Cymbal weights

[WaggoRecords]

20” Zildjian A Earth Ride vs. 20” Sabian AA Raw Ride

Diameter equal, neither has hammering/lathing, though the bells and curvatures may differ somewhat. The difference in weight between the two is about 1000g. They are incredibly different cymbals.

I’m not saying weight is everything, nor that it is the most important thing, but that’s about as close as you can get to isolating the effect of weight on sound without making the cymbals yourself.

 

[hsosdrum]

When you're trying to divine what a cymbal may sound like without hearing a sound sample or being able to play it in person, then every little bit of information about that cymbal is helpful. Imprecise terms like "Paper Thin", "Thin", "Crash", "Crash Ride", "Medium", "Heavy", etc. are much less useful than knowing the cymbal's actual weight in grams. Being able to see a profile picture that shows the taper and cup size would also be helpful. However, there's just no substitute for playing the thing, because the amount of tension in the cymbal will determine how it feels under your stick, and we have yet to come up with a way of describing said tension that would be meaningful to a large number of drummers — what would be "loose" to one drummer may be "stiff" to another. But 2950g is the same 2950g to all drummers, and that's a big step towards zeroing-in on that cymbal's sonic essence.

 

[petereather]

You wouldn't have heard talk of "gram weights" at Zildjian because they work in pounds and ounces. But weight measurement is an integral part of the production process starting with the castings which are weighed and marked. Paul Francis has the target weight ranges for different diameter and models of cymbals in his head. He believes that there are a number of factor which influence the sound.

He decided to write those "gram weights" under the bell after discussions on Cymbalholic. If honoring the wishes of some cymbal buyers is nothing but "marketing malarky" then I'm all for it. Do you usually come down hard on companies who adjust their procedures to meet customer demands?

If you look at my ordered list of information, playing in person in a musical context is the top thing on my list. So we agree on that. It's just that my list goes a bit further. Some people find it useful to have fallback information when playing in person isn't possible. Do you usually come down hard on people who relax their information requirements when playing in person is not an option?

Thanks for the vid , My 16 medium thin 80s vintage does not sound like his ? My opinion after working in a machine shop when I was a kid the turning on material changes the effect of the material

 

[petereather]

If you think what the style cymbal tells the sound I have to question that . Go on Ebay look at 16 inch fast crash NEW 2 new cymbals 2 different gram weight 70 gram dif now way are they going to sound the same , Just Sayin

 

[Davo]

Not at all in that recording. It actually sounds like a smaller cymbal than it is with a quick decay. A bit too glassy for my taste. But, by clanky, I was referring to Avedis cymbals not A Customs which are generally lighter thinner cymbals than Avedis cymbals.

Funny . As to me the A Customs sound glassy and I prefer the regular A,s .
To each his ear I guess .

 

[hsosdrum]

Funny . As to me the A Customs sound glassy and I prefer the regular A,s .
To each his ear I guess .

My ear is more in line with yours. I also think A Customs are too glassy sounding — too much high-frequency 'sparkle'. They strike my ear more like Paistes. I've owned some (crashes, hi-hats) but sold 'em all off. Now a mix of A's, K's and K-Con's suits my (old-man) ear.

 

[Matched Gripper]

Funny . As to me the A Customs sound glassy and I prefer the regular A,s .
To each his ear I guess .

For me, the right cymbal depends on the musical context.

 

[petereather]

Cymbal Co. Use lbs they would be able to consistently do grams cymbals are turned by hand as the hand and arm tire pressure changes therefore material being lathed changes time factor on lathing would increase costs would increase ?