I don’t know about you, but when I don’t like the sound of something in my drumset I tend to not use it. So it’s important to me to have drum stuff that have sounds that I like.
When you first start playing the drums you usually don’t have the experience to know the difference that different materials can make sound wise; a metal or wood snare for instance. And if you don’t have a drummer friend or a teacher to guide you can spend hours on drum forums trying to get an idea of where it would be best to invest your hard earned cash.
I was fortunate to be able to borrow the basics of an old drumset when I started: a brandless metal snare, a kickdrum, high-hat and a bunch of cymbals. And with hindsight I believe anything better would have been wasted, but after a year or so of practicing I became more acuity aware of two factors: one – my wanting technique made it difficult to fully exploit the equipment I had, and two – even so, as my playing improved I became less than happy with how parts of my equipment sounded.
I think I changed the kick drum first but since this post is about cymbals, I’ll skip all that and go there…
The cymbals I first borrowed were a mixed bag but most where actually quite good (lucky me! although at the time I didn’t realize it). After discarding the trashier ones I had a choice between some hand hammered and extremely heavy 14” Turkish crashes or maybe high-hats(?), a 16” UFIP crash, a fantastic sounding Zildjian 16” crash with rivets, a 20” Zildjian ride that almost weighs 3 kg, Paiste 2000 13” high-hats and a UFIP 8” splash with a small crack near the bell.
After a few weeks of testing them I chose to use the last four and was happy with them except perhaps the ride which to the not very good drummer I was (and pretty much still am, although differently) was really hard to control.
Unfortunately after a bit I had to return the high-hats which is why I ended up one day in one of Switzerland’s bigger music stores in Lenzbourg. I had been there before an knew they had a large selection of cymbals on display and that you can try them out. I was also thinking of getting a new splash to replace the cracked one.
Then what? They have 5 or 6 drumsets on display to try, I went from one to the other playing and listening to the high-hats and feeling extremely embarrassed at my lack of drum playing skills… I then hit on all the displayed splashes, regardless of price… I hit on other cymbals just to see… Some sound good, some real good, some not very good. But I already knew that there is a difference between what they sound like on their own and what they sound like within the drumset. I unsuccessfully tried to hear the sound I wanted in my head and begin to feel desperate, besides by price how do I choose?
Meanwhile a younger dude comes around and hits on a few cymbals, so I observe him out of the corner of my eye: he hits a cymbal a few times and then waits a minute or two contemplating, hits it again or moves on… This seems smart, give yourself time to consider the sound you have just heard and perhaps get a better gut feeling for it… But even so, that would demand a confidence that I don’t have.
So I go back to considering the high-hats, which I need quickly, and decide that with my budget the 14” Paiste PST 5 seem ok (possibly because of the fact that I’m already using that brand). I ask if they have them in a 13” size, which seemed reasonable because it was what I was used to. And I though the smaller size would be less loud and a better balance with my washboard (not true); which if you’ve read through this blog a bit you would know was my main instrument back then.
And I think: even if there is a difference in sound between the 14” and the 13” I am not in a situation that I can judge which would be best; for that I would have to try both in context. And I realize that trying out other cymbals in another store isn’t going to help me much and I am extremely stressed at spending my money in a situation with such a high uncertainty factor.
Welcome to the world of drumming! :P
So I’m fortunate in that when I receive them a week later, the 13” Paiste PST 5 seem nice enough. And they are, I still use them daily. Do they boggle the mind? No. But they sound decent enough in the context of the blues bands that I have played with, and that is really all I need.
Some months later I went back for a splash and with that first experience in mind I spend time at home first using my cracked splash, trying to memorize its sound in context. I then took it with me, hoping that it would be a reference to go by. Which it was, kind of. But even so choosing a new splash with confidence in a store situation was near impossible, and in any case had it worked, where would you be with bigger cymbals… Why not carry and set up your whole drumset while you’re at it? (very impractical but in utopia probably not such a bad idea…)
I convinced myself to buy an 8” Meinl Classics splash, not too expensive, not too bad sounding. And it is okay in the long run, good enough to use but no miracles. You get what you pay for! I hear you thinking, which is true. But even so, each price range has its choices so within that range: how do you choose the best for you.
Obviously meeting other drummers and checking, and trying (when possible), out their gear is a good place to start and I’d encourage everyone to do just that. But still.., even if it sounds great in someone else’s drumset, it may not have the same impact in your own. The sum of the parts could very well be elsewhere…
A year or so later I started playing with an electric blues band, after only playing with acoustic bands, and the fact that my ride cymbal wasn’t thrilling me became all too clear. This was not due to the cymbal’s quality, it was – and still is – a great sounding cymbal; but it didn’t have the sound I wanted to hear. So every time I was in a music store or anywhere else ride cymbals hang out, I tested them to the best of my abilities. Cymbals have a large spectrum of sounds and if you try enough of them with time, you do learn to identify the kind of sound the different brands lean towards; as well as define where your own taste lies.
But still, rides are big and can be very expensive, you would like to be able to buy one knowing that it will fit right in with your expectation. Well of course I can’t guaranty this will work for everyone, but this is what worked for me:
In despair to choose a ride and after over reading the blogs, forums and testing all within my reach, I began searching for used rides on Ebay and elsewhere. I soon discovered that certain sellers actually take the time to record the cymbals they sell, just beware that some do this better than others. As an example, there is a big European music store on the web that also has “recordings” for their cymbals. I spent a lot of time listening to these and had a hard time hearing any differences in many of those recordings. If that’s what you experience, it’s probably best to go elsewhere!
What you want are good quality files that you can download, and that after you have listened to a batch you know that they clearly contain the characteristics of the cymbals you are considering. Then choose a few sound files that seem good to you and stick them in your mp3 player. Go play your drums while listening to the sound files through good earphones. You can also mix them into recordings of the band you play in to get an idea there.
I was really surprised, some cymbals that seemed obvious choices didn’t fit in at all! Had I not done this comparison I would probably have bought a “great sounding cymbal” that would have caused a lot of frustration. As it was I ended up with a Sabian Memphis AAX 21”, a totally unexpected choice but one which still makes me happy two years later. But that’s me, someone else might hate it. Don’t trust anything you read, find out what sound is your sound!
As always this post is just my rattlebrained ramblings, plus the ways of the web obliges me to add: I can’t be held responsible if you do take my advice and buy a cymbal that ends up not being what you want. But I do believe there is a lot to be learned by giving this a try, even without buying anything. All the more, if like myself, you are still in the big learning curve of drum playing. I also hope that folks who sell cymbals will take note and give us buyers more good quality recordings of their cymbals.
Constructed criticism and comments welcome but will be monitored.