Hand-hammering and re-creating cymbals

It’s truly a pleasure to have owned, played and enjoyed cymbals made by Johan, Mike Skiba, Matt Bettis and Matt Nolan. Best part of that whole experience was gaining a great friend in Bettis. My path led me back to mass-produced cymbals, but the decade or so I played custom cymbals informed my sound preferences greatly.
 
I don't remember where, but I remember Quincy Davis saying on a video that he hammers cymbals for himself and close friends.
 
My usual deal with old or damaged cymbals is to make them in to other things. Like lamp shades & the like.
I have made a 16" Rocktagon from an 18" crash that came out really well.
Doing this hammering thing is the next step in the evolution of my experimentation. I have some B8 alloy cymbals to try out & I'm curious as to where it'll take me.
 
Johan VDS said:
Hi !

I'm Johan from Bruges, Belgium. I'm a drummer and a sound-freak.

About 20 years ago I started getting a bit frustrated about the kind of cymbals that were available. I had been looking for really complex and dark sounding cymbals but I just couldn't find them in the shops. The modern K's sounded too one-directional and sterile to me. I liked the Turkish Istanbul cymbals better but still they weren't quite what I wanted.

So I started rehammering factory cymbals from Zildjian, Sabian, Paiste, etc. to get the sound I wanted. After a while I learned how to change the sound a certain way through strategical hand-hammering and lathing. I've been doing it ever since.
I also found out that many types of student cymbals can be hammered into professional cymbals, providing the alloy is good.

The cymbals I hammered can be seen AND heard on this webindex page.

Some "before and after modification" files can be heard in THIS section.

Also check out some of the amateur cymbals I converted into professional cymbals HERE.



This was once a Paiste 3000 22" ride, now a very dark heavy ride:
22_Undertaker_Dark_Heavy_Ride_(from_Paiste_3000).jpg




This was a 20" Avedis Zildjian crash, now a light complex jazzride:
20_Light_Complex_Low_Jazz_ride_1885gr_(from_Zildjian_Avedis).jpg




This was a Ufip Ritmo 16" crash, now a light trashy crash:
16_Evaporative_Crash_(from_Ufip_Ritmo).jpg




This was a Zildjian ZBT 20" ride, now a light (professional !) very complex jazzride:
20_Ride_(From_Zildjian_ZBT).jpg




A 16" Avedis Zildjian crash, now a china:
16_Dark_China_(from_Zildjian_Avedis).jpg



Finally a "before and after" pic of a cheap 16" Headliner crash cymbal, now a professional dark thin crash:
Headliner_16_crash_before_and_after_modification.jpg
Click to expand...
We are Vansir cymbal manufacturer from China, I think maybe we can work together, contact with me: [email protected]
 
I dropped a Zildjian Avedis years back and it never sounded right afterward-it didn't look really altered. Well anyways I took a hammer to it without much effect, but I also had the "brainy" idea of using a Dremel and itch patterns and grooves on top-in hopes of pleasant notes. Well Imma idiot because afterward it had this awful shrill to it-brighter and this shrill. The pattern started random however finally looked like a giant alien ant and pretty cool looking. I threw it away but I wish I'd hammered out the patterns to see If shrill disappeared-because I feel that really screwed it up. It didn't look warped when I laid it on floor but sure sounded warped after drop.
 
I tried the search function, no luck. I'm interested in bell/bell bridge mods.
Guess I'll start at the beginning on this thread
 
frankly I don't know how "bridges" are made; whether it's "in the initial pressing" or if an initial hard sharp edge bridge is "lathed rounded and smooth and wide".

Seems the latter would thin that area out; so back to thinking the dye that presses the cup. How far and how tight determines the bridge.

Some Zildjian's are an inch (and a half) wide, smooth rounded, slopes. Like a backwards "C"
Some brands bridge are a tight 1/4" sharp narrow right angle. Like an "L"

I forgot: bridge shape could be result of or not hammering. Hammered flat; left alone, hammered a little,
 
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jda said:
frankly I don't know how "bridges" are made; whether it's "in the initial pressing" or if an initial hard sharp edge bridge is "lathed rounded and smooth and wide".

Seems the latter would thin that area out; so back to thinking the dye that presses the cup. How far and how tight determines the bridge.

Some Zildjian's are an inch (and a half) wide, smooth rounded, slopes. Like a backwards "C"
Some brands bridge are a tight 1/4" sharp narrow right angle. Like an "L"
Click to expand...
Collingwood has a video shows the creation of the shape that really helps in understanding the way bronze responds to the anvil.


Doesn't go in to the sound/design element though. I gotta check out his patreon stuff
 
' some bridges" are hammered more than others.
which I think more hammering of bridge "relaxes" the cup sound (making it lower in pitch)

Bridges left as sharp "L" ledges by default use less "of the body" in the cup sound and to me sometimes results in high pitched cups.
Hammering the bridge into a 'wide' sloping "backwards "C" sort of an "S"- curved sloping give the lower darker pitched bell. ala Zildjian seems to hammer their Bridge (either continent) ( exclude crude old constantinoples)
the most. Hence the 60s A- medium ride bell is almost a classic part of many songs
as the 50s 60s and 70s old K cup.
Wide Bridge

Yes Collingwood covers it there at 6:00.
Some early Istanbul were horrific in the high pitch of bells their bridge seemingly not hammered at all much.
Their body sound-fine. Their cup sound- stratospheric

Bridges I've always said best viewed, felt and observed from underneath
very easy to see what's going on there if it's more ledge or to what extent a slope.
have to say ime Zildjian either continent unsurpassed- to my taste- in this area as far as having a nice low medium pitched cup.
 
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Pittsburgh bell playing via New York via Istanbul Turkey


that's an example/ glimpse of a hammered wide relaxed bridge ; )
old stamps and three plys
there's probably others (Motown too proud to beg Soul Man)
 
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There's a poor sounding splash in the drum room I've been wondering how to lathe into something better sounding.
It looks like a decent alloy.
 
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