Should I be worried? - New cymbal purchase

organworthyplayer337

Active Member
I just purchased some brand new hi hats from Memphis drum shop. These were demoed for mycymbal.com so I got to hear them before I purchased. I thought they sounded great and I was ready to try something new.

they arrived today and the bottom hat has this weird oblong thing going on. I’ve heard of keyholing, but this definitely wasn’t from wear and tear. Justs looks like a weirdly placed hammer mark.


should I worry about this? Tone wise, they sound great but I know keyholing is a big issue for some drummers and if I resale, I don’t know if this is going to be a big issue.
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Thanks
 
Call the crew at Memphis Drum Shop if you feel it needs to be replaced or refunded. They are good stand-up people.

Personally I wouldn't be worried about this and I would keep/use the cymbals especially if they met my sound test with flying colors.
 
I'd definitely contact the manufacturer to ask whether they think it's normal/plausible for a bottom hat's hole to be deformed like that.
If they say it's allright and you shouldn't worry then don't worry, and if they say you should have it replaced then call the seller, explain the situation (the product you were sent is defective) and they'll arrange for you to get a perfect one.
The perks of buying new...
 
I too get funny about little things like that. If I bought it used, it wouldn't bother me at all. If I bought it new, I expect it to be perfect unless I got it dirt cheap. If you aren't happy, return it. It doesn't look like key holing though, it looks like it wasn't made completely round during manufacturing. It wouldn't affect playability at all.
 
Looks like during hammering, one strike landed way up on the bell, and very close to the hole. Like CM stated ..... "I don't think the integrity of the cymbal will be threatened in the least." Maybe it qualifies as a blem, so I'm sure Memphis would take it back, no problem. If you like the hats however, I'd keep 'em.
 
I'd definitely contact the manufacturer to ask whether they think it's normal/plausible for a bottom hat's hole to be deformed like that.
If they say it's allright and you shouldn't worry then don't worry, and if they say you should have it replaced then call the seller, explain the situation (the product you were sent is defective) and they'll arrange for you to get a perfect one.
The perks of buying new...
You think you'd avoid such conundrums when buying new from a reputable seller but here we are ?‍♀️ haha
 
I'm a little confused by your description so I've annotated a few features on the image. The green circle is a wandering in the lathing as far as I can see. There are a few of those. They are usually because the surface is uneven. The surface is usually uneven because of hammering. The smaller green oval right near the mounting hole might be something else. Just outside the mounting hole there tends to be a ring of oven crust which isn't lathed away. That's common on both the top and bottom side. The feature which I would wonder about is that the mounting hole doesn't appear to be as round as they usually are when they come out of the factory. So can you tell me again what your worry is? It would also help to know what series and model these hats are. There are some model and series specific features in how the bell is processed which might also shed some light.

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I thought I made it clear what I was talking about in my OP but reading back, I definitely didn't. The center hole not being completely round is what I was referring to.
 
I'll send a message to MDS tomorrow morning. I hate returning gear 'cause shipping gets expensive and the whole process tires me out. I also purchased a new crash from them in the same order and it has a sizable scratch on it. Hopefully they offer partial refunds, if not... I'll take it on the chin as a lesson learned. Thanks everyone for chiming in!
 
I think it's an optical illusion more than anything else the wavy lathing makes it looks like everything is all out of whack.
 
I'll send a message to MDS tomorrow morning. I hate returning gear 'cause shipping gets expensive and the whole process tires me out. I also purchased a new crash from them in the same order and it has a sizable scratch on it. Hopefully they offer partial refunds, if not... I'll take it on the chin as a lesson learned. Thanks everyone for chiming in!

One issue with buying cymbals from a retailer such as Memphis Drum Shop is that they might be tested (played) by potential buyers on a regular basis. Thus, what's advertised as new can bear some blemishes. On the flip side, the great thing about Memphis Drum Shop is that their videos allow you to listen to the exact cymbals you'll be purchasing. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about minor cosmetic flaws on cymbals. They get marked up as we play them regardless. Still, only you can decide what you're comfortable with. Good luck!
 
What series then? I don't know of any production series which is hand hammered. There are some one off cymbals which are hand hammered. Paul Francis and one other person hammer the bells on the Kerope series after the cup has been pressed in. But that is hammered by machine with a person positioning the cymbal, not hammering with a hammer powered by human muscle.
It's the Meinl Byzance Foundry Reserve series.
 
One issue with buying cymbals from a retailer such as Memphis Drum Shop is that they might be tested (played) by potential buyers on a regular basis. Thus, what's advertised as new can bear some blemishes. On the flip side, the great thing about Memphis Drum Shop is that their videos allow you to listen to the exact cymbals you'll be purchasing. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about minor cosmetic flaws on cymbals. They get marked up as we play them regardless. Still, only you can decide what you're comfortable with. Good luck!
you're 100% correct. If MDS says they can only take returns, I'll move on. At the end of the day, all I want to do is enjoy the cymbals, and that's still possible slight blems or not.
 
If it sounds good, let it go. I can't see that having any effect in the sound or life of the cymbal.
 
You think you'd avoid such conundrums when buying new from a reputable seller but here we are ?‍♀️ haha
I think that's reasonable to expect that a biiig retailer wouldn't be able to inspect all of the products they sell carefully, though if anything goes wrong a retailer will have to take responsibility - that's what the warranty you buy together with a product means.
I hate returning gear 'cause shipping gets expensive and the whole process tires me out. I also purchased a new crash from them in the same order and it has a sizable scratch on it.
And about this, because the seller (would have) sold you a product that's in some way defective, not exactly as advertised, yada yada, it's the seller's responsibility to arrange for pickup of the defective items or at least to pay you back whatever cost you had to pay to send the items back.

Now I can't say I'm 100% sure as I don't have that much familiarity with US law, though from a brief google search it seems that each state has specific laws on top of the federal laws, and according to the latter there's an implied warranty for every good you buy, unless clearly stated otherwise, that is, "promises about the condition of products at the time they are sold", so definitely check in more detail, but I don't see any reason why arranging and paying for a return shipment would be your responsibility.

Of course, for that to be applicable you'd have to contact Meinl and have them recognize that that hole deformation and that other sizable scratch are indeed defects, so I'd contact them to make sure of it before calling MDS.
 
I would mount it properly and doubt if you ever saw any change to the shape. If you are worried comtact the seller just to document it and see if it begins to enlarge if you can exchange it. Me, I would take my reamer and make it round.
 
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