Crash Cymbals As Hi Hats

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XplosiveDrummer

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After reading a comment here from another member it got me thinking about what he said and brought on some questions.

What IS the definition of a hi hat? What do 14" hi hat cymbals have that make them so different from 14" crash cymbals and what's to stop people from trying 14" crash cymbals as hi hats? I'm not sure but I believe Thomas Pridgen uses crashes as hi hats but I'm not sure of the sizes.

Thoughts on this?
 
After reading a comment here from another member it got me thinking about what he said and brought on some questions.

What IS the definition of a hi hat? What do 14" hi hat cymbals have that make them so different from 14" crash cymbals and what's to stop people from trying 14" crash cymbals as hi hats? I'm not sure but I believe Thomas Pridgen uses crashes as hi hats but I'm not sure of the sizes.

Thoughts on this?

if the cymbals are on a hi-hat stand theyre hi-hats on a cymbal stand theyre crashes...lol

i've used 16" crashes as hi-hats sounded pretty cool.

Bonzolead
 
You can use whatever you want, wherever you want.
Most of the crash cymbals I've come across have been thinner than most hi hats though.
Might be different tapers and lathing and so on too - IDK.
 
LOL bonzolead! And yeah that's what Thomas uses too. Those things slosh around like he's using gongs for hi hats lmao! :)

And yeah bill you're right. There are differences in how they're made. Especially the hats where they crimp an area every inch on the bottom and/or top. I guess certain details make them stand apart. I guess I was just wondering if others have done this and if so feel free to give your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks.

XD
 
I've used crashes as top hi hat cymbals before and had great results. My all time favorite pairing was a 14" Sabian HH Sound Control crash over an AA Sizzle Hat bottom. That pairing was dark, super crisp when tight and very splashy when open.

However, it wasn't perfect everywhere. I tried it with a friend's A Zildjian Mastersound bottom hat and it really sucked. I don't know why, but it sounded terrible.

So, I generally recommend trying crashes as hi hat tops, but depending on the particular qualities of each cymbal it may not work every time.
 
Ha! Speak of the devil lol! :D

Yeah Winston, it was you who actually got me thinking about this. Interesting observations, I wouldn't mind trying something unique like this some day. Cool idea man and thanks for the reply.
 
Using 16" crashes as hats - I liked them but there are some short comings - being thinner they don't get as much stick definition, they don't get as much volume and when playing the hi-hat pedal you don't get much of a foor 'chick'.

The obvious difference between a top hat anda crash is that the top hat is thicker... try hitting it like a crash and you'll see. The difference is probably less obvious with beginner cymbals.
 
I use a 14" Zildjian "New Alloy" crash as a hi-hat top. It's just a matter of what you like, but crashes generally go thinner than hats. Especially on bottom hats, which are often thicker than the usual cymbal to enhance foot chick, closed stick response, etc. The New Alloy crash doesn't really sound good as a crash anyways, so...
 
Benny Greb on his signature Sand Series Cymbals used the two 18" crashes together as hats, check it out here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob4-YXdeYps

its at the very end, ps. what a great sounding kick drum!

Ha! I knew I liked Benny for a reason! That's great, thanks for the video! And thanks for all the great replies on this topic, cool to see it's been tried more than I had initially thought. Thanks to all.

XD
 
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