If you've been shopping for electronic cymbals, you've probably come across terms like 2-zone, 3-zone, bow, edge, bell and choke.
If you're new to electronic drums, it can sound more complicated than it really is.
Put simply, a zone is an area of an electronic cymbal that can trigger a particular response from your drum module. Having multiple zones allows different parts of the cymbal to respond much like they would on an acoustic cymbal
What Is a 2-Zone Electronic Cymbal?
A 2-zone electronic cymbal has two playable trigger areas — the bow and edge.
The bow is the main playing surface of the cymbal, while the edge is the outer playing area and is typically used to trigger a crash sound.
Most electronic cymbals, including the Lemon range, also have a choke function. This allows you to strike the cymbal and then grab the edge to stop the sound, just as you would with an acoustic cymbal.
The choke is not counted as a zone. So when a cymbal is described as 2-zone with choke, the two zones are still the bow and edge — choke is an additional function.
Lemon's 9" Splash, 13" Crash and 15" China are 2-zone electronic cymbals. The 15" Crash is capable of 3-zone operation, but can also be connected with a single TRS cable and used as a 2-zone crash, depending on your module and setup.
What Is a 3-Zone Electronic Cymbal?
A 3-zone electronic cymbal has three playable trigger areas — the bell, bow and edge.
The bell is the raised centre section, the bow is the main playing surface, and the edge is the outer playing area, typically used for a crash sound.
Like a 2-zone cymbal, a 3-zone cymbal can also have choke functionality. Again, the choke is not counted as one of the three zones — it is an additional function that allows you to grab the edge after striking the cymbal to stop the sound.
This is particularly useful on a ride cymbal, allowing you to move naturally between ride patterns on the bow, bell accents and crashes on the edge.
Lemon's 15" Crash, 18" Ride and 20" Ride are capable of 3-zone operation. The 15" is particularly versatile because it can also be used as a smaller ride, or connected with a single TRS cable and used as a 2-zone crash, depending on your module and setup.
How Does a 3-Zone Cymbal Connect to Your Module?
A 3-zone cymbal needs to send information from the bell, bow and edge back to the drum module. Depending on the cymbal and module, this may require two TRS cable connections rather than one.
On many drum modules, the main ride input handles the bow and edge, while a second input — often labelled Ride Bell or similar — is used to access the additional bell zone.
This is why simply plugging a 3-zone cymbal into a module doesn't necessarily mean you'll automatically have access to all three zones. The module and the inputs being used must support 3-zone operation.
A 3-zone cymbal can still be useful even if you don't need all three zones. For example, we often use the Lemon 15" 3-zone cymbal with a single TRS cable as a 2-zone crash, giving us bow, edge and choke functionality.
With compatible modules, Lemon's 3-zone cymbals can use a two-cable configuration to access all three playable zones.
A quick note for Yamaha users: Yamaha modules handle 3-zone ride cymbals differently, using a single-cable configuration rather than the standard Lemon two-cable setup. A Lemon 3-zone cymbal can be used with a Yamaha module; however, an additional conversion adapter is required if you want full bow, edge and bell functionality.
If you're using a Yamaha module and aren't sure what you need, contact us before ordering and we'll help you work out the correct setup.
This is why it's important to check both the cymbal and your particular drum module before assuming all three zones will be available.
Which Should I Choose — 2-Zone or 3-Zone?
For crash, splash and China cymbals, a 2-zone setup will generally give you the main functions you're looking for — bow, edge and choke.
For a ride cymbal, 3-zone operation becomes much more useful because it adds the bell as a separate playable area. This allows you to move between the bell, bow and edge much more like you would on an acoustic ride.
That doesn't mean a 3-zone cymbal has to be used as a ride. The Lemon 15" 3-zone cymbal is a good example — it can be set up as a smaller 3-zone ride, or simply connected with one TRS cable and used as a 2-zone crash with choke.
Ultimately, the right choice depends on where you want to use the cymbal, how many playable zones you need, and what your drum module supports.
Do the Different Zones Produce Different Sounds?
The sounds you hear don't actually come from the electronic cymbal — they come from your drum module.
The cymbal's job is to detect where and how it has been struck and send that trigger information to the module. The module then plays the sound assigned to that particular zone.
For example, on a 3-zone ride your module might assign a ride bell sound to the bell, a standard ride sound to the bow and a crash sound to the edge.
This also means the same Lemon cymbal can behave differently when connected to different drum modules, depending on the sounds, trigger settings and zone functions available on that particular module.
The Bottom Line
Understanding electronic cymbal zones is actually pretty simple once you break down the terminology.
2-Zone = Bow + Edge
3-Zone = Bell + Bow + Edge
Choke is an additional function and isn't counted as a zone.
The important thing to remember is that your drum module ultimately determines which zones and functions are available, so it's always worth checking compatibility before adding a new cymbal to your kit.
Not Sure What Will Work With Your Module?
If you're unsure which Lemon cymbal will work with your drum module, get in touch with Stix & Tonez before ordering.
Tell us which module you're using and what you're looking to add, and we'll help you work out the right cymbal and connection setup.
Stix & Tonez
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