Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Whoopysnorp
It's more related to the angle of the attack and how freely you allow the cymbal to vibrate. You should normally not have to worry about breaking hi-hats unless you are really whaling on them. Since under normal playing conditions you aren't really pulling your arm back and hitting hard, even with loud half-open rhythms, you're in little danger there. Plus, it's awkward to hit a hi-hat with the sticks too far off from parallel to the cymbal's axis, and that helps too. Now, if you clamp down your clutch so the top cymbal isn't able to swing around, then you're going to have problems later. The same goes for the felts on your crash cymbals--those should be clamped down as little as possible (ideally not at all). You want those things to swing back and forth when you hit them rather than be forced to resist the natural impulse to swing because you have them clamped down so they can't move. Also, if you have your stands set pretty high you'll be less liable to use an excessive amount of force on the cymbal. Drummers who keep them set low and clamp down those felts are asking for breakage, especially if they play hard.
I don't know why you would want to do that anyway, considering you WANT your cymbals to vibrate or they won't make any sound.
|
I agree with keeping the felts loose and letting the cymbals move as much as possible. I don't even have tops, never needed them.
Although I'd think if they're up too high in the air you'd tend to come at the cymbal side too much.
I had never thought about stepping on the hats too hard, but I bet that was why I broke some in the past. Good tips.