman, has been integrating the acclaimed sample library into virtually all of his recent projects.
"Until now, cymbal sounds have been the weak link in virtually every sample library I've ever tried," says Jordan. "Traditionally, cymbal samples have always lacked a certain realism, particularly in capturing the natural ambiance and decay of the cymbal. With this new Gen16 Digital Vault, Zildjian has solved that problem, and solved it well."
Like Jordan, composer Sean Murray is also jumping on the Gen 16 train. Murray is one of the most prolific composers in the busy and competitive world of video games, has lent his scoring talents to some of the genre's most popular titles, including True Crime: Streets of L.A., Call of Duty: Black Ops and True Crime: New York City. He has been equally busy in film and TV music, amassing a string of credits on popular shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the NBC classic God, the Devil and Bob.
"I was lucky enough to be among the first people to check out Zildjian's new Gen16 Digital Vault, and these are truly some of the most realistic cymbal samples I've ever heard," says Murray. "The amount of articulation coming out of each of these cymbals is absolutely beautiful."
Richard Marvin, who has lent his compositions to hit TV shows like The O.C., Six Feet Under, Three Rivers and Without a Trace, and movies including U-571, Surrogates, Breakdown and The Narrows, has been providing music and sound design for more than two decades. For a busy composer like Marvin, Gen16's Digital Vault has proven invaluable.
"The time limitations I'm under to create 25 minutes of music per show, per week are just insane," he says. "For me, to have cymbal sounds like these at my fingertips is a tremendous advantage. It's really easy to find samples these days, but it's difficult to find samples this good. Finally, I've found cymbal samples that sound every bit as good as the real thing."
For more information about Zildjian Gen 16, visit www.gen-16.com
