How often do you break cymbals?

[JohnCav]

Havent broken a cymbal. Two of mine are old sabian/zildjian's from the 90s and have tons of prints/dirt. I dont hit hard, and they are holding up fine. My crashes etc are slightly tilted so they tend to lean to the heaver side. If Im ever switching songs or something I spin them a bit(thanks to tbartels007 from youtube for that) so I dont hit them in the same spot constantly.

 

With proper technique you should never(imo) break a cymbal. Unless of course they are CHEAP(and I dont mean like b8s. I mean trash can lid quality). In that case, its not if they break it is when

[tim18h]

I've broken 2 cymbals and a hi-hat in 4 years of playing seriously. Granted, the hi-hat and one of the cymbals were ZBT. But most recently I chopped a chunk out of my Zildjian K dark crash. I also break sticks like there's no tomorrow...i play pretty hard though

[BeakerArk]

Never, in my 30+ years of playing. Never cracked a cymbal nor split a drumhead. Really took it to heart when a local drumming hero of mine told me I had a "nice touch" on the kit.

[D Carroll]

Never cracked a cymbal. Broke a lot of sticks, and heads though. But, I've only broken a drumhead in the past year.

[tjones62]

30+ years of playing, I still own and gig with the first cymbals I went out and bought back then. Unfortunately they are considered "vintage" now It is all about technique

 

not bad at all! vintage are sweet especially paisty and zildjian imo

 

i broke 2 16 inch crashes recently. i was hitting WAY to hard one was a b8 and other a zht. but im glad cause now i have aax and xs20's.

 

im going to drop from 2b 's also,pretty sure they are bit over board (12 pair for 20$ i couldn"t resist!)

 

i had the b8 for 7 years and the zht for just under a year

[boxofrocks]

Rock drummer here,

Never broke a cymbal since I started playing, I play thin cymbals and never a crack.

[faileddrummer]

 

What cymbals are you using that come w/ a 2 year warrenty? Just curious.

 

 

Sabians come with two year factory warranties.

[cdawg]

bump. my first post. just feeling nostalgic.

[slap happy drums]

I replaced a few Custom A's back in my drunken youth, all under warranty still.

 

Haven't cracked a pie in a decade.

[TonyBono]

Break cymbals? Hell, I've been using the same set of Fiberskyns for two years now.......

[cdawg]

 

Break cymbals? Hell, I've been using the same set of Fiberskyns for two years now.......

 

 

those aren't cymbals. at least, they're pretty dead sounding cymbals.

[rayboomboom]

As per my previous post a year ago I just don't play that hard anymore. Plus, I set up my cymbals lower now so I play with a nice glancing strike. The cymbal(s) that are higher I set a little tilt to them so I'm not hitting the edge, more along the top and glancing.

[Merlin Coryell]

Ive cracked 2 splashes due to having them clamped down too tight. Im slowly replacing all wingnuts with slicknuts, which will help keep this from ever happening, as I wont be re-rightening them during shows for fear of them flying off, which has happened. Sometimes I overcompensate, and thats how a splash gets broken... Only twice in 15+ years.

 

Breaking a crash, china or ride = Poor playing technique. Correct your angle, your hitting style, or your stick. No nice way to put it, if you break a cymbal larger than 12", and you dont have it clamped down like hell, then you are playing wrong.

 

HARD hitting has nothing to do with it. Given that you are not using bottom end cymbals, and using conventional sticks, they should take anything you throw at them. Ive played Zil&Cie, A Custom, ZBT and Wuhan. I have used up to 747B Oak sticks (big heavy bastards) and gone to town bashing as heavy as I needed to overpower the full-stacks guitarists think they need. Never had a crack, keyhole or break due to bashing. If you bash CORRECTLY, and take care of your stuff (ie using felts and sleeves) then there is no reason a decently made cymbal wont last.

[Rudolf von Hagenwil]

 

I have never broken a cymbal.

 

 

 

me neither, and I certainly play them harder in certain moments then any beef-witted hard rocker, but with high speed, balance and impact, however the sticks I use are usually lighter then what hard rockers in general use

[kmart]

I've broken my fair share, everything from cheap Camber II junk hats to Paiste RUDE crash/rides...

 

Don't really do so now that I've learned how to place and play properly, but when I was younger...sure, I broke some.

Somehow ended up putting a crack in the top of a pair of Paiste Color Sound 5 hihats at some point (A shame...the bottom is in stellar condition for almost 25 years old).

 

 

With proper technique you should never(imo) break a cymbal. Unless of course they are CHEAP(and I dont mean like b8s. I mean trash can lid quality). In that case, its not if they break it is when

 

 

I'd disagree...my thoughts are that since a cymbal is a solid and when you strike it you are causing the molecules of that solid to vibrate (ie move) and that's not what they want to do...

 

Eventually with enough time and enough playing, no matter what the technique and placement, ANY cymbal, even top of the line, WILL break...

Of course depending on how long you're alive and kicking (and playing), you may not live to see that day.

But the physics of the situation just seem to indicate that it would happen sooner or later (again, often you can make sure it's MUCH later).

[Merlin Coryell]

 

I'd disagree...my thoughts are that since a cymbal is a solid and when you strike it you are causing the molecules of that solid to vibrate (ie move) and that's not what they want to do... Eventually with enough time and enough playing, no matter what the technique and placement, ANY cymbal, even top of the line, WILL break...

 

 

Incorrect. Cymbals are made with similar physical techniques as springs, or forged weapons like swords. They are designed with the utmost flexibility in mind. Dont think of them as "rock solid", they are anything but. Think of how much you can bow a cymbal. It is designed to do this to absorb the impact of a strike. If cymbals, or swords, were stiff and brittle, they would break at first use. Not to mention the shock that would transfer back through your stick would hurt like hell.

 

A simple comparison can be made with things like Factory Metal. Their stuff is simple cut sheet metal. I have a 20" radius, which I love, but after use it has warped. This is due to the fact that the metal has not been forged into a strong, flexible design, and does not "return" to its proper shape.

 

Considering natural breakdown and decay caused by corrosion, oxidation, etc., theres no reason a cymbal couldnt last indefinately, purely by being played.

[portnoyfan84]

I've broken two cymbals in 15 years of playing rock and funk.

[irnbru83]

It's difficult to break a rubber symbol

[drumsdb]

I've cracked a crash recently. I bought an AAX stage crash in 2002 and it cracked earlier this year. I think 8+ years from a cymbals playing hard rock is a pretty good lifespan.

 

DB

[Bitter Dawn]

 

That's the key. Once you reach the volume limit--playing with good technique, mind you--it makes absolutely no sense to hit the thing harder.

 

 

That's pretty much what I figure as, I don't see why some guys feel the need to bash the {censored} out of their cymbals, other than to make it seem (or feel) like they're playing louder.

 

I don't think I've been playing long enough to warrant the experience to have broken a cymbal - since I've about a combined time of drumming of maybe just over a year. I also use hickory sticks which seem fairly light, at least compared to the Vic Firth 5AB that I seldom use.

I will say that I'm a little concerned about my splash, it just feels so thin and pretty much needs to be hit hard in order to achieve a proper splash sound - thankfully Sabian offers a 2 year warranty.

[Merlin Coryell]

 

That's pretty much what I figure as, I don't see why some guys feel the need to bash the {censored} out of their cymbals, other than to make it seem (or feel) like they're playing louder.

 

 

 

Its like guitarists who jump in the air and swing their arms around to strum powerchords. Its amplified music, and the strings dont move much more than a normal strum. Just looks and feels cool. People just get energized and animated when they play.

[kmart]

 

I don't think I've been playing long enough to warrant the experience to have broken a cymbal - since I've about a combined time of drumming of maybe just over a year.

 

 

Au contraire:

Experience doesn't generally lean you to breaking cymbals; lack of almost always does.

 

Read through the entire thread and you'll find plenty of people who are basically telling the same story: they had to learn how NOT to break cymbals.

[kmart]

 

Incorrect. Cymbals are made with similar physical techniques as springs, or forged weapons like swords. They are designed with the utmost flexibility in mind. Dont think of them as "rock solid", they are anything but. Think of how much you can bow a cymbal. It is designed to do this to absorb the impact of a strike. If cymbals, or swords, were stiff and brittle, they would break at first use. Not to mention the shock that would transfer back through your stick would hurt like hell. A simple comparison can be made with things like Factory Metal. Their stuff is simple cut sheet metal. I have a 20" radius, which I love, but after use it has warped. This is due to the fact that the metal has not been forged into a strong, flexible design, and does not "return" to its proper shape. Considering natural breakdown and decay caused by corrosion, oxidation, etc., theres no reason a cymbal couldnt last indefinately, purely by being played.

 

 

I see what you're saying, but my point is that over time...extended time, the breakage would occur.

 

Play a thin crash hard enough, and it will break sooner because that's more than it is built for. Play a ride soft and it will last longer, but not forever, assuming it is being played consistently over a long enough time span (ie as I alluded to in my previous post, over lifetimes).

[IMartins]

Never had one in ten years but I wish to keep my cymbals if ever it will happen.

[Merlin Coryell]

 

I see what you're saying, but my point is that over time... extended time , the breakage would occur. Play a thin crash hard enough, and it will break sooner because that's more than it is built for. Play a ride soft and it will last longer, but not forever , assuming it is being played consistently over a long enough time span (ie as I alluded to in my previous post, over lifetimes).

 

 

Again, there is a mistake in your understanding of the metal. When speaking well-made cast cymbals, thinner ones can actually hold up much better to hard hitting. As they are thinner, they are by nature more flexible. Thicker cymbals are more rigid, and cannot bow as freely. This doesnt mean theyre much weaker, but on a grand scale, it does mean they could be more apt to break vs. give.

 

A Customs are incredibly durable for this reason. They are very thin, and take a hell of a beating due to the amount of give they provide. Look at an AC next to a std A sometime, especially the smaller crashes. Very thin and very flexible.