Drums

I've also noticed that although Zildjians sound best, they tend to be brittle. For this reason, I switched to Sabian early on.

I have three Sabians and two Zildjian. Every Sabian has cracked and the Zildjians are all in great shape. But then again, my technique sucks. I know I hit them too hard. I just can't help it. I get too excited!!

I think everyone else pretty much covered it, but from experience...

1) Make sure your technique is right & you're hitting the cymbals the properly. Many times it's necessary to actually change the position of the cymbals... especially if you're comfortable.

2) Make sure your cymbals are mounted on the stand correctly & have proper protection. If you tighten it down to much you increase your risk of the cymbal cracking. You can also develop eye holes at the mounting hole if you do not have a sheath.

3) If it's cracked, you can drill a hole at the end of the crack. This is a really old school tip, and works, but eventually it's start cracking again. Many times the crack will start from the hole and continue moving inward.

4) If you're cracking cymbals left and right, you may want to consider changing your cymbals... if only for live performances. I love A customs, but I know I'm going to crack them eventually if I use them live.

Hope this helps!

ive never cracked a cymbal, but i have bought a kit that had a cracked cymbal it was up at the whole, and not what i can do to fix it. its an older ziljan awesome sound now its just a wall ornament, if anyone has an idea?

I haven't cracked one either but I did find a nice one with good sound and applied what I said in a previous Email.

Frankly I liked to hide behind mine but I do grant what most have said here, it really does make a lot of sense.

My thing, when I used to crack cymbals 30 years ago, was to take a small file, like a chain saw file, and just file the crack to it's end, one stroke at a time. Then take some emery cloth and smooth the file channel. That was from a crack which began at the edge and worked its way in.

If you crack a cymbal along the lathe grooving, drill two holes 1/8" at each end of the crack, and then file the crack away so the metal doesn't vibrate. Depending on how much cracking has taken place, virtually no noticeable sound qualities are lost.

Bronze is fairly soft, but you still need a good sharp bit.

I have only been playing kit for 45 years but I have cracked a cymbal in that time, actually three...a 20" Paiste which cracked in the second month and a 14" Zildgian top high hat that cracked after about 30 years of use, and a 16" crash I dropped on it's edge on concrete. Several folks have mentioned technique. If you break a lot of sticks, heads or cymbals, you are probably using too high an angle of attack when you hit. Lower that angle (the glancing blow) and a lot of these problems go away. As for stopping a crack, it is a crap shoot. I have used the drilled hole technique and have also used cuting out the crack. Both work after a fashion but the cut out changes the pitch (sometimes for the better) and the drilled hole is a gamble. Ultimately, you are going to need to replace them. Try checking the local music stores for trade ins (some do this) and the local pawn shops. ( I got a 19' A Zild. China for about 1/4 it's normal cost and it is in great shape.)

anybody know some tricks to prevent cymbals from cracking or getting worse?

Sounds simple, use lighter sticks.

For prevention, keep fairly loose an ensure no metal-to-metal contact with the stand. Also a lot of drummers have completely flat cymbals, which I do not understand at all, unless maybe for Jazz or suchlike. Angling the cymbals down will stop them eating away at your sticks, too.

If you get a cracked cymbal, you can drill either end of the crack to stop it spreading but if it's just any off-the-shelf cymbal, I tend to just replace. Hasn't happened regularly to me though.

Drummers whose cymbals are mounted relatively flat do that, I've found, for aesthetics. They are also usually endorsed so breaking a cymbal isn't the end of the world for them. I won't rehash the good points made in the replies. One thing is if you're constantly breaking cymbals you need to evaluate your technique and/or move up to thicker cymbals.

Regarding cracked cymbals, drilling a stop-hole at the ends of the crack isn't needed. Use JB Weld, spread across and in the crack, both sides of the cymbal, let it cure for 24 hours (though it says 15). You can sand down any excess, but after you've done a few you get to know how much is too much. I've done about 6 cymbals this way and they are all playing and sound fine.

biggest trick is not to break them . it's tough but i learned the trick. set your cymbals uo with a slant towrds you and towrds the bass drum . this will make the crash on the left slnt to you and to the right and on the cymbal on the right slant it to you and to the left. this basically makes evry hit a glance instead of a hit that compresses the cymbal into itself

Well said! The trick really is to make sure that your stick is not striking the edge of the cymbal only. The bow and tip of your stick should be striking the bow of the cymbal. In order to save your cymbals you will have to adjust your technique!

If you are hitting the edge of the cymbal with the side of the stick you will break the cymbals over and over again. This causes to much deflection in the metal, and after some hard hits in the same location the metal's tensile strength diminishes until it can't rebound properly and cracks. The number of hits it takes varies obviously by the amount of force, weight of the stick, angle of the strike and cymbal density--but you get the picture-- this technique is cymbal destruction.

Haven't cracked a cymbal in 10 years, probably because of technique change and I play with 5B Vaders.

anybody know some tricks to prevent cymbals from cracking or getting worse?

I have what used to be an 18" Zildj zxt{titanium}. I LOVED the sound and shimmer of that cymbal. Then I broke it.
I tried brazing, broke again within an hour. Tried drilling many times before on other cymbals, it just doesn't work! So I made a mandrel so that I could mount the cymbal in an engine lathe, and turned that cymbal (cut it) down just beyond the crack. thats been over 2 years ago and that sumbitch still sounds great! It's now a 17" slash monster! try it, it's the only thing I've ever tried that worked.

Drummers whose cymbals are mounted relatively flat do that, I've found, for aesthetics. They are also usually endorsed so breaking a cymbal isn't the end of the world for them. I won't rehash the good points made in the replies. One thing is if you're constantly breaking cymbals you need to evaluate your technique and/or move up to thicker cymbals.

Regarding cracked cymbals, drilling a stop-hole at the ends of the crack isn't needed. Use JB Weld, spread across and in the crack, both sides of the cymbal, let it cure for 24 hours (though it says 15). You can sand down any excess, but after you've done a few you get to know how much is too much. I've done about 6 cymbals this way and they are all playing and sound fine.

that's the stupidest thing I've heard today! jb weld? why don't you just clamp a pair of vise grips on the crack? that'll kill the sound equally as well. I'm not even going to go into the thicker cymbal suggestion.

Drilling holes does stop the crack but only for a short time. This method will not work on the edges.
In that case mount your cymbal in a drill find something to mount a marker stationary. Use the marker to make a circle around the cymbal. Use a jig saw with a metal blade to cut around the entire cymbal. When cutting keep the cymbal cutting area close to the table,in fact use clamps to mount it to the table (cut so far and reposition) (put cloth around bottom of clamp to keep from marring up cymbal). If not it will vibrate like crazy - cymbal and jig saw. And don't for get SAFETY GLASSES. Other than that as one poster said check how your hitting your cymbals.

I used to crack my every few yrs mostly in the winter time if the cymbal was not up to temp. Now I only crack one cymbal. Sabian's China splash,for me it has a sound no other splash has. But it is made to thin to take hitting for more than a year.

Also when buying a cymbal get the pro coverage (sam ash-guitar center) Sabian does have a new 2 yr warranty on them and could save the extra cost the pro coverage will get you.

As a side note the Sabian warranty and pro coverage run at the same time time. So if both last for 2 years it's not 4 years of coverage it's only 2 years. What the coverage will get you in that case is the company will set you up with Sabian and will send a drop tag for free postage. Weigh your options the more cost of the cymbal the more for the coverage. But will the shipping weight be less than the pro coverage? Keep all receipts,make copies and save boxes in case you need them in the future.

Bakersfield, Ca. I can machine any cymbal for $35. The work involves cutting, beveling to original edge and polish to a high luster. Cymbals come out with a ruder and/or darker sound. Many progressive drummers prefer the dark sound. I also buy your cracked cymbals. please email me at [email protected]
WEB SITE---> www.bentmonkeycage.com/drumshop.html

lee daniel in Bakersfield 93309