I just came from JB Trinoma, which received a set of Zildjian Keropes this morning. We took the cymbals out of their wrappers and set them up on the demo drum set. The set is composed of 18”, 19”, 20” and 14” hats. They have no types (crash, ride, etc) and only have weights in grams written under the bell. They are a shade browner than the usual B20s, and fingerprints don’t show.
They sound very different from anything else I have heard from American Zildjians. They sound less bright but with more “body” than regular Ks, K Customs, and K Cons. The bells are tiny, and the profile is relatively shallow. They are not loud, but are very complex. Foreign reviews say that they are very inconsistent. So trying before buying is essential. If you find one that sings to you, get it immediately.
The 19” was too stiff for my taste, and did not open up too much. The 18” was nice and mellow, with more dark complexity than the K Con next to it. The hihat was special. It’s like what you hear in oldskool lo-fi samples used in HipHop. If I had a rap or traditional jazz gig, this would be perfect. But the star of this set was the 20”. It was 1836gms, which would make it about medium thin. It rides like a vintage Turkish K, crashes like the surf hitting the shore, opens up beautifully with mallets, and the bell has a gentle but rich ping. If I was forced to use only one cymbal, this would be it.
They are so new that JB have no prices yet. AFAIK, Keropes are slightly cheaper than K Cons in the US. But the guys in JB think they will be more expensive. I’ll have to save A LOT to afford one of these by Christmas.