Ride Cymbals
Ride Cymbals For Sale on Reverb
Ride cymbals are a crucial component to any drum kit—essential for both the soft, swinging sizzle of jazz or the loud, steady ping of hard rock and metal. Being the largest cymbal in a kit also tends to give them the most tonal variety depending on how and where they're played, making the ride cymbal capable of a huge range of sounds, from standard sticked sounds to bell accents to enormous crashes.
Here on Reverb, you can find a wide variety of new and used ride cymbals to suit any genre and budget.
What to Consider When Choosing a Ride Cymbal
Ride cymbals are similar to hi-hats in that they're also responsible for keeping steady grooves in most drumming styles—and, in fact, get their name from the overriding pattern that they're often used to play.
As mentioned, the ride cymbal is often the largest in the kit, but even within that larger size range, there are a lot of different options that carry different sonic characteristics. The best way to choose the right ride cymbal for you is to look at the music you're playing and try to match the ride to your needs within that ensemble, rather than automatically prioritizing characteristics like projection and ability to "cut through the mix."
For example, jazz drummers in ensembles featuring an upright bass player tend to like darker cymbals, because they blend well with the warmth of that acoustic instrument. Jazz drummers may also choose very thin, bell-less, flat ride for their dryness—especially when used as a crash, which appeals to a lot of jazz setups wherein a dedicated crash is unnecessary.
On the flip side, if you're a heavy metal or hard rock drummer in an ensemble featuring a lot of loud, distorted guitars, you'll definitely want to take thickness and projection into consideration. For you, projection is particularly important because the distorted instruments can cut out and overpower your frequencies—especially if you're playing to a bit room.
Regardless of what genre of music you're playing, the main takeaway here is to try and pick a ride to suit that sound rather than defaulting to prioritizing cymbal characteristics themselves across genres.
Popular Ride Cymbal Brands on Reverb
Reverb is home to one of the largest collections of new, used, and vintage ride cymbals in the world from some of the best brands in the cymbal space. If you're not sure where to start, shop by top brands on Reverb like Sabian, Zildjian, Paiste, and more.
Ride Cymbals Near Me
To exclusively browse for ride cymbals near you, reference the list of top cities and countries available on Reverb to search within a desired location. You also can review shipping details within an item’s “Shop Policies” section.