Favorite Cymbals to Record

DrummerMan · Post by **DrummerMan** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:54 am

Basically agreed with Chris Garges in that, despite B8's (or probably anything cheap with the word "pro" stamped on it) there is a time and place for all cymbals, the best of which, to me, tend to sound good not because it's a certain company or line, but because it's THAT PARTICULAR cymbal.

It also depends on the room you're recording in. When I had, or have used, bigger drum rooms, certain cymbals worked really well. Now that I'm mostly in a booth-sized room, a different ride cymbal than I ever really used for recording is what is getting used on 95% of what I'm doing now.

All that being said, there are particular cymbals that either I have noticed or other engineers have gone "wow" about. The main one is a 21" ride by the "Turkish" company, which was the other offshoot of Istanbul besides Bosphorus. Being handmade, it sounds quite different from all the others from that line that I tried out, and it's lathed unevenly, so one side is heavier than the other, but I almost always get comments from engineers about it. It's pretty sounding but responds heftily (in a good way) to a light touch, though it produces a kick-ass wash when bashed, while being not overbearing. I bring it to every recording session I do because, while it's not perfect for everything, it never sounds bad. I've also got this old Paiste crash which usually sounds awesome (though not so much in my little booth), it's 20" and thin with a flat-ish "plateau"-like bell. It's got that perfect balance of sustain without going on too long, and some body without too much tone, good for rock. I use a smaller crash alot too, a old Sabian HH 15", I think, and that sounds really good recorded, especially, if I use a light touch on it. I find that mostly, with the smaller cymbals, the harder you play, the more it sounds like a splash, or as roscoenyc puts it, coke.

CDB_Studios · Post by **CDB_Studios** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 11:19 am

Zildjian Platinum cymbals are probably the best sounding and blending cymbals I have recorded (10 years plus)

They sing and have a tone that compliments almost any style.

-Zach

riantide · Post by **riantide** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:11 pm

oldguitars wrote:I would include Istanbul in that list....

+1,000

My experience with Istanbuls is that they are consistently musical, balanced, and have a harmonic complexity that I haven't really heard in too many other cymbals other than K Zildjian (my second fave) or Paiste Signatures (also kickass).

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 5:13 pm

I haven't had the gutz to try to record my 17" Dream crash, but we've been using my 10" splash extensively. It's perfect. I'm afraid to try the crash, for fear it'll sound too tinny.

chorga1 · Post by **chorga1** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:39 pm

Great discussion y'all!

My only added suggestion is that large crashes can often sound great as ride cymbals for recording. A 20" or 22" K crash will play nice in a variety of settings.

percussion boy · Post by **percussion boy** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 7:29 pm

Great discussion.

One caveat: a brand and line name alone doesn't mean anything when it comes to cymbals, except that the pro lines are all reasonably sturdy.

But the sound could be anything within a given type.

Zildjians actually change permanently in their physical makeup as they age -- Zildjian admits this.

Real K Zildjians, the ones Mr. Garges means, were made by hand and are all over the place, tonewise.

Paiste 2002 was reformulated, black lettered 2002s can sound different from red 2002s of the same type -- and Paistes are supposed to be the ones that match!

Likewise, the two main guys who ran Istanbul split at a certain point, dunno how that changed what they made.

So it's all totally idiosyncratic and situational. Like everything else.

losthighway · Post by **losthighway** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 8:17 pm

I like dry hi hats when I engineer.

I like rides that I can manipulate when I play, ones that can stay calm and not take off into a crash on you, but you can pound on and light up when you need.

I feel like a cymbal reveals its true depth when you give it a medium strike with a soft mallet.

More to the point: I have played cymbals I love by both Zildian and Sabian. I think each company has a handful of really cool sounding cymbals, you just have to find them.

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 6:46 am

DrummerMan wrote:It also depends on the room you're recording in.

This is SO true. I discovered in college that a set of hi hats that I had that sounded GREAT to me were REALLY clunky-sounding in the new studio they had just built at UM. (My bass drum also sounded weird in there.) Since then, I've been really concious of what certain cymbals sound like in certain rooms. I never go to a session with just one set of cymbals, even if I know what the style of msuic is going to be like, because the room is a HUGE factor in the sound of the recording. Cymbals seem to be extra-prone to this effect.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 12:50 pm

cgarges wrote:
DrummerMan wrote:It also depends on the room you're recording in.
This is SO true. I discovered in college that a set of hi hats that I had that sounded GREAT to me were REALLY clunky-sounding in the new studio they had just built at UM. (My bass drum also sounded weird in there.) Since then, I've been really concious of what certain cymbals sound like in certain rooms. I never go to a session with just one set of cymbals, even if I know what the style of msuic is going to be like, because the room is a HUGE factor in the sound of the recording. Cymbals seem to be extra-prone to this effect.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

I concur with my esteemed drumming and engineering colleges.

Patrick McAnulty · Post by **Patrick McAnulty** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:12 pm

lots of good info!

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:38 pm

drumsound wrote:
cgarges wrote:
DrummerMan wrote:Buncha smart stuff.
Bunch more a smart stuff

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC
I concur with my esteemed drumming and engineering colleges.

Yea; verily.

oilcanstudios · Post by **oilcanstudios** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:18 am

as a drummer

i have recently switched over to all ride cymbals, it sounds messed up but i play a bonham setup with a 26 kick and i really want the drums to be sound huge and be dark.

so why not hit the cymbals correctly, each ride emits a different sound

i have a 22 K dark for my ride

a 20 K for my right side crash

and an 18 meinl byzance dark ride for my left crash

they all record outstanding

and they keep u from hitting the sides to hard and getting too gongy when recording and playing live

most of all, the bonham sound emits because there is no wash its all huge drums

my 2 cents

Gorilla · Post by **Gorilla** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 1:56 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPvTX5lWCc8

I do like these Sabian Paragons.

I have not yet had the opportunity to record Neil Peart playing them in the woods.

LazarusLong · Post by **LazarusLong** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 2:03 pm

minorleagues wrote:And a cowbell and tambourine for good measure.

And one vibroslap per song. No more, no less.

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:52 pm

oilcanstudios wrote:i have recently switched over to all ride cymbals, it sounds messed up but i play a bonham setup with a 26 kick and i really want the drums to be sound huge and be dark.

I have actually done many sessions recently with all crash cymbals. Been digging my large Formula 602 thin and paperthins all-around with my 18" Signature Symphonic mediums as hi-hats.

Most of Bonham's cymbals were crashes. Large ones, but crashes, no less. And much thinner than most cymbals by today's standards--especially the early recordings when he was using Giant Beats.

LazarusLong wrote:And one vibroslap per song. No more, no less.

More like once per album. Even then, you have to make the choice-- it's either a gong or a vibra-slap. One or the other.

If any of you ever get to have a beer with me, remind me to tell you my Ozzie Ozbourn/Vibra-Slap story.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

Message Board

Favorite Cymbals to Record

Favorite Cymbals to Record

Who is online