Shipping cymbals?

[picodon]

This may be a dumb question but I don't want to die dumb as the French say

I understand the answer to any question in the cymbals forum is buy used, and I think that's what I'll do in the future... but can a cymbal be shipped in a decent way?
I always think of my cymbals as fragile and I am scared to death anyone would step on the cymbals bag.
So I am wondering what percentage of cymbals shipped arrive dented.

Any thoughts?

 

[bobdadruma]

Any item that is shipped has to be carefully packaged. Shipped items enter a system with millions of other items. They are placed in trucks, trains, and planes where they can be dropped, stacked, and crushed. They are moved within giant buildings on conveyer belt systems that sometimes are high up from the ground level when they are being sorted and redistributed.
Cymbals should be placed in a box and soft material should be put all around them when they are shipped.

 

[radman]

picodon,

I've ordered many cymbals and had them shipped and never had an issue with the packaging or shipping damage. But ...

... I've had very mixed results from what I received. Maybe these days sound files can help a bit, but some cymbal makers have widely varying sounds from the "same" cymbal. The ones I've bought and/or have - Sabian, Bosphorus, Zildjian - definitely have different sounds from cymbal to cymbal - the old Sabian HH could be dramatically different. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but something you should be aware of (if you are not already).

I've heard there is more consistency with Paiste ... but I have no experience with multiple samples of the same cymbal with them.

good luck,
radman

 

[BradGunnerSGT]

picodon,

I've ordered many cymbals and had them shipped and never had an issue with the packaging or shipping damage. But ...

... I've had very mixed results from what I received. Maybe these days sound files can help a bit, but some cymbal makers have widely varying sounds from the "same" cymbal. The ones I've bought and/or have - Sabian, Bosphorus, Zildjian - definitely have different sounds from cymbal to cymbal - the old Sabian HH could be dramatically different. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but something you should be aware of (if you are not already).

I've heard there is more consistency with Paiste ... but I have no experience with multiple samples of the same cymbal with them.

good luck,
radman

In my experience, Paiste is eerily consistent amongst their cymbal lines. I've listened to various Paiste cymbals on MyCymbal.com and then ordered them online from Ebay, GC, or other music stores (I did buy one from mycymbal.com so I'm not a total leech). Every one I've purchased has been consistent with the videos. Good headphones and making sure the video is playing HD is a must, though.

One thing I like is when MyCymbal.com does get a slightly brighter, darker, washier, etc. cymbal, the demonstrator actually notices it and mentions is in the video.

 

[Les Ismore]

... can a cymbal be shipped in a decent way?
I always think of my cymbals as fragile and I am scared to death anyone would step on the cymbals bag.


Any thoughts?

Take a cardboard box and cut it at the seams into squares a little larger than your cymbal. If you have a 20" cymbal, the cut piece should be a square 1-2 inches larger than the cymbal.

Place the cymbal on the cut piece, use a pencil and mark out a 20" circle around the piece of cardboard, use the edge of the cymbal as a template. Cut another piece of cardboard a little larger. Cut the corners of your squares round, leaving and inch or two over, you can also do this in the folding process for a better fit till you get it down.

SARAN WRAP, plastic wrap, shrink wrap... a box is like $2.00. Wrap your cymbal with plastic wrap until you feel it has some protection, maybe a 1/4 of the box, depending on the mil thickness of the wrap material. Stretch the wrap when you go around the cymbal in cross patterns covering all the exposed metal completely/throughly, less is not more here. You're shrink wrapping the cymbal.

Lay the wrapped cymbal flat on the smaller piece of cardboard, then put the other larger piece on top sandwiching the cymbal in between. This next part takes some wrist/finger strength- fold both edges of the cardboard around/underneath the edge of the cymbal. Use packing tape to secure the fold, then start working your way around the cymbal. Like the plastic wrap, stretch the packing tape like you would electrical (friction) tape for a tighter hold. Your subsequent 'box-sock' is going to be covered in tape, just like the cymbal is covered in plastic wrap.

If done correctly, this method yields the smallest box dimensions possible and provides excellent protection.

A giant cardboard frisbee with a cymbal inside.


By comparison, putting a 20" cymbal in a 20x20x20 square box yields a box that too big, also there's no way to secure the cymbal inside w/o piling up a ton of shipping charges in weight.


..................................

 

[Dutch]

Take a cardboard box and cut it at the seams into squares a little larger than your cymbal. If you have a 20" cymbal, the cut piece should be a square 1-2 inches larger than the cymbal.

Place the cymbal on the cut piece, use a pencil and mark out a 20" circle around the piece of cardboard, use the edge of the cymbal as a template. Cut another piece of cardboard a little larger. Cut the corners of your squares round, leaving and inch or two over, you can also do this in the folding process for a better fit till you get it down.

SARAN WRAP, plastic wrap, shrink wrap... a box is like $2.00. Wrap your cymbal with plastic wrap until you feel it has some protection, maybe a 1/4 of the box, depending on the mil thickness of the wrap material. Stretch the wrap when you go around the cymbal in cross patterns covering all the exposed metal completely/throughly, less is not more here. You're shrink wrapping the cymbal.

Lay the wrapped cymbal flat on the smaller piece of cardboard, then put the other larger piece on top sandwiching the cymbal in between. This next part takes some wrist/finger strength- fold both edges of the cardboard around/underneath the edge of the cymbal. Use packing tape to secure the fold, then start working your way around the cymbal. Like the plastic wrap, stretch the packing tape like you would electrical (friction) tape for a tighter hold. Your subsequent 'box-sock' is going to be covered in tape, just like the cymbal is covered in plastic wrap.

If done correctly, this method yields the smallest box dimensions possible and provides excellent protection.

A giant cardboard frisbee with a cymbal inside.


By comparison, putting a 20" cymbal in a 20x20x20 square box yields a box that too big, also there's no way to secure the cymbal inside w/o piling up a ton of shipping charges in weight.


..................................

Excellent post Les, this is exactly how the cymbals I have received from the US have been packaged; and never did I have an issue with a cymbal being damaged in transit.

Dutch