Steve Smith’s Gear

Steve Smith has been playing Zildjian Cymbals since he started drumming in the 1960s and endorsing Zildjian since 1979. 

My Hi-Hats are the 14” K Paper Thin Hats. For my main ride cymbal, I use a 22” K Custom “Left Side Ride.” Depending on the music and the venue, there are times when I use a 22” High-Bell Dry or the 21” Staccato Ride as a main ride. My secondary ride, positioned to my left, is the 19” Armand Zildjian “Beautiful Baby” Ride, though there are times I use a 20” K Mini-Bell Prototype in that position. To the right of my main ride, I’ve recently been using an 18” K Flat Ride and sometimes as a fourth ride, I’ll put up my 20” K Complex II Ride with a 6” A Splash mounted upside-down, on top.

For most of my gigs currently, I have not been using crash cymbals. When I do need crash cymbals, for either a Big Band gig or a Rock gig, I use very thin 18” and 19” Avedis Cymbals.

There are times that I add my 33” Zildjian Gong to my setup. The gong offers a lot of different tones and colors and also can be used as a Giant Ride Cymbal. 

Here is a video of Steve’s recent Zildjian Cymbal setup used at Birdland Jazz Club NYC.