How Do You Play Your China?

  • Thread starter Coelacanth
  • Start date
  • This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.

How Do You Play Your China?

  • Edge Up-turned

    Votes: 32 39.5%
  • Edge Down-turned

    Votes: 49 60.5%

  • Total voters
    81

Coelacanth

DFO Star
Joined
Jul 21, 2007
Messages
11,122
Reaction score
54
Location
Alberta, Canada
I know this question has been asked before, but I wanted to get some stats. Do you play your china cymbal(s) with the outer edge up-turned, or down-turned? And why?

I don't have a full-size china yet (but I'd love a 19" K Dark China someday), but it seems to be that they might last longer if played with the outer edge down-turned.
 
edge up, bell up

I don't use top felts on any of my cymbals (less Hi Hats), I feel I've made every effort taking this route not to choke or dampen the cymbals natural sound.
In addition the cymbal resting on the mount shaft and sleeve in the bell up position offers the least amount of stress to the mount hole area, which in turn makes the cymbal less likely to incur mount hole cracks.
Ok, you say this would also make the cymbal more likely to crack at the 'Hip' when played. IMHO, I don't think so, I've seen no evidence which points to more cymbals being damaged by either mounting direction. Actually I suspect the cymbal is more likely to incur the dreaded "Hip Crack" with the edge turned down as that would require a lesser amount of force in the strike to bend the metal, said bend (equal and opposite reaction from the strike) will dissipate rapidly at the 'Hip' making it the most likely area for failure.
 
i play my down for the bell now, but back in college i used a 22 in paiste china as my ride, loved it as a ride, might even go back to it...
 
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
I can't even vote in my own poll because I don't own a China yet. :) But your opinions are certainly helpful. I see it's a dead heat, 50/50.

As far as the sound I'm looking for in a China...the current Zildjian K China 17" or 19" sounds EXACTLY like what I need. Unfortunately, I won't be buying one of those anytime soon--unless I find one needing minor repairs for a bargain price, that is. :?
 
Depends on the situation for me. If I'm using it primarily as a crash or in a louder rock setting where I want to be able to just smack it now and then, inverted. Most of the time, though, I use chinas more as rides in jazz/funk/whathaveyou contexts and play them edge up, bell up.
 
I use mine right side up and haven't had any problems. When I first bought it (18" Sabian AA) around 1989 I had it upside down on a cymbal spring because that was what "you were supposed to do". After a few years I stopped playing and I wasn't drumming for about 5 years. When I got back into it I couldn't find the cymbal spring so I put the China on a regular stand and didn't like the way it sat when upside down. So I flipped it right side up. It sounded just as good, rode the stand better, and looked better(to my eye) too. Now I have several other China types (22" Sabian HH, 16" Zildjian Swish, 18" pre-split Istanbul, a couple of 20" Pangs, and two Sabian mini Chinas 14 & 12") and I use them all right side up.

No breakage problems so far and I still wang on that 20 year old 18" AA at every gig.
 
Well, it's still exactly 50/50, 6 votes up, 6 votes down. I guess it doesn't really matter how you choose to mount your China. :)
 
xFrenzy said:
I've heard that playing bell up will destroy your sticks.

is that true?

I haven't run into that at all...but I suppose it depends on how you use it. I hit mine maybe 10 times a night as a loud accent...if you're constantly thrashing it all night long I could see where the edge of the cymbal would chew up a stick faster that hitting the curve of the lip from the underside.
 
there is one Dave Matthews song that my band covers that rides on the china for about half the song but I suppose if you had your stand at a large enough angle as in this pic or if the stand was low like in picture you posted before it might not do as much damage
 
Regarding that pic, xFrenzy...for some reason, I just can't play cymbals with cymbal stackers on top. It's easy enough to hit the upper stacked cymbal, but I'm often striking the underside of the upper cymbal when riding on the lower cymbal and moving to other drums. Since I hold my sticks rather loosely, it even sometimes makes me drop the stick.

Maybe if the bottom cymbal was really large and the stacked cymbal was really small, I could do it...but that's the problem I get with cymbal stacking.

Does anyone else have that problem? Maybe it's just a lack of stick control on my part...
 
I usually have that problem when I have my crashes too close to my ride but I was only using that pic as an example to show what I meant by a large angle.

I wasn't sure if I said it right
 
The first really good china I bought was a blue label Formula 602 China Type 14" and I used it then and still do in a vertical position on a stand with 2 other chinas ... a Zildjian 18" swish played right side up and a little 12" Wuhan upside down at about 45 degrees.

I call it my China Tree ... will be replacing the Wuhan with a new to me 18" China custom "designed" by the afore posting premierplayer.


Robb
 
drummerbum said:
Depends on the situation for me. If I'm using it primarily as a crash or in a louder rock setting where I want to be able to just smack it now and then, inverted. Most of the time, though, I use chinas more as rides in jazz/funk/whathaveyou contexts and play them edge up, bell up.

+1
down as a crash
up as a ride
 
I've got what I think was called a Swish Knocker. The bell is like a bell on a regular cymbal. I play it bell up when I use it. I always wanted to get another one, so I could say "What Nice Knockers!" and then someone would say "sank you doctor" :)

Matt
 
For those who play right side up: do you hit the edge and if so have you noticed any damage? I have an 18" low Chinaboy which is nice and then, sound nice as a ride but I'm sorta affraid to hit the edge as thin as it is.

Also I want to add some sizzle to it can someone post some pics of where the rivets are located on chinas....thanks
 
Chris,

On my swish the rivets are placed equidistance apart ... 6 of them ( I use 4) spaced about 2 inches in from the edge. This cymbal is played right side up.

On the newer china I just got from premierplayer there is a cluster of 3 holes about the same space in from the edge and maybe 3 inches wide. This cymbal could be played either way.


Robb
 
Back
Top