Cymbals: Your Kit's Color Palette

When we talk about great drum sounds, we spend a lot of time on tuning, dampening, and technique. But there's one component that often gets overlooked, even though it might be the most important: your cymbals.

To me, cymbals are the most crucial element of a great-sounding kit. They're your color instruments – the pieces that complete your sound and express your personal style. While you can tune, dampen, and manipulate your drums endlessly, cymbals are different. What you hear is what you get.

Here's how to get the best sounds out of these essential instruments.

Choose Like Your Sound Depends on It (Because It Does)

I'll never forget the morning I walked out to my car and saw the smashed driver-side window. My vehicle had been broken into after a late gig, and my gear was still loaded in the back. My first thought wasn't about the stolen radio, sunglasses, or speakers – it was "MY CYMBALS!"

Thankfully, they were still there. But that moment reminded me of something important: drums can be replaced fairly easily, but cymbals are personal. Each one is unique, and finding the perfect combination of pitch, feel, size, and tone takes time.

When you find cymbals that work for you, you don't want to let them go.

Take your time choosing your cymbals. Listen to how they hang over your drums. Do they complement each other? Do they blend with the other instruments? Are they sitting beautifully in the mix? Do they define your sound?

Choosing cymbals is 100% personal. Don't just copy what your favorite drummer plays. Determine what sounds good to YOU and serves your musical vision.

Height Matters More Than You Think

Next time you're setting up in the studio, pay attention to cymbal height. I don't care what position you prefer when playing live – when you're recording, get those cymbals higher.

Here's why engineers and producers love higher cymbals:

Microphone placement becomes possible. Positioning mics around toms is nearly impossible when cymbals are almost touching the drums. You need space to work.

Bleed control is crucial. When cymbals are too low, they bleed into every other mic around the kit – tom mics, snare mics, kick mics. This creates a nightmare when trying to process and EQ individual drums later.

Higher cymbals give you cleaner separation between instruments, which means better control in the mix.

Angles: The Detail That Makes All the Difference

Here's something a Nashville recording engineer taught me years ago that changed how I think about cymbal setup: pay attention to angles.

For recording: Keep your cymbal angles on the same axis as your overhead microphones. This helps eliminate washy, abrasive overtones that can make cymbals sound harsh under mics.

For playing: Proper angles also produce better sound from the cymbals themselves. If your cymbals are too flat, you risk damaging your sticks and cracking the cymbal. Position them slightly toward you so you can still read the logo – this gives you the right playing surface while protecting your gear.

Why This All Matters

Your cymbals are working in every song, on every beat, in every fill. They're the constant color that ties your entire sound together. Unlike drums, which you hit individually, cymbals ring and sustain, creating the sonic landscape that everything else sits in.

When your cymbal selection, height, and angles are dialed in, your entire kit sounds more professional and musical. When they're not, even perfectly tuned drums can sound amateur.

Your Next Steps

Take some time to really listen to your cymbal setup. Do they work together as a family? Are they positioned for both great sound and practical recording? Are the angles serving your playing and your tone?

Remember: your cymbals are the finishing touches that can make or break your sound. Choose them thoughtfully, position them strategically, and let them do what they do best – add that essential color to your musical expression.