Cutting Holes in Cymbals

[uncle duncan]

Anyone have any experience with this? I'm talking about using a one-inch hole saw to cut five or six holes in a crash cymbal ala the Ozone series. I have a 13" thin crash from the Sabian SR series (refurbished cymbals from mycymbal.com.) It has an oversize bell that's giving it a rather gong-ish sound. I'm wondering if cutting holes in it will brighten it up and make it more responsive at a lower volume.

(I'm on a quest to put together a low-volume kit for quiet folk/rock/blues. So far I have 10" hats, 10" Ozone, 15" paper thin crash, 16" SR series thin crash/ride, and a 6" Paiste splash.)

[dan_zero]

Originally Posted by uncle duncan

Anyone have any experience with this? I'm talking about using a one-inch hole saw to cut five or six holes in a crash cymbal ala the Ozone series. I have a 13" thin crash from the Sabian SR series (refurbished cymbals from mycymbal.com.) It has an oversize bell that's giving it a rather gong-ish sound. I'm wondering if cutting holes in it will brighten it up and make it more responsive at a lower volume.

(I'm on a quest to put together a low-volume kit for quiet folk/rock/blues. So far I have 10" hats, 10" Ozone, 15" paper thin crash, 16" SR series thin crash/ride, and a 6" Paiste splash.)

drill reeaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllll slow

[Dr. Mordo]

A cymbal is sorta like a guitar string. A hole in the cymbal lessens the tension in the metal like detuning the string. So, if you drill it, the cymbal's pitch will drop and it will have less sustain.

Otherwise it will sound the same as it does now.

You are probly better off just putting a piece of tape on the bottom of the cymbal. Experiment with different sizes and placements. The tape will make the cymbal quieter and darker with less sustain. Unlike drilling, it is reversible, but I'd pull the tape off once a week and reapply in a different location so as not to peel the lacquer off the cymbal. Many drummers hate the idea of tape on the cymbals , but it's certainly no worse than drilling it, and it does have a long history as a simple way to control overtones.

[uncle duncan]

So, I ended up with six 1 & 1/4" holes equally spaced about an inch or so from the edge of the cymbal. Then I found the heavy side of the cymbal and drilled three more 1" holes. The result is a much brighter sound. The overall sustain seems to be about the same, but there's less sustain of the gong-ish part of the sound, since the gong sound is virtually gone. Before cutting the holes, the bell sound was really low and clear. Now, the bell kinda sucks, but the cymbal itself works great in the context of a less-loud china.

The hole-cutting drill bits can be purchased at Home Depot for around $15, but you have to make sure to get the metal-cutting ones. They also sell hole-cutting bits for wood and plastic. I clamped the cymbal on top of a 2X4 chunk and dripped oil on the cut once it was started. The whole procedure took about 15 minutes (except for setting the cymbal back up and recording it at 3 holes, 6 holes, and 9 holes.)

There's a lot of info over at cymbalholics.com, which is an exclusive forum for all things cymbal-related.

[mattvdh]

Just pick up an HHX cymbal, they're well worth the money!

[Jax]

Originally Posted by Dr. Mordo

A cymbal is sorta like a guitar string. A hole in the cymbal lessens the tension in the metal like detuning the string. So, if you drill it, the cymbal's pitch will drop and it will have less sustain.

Otherwise it will sound the same as it does now.

You are probly better off just putting a piece of tape on the bottom of the cymbal. Experiment with different sizes and placements. The tape will make the cymbal quieter and darker with less sustain. Unlike drilling, it is reversible, but I'd pull the tape off once a week and reapply in a different location so as not to peel the lacquer off the cymbal. Many drummers hate the idea of tape on the cymbals , but it's certainly no worse than drilling it, and it does have a long history as a simple way to control overtones.

Agreed with everything above. I've got gaffer tape on my ride which without it would have a shrill 8-10 khz overtone and less definition. Actually I'm not super high on that ride...

EDIT: Oops, I'm too late.

[chrisso]

Yeah, I would have just sold the Sabian SR and bought something else.
The Sabian is now worth $0.

[Loflyinjett]

Paiste is making something similar now, I quite like the sound and will probably be picking up the thin version soon.

Paiste Swiss Crash