hi hat sizzle

soham2rescue

soham2rescue

Member
i have seen many people sizzle their hi hats without even controling the hats with the foot.

like lars ulrich.

i wonder how does their hi hats move so freely and slide along each other to create such wonderful sound.

in my case.. if i keep my hats just open. the doo sizzle.. but short.. and they kind of.. block each other..

and if i keep them too open.. separated.. they bang instead of sizzling or jus rubbing each other..

i have also seen that as these 2 hats floats about each other... the clutch also looks like moving up and down along with the top hat.. and i done think that the drummer moves the clutch.

is there any such special setting.. or special types of clutch/hi hat stands used for the same?

thankyou
 
Hihat sizzle is a great thing! There is no one special setting for this. You have experiment with different settings. One way to produce sizzle is to tilt the bottom hat; most stands have an adjustment beneath the bottom hat felt that will tilt the bottom hat, so the bottom and top hats touch at one point. Depending on your hats (dark or bright), sticks, volume, spring tension, the sound you are looking for, etc. you may need lots of space between the hats, or very little.

I use my left foot a lot to control sizzle. You should keep your hat stand cleaned and well-oiled so you foot can do very fine movements, maybe just a millimeter or two, to get just the perfect sizzle.
 
i am wondering does these drop clutches like. the DW ones.. help in sizzle.

because in live concerts..ive seen lars' hi hats sizzle a lot.. and it is like.. the clutch moves up-down along the top hat..

is there sumthing like that? or its jus an illusion?
 
We're making a sizzle control device called the "Coady Wash Control"

Sorry for the shameless self promotion - but it seemed relevant!

Joe from Billdidit
 
i would check out the wash control. i've even considered something i saw pete magadini and others do, and that's to actually put a couple rivets in the top cymbal.

but other than that, the best sizzle comes from the best cymbals. there's no way around that.
 
soham2rescue said:
i am wondering does these drop clutches like. the DW ones.. help in sizzle.
Click to expand...

Nope. All a drop clutch does is enable the clutch to break, in order to keep the hats closed (when the left foot is playing the slave pedal) and then enables the two parts to connect again.

For best sizzle results, loosen the felts on the top hat by unscrewing the tension nuts. Let the top hat move as freely as you are able.
 
Pocket-full-of-gold said:
For best sizzle results, loosen the felts on the top hat by unscrewing the tension nuts. Let the top hat move as freely as you are able.
Click to expand...

Yes, it opens the top cymbal up, which improves the tone. Never heard the term "sizzle" before ... I just think of them being played more tightly or loosely, anywhere from crisp to totally sloshy. Everyone does that, just altering their LF pressure, don't they?

I've never managed to get my hats like this, though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjfJT-mq1no
.
 
Pollyanna said:
Everyone does that, just altering their LF pressure, don't they?

I've never managed to get my hats like this, though:
Click to expand...

With the foot is how I'd do it.....but there's no doubt the looser that top hat, the more slosh (or sizzle) you'll get.

That's some sloshy hats alright. :)
 
Aside from the really weird and cool foot thing that Pol just posted, does anyone else feel that the force of the hit has much to do with sizzle? Obviously if your foot pressure's fairly high it's not gonna make much of a difference, but if the hats are fairly loose, I've found that hitting them harder (and where I hit them, too - tip or shoulder) makes a lot of a difference.
 
While I'm sure other equipment can help, sizzle is really just about -
your foot and some decent cymbals.

Keep your hats loose. Don't tighten down that top cymbal. That will choke it.

With loose, good, sensitive cymbals, and very minor tweaks to pressure with your left foot, you should be able to conjure
lots of sizzly, swooshy goodness at any volume.
 
One last thing that I don't think that anyone mentioned is to strike the bow of the hat with an assertive glancing blow to force the hats to actually vibrate in a circle.
This will also increase the response along with the other good advice that has been given.

The hats will move around almost like when a stadium crowd does a wave.
 
dudees.. ive seriously obseved Lars Ulrich playing his hats... the top hat actually moves the clutch up down along with it as it literally bends too much when he hits them. and he doesnt atall seem to do the up down motion of the DW clutch by his foot..

so there has to be sumthing mysterious or unknown behind this... behing the up down movement of the clutch along with the top hat
 
Well, since shameless self promotion is acceptable here:

There's a good explanation of using the Coady Wash Control for "sizzle" control on our website: www.billdidit.ca

Also, here's a video of yours truly explaining how more aggressive drummers can take advantage of the Coady Wash Control: http://www.youtube.com/user/BILLDIDITGEAR#p/a/u/0/UfxpKo_bdxc

The Wash Control is not expensive - it's worth checking out. We'll be in the Direct Music Supply booth at NAMM if anyone wants to get a closer look and try it on a kit.
 
soham2rescue said:
dudees.. ive seriously obseved Lars Ulrich playing his hats... the top hat actually moves the clutch up down along with it as it literally bends too much when he hits them. and he doesnt atall seem to do the up down motion of the DW clutch by his foot..

so there has to be sumthing mysterious or unknown behind this... behing the up down movement of the clutch along with the top hat
Click to expand...

Link?


.............................
 
So, do most people keep their clutch loose so that even with full pressure on the pedal you get some slosh? I can't seem to do that. I don't know if it's my mid-grade Gibraltar HH stand or my very heavy, very thick Sabian B8's, but if I try to keep my clutch loose it doesn't work the top hat very well. If I make it so the top hat follows the pedal I get a non-musical, air-locked click unless I put the lightest of pressure on the pedal which is hard to maintain with any consistency. Thanks for any advice.
 
Elsuperbeasto said:
So, do most people keep their clutch loose so that even with full pressure on the pedal you get some slosh? I can't seem to do that. I don't know if it's my mid-grade Gibraltar HH stand or my very heavy, very thick Sabian B8's, but if I try to keep my clutch loose it doesn't work the top hat very well. If I make it so the top hat follows the pedal I get a non-musical, air-locked click unless I put the lightest of pressure on the pedal which is hard to maintain with any consistency. Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

I don't want any slosh with full pressure. I wrote a big long thing that I deleted because it was tl;dr for myself. My thoughts: Don't look for clutch to solve your sizzle it'll limit your hihat versatility, train your foot's sensitivity so you can hold the top cymbal in the sweet spot yourself for all the sound types you need.
 
Hello everyone.

I know this forum thread has been inactive for a long time but in case someone is looking for the same thing or one of you is coming back and who can answer.

It is true that Lars Ulrich opts sizzle with Drop Clutch (several models used since the years) from the beginning but how ??? I look for me too if he made something special as a spring between the 2 hats but no. Nothing. Just a Tama HH905 stand, a Zildjian 14 '' Dyno-Beat and a DW Drop Clutch.

I own the same stand and Hi-Hat of the same type, Heavy Top / Extra-Heavy Bottom and I have to put the standard Clutch Tama loose with 1-2mm of space and I adjust the sustain with the screw from below the '' Felt '', the one that gives an angle.

So yes, it's a legitimate question to know how LU has so much sizzle and that his Hi-Hat '' waltzes '' up to 40-45 degrees when he's not playing too fast like '' For Whorm The Bell Tolls, Unforgiven, Until It Sleep, Atlas Rises '' ???
 

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