Yes it is! Let me tell you about it, but let’s start out with some history. A friend of mine bought the Dark Ride back in the early Eighties after it sat in a store for years. (It was manufactured in 1979.) It was not played a lot, and it is the darkest Sound Creation Dark Ride I ever heard. You can still see the Sound Creation engraving on the cymbal, but the black letters stating “DarkRide” are history. There is a smooth ding on the side of the cymbal (which has been there for years, showing no signs of cracking—this is a real heavy cymbal, mind you). Also, there is some [very small] wear under the bell where the cymbal washer made contact with the cymbal—small cookies. And the cymbal hole is ever-so-slightly out of round. Playing this cymbal [vertically] replicates the Tony Williams cymbal sound, back in the Sixties—it’s a killer, especially for SC Dark Ride freaks! Why don’t I keep it…well, I have a soft spot for the PaisteTraditionals.
