What exactly is a "Buttery" sound?

IBitePrettyHard

Senior Member
"Buttery" is being used more and more to describe certain cymbals and yet the dictionaries haven't caught up with what it means.

I have a general idea of what a "buttery" cymbal sounds like. (They sound great to me!) But I can't quite put my finger on what makes a cymbal sound buttery.

I've heard buttery used to describe the Zildjian K Sweet line, and the Meinl Byzance Extra Thin Hammered 20" (TIME STAMP 0:38) in particular.

To me, Buttery cymbals always seem to be larger sizes (18" or more), and tend to be thin and darker. Full and explosive.....but never harsh. Always a pleasing sound.

However, there are plenty of cymbals that fit that description.....but they aren't buttery.

So what makes a cymbal buttery?
 
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I think they are referring to a buttery feel, not sound.

I take that as meaning the cymbal has some "give" to the stick feel as opposed to being very stiff feeling.
 
...to me, buttery is smooth, savory, and warm...comforting.

I use that to describe all kinds of things in music....a buttery tom sound; having buttery chops; "man, that groove was like butter"...it is always something that just makes you go "ahhhhh....warm. Smooth. Relaxing"
 
I think it applies to big thin ride cymbals - where the "ping" sound is actually closer to a "tah" sound. Like it spreads out over the cymbal rather than away from the cymbal like a little exclamation mark. But it could also mean other things.
 
I think they are referring to a buttery feel, not sound.

I take that as meaning the cymbal has some "give" to the stick feel as opposed to being very stiff feeling.

What Larry said, exactly. I don't recall ever having seen a cymbal's sound described as "buttery," only its feel under the stick. In a word, they simply feel soft without a pronounced rebound.

GeeDeeEmm
 
I have described the K Sweet cymbals as 'buttery' before. They definitely feel that way.

I think they sound that way too, perhaps due to their extra thinness. It's an apt description for the 19" Crash, anyway.
 
I agree that the term usually refers to a buttery feel more than sound. If it’s a crash it is thin and bends easily under the stick. It won’t sound harsh or pitchy, but have a wide spread of overtones, including lower tones.
 
This term was first used back in 1996 by Paiste when they first introduced the Traditional Line. It described the way the cymbals felt, not a sound characteristic. Those pies have a certain soft feeling, as if the stick sinks in a bit as you play. But over the years the term has been used, inaproprately, imo, to describe a sound quality.
 

A friend of mine who’s a pro plays whatever the guy paying him wants to hear, but he grew in the jazz world (1970s jazz anyway). He uses the word buttery in comparison to rock cymbals that chirp at a high frequency and decay quickly whereas a good jazz HH (for instance) are lower and slower.

Ironically, while he loves my old jazz cymbals, he’s sponsored by Paiste cause it pays the bills.

A “buttery” cymbal will generally have more random often larger hammering and be of a lower weight. Just one opinion.
 
It's a somewhat healthier sound than "greasy".
 
I agree with Larry about the feel, but also think it's a mellower sound than a harsh ping. Also, I think people are just bored of their adjectives and are coming up with new ones like "buttery", instead of "sexy", or "smooth", or "lovely". For example, a hilarious parody:
This video is buttery as hell.
 
You are correct, I hear it more and more referring to the sound. It's the same as someone talking about "warm" sounding toms, or "bright" cymbals. Just another word used to describe something.

To be buttery is a smooth, warmer, less harsh sounding cymbal. A buttery crash would be more of a whoosh, than a bright sharp CRASH. smooth, but enjoyable. Same for a ride, a buttery ride would not go PING PING PING. It would be a bit more washy with a less pronounced attack.

Buttery feel is an entirely different thing, but I hear buttery refereed to a sound more and more recently.
 
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