History Man and his Cymbals
posted by on June 3 at 14:02 PM
Man and his (or her) cymbals have had a solid and sound relationship since the Zildjian family started making them in Turkey around 1600. Our ears have been blessed ever since. The cymbal is that explosion when you need an explosion. It’s the tightly accented bell when you need a tightly accented bell. The cymbal’s symbol means power and strength or if played with touch, it’s a lightly blowing breeze.
Some drummers take this cymbalism too far. They feel the need to cover their kit with an inordinate amount of bronze, brass, and copper. They mount up so many cymbals, there’s no way they can use them all.
At some point, it becomes symbolic. The more cymbals, the tougher the drummer.
Carl Jung says the symbol is a thing that represents another. The dove means peace. It’s the external, or lower expression of the higher truth which is symbolized, and is a means of communicating realities which might otherwise be obscured by the limitations of language.
But fuck that. Sometimes you need that fourth crash cymbal, and it’s not because you’re insecure.
When you are Neil Peart and your drum set is half a mile wide, you need cymbals all over. When you’re playing on the right side of the kit, it’s impossible to hit that crash cymbal to your left. See?
Gongs, Clogs and Pyro. More is more.
All due respect Pico D, but 'more' is most often less... Same symbology applies to drums, guitar pedals, and bandanas tied to your mic stand... The more you have, the less likely you are to be a bad ass. Not sayin' it doesn't LOOK bad ass --- I love me some shiny brass as much as the next guy. But it's the rare song that needs that many shades of metal.
My only peeve is against splashes. 1, ok, if you need the splash, you need A splash, not 3 like the Staind dude.
I'm more a gong man. I hate splashes but I have 3 gongs. Haaaahaaaa!
and I forgot, my drum set spins upside down. I'm still a minimalist though.
Listening to the new Akimbo song posted makes me REALLY doubt that you need a ton of cymbals to be tough. Dude sure as hell does NOT need any fourth fucking crash cymbal.
If your kit flips upside down you are beyond tough. You are recockulous tough and you have a reality show where you go back to college.
All the best drummers I know play very minimal sets (Nat Damm included).
Also, coming from someone who used to be in a band with a drummer with too many cymbals, FUCK THAT SHIT. Carrying multiple stacks of cymbals (and saw blades, etc.) was a serious fucking pain in the ass.
Good post, good point. I f'ing HATE cymbal-madness-stravaganza. Plus, how do these guys afford so many cymbals? I can barely afford to replace mine, even at a discount.
There is a very special place in hell for the manufacturer of the China Crash and anyone who uses it.
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