MEINL Byzance Traditional Extra Thin Hammered Crash Cymbal 16 in.

You'll hate yourself if you don't buy this cymbal.

I've owned this cymbal for about four months now, and let me tell you: If your looking for something dark, washy, trashy, unique,, and huge sounding while still fitting in to an average mix/ live setting this cymbal is for you. It has a perfect sustain and frequency spectrum, just so that it's cutting and loud, but not overpowering. It gets out of the way when you need it to, and sustains on slower, quieter tunes. For a large thin cymbal it responds very quickly. I play in a large church in Renton, WA, and this cymbal is perfect for the kind of stuff we do. The church has A customs and K customs, and when played along-side this crash they sound dull and weak in comparison. Depending on the room, sometimes this cymbal can sound strange, or too trashy. An example is my bedroom. It's just too small. In a big room or miked-up situation this cymbal really shines. The traditional finish is great too. I love the sound of traditional cymbals, not too glassy. Despite the thin weight, it takes a beating quite nicely, but doesn't need to be hit hard at all to achieve the same volume as, say, an A custom being hit very hard. Stick marks don't need to be polished out, and no finger prints show up.

Hands down my favorite crash I've ever owned. My 20 inch extra thin is super trashy, Has a serious amount of attack and actaully sustains really nicely. Not exactly your typical crash tone, but a real unique awesome cymbal. First Meinl I bought, ended up getting me addicted to their cymbals