Altering cymbals with gaffers tape

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ronisong

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I have a jazz trio gig, outside. Pre Covid, we'd play indoors,. I bought an expensive 22" Constantinople Med Thin Low a few years back and I've never been completely happy with it. The sound is gorgeous, but the overtones overwhelm, and I haven't been able to get a clean, driving, drier tone. Maybe it's the way I'm playing it, but I've decided it's time to play around with taping this cymbal and also my trashier cracked old K with the rivets. I also have a higher pitched early 1970s A Zildian ride (small cup). Any advice on how to make it sound a bit lower and warmer? I'd appreciate any advice from you out in Drum Land!
 
I found that small ball tip unvarnished sticks sweetened up the sound of my ride cymbals considerably. In the past I used some felt pads that are meant for furniture legs as dampeners on cymbals that were hard to tame.....
 
If the overwhelming overtones emanate from the bell or the bridge (transition to bow), I would put some tape there.
If the decay is just too long, some tape close to the edge will shorten that.
For an overall drier sound, people have used long strips of masking tape radial, from bell to edge - or maybe only halfway to the edge, to keep the long decay.
 
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Some guys even put a piece of moongel on there. I think I saw a video of Dennis Chambers with a piece on his ride recently.
 
There are much better ways to dampen a cymbal’s overtones than putting adhesive tape on it and leaving a big ugly sticky patch forever. The fact that pros do it doesn’t make it right.
 
87) fold a section of newspaper and tape it top of the cymbal away from stick area
12) hang a hundred chains on it
15) set it flat below (sea) floor tom level and hit it from above
 
Tape is good, I've tried it, but once I did a gig with a taped ride, I discovered it took too much wash out and sounded way better untaped. But I wouldn't hesitate to try it again on a cymbal that has too much. If I can fix a cymbal I bought with tape rather than buy a new one, I'm there.

But what I've discovered is it's a very thin line between taming a cymbal and dulling its awesome tonez, each cymbal is completely different and reacts in a different way, and the only way you're going to find out what works best is to experiment. Generally, though, a small piece just past the bell worked best for me.
 
ronisong said:
I have a jazz trio gig, outside. Pre Covid, we'd play indoors,. I bought an expensive 22" Constantinople Med Thin Low a few years back and I've never been completely happy with it. The sound is gorgeous, but the overtones overwhelm, and I haven't been able to get a clean, driving, drier tone. Maybe it's the way I'm playing it, but I've decided it's time to play around with taping this cymbal and also my trashier cracked old K with the rivets. I also have a higher pitched early 1970s A Zildian ride (small cup). Any advice on how to make it sound a bit lower and warmer? I'd appreciate any advice from you out in Drum Land!
Click to expand...
I use 1” painter’s tape. Comes off without residue easier than masking, duct or gaffer’s. Start with ie: a 6 inch strip and move it around to see what works best. You may want a longer or shorter strip, or 2 or more strips to get the sound you want. But, IMO, a K Con MTL shouldn’t need much tape to have a noticeable effect.

If you are elevated, or your cymbals are tilted, or the underside of your cymbals are otherwise visible to the listeners, you might want to put the tape on top if you don’t want it to be seen.
 
It's true, gaffers' tape only comes off clean for a while. The adhesive dries over time and will leave a crust. That said, I just retaped my Agop Sig 21" -- a radial strip, more or less like the one in the Buddy Rich picture. I know I'm never going to sell or trade this one; not concerned about residue or appearance. My daughter said they use electrical tape on the cymbals at her rock camp -- yikes!
 
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Forget about packaging tape. Use painters tape. One in is fine. Place a 4-inch strip at 3, 6, 9 and 12 on the bottom side. If it still needs to be tamed, put a 2-inch piece under the Bell. Are you can get a piece of paper and put it on the cymbal stand and then put the cymbal on top of it. Just experiment. Electrical tape also works in a pinch.

Great ride. These tips won't lower pitch but will only kill overtones....
 
I've tried all sorts of tape for many years now. The ONLY tape I've found that does not leave ANY residue is Painter's Tape. However, because it is a thinner tape it doesn't quite have the muffling capabilities of the other stuff. But the trade-off is well worth it to me. Oh, it also comes in more than just the 1" width.

However, the only issue I've found is that I can only found it in bright blue and I'm not wild about that look. I know it comes in black...but darned if I can find it?
 
Don't forget these things.... Meinl MCT

(broken link removed)
 
Screw tape.
Use old Ks if your cymbals sound bad in a studio on tape under a mic.
Live or outdoors tape is ______
Those drummers above; that tape might have been left on/leftover from a recording
and not removed when later pic occurred
 
Last edited:
pwc1141 said:
I found that small ball tip unvarnished sticks sweetened up the sound of my ride cymbals considerably. In the past I used some felt pads that are meant for furniture legs as dampeners on cymbals that were hard to tame.....
Click to expand...
Thank you for your suggestions. I played around with some 1" thick gaffers tape and the cymbals sound great! I will try the ball tip sticks though :)
 
JimmyM said:
Tape is good, I've tried it, but once I did a gig with a taped ride, I discovered it took too much wash out and sounded way better untaped. But I wouldn't hesitate to try it again on a cymbal that has too much. If I can fix a cymbal I bought with tape rather than buy a new one, I'm there.

But what I've discovered is it's a very thin line between taming a cymbal and dulling its awesome tonez, each cymbal is completely different and reacts in a different way, and the only way you're going to find out what works best is to experiment. Generally, though, a small piece just past the bell worked best for me.
Click to expand...
I used the 1" gaffers tape and both cymbals I tape sounded great tonight, bass player appreciated it! Thanks for you reply!
 
JazzDrumGuy said:
Forget about packaging tape. Use painters tape. One in is fine. Place a 4-inch strip at 3, 6, 9 and 12 on the bottom side. If it still needs to be tamed, put a 2-inch piece under the Bell. Are you can get a piece of paper and put it on the cymbal stand and then put the cymbal on top of it. Just experiment. Electrical tape also works in a pinch.

Great ride. These tips won't lower pitch but will only kill overtones....
Click to expand...
Thank you! The gaffers tape worked tonight, but I don't need residue, so I'll get some painters tape. Appreciate the reply!!
 
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