Because I love so much music from New Orleans, I knew I had to try this ride out.  I saw the hand hammering and dark alloy and was very excited.  This cymbal produces a great vintage sound that is in the New Orleans tradition, versatile and well balanced.  I could see this ride in some jazz, fusion, but especially funk contexts.  Not to knock Stanton Moore's line of Signature cymbals, but I like this ride a lot better than his and it is from New Orleans, so I guess it has a similar purpose. 

The most surprising thing about this cymbal was its openness.  Often times, in order to get a desirable dark sound  cymbal must sound condensed.  This has a wide spectrum of mids, lows, and highs all complimenting each other.  The cymbal is the perfect weight to accommodate this.  It has a vintage sound, though I am sure it is not a completely accurate representation of the old New Orleans cymbals.  It was actually pretty trashy, and loud as well.  For these reasons, I could really feel this thing being used in a small funk band.  The bell was amazing, just the right size to produce a clear cutting accent.  The surface of the cymbal had a surprisingly hard feel to it, and the stick rebound was not the best.  This is just s testament to the method in which it was manufactured, as the sound is well worth and odd stick stroke feelings.

I really love this cymbal.  If I did not already own the Sabian Raw Ride, which I use for similar situations as I would use this, I would have bought the New Orleans ride right away.  I would recommend this to a diverse musician who appreciates fine cymbals, but especially to a funk specialist.