Lemon Cymbals vs the Big Boys
Why Lemon Electronic Cymbals Offer Serious Value
When it comes to electronic drums, cymbals make a huge difference to how natural a kit feels to play.
For years, the major electronic drum brands have set the standard, but getting larger cymbals, multiple trigger zones and features such as cymbal choke can quickly become expensive.
That's where Lemon Electronic Cymbals have made a real impact.
They offer realistic sizes, multi-zone triggering and a natural playing feel without the price tag normally associated with the major electronic drum brands.
At Stix & Tonez, we stock a range of Lemon Electronic Cymbals from 9" through to a full-size 20" ride.
Here's why we think they're well worth considering.
Excellent Value for Money
Probably the biggest attraction of Lemon cymbals is simple: you get a lot of cymbal for your money.
Comparable electronic cymbals from established premium brands can cost considerably more, particularly when you start looking at larger 3-zone rides and traditional two-piece electronic hi-hats.
Lemon gives drummers another option.
Instead of spending a large part of your electronic drum budget on cymbals alone, you can build a much more complete setup while still getting features such as multiple playing zones and choke functionality.
For drummers upgrading an existing electronic kit — or converting an acoustic kit to electronic — that can make a substantial difference to the overall cost.
A More Natural Playing Feel
One of the things we particularly like about Lemon cymbals is their physical size and feel.
Small electronic cymbal pads certainly do the job, but moving to larger cymbals can make an electronic kit feel much more like sitting behind an acoustic drum kit.
That's especially noticeable with the larger 18" and 20" 3-zone rides.
There's simply more cymbal in front of you.
You have room to move around the playing surface, work between the bow and bell, and play the cymbal in a way that feels much closer to what you're accustomed to on an acoustic kit.
A Wide Range of Sizes
Lemon offers cymbals for everything from small effects and splash positions through to full-size ride duties.
Lemon electronic cymbal range from 9 inch splash to 20 inch ride
9" Splash — 2-Zone
Compact and ideal for adding an extra accent or effects cymbal without taking up much room.
13" Crash — 2-Zone
A versatile smaller crash that's also useful when you're building a compact electronic setup.
15" Crash — 2-Zone / 3 Zone
A larger crash with a playing size that feels much closer to an acoustic cymbal.
15" China — 2-Zone
A great way to add another voice and playing position to an electronic kit.
18" Ride — 3-Zone
A substantial electronic ride offering separate playing areas for greater expression.
20" Ride — 3-Zone
For drummers who want a genuinely full-size ride experience, the 20" gives you plenty of playing surface and a very natural position behind the kit.
14" Two-Piece Hi-Hat
Rather than using a small fixed cymbal pad and separate pedal controller, the Lemon 14" hi-hat uses a traditional two-cymbal arrangement on a conventional hi-hat stand, helping give the kit a much more familiar acoustic feel.
2-Zone and 3-Zone Triggering
Electronic cymbal zones allow different areas of the cymbal to trigger different responses from a compatible drum module.
A 2-zone cymbal provides separate bow and edge triggering.
A 3-zone cymbal adds a bell zone, which is particularly useful on ride cymbals.
This allows you to move naturally between different areas of the cymbal rather than treating the entire cymbal as one large trigger pad.
Exactly how those zones behave — and which sounds they produce — depends on the drum module and input being used.
Choke Function on Lemon Cymbals
All Lemon cymbals feature choke functionality.
Strike the cymbal and then grab the edge and you can stop the cymbal sound, just as you would choke an acoustic cymbal.
It's a simple feature, but an important one.
Being able to use normal drumming techniques like cymbal choking helps an electronic kit feel far less restrictive.
As with multi-zone triggering, the connected drum module and input need to support the required functionality.
What About Sound Quality?
There's an important distinction to make here.
The cymbal doesn't contain the drum sounds — your drum module does.
The Lemon cymbal detects where and how you're playing and sends that trigger information to the module. The module then produces the appropriate cymbal sound.
So changing from one electronic cymbal to another doesn't magically replace the sounds in your module.
What a good electronic cymbal can improve is the playing experience — its size, feel, triggering, zones, choke function and the way you interact with the sounds available from your module.
That's why module compatibility is important when choosing any electronic cymbal.
The 14" Two-Piece Hi-Hat
The Lemon 14" two-piece hi-hat deserves a special mention because the hi-hat is one area where electronic kits can feel very different from acoustic drums.
A traditional acoustic hi-hat consists of two cymbals mounted on a standard hi-hat stand.
The Lemon system follows the same basic physical arrangement.
For players coming from acoustic drums, having a full-size 14" hi-hat moving under the stick and operating from a conventional stand can make the transition to electronic drums feel considerably more natural.
And because it's a familiar size, it also looks right alongside a full-size converted acoustic kit.
Ideal for Acoustic-to-Electronic Conversions
This is where Lemon cymbals make particularly good sense for what we do at Stix & Tonez.
Our aim with an acoustic-to-electronic conversion is to retain as much of the look, size and playing feel of an acoustic drum kit as possible while gaining the advantages of electronic drums.
Put full-size shells together with mesh heads, quality triggers and realistically sized electronic cymbals and you end up with something very different from the traditional small-pad electronic kit.
You still have the physical presence of an acoustic drum kit.
You just don't have the acoustic volume.
Quiet practice. Real acoustic feel.
So, Are Lemon Cymbals Worth Considering?
If you're looking for electronic cymbals with realistic sizes, multiple trigger zones, choke functionality and excellent value for money, Lemon deserves serious consideration.
They can be used to upgrade an existing electronic kit, expand your current cymbal setup or complete an acoustic-to-electronic conversion without spending premium-brand money across every cymbal position.
The important thing is making sure the cymbal and your drum module are compatible with the functions you want to use.
Not Sure What Will Work With Your Module?
If you're unsure which Lemon cymbal will suit your electronic drum module, contact Stix & Tonez before ordering.
Tell us which module you're using and what you're trying to add to your kit, and we'll help you work out the right option.
Stix & Tonez
Lemon Authorized Australian Distributor
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