Frustrated! Is it my fault?

CreeplyTuna

CreeplyTuna

Silver Member
Ok, so i bought a pair of Zildjian K Custom Hybrid hats last april or may. They were used, and looked pretty used, but not destroyed and beaten up. Imagine my surprise when I found an inch long crack on the top cymbal today. This really frustrates and infuriates me for a number of reasons:
1. I haven't even had these a year, and hats are supposed to last forever! My B8's lasted longer for crying out loud!
2. I don't hit them ridiculously hard. I don't play lightly/softly, cuz that's not the music I'm into. Don't get me wrong, i'll play soft on the quiet parts, but you can't have dynamic with out a louder, harder part. But I'm not playing like Dave Grohl during Nirvana here.
3. It sits relatively loose on the clamping part of the hi hat stand. Its not tight, but doesn't wobble, so i suspected its the best way to keep them.

The only things I believe led to my cymbals demise was either the owner before me took terrible care of his hats and now i'm the one paying for a new top, or possible it's because it play them kinda high on the stand. Does anyone know if this is terrible for my hats? I always hit myself when i played cross armed, so i raised the hats. There's about a half a foot distance from my snare to hats vertically, but i'm not smacking them with the shoulder of my stick at a 90 degree angle. I'd just like some reassurance that my technique isn't killing my cymbals.
 
Bo Eder

Bo Eder

Platinum Member
This would be hard to determine without seeing you play. It could be alot of things: the hats could have had a microscopic crack that decided to really open up just now. There's no way to tell, the last owner wouldn't be able to tell you. You could have hit them just the right way (and it doesn't have to be hard) for that little crack to just break out. I've owned my hats now for almost 20 years and they're still going strong. It happens, and when it does, all you can do is replace them. Unfortunately cymbals, like sticks, heads, and guitar strings, are consumables.
 
A

audiotech

Guest
I agree, first of all you have absolutely no idea how they were actually played before you got them. This is one thing that you can't control when buying used. You stated that they looked pretty used, this may or may not be the critical factor. The person Or persons that had them before you might of had them for quit some time and never cleaned them. Finally it could also be part of the technique that you use. Any cymbal can take only so much abuse, meaning hit repeatedly with a stick. I still have Zildjian Hi Hat cymbals that I use that were made in the late 40s.

Dennis
 
GruntersDad

GruntersDad

Administrator - Mayor
Staff member
Buying anything used is always a crap shoot. Is it your fault the cymbal is cracked? Hard to know. Was the crack hairline and waiting to enlarge? Again hard to know. All you can do is find another top and move on or turn them over and put the cracked cymbal on the bottom. there are many hats and separate top and bottom cymbals on Ebay if you dare go that route again.
 
DOT_Steel

DOT_Steel

Junior Member
haha i had b8's last forever too. like others said, its hard to determine without seeing you play on them. sounds to me like they may have been beaten on pretty bad before you bought them

best of luck with this.
 
CreeplyTuna

CreeplyTuna

Silver Member
Ok, so I drilled a hole at the end of the crack and cut out the crack like in a V shape, so know it looks like a keyhole. Sounds good surprisingly, not a lot of tonal loss, and for the time being they'll work fine. I'd like some advice,though. From your experience, will this last, or am is it pretty much destined to get worse. These are my only pair of hats, and with the economy the way it is, and i've already gotten a snare for Christmas, it's not the best time financially to by a top hat. Does anyone think these will last me at least a few months before crapping out?
 
Pocket-full-of-gold

Pocket-full-of-gold

Platinum Member
I've drilled two cymbals in my time and have seen many others drilled. I say the same thing every time one of these threads comes up.......sometimes it stops the crack.....sometimes it doesn't.

Personally speaking, one cymbal stopped splitting after drilling and the other continued to crack straight through the hole. The results have been the same for anyone else I've known who has done the same thing.

All you can do is try it and see.
 
T

tamadrm

Platinum Member
CreeplyTuna said:
Ok, so I drilled a hole at the end of the crack and cut out the crack like in a V shape, so know it looks like a keyhole. Sounds good surprisingly, not a lot of tonal loss, and for the time being they'll work fine. I'd like some advice,though. From your experience, will this last, or am is it pretty much destined to get worse. These are my only pair of hats, and with the economy the way it is, and i've already gotten a snare for Christmas, it's not the best time financially to by a top hat. Does anyone think these will last me at least a few months before crapping out?
Click to expand...

Like PFOG said...sometimes it workes,other times????? Only the great drummer of all drummers who lives in the sky,knows for sure.Just be sure that you drilled far enough and slighly past the crack..

Steve B
 
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Naigewron

Naigewron

Platinum Member
I've cracked a few hihats in my time, both cheap and expensive. There's definitely no magic ingredient in them that makes them "last forever" :)

Good luck with the fix. Hopefully that stopped the crack from growing.
 
B

Bertram

Silver Member
Really, I wouldnt worry too much. First of all you bought a used hi-hat. Secondly, you're only going to replace one cymbal. But ofcourse it must be annoying. Good luck with it, hope you can find a top cymbal for when the time comes :)
 
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