mixing hi hat thicknesses

[j dubb]

hey, all--

i used to know this awesome lefty drummer whom i can no longer contact. the man's a brain--he sets up his kit like a right-hander, but with the ride next to his left hand (l to r: ride, hh, snare). the efficiency of motion was great to watch.

he also explained something about mixing two kinds of hi-hats-- time and beer have washed away this knowledge. so, can one of you seasoned tubthumpers impart some smarts?

tonewise, what happens if i put a thinner/thicker hat on top of another? i wouldn't mind a trip to the pawn shop to buy some cheap, crappy hats as guinea pigs, but i'd like to know beforehand the basic concepts involved.

i have, btw, two pairs of "socks," both zildjians: scimitar 13"/33cm, and an older pair of 14" (thinner, not marked)...

 

[Rimshot]

Mixing hi-hats is a old standard for drummers. I even posted a thread about it below where I needed a very light responsive bright sound and I used a 13" Sabian AA "El Sabor" Salsa Splash as my top hat with a cheap 13" ZBT top-hat on the bottom. Sometimes I have used a 14" Zildjian A Fast Crash as a top-hat and a 14" "New Beat" top-hat on bottom and there are times when I've used two heavy K bottom hats. You are free to change up your hi-hat cymbals with all sorts of variations for different voices and effects. You are NOT limited to using only "hi-hat" cymbals either

 

[j dubb]

rimshot--

i saw that post, and thought it was a great idea. after that, i tried to find similar info from old threads, but i gave up after a few pages. i was just hoping to pick the brains of better drummers, maybe to get a good synopsis.

i have, as i said, thin hats and thicker ones, but they're different diameters.

 

[Rimshot]

jdubb,
I've never mixed hats of different diameters and I'm not sure if that's such a great idea, but who knows, it might work for certain things.
I know that Seve Gadd very commonly uses a mix of Z's and K's using the heavier hat on top.
I use my hats a lot so I want them to be very sensitive and crisp, that's why I so often use a thinner crash or splash as my top cymbal. When I used to play heavy rock (this is back before people were using the term "Heavy Metal") I would sometimes use two K bottoms because I was walloping with heavier sticks.
I even have a bottom hat with rivets so give a little sizzle on certain pieces.
I own many cymbals and I switch off a lot. I'm feeling very poor right now or otherwise I'd have purchased a pair of Paiste Signature Mastersound hats (very light and fast), but that's going to be down the road a bit. I am very happy with my options so far and I'm getting the sound I want.

 

[j dubb]

awesome.

now all i have to do is find some seve (steve?) gadd to listen to, so i can hear what his hats sound like.