LEMON 11" cymbal received today. Partner or not, the opinion given as an average customer who has paid for their equipment will be impartial, as always.
RECEPTION
It's already a good start, with fast delivery (3 working days) and careful packaging.
UNBOXING
I am pleasantly surprised by the quality of the material, the rubber seems of good thickness and solid, the whole cymbal gives off a feeling of quality and solidity due to its weight. The assembly and finishes are impeccable, RAS
ROLAND style balance wheel (or stopper) supplied, as well as the btr key allowing tightening. This balance is not made of metal, like ROLAND, but of plastic, that said it does the job expected of it and tightening on the pole is done without difficulty. The swing of the cymbal is comparable to that of the ROLAND. Previously, this balance was not provided, so it was necessary to plan for this additional purchase (CYM ROLAND balances = 10 euros / balance).
It was our partner LEMON DRUM FRANCE, who suggested to the manufacturer to supply this part with the cymbals. Well done, this is an excellent initiative. Bravo also to the manufacturer, who knows how to listen to his sellers and his customers to improve things.
SENSOR
I tested this cymbal quickly (15 minutes). I will do a video test, which will be added to this article soon. A video will be more demonstrative than text to illustrate or explain this technical point. However, I can already say that the sensor reacts really very well in the 2 zones offered by this crash. RAS
I see absolutely no differences with my ROLAND cy12 and cy13, for me we are +/- on the same quality of sensors. It remains to be seen what it does in the long term, but for the price offered, it's really impressive.
AESTHETICS
The logo is relatively discreet, which suits me very well.
The grooves give this cymbal a nice look. The rubber also covers the entire cymbal, as is done everywhere now. The dome is not very pronounced on this 11", but it doesn't matter, as far as I'm concerned, since this cymbal serves as a closed secondary hi-hat. Usually we use this format for splashes, in which case the dome is not an important criterion.
I'll still give you a photo of a 13" ride to compare. The dome seems more substantial on larger formats.
I would still have a criticism to make, because nothing can ever be perfect. Nothing to complain about on the technical level, that is to say the playability, the sensitivity... on this side I am very satisfied, but something tickles me on the aesthetic level.
The orientation of the jack input towards the outside....meh...too bad...
For now, when you are like me, a stickler for cable management and you like that there is nothing protruding, this choice of orienting towards the outside requires you to leave a little bit of cable dangling. cable visible under the cymbal from the jack input, up to the axis of the pole, since it is necessary to leave a little play, so as not to damage the connector or the jack.
It is therefore in your interest (unlike me since it is not a cable from my module, but a 3 meter male/female jack extension, allowing me to extend along the entirety of my acoustic format rack) to have provided a jack angled on the cymbal side, because with a straight jack, this aesthetic defect is amplified and it's really ugly. I can't imagine what it would have been like on 3-zone cymbals with 2 straight jacks...
On a Roland it looks creamy, even in straight jack, you see absolutely nothing or almost nothing. (see below to compare the result with 2 strictly identical straight jacks on my set).
I would have much preferred that the jack input be oriented inwards, therefore as close as possible to the axis of the boom, so that the connections are as discreet as possible. Perhaps, perhaps, an interesting idea to submit to the manufacturer?
BUDGET
69.90 euros per 11" cymbal, stopper included - 10% (Kraken Addiction code) = 62.90 euros.
Given the quality of the material provided, I say hats off to LEMON. I appreciated saving 10 euros on a stopper, between that and the 10% to which we are entitled as members of Kraken Addiction (well yes this time I took advantage of it), we arrive at a really very interesting purchase .
CONCLUSION
Apart from this aesthetic detail highlighted and which is especially regrettable because I only had straight jacks to do this test (I admit), a defect that I could remedy with an angled jack, these cymbals are really worth having. considered. It's an excellent budget alternative for the "intermediate" range, barely more expensive than Millenium or Fazley..., but having also tested these brands, we are on a product very clearly above these brands mentioned quality level / finishes / solidity / sensitivity of sensors / aesthetic appearance.
Lemon offers interesting formats: 11" and 13" in 2 zones and 15" and 18" in 3 zones. Enough to constitute a set of cymbals with beautiful "realistic" ATV-style formats (even if obviously, the ATV quality is not comparable with that of LEMON).
Even if it means repeating myself, it remains to be seen what it looks like in the long term, but I'm not particularly worried, the equipment seems solid, what's more, the after-sales service is provided by a French partner of Kraken Addiction who is particularly responsive and easy to contact. and very pleasant, which is not a negligible advantage.
Link to our partner's website: LEMON DRUM FRANCE Details of the offer linked to the partnership with Kraken Addiction: HERE ___________________________________________________________________________________ ADDITIONAL ARTICLE (A FEW DAYS LATER) RAS compared to my article, everything is going wonderfully well with this cymbal.
Just a quick correction to my criticism about the manufacturer's choice of outward orientation for the jack entry.
This problem as indicated previously, is obviously specific to me, in general people use the cables of their module which are angled for the cymbal. I have an acoustic format rack and I use, (in view of the number of elements on my battery) all the auxiliary inputs of my modules and need long cable lengths to reach the rack area totally opposite the locations of my 2 modules.
Unfortunately for me, in "quality" 3 m cables, I have difficulty finding 6.35 stereo male/female with angled male plug.
Therefore, I did with what I could, that is to say by using angled male/female adapters and aesthetically, obviously, it makes a big difference. The cable management maniac that I am, is satisfied.
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