Does anyone else hate splash cymbals?

I've got a 10" splash but I used to struggle finding a place that felt natural on my kit though.

Now I'm using it with my cajon in an acoustic band and it's working nicely in that setting, it's loud enough to be heard but not overpowering .

We're upgrading from the cajon to full kit soon so hopefully I'll be able to make it work and keep using it for the accents.

It also came in handy when my old orchestra went through a 40's dance phase.
 
I really like splashes. Have 8" and 10" A's and an 11" K custom hybrid. I love the short accent punch they give. Just a matter of finding when and if they fit in to a song. Not relevant for all music but definitely a useful sound on a kit in my book!
 
To the OP, you seem to have a very definite and unique set up, something that you have obviously thought a lot about. But I put it to you that you don't like cymbals at all!!!!! :)

Haha, possibly. Although I do like a nice ride, but... But... I'd have to take away one of the snares to accommodate that... I'm terrible, my kit has to be tiny or I feel cluttered.
 
well im not a hater,but i use them sometimes when ether is need for them.but normally il will not out on to my kit.
 
Like my other effects cymbals they have a time and a place. I have two, Wuhans, which I will replace someday with better ones. Sometimes you just don't want a crash in there so a splash works wonders.

And for aesthetics, they must be mounted absolutely flat. Any tilt at all and they look dorky.
 
People like Vinnie can really make splashes musical, and for that reason I can't hate them.. but I can't fit them into my personal style of playing very easily.

That said, I have a 9" splash and plan on buying an 8 and a 10. They are great for pop country covers and cheesy stuff like that.
 
I've never felt like I really needed one. I used to feel that way about chinas though, and I wouldn't go without one of those these days. I'm open to the possibility of further change!
 
I LOVE my splash. In fact within the past 2 days I decided to use mine more, not even kidding. It's a 10" Sabian AAX splash and I love it's voice. I find it crazy useful. Definitely looking to incorporate mine more. Among it's hundreds of uses, it works really well as the "cap" note at the end of some songs.
 
Nope, love splash cymbals.

I dislike 20" crashes. Way too loud and washy.

Sometimes, I use setups with no crashes or splashes- just hats, a 20" ride and a 22" ride.

Sometimes I use setups with nothing bigger than an 18" (12" hats, 14" crash, 18" crash ride on my Hipgig kit)

Neal
 
Does anyone ever ride their splash? I would imagine that to sound awful, but you know, context allowing, it might be alright... Urgh...
 
Alright, not hate, but just a kind of disdain for them.

Maybe it's me being a bit particular. There's a very specific sound that I go for; it's quietly dynamic, woody, brushy and played on a small kit - I only use two snares, my floor tom bass and a set of hi-hats. Style wise; Bernard Purdie meets Clyde Stubblefield meets Tony Allen with some rudiment-based grooves thrown in (minus some class and feel, but it's getting there).

That said, I could tolerate a four piece with hats, crash n' ride. Maybe even a second ride. But as soon as you add that splash, that kit turns ugly.

Not a big fan of huge kits at all, but I can appreciate them. Except those splash cymbals, yuck!

I bet I'm alone here...

I think if people picked splash cymbals with the care they spent on other cymbals they would be fine. If I had a buck for every time I watched a drummer spend hours selecting a crash or a ride and then say "oh yeah, through that splash in too" while paying for the other cymbal I would be a wealthy man. Its not wonder people don't like them. A lot of splashes really don't sound very good. If you spend the time to find the right one their musical applications become clear
 
Does anyone ever ride their splash? I would imagine that to sound awful, but you know, context allowing, it might be alright... Urgh...

With "riding" loosely defined, Bill Stewart does this in "The Red One" during what I guess I would call the turn-around bridge between choruses.

Its really freaking cool. This tune is what prompted me to want to get a splash for my arsenal.
 
Jim I have a similar splash that sounds slightly trashy, dark and warm. i.e. not bright and punchy. I tend to hit it alongside the odd snare rimshot for an extra bit of colour. Or as an alternative to a hi-hat bark.

alternatively give it a little strike on notes where nobody else in the band is playing anything. Works nicely in and around staccato riffs and verses etc.

You are correct.
I should give it another try.
I've only had it for a few sessions.
And maybe I can fit it in during one of my solos.



.
 
Firstly apologies if I'm not supposed to post direct links in a post like this. But it is on topic. I've just been listening to stuff from the band I was in 7 years ago (trip down memory lane!).

Copious amounts of splash in this one, I think its quite tastfully done?

http://www.captiveaudio.co.uk/visceral/audio/captiveaudio-360.zip

Listening back to this stuff though I'm nowhere near the drummer I thought I was at the time haha. I could have sworn my time keeping was bang on during the sessions for this album! eeek!

That said if you want to rip my playing to shreds, please start a new topic entitled "Diet Kirk is not as good as he thought he was".
 
About the only time I could think I would use a splash cymbal playing classic rock is "Can't Find my Way Home" by blind Faith. Since we don't play that song, I don't see a need for one. Even if we started playing it I don't think the audience would notice if it wasn't in there.
 
I love the idea of splashes and keep buying them, discovering that my style of playing has absolutely no use for them, and selling them again.

For awhile I thought, "Ooh, I can get some nice chimey sounds by using mallets on my splashes. And I could...but no one else could hear them unless they were mic'ed. And with a jazz trio that seemed silly.

As a kid I always thought they were the least cool things about Gene Krupa, but what did I know?
 
Like my other effects cymbals they have a time and a place. I have two, Wuhans, which I will replace someday with better ones. Sometimes you just don't want a crash in there so a splash works wonders.

And for aesthetics, they must be mounted absolutely flat. Any tilt at all and they look dorky.

Big dork here, then.

I have mine mounted off of my hi-hat stand, between my hats and rack tom; almost in front of the snare. My snare tilts away from me and the splash is tilted up at about the same angle as my snare.

Otherwise, I couldn't swipe the edge of it.
 
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