The A custom ping ride is one of the best cymbals in the A custom line.  Its coated exterior produces a beautifully smooth "ping" (the name says a lot) sound that blends with the music it is played with.  It also looks great, as long as fingerprints and smears are wiped off.  The response is extremely fast, and the ping ride has a real tendency to resist crashing when playing hard and fast.  Many other crashes keep resonating louder and louder until the cymbal is overpowering.  The ping ride has a true gift of maintaining articulation and clarity.  The bell is also a strong point, cutting through anything but still remaining tasteful.  Even at low volumes, the cymbal bell (and the cymbal in general) have few undesirable ringing overtones.
On the other hand, I feel that the ping ride's weakest quality is its crashing ability.  Obviously a 20 inch ride isn't designed to be crashed on all the time, but I really like to crash my rides once and a while.  This leaves some to be desired, partly because it doesn't have a good trashy wash sound like many other 20 inch rides.  Of course, this is a minor price to pay for the clarity that is given in return.  This is the only complaint I ever had with the Zildjian ping.
Personally, I usually dislike the qualities of coated cymbals but this is nearly perfect.  This was one of the first rides I ever owned, and is a really good starting point for many drummers because it has a professional sound at a price that is reasonable. Because of its cutting, bright sound, it is best suited to playing rock or pop music. This cymbal is durable, attractive, affordable, and sounds great. I feel that the Zildjian A custom ping rides are miles ahead of their uncoated Zildjian A ride cousins.