Riveted cymbals

[bmore drummer]

I recently brought myself a pair of Sabian AA sizzle hats and would like to know if anyone has them and their opinion of them. I also want to experiment taking the rivets out and making them interchanngable. Does anyone know how to take rivets out of a cymbal.

[volvoguy]

To remove rivets, you just squeeze the split ends and pop them out... or drill them out if they're pop rivets.

-Ryan

[Steamer]

Just be VERY careful if they not the split rivet type well trying to use other means to remove them.

[contemplativedrummer]

The sizzle hats sound awesome.

Nice and funky when closed, but pretty good body when open.
Our school uses em, on the jazz set and on the field during marching section (rack players, obviously). They cut fairly well when they need to.

I'm looking to find a pair used myself, actually. But I might have to settle for some A Zildjian Quick Beats, idk.

[KarlCrafton]

I've had a set of 15" AA Sizzle hats for about 5 or 6 years.

I love them.

They are GREAT hats, and have a very versatile sound--they just go with everything I use them in.

They record great, and cut through live really well and sound great though PA speakers.

Very crisp when tightly closed, they sound great with any foot pressure, and the "slooshy" sound has just that bit of added shimmer that make them sound special.

I tried them without the rivets, but I put them back in right away.
The sound was too good with them in.

When I got mine, the rivets were more "splayed" out, like 4 or 5 pieces opened up, and I think they changed the way they are doing rivets at Sabian because the last riveted cymbal I got had just the opening flanged out enough so it didn't drop out of the hole.

Both styles of riveting work, but the splayed out way makes more shimmer in the sound.

I bought split rivets from the hardware store and used those when I put them back in and haven't touched them since.

The split type (for those that don't know) just flange out in the middle, so you have 2 pieces of the rivet sitting on the cymbal (doing the top sizzle) and the rivet itself makes a sizzle when it's bouncing around the hole.

It's just a tiny bit less sizzle than the fully splayed out factory version, so if a rivet breaks off (which they always end up doing eventually) you get the original sizzle sound back.

I bought a whole bunch of split rivets recently because for some reason they are hard to find in my area now....never were before so it's kinda weird....
All my chinas have rivets, and my ride cymbals have 3 rivets in them, so having them on hand is a good idea...

Anyhow, I'm sure you are going to love those hats.

I'd buy a second pair for my rehearsal kit if I didn't already have a set of old 15" new beats....but, if something should "happen" to them, it'd be Sizzle hat time!

[aboylikedave]

Daft question - if you take the rivets out of a cymbal, does it sound the same as cymbal would have done without the rivet holes?

The reason I ask is that occasionally a ride which used to be rivetted comes u on ebay.