Sloshing the Hi Hats

Rock Salad

Silver Member
there doesn't seem to be much on the internets about sloshing hi hats or for that matter mashing in snare hits.
i haven't quite got my snare mash quite yet but i think i stumbled onto something today about sloshing the hats.
i started just stick on the hats rocking them, and was like that sounds kind of neat. stick glued to the hats just pushing on them to get them rocking back an forth. then, while keeping the rocking going i started adding tiny hits, just barely raising off the surface. i think that is how it is properly done because it was musical and not loud and overpowering at all, maybe not quite all the way down to ppp but nearly. it is freekin hard to keep control of though!
 
A good way of doing it is swiping left and right like a paint brush. Or even doing the same in one direction. It opens up the sound compared to just a straight hit on the same spot.
 
It also helps if the two cymbals are of similar weight. When you slosh, say, a pair of New Beats, which are fine cymbals, the heavier bottom cymbal will make it harder to keep the "slosh" going. Check out Winard here at the end of his solo:
 
I think what he's doing is referred to as "splashing," and that sloshing is a stick technique.

It also helps if the two cymbals are of similar weight. When you slosh, say, a pair of New Beats, which are fine cymbals, the heavier bottom cymbal will make it harder to keep the "slosh" going. Check out Winard here at the end of his solo:
 
Wow- I’ve never seen that before- it looks like he’s hitting the hats with the butt end of the stick in his left hand? and still playing the snare with the tip.. am I seeing that right?
 
That looks like what I was talking about. Using the shaft of the stick further back and "stirring" rather than striking the cymbals. Those cymbals look just like mine too.
 
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