the natural sound of a cymbal

I couldn't bear reading all of the responses but if what I suggest has been said then just double it. Use your normal recordings and listen if you must for cymbal decal etc. Those sounds BTW are generally easy to pickout. If they sound natural to you, then you have a good set up, it's that simple.

A point to be aware of about the Sheffield Drum Record, especially by those who may consider purchasing it after reading some of the posts above.

From the liner notes of the Track & Drum Record CD:

The analogue disc was played back with a Technics SP 15 turntable and a Shure V15 Type V assembly attached to a SME 3012R arm. The pre-amp consisted of a pair of refurbished Marantz Audio Consolettes set to the RIAA Curve. The analogue signal was converted to a 96kHz 24 bit PCM signal using a Lucid A/D converter ....

I have the original direct-to-disk Track Record LP (but not the Drum Record), as well as the CD (which combines both Records). IMO the Track Record LP is a treasure, certainly in terms of sonics. IMO the CD does not come remotely close to being in the same league.

I say that as someone who is not anti-digital in the least, and also as someone who owned a pair of Marantz 1 Consolettes about 20 years ago, which were also a treasure.

Regards,
-- Al

Yellowjackets Altered State, Time Squared and Timeline.

Zildjian cymbals are used on these recordings.

Yelowjackets Time Squared and Altered State recorded with Sabian cymbals. Timeline Zildjian cymbals.

Re the ability to identify the brand of cymbals on a recording. Drummers most certainly can. I am not a drummer, but I can tell you that it is not difficult for me to identify when (for instance) Michael Brecker used his Otto Link mouthpiece, and when he used his Guardala. Likewise, when Phil Woods used his Selmer alto, and when he switched to a Yamaha. It's even obvious that Ernie Watts uses synthetic reeds. All these have identifiable characteristics. Just three examples of many, and one does not need a SOTA system to do it. So, one can safely extrapolate (I think) that an experienced drummer can tell which brand of cymbal is being played on a recording.