Bigger cymbal brighter or darker?

[dan_newbeat]

I am either purchasing a 17" or a 19" bright crash symbol from the Sabian AA or AAX line to accompany my 18" HHX Evolution crash. Should the bigger cymbal in a pair be the bright or the dark cymbal? If dark, I will purchase 17", if bright I will likely purchase the 19-20"

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

The only thing a cymbal should or shouldn't be, is what you determine it should or shouldn't be.

Some people play all bright cymbals, some play all dark cymbals and some mix and match to suit themselves. The only guidlines as to what size and what tones a cymbal "should" produce is your own ear.

Play what you like......and like what you play.

[bermuda]

The larger size is often the lower pitch, but weight and the cymbal's shape govern pitch to a larger degree. And, every cymbal is different. For example, you will typically find an 18" that's lower in pitch than a 16", but that's not always the case. With the Evolution cymbals, the pitch is low for their size, so your 18" will most likely need a larger cymbal from a different line. But, it does depend on the particular cymbals involved, and without hearing them together, none of us really know the answer.

My suggestion is to match the 18" Evolution with another 19 or 20" Evolution for the best high-low/bright-dark blend. Still, you need to hear the cymbals together - or bring a recording of the 18" when you shop - so you can decide if they sound right to your ear. Cymbals are particularly hard to buy by mail order, I don't recommend it unless you can hear an audio file, or it's a very consistent cymbal (like most Paistes, for example) and you already know that sound in your head.

Bermuda

[caddywumpus]

There are MANY factors that influence a cymbal's sound. Size is important, but so is the weight, thickness, taper, profile, tension, lathing, hammering, etc...

AA and AAX cymbals are *typically* brighter than HHXs, but since there's so much variety from cymbal to cymbal, you might get a vastly different cymbal than the norm. Try out the cymbal before you buy, for sure...

[Drumolator]

At church I play two crashes: Sabian AA 17" Thin Crash and AAX 18" Studio Crash. The 17" is bright, and the 18" is dark. They sound quite good together. Peace, goodwill, and blues.

[Bretton]

Bigger cymbal, all other factors being equal = lower pitch.

My personal preference with my two crashes is to have them the same diameter (in my case 20"). I have the AAX Metal crash, which is thick (medium heavy), high profile, the highest pitched cymbal in the AAX line, I used to pair it with the AAX dark crash which is thin, and lower profile, but I kept breaking them, so now I'm trying the HHXplosion, which is medium thin, thicker than the AAX dark, but other factors like the type of hammering and lathing make it darker and lower pitched.

My intent is to keep the cymbals closer to the same volume and feel while having one high pitched and one low.

[bermuda]

Originally Posted by Bretton

My intent is to keep the cymbals closer to the same volume and feel while having one high pitched and one low.

That's typically what I go for as well, so using two Evolutions would provide some continuity in sound. Unless that's not what the OP wants!

Bermuda

[AirborneSFC]

Sorry to dig up this old thread but I am also searching for a brighter crash cymbal in a larger size. In particular I found that the 19" Zildjian A Custom crash is brighter vs the 18" A custom. I have the 18" A Custom and its a bit on the darker side than I prefer. I listened to several 19" Sabian and Zildjian crashes that had an overall brighter pitch to them.

I am open to suggestions for any other brand in the 18"-19" range. I currently own a darker K 18" Crash that I love much more so than my A Custom of the same size.

[Terrence R]

I love my A custom crashes. But, my 18" is way brighter than my 17". Weird ehh. The only difference in stature is the 18" has a larger bell. I'm assuming that is why it's brighter? I always hear people saying that their 18" A custom is darker than their 17 A custom. That's not the case for my A customs.

[SticksEasy]

Personally I'd go larger, not for difference in brightness, but pure functionality. On mid-level to higher end cymbals, the bigger the pie, the more sounds you'll get out of it. My dream cymbal setup would be a twenty inch crash, a 21" ride thin enough to crash on, and a 22" ride nice and dry. I like all my cymbals to be dry enough to ride on, but thin enough to crash. I also dig dark cymbals.

[AirborneSFC]

I just won a 19" A Custom projection crash on Ebay. So we will see how it sounds. Yeah I have two Byzance rides; 20" Dark raw bell and 20" Vintage sand ride. My dark ride has a great crash sound to it much sweeter than my K ride. I think the 20" has more stick definition vs the 22" to be honest.

In general yes I think crashes should be larger for a better sound depending on the situation. I like the Meinl Sound Caster Crashes, MB20, Zildjian K Custom Hybrid crashes.

After a few gigs where I heard recordings I found my 16" crashes lacking. Almost better for smaller gigs or almost like a splash.