CYMBAILS '83
Cymbals, the most mysterious of musical instruments, have played many roles in our musical evolution—and, indeed, our world history. From the tinkling fingers of gyrating belly-dancers, to marching to war atop elephants with Hannibal, to that smooth Nashville country studio sound, to blazing drum corps stadium performance and even to Neil Peart’s fiery punching to accenting with Rush, cymbals add sound available from no other musical instrument.
CYMBAILS '83
CRASHING SUCCESS OR METALLIC K.O.?
Dave Patrick
by
CYMBALISM
Cymbals, the most mysterious of musical instruments, have played many roles in our musical evolution—and, indeed, our world history. From the tinkling fingers of gyrating belly-dancers, to marching to war atop elephants with Hannibal, to that smooth Nashville country studio sound, to blazing drum corps stadium performance and even to Neil Peart’s fiery punching to accenting with Rush, cymbals add sound available from no other musical instrument. Cymbals, made from alloys of precious metals including brass, silver, nickle and tin, offer an indefinable range of musical tones, sounds and special effects to modern-day musicians. Because of the many different alloys used in cymbal making, and the many different processes each manufacturer uses to make their cymbals, all descriptions in this article must be deliberately general—and subject to change without notice!
There is no rule of thumb for cymbal selection that works all the time, because each cymbal sounds different, and the wise cymbal user will choose his sounds with his ears, not his eyes!