Cymbal Repairs / Mods

the World's smallest ride.

i was aiming to make a splash but there is no way of denying it this cymbal is a ride!
i took an old cracked paiste 2002 top hi hat and cut it down to 8and a half inches. gave it a good polishing and then took it to the gig last night. it barks like a china pang when hit like you would hit a splash or crash but to my surprise the bell competes with the bell of my 22'' ride and even the bow is loud enough to cut through. it is a unique sound. quite dry and low toned for such a small cymbal and as you can imagine there is no wash but loads of ring. the metal is quite thick and so the sound is a ride.
when i got home this morining i buffed her up and gave her a paint job and now she will be a permanent feature on my kit.
j


 
Re: the World's smallest ride.

...decadent. Just decadent...
 
Re: the World's smallest ride.

wow ... thats amazing! I would love to do something like that ... seems everyone loves to make new things from their paiste cymbals. Sweet idea!
 
Re: the World's smallest ride.

yeah i'm putting it just to the left and above my hihat. that way i can do p[aterrns between the hat and the miniride as well as using it as an EFX splash in the funk songs we do. it is so loud that when i hit it and my 16'' crash in a flam you can hear it clearly. it's also so thick that it is fairly unlikely to break so this is going to be part of my personal sonic signature for a loooong time i reckon.

j
 
Re: the World's smallest ride.

Thats a funky ride!!!! Might be appropriate for someone who is height challenged such as my self!!!
 
Re: the World's smallest ride.

hi rob. they were tinsnips but it was a pig of a job. i had to cut in a spiral and
also had to cut radial snips just to get the jaws into position each time. plus, because of the angles and pressures only about 1cm per cut was possible so it took hundreds of cuts to do the lot. i did it on the carpet and leaned my weight onto the cutters each time especially near the end when they were getting blunt. they only cost me £6 so they lasted just long enough to do the job.

j
ps i just found the ebay pic of them when i bought them (the top one is the one i kept. the bottom is the one i cut):
6b_1_b.JPG
 
Yes ... I remember now. Zombie has 2 crack Paiste Crash Cymbals (that's why I loan them my 2 Crash - It's been 5 weeks now)...I'm taking back my 2 cymbals by end of this month...at the same time ... TRY MY LUCK...and see if they will give me the 2 Crack Paiste Cymbals, then go down to my Father-In-Law Hardware Shop and get him to (Mend it & Trim/Cut it using Machine)......

Hopefully I can get to hear some INNOVATIVE sounds comming out after whatever being repair. ...Whahahahaha...yes...yes I'll try to convince them to give me the broken Paiste 502 Crash Cymbals.
 
When I cracked one of my cymbals (Zildjian 16" medium thin crash) I had it replaced. The cymbal had a thin spot in one of the grooves during it's spin on the lathe. The thin groove ran all around the cymbal and it cracked in the same groove in three different locations.
 
haha reading this has inspired me to mess around with my two broken cymbals. i at first had them stacked up on top of one another and it was awesome, i messed that up real bad by trying to bend the edges into a china, but wat the hell
 
hey nutha jason
i was wondering if you had any advice or input on what to do with a crack on a china.
i own a 18" Zildjian China "Trash" which recently has developed a crack in the bend that runs around the cymbal giving it the china look. it is exaclty 2" from the the rim and runs around the cymbal roughly 3". it is not a very bad crack, u can hardly see it unless u are lookin for it, so i was figuring i would just drill 2 holes on each ends of the crack...is that a good idea? haha. any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated. thanx
 
yes two 3 -5 mm holes on the ends of the crack should stop it from growing. i would also purposefully keyhole the center cymbal hole slightly so that the crack is always at the top or side of the cymbal where it is least likely to be struck by a stick.

unfortunately a bow crack is the hardest to fix and obviously cutting down a china would make it, well, not a china anymore. i hope the holes work.

j
 
Re: cracked cymbals

nate said:
How the hell do you crack a cymbal?





I’ve broken sticks, skins, pedals (all down doing having s**** technique) and even bass amps and a couple of PA’s but I’ve never cracked a cymbal in over 16 years...am I lucky?



..and nutha jason have you really cut down a 16" to a 14"ever, it would be pretty hard to get right wouldn't it...I used to do a little bit of metal work - and using tin snips was hard - well at least I found it hard...(good theory/pic though).

well I don't think you're lucky...you destroyed more than I ever will...and I have one cracked cymbal :)
 
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I should mention that if you do decide to drill a hole at the end of the crack, make sure you take a magnifying glass and check to see where the crack REALLY ends. You may be only able to see a part of it without getting a closer look. I had a Sabian AA Medium-Thin crash that cracked and my dad drilled a hole in it, but he must not have seen the actual end of the crack because the hole didn't stop it from cracking further.
 
cymbal variations and modifications of old cymbals

I have recently bought a new HHX evolution ride cymbal. It is really loud and when i practice in my room it is too loud because of the acoustics.

so what i have done is got my old ride cymbal and duck taped 3 peices of pizza box, the plastic base,the bottom of the cymbal so it is much quiter. Now i can play with the pads on my drum kit and have a quite cymbal as well. i could have bout some pads for my cymbals but i dont have any money.

does anyone have any other things/modifications they have made to their cymbals. i know some people have cut down their existing cracked cymbals. but what about putting rivits in old cymbals, or hanging chains on them.

any ideas.
 
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