How many cymbals have you cracked/broken/split in your drumming lifetime?

JesusMySavior

Silver Member
I can count two cymbals. One was when I was 19 and I was playing on someone else's kit, and he had the cymbals tightened so tight that there was almost no movement. I cracked it in three spots and I replaced his cymbal.

The other was a small mishap during a worship service and I ended up cracking the cymbal about 1/8". It spread pretty quickly but stopped after a little while.

Even though I've only cracked two cymbals in a period of 4 years, I'm totally paranoid that I'm gonna crack another... :-(

what about you?
 
Two. A Stagg 18" TH China (very similar to Wuhan in shape, sound and durability) and a Zildjian 18" ZBT Crash-Ride.

The Stagg cracked along the groove lines right along the edge of the lip after two years of service. I kept using it for rehearsals until pieces of bronze flying out of it started posing a serious threat to my and the other band members' health.

The Zildjian cracked on the edge, and I cut around the crack. After a few more playing sessions the crack restarted and a new one appeared on another place on the edge, and ground both out. Then the next time I played it, in the course of a two-hour rehearsal both cracks restarted and it developed three new ones and lost 90% of its sound. I now use it in a stack instead of a china for rehearsals and it has five huge cracks, but no pieces missing yet.
 
One. An Avedis 18" Thin crash from memory (or perhaps it was paper thin)....whatever, totally the wrong cymbal choice for the style of music I was playing and the 3a sticks I was using......sounded a treat, I just used it in the wrong setting.

Lesson learned, my cymbals are now all chosen for both sound and application.
 
Two.

I cracked a 16" Paiste 2oo2 crash in the mid-80s. I had to get the crack ground out before it was fatal.

The other was the top hat of Paiste 12" Sound Edge, early 80s. I was playing a party and a drunk fell over and knocked over the hats. The cymbal cracked in the centre ... not good for a top hat. Was not happy.

I swapped them over with the ripple-edge cymbal on top and I played like that for a decade afterwards until I "retired", without it getting worse.

The way I play these days there's no worry about cracking one again.
 
Non for me too, & I'm often accused of bad technique. I have my cymbals flat and swipe them, upper stick shaft at about 40 degrees to the bow edge. This means they open up real easy, but I'm careful about the force used.
 
None in my 50 years behind the kit.

If you don't break them, you can add to them instead of replacing them.

Dennis
 
None here too.

I look at cymbals as a musical instrument, not a metal plate to be smashed with reckless abandon. It's just another component of the drum kit designed to produce a (hopefully) musical sound.

This is part of why I'm so adamant about others not playing my kit. If they want to bash away, they can go buy their own pack of ZBTs and have at it.
 
None so far, unless you count an already heavily bashed-in Pearl 'cymbal', as that really can't stand up to anything.

I'd be very, very sad if any of my cymbals cracked at all. I'd probably sulk about it, then be patient as my parents eventually buy me a new one. I may play in a Power Metal group, but I make it a point not to treat my cymbals like crud.
 
I stopped counting so I don't know, but quite a few over the years. It's not something I've ever really worried about though. I would just keep using them cracked until I don't like the sound of them any longer (which was usually "when they completely fell apart", and even then, sometimes I'd use jagged pieces), and then I'd just replace them. Lately I haven't cracked as many but probably because I do not tend to play the same cymbals near as much as I used to. When I started playing, it was pretty much either Zildjian or Paiste, and neither had 20 different lines with a bunch of cymbals in each line. There are too many cool cymbals to try lately, with all of these different companies, so I keep trying them and switching around what I'm using, and I keep finding new things I want to try.

I've had plenty of drums fall apart on me, too, especially when I was on the road a lot (at one point I was on the road for about three years straight with maybe four-five weeks off total)--seams splitting, etc. That seemed to happen a lot on some of the 70s Ludwig vistalite drums in particular.
 
I've had a China get cracked in the bag, a K Dark Thin crash cracked (I think from someone playing it without my permission...) and recently had my favorite set of 60s New Beats develop a crack in the top cymbal... I think that's it.

I play thin crashes for the sound, but I don't tend to break them.
 
Zero,
I have never broken a cymbal in 40 years.
I dropped one on the edge once and dinged it but it never cracked.
I had it for many years afterwards.
 
Sometimes you have to wonder if roadies do the Ace Ventura UPS-man routine after you leave the venue. It's a good idea not to tick them off too much.
 
I haven't cracked any myself, but i had one that was cracked when i got it and after about 5 years of playing it i managed to lengthen the crack about 2 inches. It was a NuVader cymbal, pretty crappy stuff.
 
BrewBillfold;733372 It's a good idea not to tick them off too much.[/QUOTE said:
Three types of people that you should never tick off.

1) Police Officer
2) Anyone that handles your food or your valuable prized possessions such as your drums or your car.
3) Doctor or Dentist
 
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When I was first starting I had gone through some really cheap cymbals (i'm talking like 30 bucks here), and just because of the quality they would crack very easily. So i'm thinking about 3 or 4.
 
Unfortunately I broke a bunch of them in the 90's- my band the Raging Woodies played the Satyricon (sort of the CBGB's of the pacific northwest) often, which inspired a certain attitude. I went through 4 or 5 A. Zildjian crashes and some Paiste Signature Dark Crisp hihats in 2-3 years. My old 22" A. Medium ride came through it OK, even though I was beating the crap out of it, too.
 
After about 6 or so years i've cracked between 4 and 6 i think.

The one i remember most is an 18" Paiste Alpha (the older, better Alphas) which belonged to my then bassist. I was borrowing it for a while to see how it was before i bought it off him. After an argument about practice times he was booted out the band and the crash remained with me until i cracked it a couple of months later. He's probably still bitter about it but we don't keep in contact so imma get it repaired and use it 'til its dying day!

They others are ZXT hi hat top, XS20 16" medium-thin (which apparently have a tendency to crack) and a couple of others that i don't remember.

I'd consider myself quite fortunate that i've never cracked any of my own cymbals. They've always been someone's else's or borrowed. And i'm a very hard player too.

My current set up consists of 16" Z Custom crash and 14" ZXT solid hats (which both are quite thick and rigid, yet no damage on them after several years), a Paiste 101 20" ride which is remarkably completely undamaged after 3 years or constant arms-length crashing and an 18" Zil Oriental china which i've only had since christmas.

xoxo
 
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