Best 3 zone cymbal. Rolands or yamaha? (13 and 15 inch)

[punkouter2021]

The Yamaha ones are cheaper. What is the deal with some 3 zone cymbal have 2 outputs? What works best with eDrumin ?

[monospace]

Never owned any Yamaha gear so I'll let others comment on that.

The two-output Roland cymbals (I own a CY-12R/C and a CY-15R) use one output for edge and bow, and another for the bell. You can do this with eDRUMin as well, by using two inputs, but you don't have to. In fact, you get reliable 3-zone triggering with a just a single cable on pretty much any cymbal you connect to it.

(This frees up inputs so you can buy more cymbals which I just did, so be careful.)

[Mylo]

ATV cymbals also have two outputs; edge/bow and bell. And as monospace said about the Rolands working with one cable, the ATVs work great with one cable and bell sense as well.

[punkouter2021]

The yamaha only has one output but is 3 zone.. so I guess this works like that roland using 1 output ?

[MWJT42]

To clear up some confusion, you have 4 factors at play here:

1. Roland wiring. 2 inputs. Input 1, bow piezo + edge switch. Input 2, bell piezo (on right side)
2. Yamaha wiring. 1 input. Bow piezo + edge switch + bell switch (with resistor)
3. eDRUMin’s super magical bell sense
4. eDRUMin’s super magical edge sense

eDRUMin will work well with pretty much anything you can throw at it, it all depends on your preferred cymbal type and if you’re trying to conserve inputs.

Officially supported options (for 3 zone cymbals);

1. Roland 3 zone wiring (branded / DIY, rubber or metal) using 2 stereo inputs
2. Yamaha 3 zone wiring (branded / DIY, rubber or metal) using 1 stereo input
3. Any dual zone rubber cymbal, with bell sense activated using 1 stereo input
4. Any single zone rubber cymbal, with bell sense activated, and edge sense activated using 1 mono input (actual magic happening here)

Unofficially, some users report bell + edge sense working with metal cymbals, when setting them as rubber pads in eDRUMin.

The example given of a using Roland CY-15 as 3 zone with 1 input, is using option 3.

[punkouter2021]

great reply

So then why would I pay twice the cost for the Roland over the Yamaha 15 inch ride to use with eDrumin?

[monospace]

great reply

So then why would I pay twice the cost for the Roland over the Yamaha 15 inch ride to use with eDrumin?

Because Roland gear is well-built, lasts forever, and keeps its value. I’ve cobbled my kit together over many years by buying and selling on eBay, and Roland stuff is consistently reliable and fetches decent prices.

[MWJT42]

great reply

So then why would I pay twice the cost for the Roland over the Yamaha 15 inch ride to use with eDrumin?

I'm not sure if there might be any dynamics benefits from a Piezo Bell vs Switch? Probably negligible, as the velocity will be determined by the bow, like it is with the edge switch, and many people are perfectly happy with their Yamaha 3 zones, so I doubt it's a factor.

I went Roland wiring on my DIY metal 3 zone cymbal, as I could make it 'stealth' (Bell Piezo underneath), rather than Bell Switch on top. Perhaps that might also give the bell a little more striking area, compared to a switch, but I'm unable to compare.

[alder]

great reply

So then why would I pay twice the cost for the Roland over the Yamaha 15 inch ride to use with eDrumin?

Because Roland gear is well-built, lasts forever, and keeps its value. I’ve cobbled my kit together over many years by buying and selling on eBay, and Roland stuff is consistently reliable and fetches decent prices.

While the case can certainly be made for Roland’s durability, I’ve seen very few complaints on Yamaha in this respect. People seem to have various amount of problems with Alesis and no name manufacturers.

[monospace]

Like I said, I have no experience with Yamaha. But from everything I've read it's a solid edrum brand.
Up until I got an eDRUMin, that stuff was simply incompatible with my setup. If I were to start over today, their products would definitely be on my radar.