MIKE JOHNSTON

Mb1049Bill StevensonQ: Bill, you‘ve played all ofthe major cymbal brands outthere. Whether on tour or recordingyour own drum tracks,or recording other’s drumtracks while in the role of producer,you’ve seen and heardthem all. Recently you‘ve toldme how well the Mb10 seriescymbals have done for youat The Blasting Room. It‘s abroad question, but can youtell me, through your years ofexperience, what the Mb10series has that none of theother cymbals have? Whatsets it apart and makes itunique?Stevenson: The most accurateway to put it is thatthey have a perfect balanceof qualities. They haveenough quicknessand revsponsivenessto yieldappropriateintelligibility during quickphrases in which Ioften play many cymbal accentsin rapid succession. Butat the same time, the Mb10’sprovide a very full and completetone. It seems with mostof the cymbals out there youchoose between responsivenessand tone. But the Mb10’sseem to have both basesequally covered.Q: When you‘re getting soundsand listeningto adrums e tunder the mics, what are youlooking for in a cymbal sound?In what ways do the Mb10‘shelp you achieve that cymbalsound?Stevenson: The same criteriaseem to apply whether it‘sme playing live, or me sittingin front of a recording console.So, it refers back to thequalities mentioned in the firstquestion.Q: When you‘re playing theMb10‘s, how do they feel andsound to you as a player?Stevenson: I spent manyyears playing other cymbalbrands, and it seemed to alwaysbe a battle between toneand responsiveness. So to methe Mb10’s sound like some ofthose other cymbals I used toplay had sex and made a perfectbaby. Also, I like the lenghtof the decay the Mb10’s have.Sometimes crashes that haveenough response for me atquick tempos also happen tohave too short of a decay time,making them sound kind offake, like drum machine cymbals.Inked...Bill Stevenson´smusical legacy leaves its mark.www.meinlcymbals.com/mb10