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Chris Brewer - Meinl Cymbals
Meinl Artist Relations Manager Chris Brewer answers 5 questions and gives a little insight into the world of Meinl Cymbals.
FOD) – Meinl has actually been making cymbals for a long time..why do feel the brand is really starting to pick up and become more known now?
CB) – Despite Meinl having been distributed in the US as a brand through other companies for years, Meinl USA officially opened its own doors in 2000. Its first and current U.S. artist relations manager began working for the company in late 2003. Its current U.S. president began working for the company in 2005. Since this time, a comprehensive artist roster and sales force has come into play that has worked in tandem to further the brand awareness to the customer and to further the all important aspects of customer service and relationship building between Meinl and the dealer. All of these things take time to build and what you're seeing now is the fruit of the last ten years of labor.
FOD) – You offer such a large selection of different types of cymbals, including sheet cymbals. What do you look for to help decide if a new cymbal is worth adding to the Meinl line??
CB) – Enthusiasm and excitement towards, and inspiration from the new cymbal via artists, dealers and end-users.
FOD) – Big Crash cymbals have been making a strong come
back, Meinl has alot of 20,21,22 etc crashes. Have you seen a good amount of players that prefer these sizes choose Meinl?
CB) – Yes. A 16″ crash is almost a splash cymbals these days oddly enough. That being said, given the preference of drummers towards these larger size cymbals, no company could survive without offering these sizes in their line-ups. Artists and end-users alike are playing them.
FOD) – The Byzance line plays well and sounds great on a wide range of music..was there a particular style or player that you had in mind when designing these cymbals??
CB) – We had no particular style or player in mind. Basically we desired an all applicable cymbal that was based on a B20 alloy, because historically B20 has spoken to many players in many genres. That's what we were after: the pop drummer to the funk drummer to the metal drummer to the jazz drummer.
FOD) – You have brought on alot of new artists..do you feel that the brand is taking a turn towards any particular type of style of player?? Or has it stayed very diverse?
CB) – Our artist roster isn't taking any deliberate turns towards any particular styles. We made a reputation for ourselves in the US and abroad based off of heavy hitting drummers and drummers who for lack of a better term have been labeled “drummers' drummers.” Out initial fans have grown and have been able to enjoy and relate to artists that have joined our roster who are stylistically more refined in terms of the music they play, while the newer and younger fans are still able to find relevant artists that have joined our roster who speak to their tastes and the music that's important to them while being young. So as we grow and evolve, so does our roster. But we never forget that with such a diverse assortment of cymbals, we will attract a diverse assortment of artists and fans, and that's fine with us.
For more information please visit the Meinl Cymbals Website
