ARTIST LEAVING MEINL
yes, you've read correctly.
normally us artist-relations guys welcome new artists, which is a nice and satisfying job to do. this time however, for all of you who care about it and are interested, i would like to tell about one of our artists leaving meinl.
christoph schneider, drummer of german band rammstein, has signed his endorsement deal with meinl cymbals on september 10th, 1997 and has played our cymbals ever since. about three months ago he emailed us and terminated his endorsement. he has decided to play the cymbals of a canadian company now.
we have really enjoyed working with christoph, rammstein's management, and his tech rossi rossberg very much. those guys are some of the most professional and hardest working people in the business. from day one i've been a fan of the band and christoph's playing. rammstein's live shows are unlike anything i've seen before. their lyrics to me are fascinating and deep (provided you're mother language is german and you're able to fully understand and feel them). i will continue loving rammstein regardless of which cymbal brand christoph plays.
why do artists change endorsement companies? well, there is no universally valid answer to that question. the reasons are always very individual. bottom line is that all major cymbal companies make great sounding products.
in our case, christoph has been happy with our sounds for the last 12 years. rammstein's new record for example, which is going to come out later this year, has been recorded on our cymbals. i have personally handpicked, boxed and sent them to the studio in los angeles in october of last year. i have received nothing but great comments from christoph and his tech about how the cymbals sounded during the session and how they ended up on the recording.
what i am trying to say is that i think it is not about better or worse sounding cymbals. i think that sometimes it's about getting inspired in a different way. artists want to stimulate their creativity and try different things. there's nothing wrong with that at all. but really, there is no universally valid answer. the reasons are always very individual and different in every case.
why am i telling you this? my job is called "artist relations". and after having worked with an artist for 12 years, a relation has definitely been formed. i feel that sometimes occurrences like this one should not be left uncommented or go unnoticed to those who care about them. given the fact that a blog is a personal communication platform, i felt that here is the right spot to tell about it.
we wish christoph and rammstein the very best for his personal future and musical career.
- norbert
Wolfi aka MissdaRiddim posted on Tuesday, 19-05-09 17:28
Hi everybody,
now that is really quite a surprise :-(
At the moment I'm still playing cymbals of that Canadian company you mentioned and I've been playing them for more than 10 years - however I'd like to switch to that Franconian (*lol*) company soon - just the other way than Christoph did... 'coz every time I'm in a music store (or at the Frankfurt Music Fair) I find those "Franconian cymbals" most inspiring... now seriously: what you guys have created in sounds over the last years is just awesome...!! :-) So I'll replace my current canadian cymbal setup cymbal by cymbal by a franconian one *lol*
Greetingssss from Neumarkt/Oberpfalz
by Wolfi aka MissdaRiddim
Isaias posted on Tuesday, 19-05-09 18:19
You guys are simply AMAZING! now THIS is "artist relations" at it's finest! What other company has or would ever post the termination of an artist's deal!? Usually you hear or see them with a new set up and THEN find that they switched!
You guys at Meinl have got this right in EVERY aspect! AWESOME gear, Awesome Reps! People caring about people WAY more than caring about the number of sales (which is still mos def important) or an "artist"! Ya'll are inspiring!!!! Thanks for taking time out of your schedule and filling us in with this Norbert!!!!
Ya'll are the SHIZNIT!!! Much respect and admiration!!!
Jan posted on Tuesday, 19-05-09 22:56
Couldn't agree more!
Airton posted on Wednesday, 20-05-09 03:28
Hi,
It´s sad to hear that Christoph is leaving Meinl. I can´t imagine him using another brand, but hey, life´s continues.
Great thing you did telling us, I don´t remember any other brand doing that.
Mikael posted on Wednesday, 20-05-09 11:45
Sad that he leaves, he was the reason that I got my eyes on Meinl which now is my favourite cymbal company!
Norbert, would you mind posting his setup from the studio recordings? :)
Best regards,
/Mikael
norbert posted on Wednesday, 20-05-09 14:23
@mikael
the cymbals which i have sent for the recordings were:
- 14" custom shop hihats
- soundcaster custom 22" powerful ride
- soundcaster custom 18" powerful crash
- soundcaster custom 19" powerful crash
- soundcaster custom 20" china
- mb20 15" heavy soundwave hihats
- byzance 19" medium thin crash
- byzance 18" medium crash
- byzance 19" medium thin crash brilliant
- mb10 16" fat hat
- mb10 14" heavy soundwave hihats
- mb10 18" heavy crash
- mb10 19" medium crash
- mb10 20" heavy crash
- mb10 19" china
- generation x 12/14 extreme stack
Tom :) posted on Wednesday, 20-05-09 15:16
Looks like he had a nice recording set up there.
But its a shame he is leaving :(
Although that sucks, this article is a good testament to this site's fantastic live updates.
Meinl has got to be the best at keeping their fans up to date with products and Artist info :D:D
thanks Meinl (:
Kzrak posted on Wednesday, 20-05-09 21:31
Sad to hear he's not going to use Meinl anymore :(
By the way, do Generation X China Crashes have the edge upturned like regular chinas?
Mikael posted on Thursday, 21-05-09 22:12
@Norbert
Thanks for sharing! That seems like a real nice setup. It will be fun to hear them later on the recordings! :)
/Mikael
norbert posted on Monday, 25-05-09 16:38
@kzrak
the edge is upturned, yes. but not in such a steep way as a normal china.
funky drummer posted on Wednesday, 27-05-09 03:55
Very classy, Norbert. Impressive!
Jason posted on Thursday, 28-05-09 19:32
It is too bad he is leaving Meinl after such a long time. He is the reason I started using Meinls and I am very glad that I play these wonderful cymbals.
Daniel posted on Sunday, 07-06-09 17:11
What are the custom shop hi-hat?
James Raines posted on Saturday, 12-09-09 06:03
That was one of the best ways I have ever heard a company speak of an Artist... This really makes me glad to be a fan of this company!
Jonas Santiaguillo posted on Thursday, 17-09-09 07:41
Que tal simplemente quiero exponer que dejar Meinl es como si quisiera dejar parte de èl, pues creo que deberia pensar un poco mas a fondo, Meinl es una marca Alemana , de donde èl es, y asi mismo su Banda Rammstein ,que lo ha llevado al exito a nivel mundial . Entonces como buen Aleman deberia re-considerar el apoyo de Meinl como una gran empresa que lo patrocinò durante muchos años y sobre todo que èsta ha crecido en las mismas tierras, en el mismo paìs,y sobre todo con su misma gente,Christoph iniciò luchando por su banda, creciendo , ganandose a su gente.Creo que deberia reconsiderar su origen,el apoyo de su gente, su lealtad, su paìs ;usando Meinl Cymbals y Sonor Drums .