Does thicker cymbals last longer?

[ENRICO]

hi , I was wondering this fpor a long time ,

because the thinner the cymbals , the more flexible .but I can really picture a thin crash reisting solid rock beats .

And on the other side , a thiker cymbals it's stronger but more rigid ,so...

I've played mostley medium cymbals with good technique and quality stands but after some years they cracked

I would like to know about your experiences

[caddywumpus]

I'm very interested to hear what everyone else says. This is one of the great "drum gear debates", and it seems that most people have a strong opinion one way or the other...

I've only cracked one cymbal, and it was my first Sabian B8 16" crash that I had for 4 years. I beat the crap out of it with terrible technique, and I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did, in retrospect. I haven't cracked any other cymbals that I've owned, thick/medium/thin--any of them, and I've been playing for 12 years total. I don't have a strong opinion because I lack evidence.

[trysthedrummer]

I've never cracked a cymbal in my 6 years of playing. You could buy a Zildjian Z Custom ( a very think and heavy cymbal) and it could break (as done by a member in here). On the other hand a thin 16" crash may last for decades. In the manufacturing process there may be some anomalies, this with bad technique may be the answer to why sometimes they can crack.

[drumbum11]

what is bad cymbal techinque?

[eddiehimself]

I've never cracked a cymbal in my 6 years of playing. You could buy a Zildjian Z Custom ( a very think and heavy cymbal) and it could break (as done by a member in here).

Who might that be then :p yeah i found out to my cost that a thick cymbal won't be protected from bad cymbal technique, on the contrary, a heavy cymbal that doesn't open up easily might make you want to play harder, which will end up with it lasting not as long.

Bad cymbal technique in an extreme case would be tightening it until it can hardly move on the stand, positioning it so it's flat and then hitting it as hard as you can dead on with the shoulder of the stick (which would be ahead sticks). So to avoid cracking, just do the opposite of what i just said.

[drumbum11]

are you supposed to like swipe the cymbal instead of hitting it dead on too?

[Royal]

Does thicker cymbals last longer?hi , becaI was wondering this fpor a long time ,


Not if hit by thick drummers.

[Drum-Head]

It doesn't matter what the cymbal is, if you don't play it and use it properly it will eventually break.

- Hit the cymbal with proper technique: like a whipping motion, use a glancing bow from right to left, or left to right to strike the cymbal. Angling the cymbals so you whip the bow - as opposed to striking directly on the edge - of the cymbal with the sticks is a good idea.

- Use cymbals that are adapted to the music that you play: don't use a 14" paper-thin crash if you're in a metal band! Use a bigger cymbal, of heavier weight and that has a higher pitch (ex: Sabian AAX, Zildjian A Customs etc.) that will cut though those loud guitars. And you don't need to hit them like a barbarian to get the sound out of them.

Hope that helps.

[DamoSyzygy]

After much deliberation and discussion with many professionals in the field of cymbal making, Ive concluded that cracking cymbals is a result of altered technique. Assuming the drummer plays with good technique, loose grip, striking cymbals off centre etc, I started to see a pattern a few months ago. Firstly with players using thicker cymbals, then with players using smaller cymbals.

Then it dawned upon me. The players using these cymbals had made a poor decision on their cymbal choice, given the way they played. The heavier cymbal guys werent getting enough wash out of their cymbals because they werent striking them hard enough. The smaller cymbal guys had the same problem, but obviously the cymbal wasnt loud enough.

SO what they almost always did was subconsciously grip the stick tighter and swing it harder. This means their technique went to hell - The stick was no longer moving freely across the cymbal, but instead forcing a path through the middle of it.

I believe that if we have to change our technique to suit a poor cymbal choice for our style/volume requirements, then its simply a matter of time before we'll be back at the shops buying a replacement, be it thick or thin.

Its all about playing the way YOU play, and making purchasing decisions based on how you're comfortable. Playing outside of your comfort zone forces you to alter your technique, and that damages cymbals.

[Ian]

Everyone here has made great suggestions about technique.

To get to the question: no, thicker cymbals do not last longer. They last just as long when hit properly and applied appropriately to most types of music. Even pros break cymbals from time to time. I hit with proper technique, but when I was playing aggressive music with Paragons practicing five times a week and gigging once a week they did occasionally break. They were big, thick crashes (I was playing 18" and 20" crashes) and they did not flex at all. I switched to Vaults and they have lasted so much longer. When a cymbal is not over tightened and is struck on the bow with a glancing blow (or a "whip" as one forumite has said) the thinner cymbals will flex and give with the energy and thicker ones will stay ridgid, making them more suceptable to cracking.