Sometimes a product is released and you just don’t know if it’ll actually be useful until you mess around with it for a while. A case in point, Zildjian’s new Soundlab website, which allows you to hear recorded clips of every cymbal the company makes (or close to, anyway), and build your virtual cymbal setup.
I’m going to ignore the fake drumset part. You can share it with people. I don’t know why you can do that.
But a library of samples for the entire Zildjian library? At the very least it’s neat. If you’re on the lookout for a new crash and you’re thinking about moving from A Customs to K Customs because you want to go dark but maybe not too dark, sound clips could come in handy. I certainly had a good time clicking around for a while.
The more I thought about it though, the more it seems like a novelty. There’s no context, not even the rest of the kit, much less other instruments. Besides, cast cymbals aren’t incredibly consistent. I’ve heard two “identical” rides that didn’t sound remotely alike while perusing various drum departments.
But hey, virtual browsing has its charms. Maybe I’m wrong. If you found Zildjian’s Soundlab to have any practical use to you, let me know.
