I love watching cymbal demos on YouTube until they start doing this...

[mikesdrums]

Totally agree with earlier comments about starting out on the bell or, even worse, mallets, or just as bad, 30 seconds of double-stroke rolls. All of those are useful to a degree, but it's a nuisance to have to skip past it to try to find that brief 10% of the demo where they show what the cymbal sounds like when it's being played the way a drummer would actually play it 99% of the time.

My vote for the best cymbal demos on YouTube for the award categories of Sounds-Like-a-Real-Cymbal, Played-Like-a-Real-Drummer, and For-the-Love-of-God-Get-to-the-Freakin'-Point-Already goes to Hazelshould Drums and Cymbals.

 

[Rivot]

Yikes.

That dude needs to learn how to play cymbals not degrade them.

 

[Gunnellett]

I miss Ben White's demos. He knew how to showcase the cymbal, not himself.

I really enjoyed Ben White's videos also.

 

[Tdipaul]

When the drummer does not play for the cymbals intended purpose I get turned off real quick.

Like when a flat ride is bashed a la Jet's "Cold Hard Bitch".

Also, I crack up when the drummer machine gun taps around the entire perimeter

.

 

[Sinclair]

I don't really need to hear any talking...and please just play the cymbal by itself with a stick for maybe 15 seconds before a triple forte crash and dropping into the dig me section. Thank you.

 

[richardh253]

We need ICD codes for cymbal and drum demo’s. (International Cymbal and Drum codes). Jazz cymbal, demo number 12.9. Jazz pattern, dynamics, crash. Rock cymbal? Bow and bell playing, rock beat. Etc etc. Let’s standardize this

I remember when Mike Dawson & Mike Johnston could not agree on "14 x 20" or "20 x 14" and so on in the gone but not forgotten "Mike & Mike Modern Drummer Podcast"

 

[CC Cirillo]

…every example of crashing includes a very loud contemporaneous bass drum bomb as well. Just let me hear how the cymbal sounds being crashed alone.

 

[charlesm]

Without a doubt, when the demo begins with:

CRASH!

...wait 20 sec. for decay...

Then same CRASH! again.

...wait 20 more sec...

 

[Mcjnic]

There's a guy that does cymbal vids over at Memphis ... who shall remain unnamed ... that drives me up the wall.

No matter the CRASH cymbal ... it's the same video.

Sunglasses indoors

tap the bell
silent
tap the bell
silent
tap the bell
silent
tap the bell
silent
tap the bell
silent
tap the bell
silent
play jazz groove on the bell with kit
play jazz groove on the bell with kit
play jazz groove on the bell with kit
silent
play jazz groove on the bow with kit
play jazz groove on the bow with kit

after about 30 to 40 seconds of this nonsense

crash the cymbal at an odd angle
silent
crash the cymbal too lightly
silent
crash the cymbal by the bell
silent

play the CRASH cymbal like a ride with kit

The guy infuriates me.

 

[trashman]

*curls-up into fetal position in a dark corner, ashamed that he's guilty of doing both; mallet rolls to begin a sound/video clip, and has tapped both hi-hat cymbals individually*

 

[SY-ya-nara]

Sinc is my one and only go to guy.

 

[daveplaydrum]

This is just me personally but the mallet rolls are annoying

 

[equipmentdork]

Hit the cymbal on the absolute edge at a 90 degree angle. That is a dangerous way to play any cymbal.

This. I don't think I've ever done such a thing, and so I have no interest whatsoever in that sound.

Dan

 

[bassanddrum84]

I hate when I want to hear the crash of a cymbal and they just tip ride it. The Paul Francis demo I would love to hear them crashed on. Not everyone plays jazz on every thin ride cymbal.

 

[hawker]

Show me how awesome a drummer they are while even completely neglecting the cymbals they are supposed to be featuring!

I also grit my teeth at demos where the player insist on applying his singular style regardless of the cymbal he's demoing. No matter the type of cymbal under his stick he plays what ever his personal favorite style of music is, forgot exploring the cymbal, again it's all about "watch me!"

Often I come for the cymbal and leave BECAUSE of the drummer!!

Amen! And I have often sent a polite email to the owners of the site (MyCymbal) asking them to consider this. And to maybe make a checklist of things that need to be included in every Cymbal Demo....like at least a few bars of a typical jazz ride cymbal pattern. It never seems to help. It drives me crazy and there is a good chance they have lost a sale. As a jazzer primarily, I refuse to guess if a cymbal will work for me based on 3:00 of straight quarter notes and a few crashes. Also, it would really help if they would identify the drum stick that is being used!!!!

 

[hawker]

Starting with a slow mallet roll.
Nothing against mallets but why start with that.

For sure! How often do any of us play a cymbal roll with mallets? VERY seldom and even if we do...it's probably the last thing we're ever concerned about.

 

[jb111]

When they tap it twice and then proceed to play two-handed 16th notes for a minute until the video ends. I will never understand this.

 

[Vicey]

Using nylon tips.

 

[hawker]

I miss Ben White's demos. He knew how to showcase the cymbal, not himself.

He was the BEST. At one point he would give the weight of the cymbal, the model stick he was using, demo a wood tip and a nylon tip and sometimes demo 3-4 of the same cymbal at the same time. In fact I bought one from that kind of demo. I reiterate....he was the best!

 

[hawker]

…every example of crashing includes a very loud contemporaneous bass drum bomb as well. Just let me hear how the cymbal sounds being crashed alone.

Great...I'm not the only one who is bothered by this.