Cymbals: to clean or not to clean?

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by HeavyG

I would venture a guess that the actual physical cymbal (metal alloys) and how they age in their core would have more to do with the tone than some dust, dirt or "buildup"

....and when an acoustic guitar is starting to sound dead and lifeless it's due to the wood "settling in"?? Nope, it's the dirt and grime in the strings.

Yes, the metal does change as it ages. This change takes place over several hundreds of years. You ears are changing (degrading) much, much, much faster than the change in sound due to the degradation of the cymbal alloy.

The dirt build-up, however, happens amazingly fast (relatively speaking, of course), and is the real actor responsible for an audible change in cymbal tone/timbre over time.

[michaelepstein]

I don't believe in cleaning cymbals, but that's a personal preference.
I think it changes the sound, especially for vintage cymbals.
but that's just me.