| The room is integral part of the sound. Especially with acoustic instruments. When recording one should always start with the source. That said, pick the cymbals that sound best in the room with the drum-set being used for the song being recorded.
Generally speaking small/thin cymbals tend to record well. The exceptions in my opinion are 13" hi-hats. I've not experienced a set of 13s that sound musical in context. I can usually pick out 13s on a recording, even when I'm not listening for them. That to me is a bad thing. I don't think the hi-hat should be noticed unless it's filling a hole. Of course there are exceptions. |