Small hi-hat option

[Rimshot]

I want to share something with you that really worked well for me this week. I'm recording an indie blues/jazz cd and I needed a very bright sizzling hi-hat that was more sensitive than normal. In the past, I have just used a 14" custom A fast crash as my top cymbal but I really needed a smaller cymbal. I have a pair of 14" New Beats but I normally play 15" Custom K hats and they are too rich and dark for these pieces.
I also have a pair of 13" ZBT's (not real great cymbals....but WAIT!). I went to the local music store and they had a sale on a 13" Sabian "El Sabor" Salsa Splash. I bought it for $70 brought it home and used it as the top hat and used the ZBT top hat as the bottom. DAMN!! It sounds GREAT! I can't believe the response, it sounds like Paiste Signature Mastersound hats! The salsa splash has an ever so subtle turn up at the edge which keeps it from giving that snapping clam shell sound.
If you're looking for that very responsive sizzle from your hats and you don't happen to have a spare $400 plus to spend on top-of-the-line hi-hats, give this combination a try.

[mrface2112]

nice! always interesting to see what creative techniques will come up with.

i went to guitarsatan today and i fell in love with two new cymbals that i have to have. a set of 13in A Mastersound hihats and a 20in K Custom Dark ride. currently i've got 2 pairs of 14" A NewBeats (both quite different sounding) and boy those mastersounds sure would make a nice contrast--sizzly and chicky. my ride is currently a 20" scimitar (trash can lid) or an 18" crash/ride that i inherited. neither sound very good. been lusting after a K for a while, and that custom dark is exactly the sound. damn, now i've gotta save up some cash.

also REALLY liked the omar hakim snare. my main snare is a 14" ludwig gold sparkle from the mid-60s that sounds fine, but that hakim's exactly the sound i'm looking for.

just what i didn't need.......severe drum GAS.


wade

[tmix]

I have the 13 in A Mastersounds! Yep! they are great. Clean and sizzly.

It was worth it.

[Jblount]

Right now I am using a 13" A top and a Z bottom. The Z is so freaking heavy, it rounds out the tops' highend nicely. I always mix and match hihats to form new creations.

[Greykitkat36]

Originally posted by tmix
I have the 13 in A Mastersounds! Yep! they are great. Clean and sizzly.

It was worth it.

Same I woundnt trade these for anything in the world. Rock on A Mastersounds!

[Blink 182]

i have a pair of 13inch paiste dimensions hi hats...and they are by far the nicest sound ive ever got from a set of hats.

[Rimshot]

I agree that the A mastersounds and the Paiste dimensions are all very fine hi-hats indeed. I myself have a pair of 15" thin Zildjian K's that are my primary hi-hats and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

But this thread is really about switching up hat possibilities for a specific type of recording or music. There are some drummers that have settled on things for their kits that they like and they use that set-up for everything, and then there are drummers that will change their set-up a bit for different pieces of music or when the room demands it or a specific recording situation seems to demand it.

My primary hats seemed too rich and full a sound for these couple of pieces of music that we were recording, so I came up with this alternative that I really liked.

I have different kits and different size drums that I will use for different venues. If I'm called to play with a small combo, unmic'ed in a restaurant, I will bring my old Slingerland mahogany kit rather than my custom maple kit. I'll use only my thinner "A" cymbals and my old Slngerland snare which has a great responsive sound, but it's not as loud as my other snares.

I sometimes add or subtract drums and side percussion items (i.e. blocks, vibra-slap, cowbell, agogo, chimes, tamborines, etc.) depending on what is being played and where.

That was my purpose in relating this hi-hat combo. I don't think I'd want to use it as my primary set of hats, but it is real good when you need them.

[nezpierce]

I used to work at Mars music before they went out of business, and we always had time to experiment during the slow moments.

One month we had a truckload of 12" Wuhan cymbals that were like 9.99 or something, both chinas and splashes. So one day out of boredom I set up a hihat stand with a china on the bottom and a splash on the top and it was quite a "trashy" set up and it was only $20! Alot cheaper than the Sabian Max Stax...

[mrface2112]

oops, seems i left out the relevant piece to this thread in my original reply....sorry bout that.

as i said, i have 2 sets of 14" A newbeats, and between the 2 pairs i get 4 distinct and different sounds. for really trashy sounds, i've switched in my 14" scimitars (yick on their own) in conjunction with the newbeats. i've also got a 14" crash i've experimented with as a top hat before and it sounds kinda trashy too....not sure where i'd use that sound unless it was on a period punk piece.

i bet that spash/china combo sounds interesting. i've got one of those $10 wuhan chinas, and i love it--explosive, quick and dark for its size--great punctuation piece and $10 well spent. if i had something else 12", i'd give that a shot as a bottom hat. might give it a shot with one of those 14" newbeats....might be interesting.


wade