hi hat volume

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Kasey

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I'm building a drumset right now (i havent posted in awhile, but its the one made out of bass drums, a marching snare, and broken/used cymbals) and i need hi hats. my issue is - i cant stand hi hats that are really loud. I havent payed attention to a whole lot of different hi hats but for reference, my friend has zildjian ZBT hi hats, and i think theyre much too loud. He says that its all about how hard you hit them, and has nothing to do with how their made, but the cymbal companies i've seen advertise that their hi hats are 'extra loud for rock' or 'medium volume' so i'm guessing there is something in the building of them that makes them louder or quieter.
My question is, what should I be looking out for if i want a quieter hi hat? Any specific kinds you'd recommend? I'm thinking i'm going to go for a 13" or maybe even 12".
 
thanks for the fast response, what is it that makes it a lower volume than other hi hats - because i'm probably not going to be able to find a certain model and buy it new, i'll have to look around for used stuff and thus i'll have to take whatever I can get my hands on, so if i can just be on the lookout for a certain characteristic... you know what i mean?
 
I have a mixed pair of 12" cymbals I use occasionally for acoustic jazz jams. The top cymbal is a really soft (flexible) splash and the bottom is an old really heavy (rigid) army marching cymbal. The bottom hat gets me the "chick" sound when I close the hats and the top hat is very quiet when played closed.

So, in summary, small hi hats (if you don't mind the higher pitch) and soft cymbals will be quieter.

How you play them does make the biggest difference though.
 
thank you very much - and i actually prefer the higher pitch.
 
For higher pitch and less overall volume, check out 14" Paiste 802's. I swear you will love them!! Very controlled and have a higher pitch like 13" hats!
 
Thinner is quieter.

On that note Paiste makes some nice thin hats.

Look around.

-Finster
 
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