MIKE JOHNSTON

Generation X59by Norbert SaemannIn 1998 I met with MEINLCymbal artist Johnny Rabb inNashville, Tennessee wherehe showed me some prototypesof a few effect cymbalsthat he made by himself. I sawthese cymbals and thought“what the h$#@ are these?”Those were cymbals andsounds which I had never seennor heard before. On one sideI was fascinated with Johnny’sideas. I knew right away thatit would take some guts forus to come out with cymbalsas unconventional as those.That meeting in Nashville wasthe birth of what is now ourextremely popular GenerationX Series, which was introducedin 2001.Using the wing nut of the cymbal stand or the hihat clutch, youcan tune the Safari Ride, Crash, and Hihat to sound anywherefrom trashy to virtually no decay.johnny rabb(biodiesel), usaFast forward 10 years: Theline has grown from an initialselection of Johnny Rabb’sSafari Cymbals and Drumbalsto Thomas Lang’s signaturecrashes and Filter Chinas,X-treme and Electro Stacks,China Crashes, Benny Greb’sTrash Hats, and most recently,Mike Terrana’s signatureAttack Stacks. In 2003 MEINLwon the prestigious m.i.p.a.award for the Generation XSeries and produced an internationalGeneration X WorkshopTour. Almost everyMEINL Cymbal artist worldwidehas included at least oneGeneration X effect Cymbalinto his or her set-up as thesecymbals add a new color totheir playing, sparking newlevels of inspiration and creativity.Let it also be an inspirationfor your own creativeexpression.www.meinlcymbals.com/generation_x