The role of cymbals is often overlooked in conversations about drums. The cymbals (crash, ride and hi-hats) have a major role in a drummer’s performance, with the best drummers using them to punctiliously accentuate a rhythm. As loop producers, Loopazon holds the quality of cymbals in high importance whenever we get the luxury to sample the original drum kit. We collaborate with our drummers to carefully select the cymbals to be sampled.

However if you are someone who doesn’t work with samples or drum machines but real drums, the best cymbals may not be an affordable option always. They are a luxury, especially for beginners. Before getting into the different quality of cymbals available, let us discuss the differences between crash, ride and hi-hat cymbals in a drum kit.

Also read: Extract Drums using FL Studio

The Hi Hats

The hi hats are a combination of two small diameter cymbals usually placed near the snare drum. They are usually played with the stick, but also can be controlled with the foot.

When controlled with the foot, the hi hats can be closed or open. When closed, the two cymbals attach themselves to each other without leaving much gap, and drumming on it produces a closed sound. In this case there is very little reverb or sustain. When you use the pedals to open the hi-hats, the cymbals are pulled apart from each other, leaving a narrow gap between them. In this case, the drummer can produce a much more open sound with beautiful sustains, something that most cymbals are known for. The pedals help drummers in a live performance, to keep alternating between closed and open hi hat sounds whenever required. The hi hats are the most important among all the cymbals in a drum kit because they are used more frequently in combination with the snare drum.

The Ride Cymbals

The rides are the next most important cymbals in a drum kit after the hi Hats. There could be two or more separate ride cymbals, depending on the size of your drum kit. However, in a basic drum kit, there is just one ride cymbal that is usually placed on the right hand side of the drummer, near the floor toms.

Unlike the hi hats, the ride cymbal is just a single cymbal resting loose on a stand. Though it looks similar to the crash cymbal, it essentially has a different role and is usually the biggest cymbal in a drum kit. The ride cymbals are usually used to accentuate the choral or any of the harmonically thicker sections in a song. Compared to the hi hats, it has a wide open sound and a much more interesting sustain, on a lower pitch.

The Crash Cymbal

The crash cymbal is the one that is least often used in a performance. It usually placed near the mid toms and rests loose on its stand like the ride cymbal.

However, unlike the hi hats and ride cymbals, the crash cymbal is not a vital element in the basic rhythm construction of a song. It is usually used to accentuate transitions or produce long sustains that fill the gaps in an interlude. Since the sustains are longer and louder (hence the name), the crash cymbal cannot be used constantly in combination with the snares or the toms. As a beginner, you should try learning the crash cymbal only after mastering the other components of the drum kit. It should be used very carefully and sporadically as it could produce a jarring, unpleasant sound that lasts longer than desired. However, once you master it, the crash cymbal can be used as a very creative tool to punctuate your transitions. Expert drummers can exactly read the amount of sustain in the crash cymbal and overpower its tail-end with smart use of rides or toms. 

Also read: The Best Microphones for Recording Drums at Home

Now that we have discussed about all the cymbals, we shall move on to their quality variants available in the market. As with every other element in the drum kit, the cymbals too come in different price ranges with the built quality obviously being vastly different in each. The better ones are made using alloys, usually bronze which is a combination of copper and zinc, with copper being the prominent metal. Some of the best cymbals substitute the zinc with tin, which is much more expensive and harder to source.

B8 Bronze Cymbals

The average drummer uses cymbals made with B8 bronze that contains roughly 92% copper and 8% zinc.

Here the ‘8’ in B8 refers to the amount of zinc in the alloy. The B8 alloys offer the cymbals a reasonably bright sound that makes them suitable for live performances as well as studio recordings.

B20 Bronze Cymbals

This is the go-to choice for professional drummers and obviously much more expensive than B8 cymbals. The number ‘20’ in the name obviously refers to the percentage of zinc (or sometimes tin) in the alloy.

A higher amount of zinc in bronze signifies that your cymbal is going to sound richer and denser, also offering a wide frequency range. Most of the premium cymbal manufacturers including Zildjian, Sabian, Paiste and Meinl use the B20 bronze for their best cymbals.

Brass Cymbals

These are the least preferred cymbals among professionals. They sound flat and pedestrian.

However it is easy to source and manufacture, which are reasons enough why cymbals made of brass come real cheap. Beginners can hone their basics on brass cymbals instead of going straightaway for more expensive alloys like the B8 and B20 bronze cymbals. However don’t stick on to these for a long time, because a drummer needs to be thorough with the dynamics and sound of bronze cymbals.

Let us now analyze the basic differences between the two main cymbal manufacturing processes; I) Cast Metal Pouring and ii) Sheet Metal Stamping

1) Cast Metal Pouring

You may have already read about casting in your chemistry lessons. It is the process of pouring a liquid form metal into the gaps of a mold of desired shape and then allowing it to solidify. For cymbal manufacturing, this is a highly expensive and labor-intensive process. Molten alloy is poured into a cast and allowed to solidify. The solidified disc-shaped alloy then goes through various processes including turning or lathing; where the disc is spun on a rotating machine with some outer layers being removed to create a smooth and glossy surface, and hammering (with hand or machinery). The lathing process is different with each cymbal manufacturer. Their approach is entirely dependent on the tones they desire to achieve on each part of their cymbal and this choice varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. The high price-tag of cast metal cymbals thus has an exaplanation.

2) Sheet Metal Stamping

This is the easiest way to manufacture cymbals. Sheets of alloy are brought into the cymbal factory and cymbals are stamped out from these large sheets. The process is quick and inexpensive. However these cymbals lack the dynamics and sonic quality of cast cymbals that are rolled, meticulously lathed and hammered to produce different tones.

Conclusion

Choose wisely the cymbals that are most appropriate for you based on your drumming style, frequency of use and purpose (for learning, studio-recording or professional live performances). Loopazon prefers cymbals made of B20 alloys when sampling drum kits to make some of the most superior sounding drum loops.

Also read: Introduction to LOOPS