Q: How noisy acoustically are they compared to other cymbals?
A: I haven't tried Yamahas or Rolands so I've no idea how the F13 compares. It's less noisy than the Triggera D14. Not as 'clanky' if that makes any sense! No doubt due to the fact it's made of aluminium rather than steel.
Q: How easy is it to separate the rubber from the aluminium?
A: The cymbals arrive with a warning notice attached to the underside: "DO NOT PULL THE RUBBER UP or you will damage the switch. It will stand hitting for many years, but can't stand pulling up (because it's designed for hitting only)."
The rubber is glued all the way across the aluminium disc, except for the very outer edge. It doesn't wrap around the underside like on the single zone D11 and D14. This seemed a little odd at first until I realised that small amount of movement is necessary for the edge rtigger/choke mechanism to function.
Q: Are the cymbals quite flat or are they tapered?
A: Apart from the bell shaped area in the centre, the rest of the cymbal is flat. It doesn't have the same kind of convex profile as an acoustic cymbal if that's what you mean. There's a side view pic on the F13 page of Triggera's website.
Q: How do they trigger? Is there good separation between bow and edge?
A: I'll probably end up using the same note on bow and edge but as an experiment I set up the bow on one of my F13s with a splash sound and assigned a crash cymbal to the edge. After a little tweaking of my MD settings I've achieved excellent separation. Striking the section close to the bell (inboard of the ribbed section) triggers the bow, while striking further out triggers the edge sound. The contrast in texture of the rubber surface (ie smooth vs ribbed) makes for easy visual identification of the appropriate area. Two cymbals in one! I'll add my F13 Megadrum settings (syx file) to Zourman's pad library when I've done a little more fine tuning.
Q: How effective is the 360 degree choke?
A: It works. I'm using Aquarian springs so the 360° choke feature isn't essential for me but it means I can place the cymbals on their stands and not have to worry about setting them in any particular position. Although the rubber moves most on the very outer edge, the choke effect works best by pinching the cymbal slightly inboard of the edge - which is exactly what I do when choking an acoustic cymbal. One interesting thing I discovered as a result of using Aquarian springs... I've found I can both hit and choke the cymbal with a single strike i.e. no need to grab the cymbal. By hitting the cymbal's edge and pressing the stick into the edge, I can make rapid single handed chokes. I'm not sure this technique would work with the cymbal mounted in the normal (free swinging) way. Not the sort of thing you'd want to get too used to if you play acoustic kits also
Conclusions: clearly this hasn't been a long term test. I've only spent a few hours beating on the F13s so far. My main reason for trying them was to find an alternative to DIY dual zone chokable cymbals. Converting an acoustic cymbal to electronic is relatively easy (done it many times!) but in my experience, coming up with something that performs consistently and reliably is a little more tricky, especially two zones with choke. I wanted something capable of surviving heavy use that doesn't require regular repairs and maintenance. If the F13's long term reliability goes on to match its out of the box performance, 89 euros is a deal! Only time will tell...