Cymbals

Last week we talked about drum shells. The other half of the drum kit is the cymbals.

Cymbals, the less transient elements of the kit, typically have a higher timbre and a much longer decay, though they can be cut short by “choking” them (using a free hand to deaden the sound after striking them with the drumstick) or, in the case of the hi-hat, closing them.

Due to their piercing tone and their duration, crash and splash cymbals make great accents to a beat kept by the shells.

The ride cymbal typically has a slightly shorter decay and makes a great time-keeping instrument, though it can also be used for accents. An open hi-hat can serve the same purpose during louder parts of a song.

Because a closed hi-hat is more transient than the other cymbals, it is best used for time-keeping, a sort of natural metronome that fills the gaps between shell strikes. A combination of open and closed hi-hats can make the rhythm section more dynamic.

Any given part of a song can incorporate shells, cymbals, both, or neither. Cymbals alone, particularly the ride, are typically useful during quiet sections.

My bedroom studio kit includes a 14” hi-hat, a 16” crash, a 20” ride, and a 10” splash (though I don’t always attach it, due to the crowding of the spot microphones).

The cymbals are captured through the same matched pair of overhead condenser microphones that I use to capture the shells as a whole, the Rode M5s. I’ve considered using an extra microphone directly on the hi-hat, but have never felt it necessary, and, as is often the case in a bedroom studio, less is more.