Nickel Silver Cymbals - and why I love (some of) them

 Nickel Silver - The Misunderstood Cymbal Alloy

I first discovered nickel silver alloy cymbals in around 2013 or so when a friend of mine found an old 22" NuVader ride cymbal in his attic and mailed it to me. I never should have gotten rid of this cymbal because they are next to impossible to find in this size, but more on that later. 

Nickel Silver (also called NS12) is a type of metal alloy that was used in various cymbals over many years. Currently not many (if any) cymbal manufacturers use it, but I honestly am not sure why, because personally I love the sound of it. I think there is a misconception of it being overly bright and clangy. I do not agree. Yes, the heavier models can be quite bright, but in my opinion, it is no brighter than B8 Bronze. The thinner models have a very unique quality which possess a dry dark wash, but definitely not the same as bronze. Depending on the hammering and age too, some models have a very trashy sound that is incredibly cool. Some of my favorite cymbals I've ever owned were made from Nickel Silver.   

Here is a list of known cymbals made from Nickel Silver:

• NuVader - This was the brand that got me interested in the first place. It was produced by Paiste in either the late 70s or early 80s. At this same time Paiste also produced cymbals called "InVader" (these were bronze) and just "Vader" (these were brass). The NuVaders are the only Nickel Silver ones. I used to have a 22" ride and 15" hi hats, but I foolishly gave them away. Both of these sizes are incredibly rare. The 20" rides, and 14" hi hats show up fairly often on the used market, but the 22s and 15s are so rare. Both of the ones I had were quite thin, and this really is what made them sound so good. The ride cymbal especially had a very low pitch and such a great sound. I used that ride on many recordings. I also owned a 20" NuVader Ride and I did not like it nearly as much. It wasn't as thin as the 22", and had a much higher pitch and was a lot less dark. It wasn't bad, but not great. 
  
  
• Camber - This is a tough one because there are actually very few NS12 Camber cymbals. Also, there are many different eras of Camber, and many times the people selling them know little about them. Through the 60s to the 80s Camber was produced by Meinl, and these are the only ones you're going to want to buy. The ones made in the 90s in Canada were produced by Sabian, and are hot garbage made of brass. Even the Meinl Cambers are very hit or miss, and it's always a bit of a crap shoot when you buy them.
  
  The Meinl ones are either just branded as "Camber" and later were "Camber II". The alloy Camber was made from really seems to be pretty random. Maybe they used whatever was cheapest at the time? I really don't know, but regardless, but some of them are brass, some or b8 bronze, and very few are Nickel Silver. I currently own two NS12 Cambers. I have a 20" flat ride, and a 22" medium ride. Both are incredibly rare. I found the flat ride on Ebay. This is literally the ONLY ONE I have ever seen. It is also the weirdest sounding cymbal that I own. I absolutely love it. It's not dark, but I wouldn't call it bright either. It literally sounds like TV static white noise with a dry stick ping overtop of it.
  
  The 22" Medium ride is a Camber II and is absolutely amazing. It is heavier than my old NuVader ride, but it has some similar characteristics. It has a very low pitch and a beautiful dark wash. However, it has a more defined ping than the NuVader 22 had and a longer sustain. Both the NuVader 22" and the Camber II 22" have amazing loud and low-pitched bells.
  
  I found the 22" Camber II on Guitar Center's used section and determined it was NS12 based on the photos. NS12 is more silver looking than bronze and the brass ones have a more golden appearance if they are in good shape, and a browner appearance if they have a good amount of patina on them. Some people online incorrectly state that NS12 Cambers are Nickel plated brass. This is not the case. These are definitely NS12 cymbals. Brass is far more dull sounding and does not have the sustain that NS12 has. 
  
  
• Paiste - Paiste has made the most NS12 cymbals of any manufacturer by far. But not all of them are NS12, but here are the lines that are and some notes about them: Paiste Stanople, I have a 15" pair of Stanople Hi Hats and they are incredible sounding. They're a bit heavier than the NuVader 15" I used to have, but have a very similar tone. However, they are lower pitched and a bit trashier sounding. Stanoples also had bronze models, so take a close look at the color of the cymbal before buying. 
  
  Paiste Dixie - I am pretty sure all Paiste Dixies are NS12. I had a 20" Dixie ride years ago, and actually I just remembered that I had that before the NuVaders. It sounded so trashy and dark and was dented all up and very thin. It was a wonderful sounding cymbal, but I broke it. 
  
  Paiste Ludwig Standard - Like the Stanoples, some of these are bronze, so pay close attention to the color of the cymbal before purchasing. 
  
  Paiste 402 - These are the most recent NS12 cymbals Paiste have made. They sound okay, but are generally heavier than all the others which gives them a more pingy and bright sound. They are still pretty dry and the Hi Hats especially have a good tone. The ride is a good rock ride. However, I don't like them as much as any of the others listed above. But if you are into reworking cymbals, this would be a good one to start with because you could potentially lathe off some weight and re-hammer them.
  
  
• Meinl: Marathon - I've only ever seen one of these and it looks pretty awful. These have to have the biggest cymbal logos on them I have ever seen. It just makes the cymbal look really bad. Also, it looks like it would be heavy. I've never heard one, so I could be wrong, but I'm not that interested in trying it because of those ridiculous logos. 
  
  Generation X- Generally this is a line of FX cymbals by Meinl and not all of them are NS12, but due to the color they are generally pretty easy to spot. I had the Kinetic Crash 18" which was a pretty cool sounding cymbal. I had that white noise quality the Camber flat ride has. 
  
  
• Avanti - These ones are pretty cool and almost all sound pretty good. They are another German cymbal maker. They had many sizes, 14" and 15" hats, medium and thin crashes ranging from 14" to 18" (maybe more) 20" and 22" rides, and they also made color sound versions! I've seen black ones and red ones. I'm not sure what other colors they made. Though I think the color sound ones may be bronze. 

Now let's talk about how to identify NS12 alloy by visual appearance. I think by providing a few examples, you should easily be able to spot the difference. NS12 is sort of a pale silver/grey color.