I absolutely adore cymbals. You could even say they're a bit of an obsession of mine. I personally own over 125 of them and use 50 cymbals on one kit and 53 on another kit. The variety of brands that I've played over my 40 year career include Paiste, Zildjian, Sabian, and Wuhan.

While cymbals have existed for roughly 5,000 years, there unfortunately have been some popular misunderstandings about these majestic instruments that continue to this day.

So with accuracy in mind, it's time to do some myth-busting! Below are a couple of the more popular ones that I've heard the most:

1. "Cymbals should never be played right after being exposed to extended temperature extremes."

Lots of drummers say that you should make sure that your cymbals become acclimated to room temperature before playing them if they have been stored in extreme conditions. The reason for doing this is the fear that the cymbals will crack or get damaged.

This myth simply is not accurate.

Cymbals are amazingly durable in terms of the temperatures that they can handle. Given that they were manufactured at extreme temperatures of roughly 1,500 degrees F, it's really only at that kind of heat that would harm a cymbal. At real world conditions (even -20 degrees F or 115 degrees F), we are not even beginning to approach that level of extreme temperature. So if they're stored overnight in your vehicle in sub-zero weather or they've been baking in your non air-conditioned attic all summer long, your cymbals will be perfectly fine to play once you unpack them and set them up.

2. "Over time, cymbals can deteriorate and wear-in through use, which alters their sound."

Cymbals don't really age, they just get soiled. What most drummers are hearing when they play an "aged" cymbal or one that they've owned and have been playing for a while is a continued buildup of dirt. It's this dirt - along with oils transferred from our hands during handling - that affects the sound, not the age of the cymbal or how long we've been playing on it.

In general, clean cymbals sound brighter and have more overtones, while dirty cymbals sound warmer and can be a bit drier. If you like more overtones, polish off your cymbals. Keep them free of fingerprints, stick marks, and grime. If you like warmer or darker sounding cymbals, don't clean them. I guarantee that over a period of time, they'll naturally build-up some dirt from playing and handling, and produce a mellower type of timbre.

I had a recent discussion with the great Steve Smith (Journey, Vital Information) about this very subject. He agrees with me, and also prefers the sound of mellower, darker, and drier-sounding cymbals for the type of music that he creates. Steve even jokingly said, "I wish someone would make some spray-on funk or dirt that you can apply to a brand-new cymbal to get it to sound like you've owned it a while!"

***

I'll discuss more cymbal myths in future installments of this essay series. If there are any that you've heard about, or are confused/bothered by, feel free to get in touch with me, and I'll be happy to clear them up and point you in the right direction!