Has your cymbal selection shaped you as a player?

I think your cymbal selection plays a role in defining what kind of player you are, especially during your primary years. What I mean is this; I think that someone who grabs a (lets use meinl for this example) Byzance brilliant or traditional cymbal pack of all mediums is going to become a different drummer than someone who grabs the Byzance extra dry pack of thins. The cymbals express themselves very differently and that is bound to affect the style you enjoy listening to and the style you enjoy playing in.

Obviously a lot of other factors are there such as background and music history/knowledge, but I'm just saying that your gear helps mold your tastes as well. I personally grew up with Sabian AAX/AAs and have branched out to Zildjian Ks and Meinl Byzance Vintages (which I have each cymbal set on different kits) and there is a huge difference on how I play and practice on each set. I even have different goals.

I also think that if you do happen to have a more versatile cymbal selection, that allows you to touch on more genres and styles. So while the byzance extra dry guy might be less heavy metal and more fusion or latin, the trads and brilliants would allow for the drummer to dig into any of the those genres well enough to not feel out of place with the sound.

Do you guys think your gear affected what you are playing today?

Yes I agree with you, and I think they affect technique, not just stylistic things.

When I got my 15" hats they required a bit of muscle to slosh compared to the 13's I used to play with, so they made me use a moeller technique and more power that I didn't use previously, I now use that with any hats I play.

My ufip heavy ride was always very loud so to compensate I'd make very low, light strokes, I think that taught me to play lightly.

Now I think about it, my first set of ufips were always quite loud and pingy, so my new cymbal set is kind of a reaction to that, now I've got lots of light, quieter and washier stuff.

Maybe not shaped- not to the degree of what drummers I listen to, study, etc.- but my cymbals definitely inspire me every day to do them justice also, having the semi-dry selection I have now, they've definitely led me to work on my timing more than I was with my typical Sabians and Saludas.

My formative years were spent playing whatever cheap crap I could pick up. I had a set of Pearl Wilds for a while. I also had a bunch of no-name cymbals that I would cut down when they cracked. My budget determined what gear I played far more than my musical taste. Even if I had the money for some great vintage Zildjians I would have still played in hardcore bands. I don't think a set of cymbals would have turned me into a jazz aficionado.

I think our environment and the music we're exposed to, and the personal preferences that result, ultimately shape us. And while a cymbal or drum sound is often suited to certain styles and genres, I don't believe that it can necessarily lead us in a particular direction as a player. What I mean by that is, if I sit down at a bop kit, I will probably play something jazzy, maybe drum & bass. If I sit down at a Bonham sized/tuned kit, I will probably play something that sounds appropriate on those drums. But those sounds don't steer me to explore those genres.

Even as a young student with dark cymbals and fairly high-tuned drums - the sound of the day - I still pursued pop & rock without regard to how the kit sounded. now, if there'd been congas in the house instead of drums, I would very likely be playing those, but in a Motown vibe, not necessarily Latin. Growing up and appreciating the music and learning in the '60s, the environment would shape me more than the instrument.

Bermuda

My initial reaction was no, my surroundings, abilities and preferences shape me the most as a player.
A cymbal can and does shape the way I play it... but I kind of separate that from the larger term, my playing.

But thinking a little deeper... it's not so cut and dried. Everything affects everything. If I was asked to add a china, that would shape my playing, because I don't use chinas. I would have to make a whole special set of china rules for myself, where to use them, where not to use them.

So I'm going with everything does have some influence.

I'm convinced that my ignorant (but fortuitous) purchase of a 20" Istanbul Original Jazz ride when I was 17 significantly affected the way I play. It took me down a new path and now I generally use hand-hammered and sensitive cymbals. I have a lighter touch on the ride than most of the people I know! I often use my big rides as deep crashes too - in fact, I don't own any main cymbals (other than hi-hats) that I use regularly that are under 20", so my love for big, thin rides really has informed my playing. For better or worse.

I feel like in my case it has been the other way around; as I've become more self-aware about how cymbals fit into their surroundings (either volume or genre) I've been much more selective about choosing the right sound for the right gig.

As larryace put so well, "Everything affects everything." This isn't limited to cymbals -- any instrument I play shapes how I play. A musician's job is to take an instrument and make it shine. The secret lies in the ability to adapt to the tool.

One interesting angle is how overcoming poor sounding cymbals affects style. The first real ones I played were B8s. Because of their grating sound, I played them very cautiously and sparingly. A cymbal only got hit if it made the grove sounded better, not "just because". My goal was always to disguise their shortcomings and blend with the band. Now I play beautiful Zildjians, but the habits I formed keep me from overplaying. Not that I consider myself a good drummer (far from it), but I do consider myself better off because of those horrible B8s.

It's hard to pin down really.

I started to gravitate towards thinner, darker cymbals for two reasons;the sonic qualities (blending with the sound of the band/ensemble rather than cutting through) and the music/players I was listening to. These two represent the ability to produce a wider array of sounds from one cymbal and an expansion of touch, technique and overall musical vocabulary respectively.

One one hand, the influence of the music/players I was listening to is what prompted me to expand my technique and touch as a player. On the other hand, if I didn't acquire cymbals that reacted to those techniques and that kind of touch then I might not have practiced, developed and utilised them in my playing.

Something that's quite interesting to observe is the way Joe Morello played back when he was young and used darker thinner cymbals, compared to recordings and videos of him later in life when he began using much brighter, thicker cymbals; in particular the Sabian AA's and AAX's. There's a definite difference, whether that's because of age, influences, change in attitude and preference or indeed the cymbals themselves is hard to say.

Great thread, a very interesting topic indeed.

Hope everyone is keeping well,

Kev

Interesting topic.

When I started playing, I had a bunch of Sabian AAs and AAXs, and I loved playing metal.
Now I have Ks, HHs, Byzances and some Turkish brand cymbals that are all darker and thinner. I still play metal.

It was definitely the sonic properties that drew me towards these cymbals, but also their versatility. While I do still play heavy metal with a K Light Ride (yes, you read that right), I'm more inspired to play something jazzy, or classic rock, fusion... what have you, than I would have been with my old cymbals.

While I think to say that cymbal choice alone influences your playing style would be wrong, it definitely plays a huge part in shaping you as a player.

My first kit came with B8's.

When I decided to take things seriously, I had a dilemma. Both my ears and playing were underdeveloped. So I flipped a coin. A over Ks. A's won. I bought a Zildjian A Custom cymbal pack with the knowledge that I was paying a bit too much. I also knew that they wouldn't sound horrible, would compliment each other well, and would be easy to resell if I changed my mind later. At that point in my development, I probably would have been happy with either.

In terms of influence, the A's have done a good job of teaching me how to hit a crash properly. I still tend to swell on the ride because I'm lacking some dynamic-independence between my two hands. It's nice that the A-Custom ride lets me know how and when I'm messing up whereas the B8 used to mask it. I tend to play around with dynamics on the hat a lot now because the A's make it sound far more interesting and less shrill than the B8.

So if anyone is relatively new to drumming and want's to buy good cymbals, but has no idea what they want, I'd recommend snagging one of the mainstream Zildjian/Sabian/Whoever pro-level-packs and going with it. Play something nice for a year while you sort out your ear and determine what you really want.

Beam Me Up Scotty said:

While I do still play heavy metal with a K Light Ride (yes, you read that right), I'm more inspired to play something jazzy, or classic rock, fusion... what have you, than I would have been with my old cymbals.

Click to expand...

Blasphemy. No rimshots for a week!

Kidding aside, I had basically the same journey in terms of cymbals. First 'real' cymbal was an APX ride, then an AAX-plosion, AAXtreme, some relatively bright Saludas... then Evolutions got me into the HHX line and I've just been getting thinner and more complex cymbals ever since.

No rimshots for a week?!

Aw man!

Lol.

I don't think so, no.

I know basically how I want to play and I know the music I'm willing to
play....thus I have found the cymbals that meet the needs for the things I already knew I wanted to do....

For me it's quite the opposite....my needs, goals and habits as a player have informed the cymbals I have ultimately chosen to play. That doesn't mean they sound good or are played well, just that the cymbal did not inform my style or habits.

Certainly one could take the limit to infinity on this question and say if all they had was a 50" gong, then it would require them to learn a new technique to play Take Five....and thus the selection shaped the technique.....but the term "selection" implies the player chose the cymbal and I don't think they do jazz standards in the nut house