DIY CYMBAL MODIFICATION: 16" Vintage Zildjian Crash/Hi Hat Hand Hammering

[@biekanez1]

You wouldn't expect such a bright crispy sound from a 16 inch hihat. I like the sound Adam👊👍😎

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks Rob! Yeah, the are on the large size for hats, but work pretty good :)

[@GIGMUSIC-o6z]

What a cool idea. Well done. They sound dry, dark and crisp.

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks Greg!

[@RichRawDawgdrums]

Yeah that sounds lighter than I thought it would! Another cool accomplishment by “the craftsman”! 👏

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks bro!

[@willkas]

Love the change! Sounds sweeter to my ears

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks for the encouragement....these cymbal projects are alot of fun!

[@rearedrain9722]

Where do you get an anvil like that?

[@ARDrummer]

I bought some steel round on ebay and then used an angle grinder to angle the edges and make it have a smooth top. Takes some time but wasn't too bad. Something like this should work. The wider diameter the better, but the price goes up quite a bit. www.ebay.com/itm/275948106895?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=m4OXjQzEQNa&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=SynuhCeyRSy&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[@fabfishing7422]

Nice Adam! Pretty cool seeing that hammering process! Even if they don't sound exactly how you like they sure do look pretty cool 😎

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks! Hammered cymbals do look cool :)

[@xury24]

You wouldn't expect such a bright crispy sound from a 16 inch hihat. I like the sound Adam vs What a cool idea. Well done. They sound dry, dark and crisp. Dark side or bright side whitch one is it :DD

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks! It's always trial and error with these kind of modifications.

[@xury24]

Sounds great

[@ARDrummer]

Thank you!

[@BeesWaxMinder]

Best 16” hats I’ve heard!!

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks!

[@Mowgl_Drums]

Both sound great I think! I personally like the cymbals before!

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks...it's always trial and error :)

[@awaken8888]

thanks for the video. how to avoid cracking when re- hammering?

[@ARDrummer]

My biggest tip on not cracking cymbals when hammering is to make sure there is good contact with the anvil below where you are hammering.

[@1dudecrush]

So did you need to do any heat treatment of any sort before hammering? I’m used to working with steel but I think the rules with bronze are different. Like if I have some cymbals, are they ready to be hammered as is if I so desired?

[@ARDrummer]

I didn't do any heat treatment. You probably wouldn't want to leave them outside in the cold and then hammer them though

[@presterjack9764]

Cymbals are heated once during manufacturing. DIY cymbalsmiths do not usually do this part, everybody gets their cymbals either from finished cymbals or cymbal blanks, which are already shaped, just not hammered or lathed

[@Themarpe]

You gonna love Bruno schell from Brazil. He do miracles especially with crap cymbals

[@ARDrummer]

@marceopereira Yes, he does an amazing job on entry level cymbals!

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

They sound pretty good and crispy. I miss hammering cymbals. If I find a good anvil, I might pick it up again and hammer one or two.

[@ARDrummer]

You should get back into it :)

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

@@ARDrummer it's LOUD, but definitely fun to do 😄

[@ARDrummer]

@@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power Yes...and can wear out your arm/hand. I need to modify or buy a different hammer as well

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

@@ARDrummer I hear you....a "planishing" hammer with the right head would probably do the trick, but there's also something about doing it by hand...6 of one, half dozen of the other.

[@ARDrummer]

@@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power Yeah, that setup would be very cool...not as "organic" though :)

[@arrolate]

They sure sound better now!!

[@ARDrummer]

@@arrolate Thanks! It was a fun project

[@spirodrums]

if i do this to my pair of newer generation new beat hihats will the hammer marks look like these? have you hammered A custom cymbals?

[@ARDrummer]

They should look similar as long as you use the same hammer size. I have not hammered any B20 cymbals other than the one in this video (only B8 and brass). I would recommend hammering a cheaper (B8) cymbal first. Maybe buy a cracked cymbal or something to test out. Don't want to mess up your nice Zildijans!

[@ARDrummer]

I also lathed these, so that changed the look as well.

[@spirodrums]

@@ARDrummer weird I didn't get notified about your messages! i see, yea my friend put me thru cymbal alloy boot camp so this makes sense to me. what is the thing called that you rest the cymbal on while u hammer?

[@spirodrums]

@@ARDrummer in the past i've had a ZHT zildjian flat ride and i threw it up in the air a bunch to bang up the edges on pavement. I tamed the crazy overtones coming from the center of that flat ride cymbal. I've taken pliers to an old 18" A Zildjian and removed a chunk to dry it up. But I haven't tried hammering yet. This is very interesting and once I find a B8 or soft cymbal I'm gonna go crazy...

[@robsco1249]

Hello, I look for a zildjian k Heavy 22 ride from the '80/90 of 3440/50 grams (don't like the new ones of 3600 grams circa) but I can't find It in Europe . Do you think if I could buy a Zultan Z ride and make reduce the weight by an artisan? It would sound similar?

[@ARDrummer]

I'm not sure, there would still be some differences but may have a similar sound. It's all about experimenting to get the sound you want. Wish I could help more.

[@michaelcm9283]

interesting video. Can I hammer my Meinl HCS 18" China. Its' sound is very terrible. I need to do it better

[@ARDrummer]

I haven't hammered a china cymbal before. Since you really don't like how it sounds now, I would probably try modifying/hammering it if it was me.

[@DrumAttic]

Very cool! Always enjoy your videos, Adam!

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks! I appreciate it :)

[@ShiroppoStudio]

After being hammered I can notice more bpm in your groove.

[@ARDrummer]

:)

[@gazgraham]

That was cool to watch the process 👍👍👍👍 I like the sound on the part open hats.

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks!

[@JazzFunique]

Hi AR Drummer, can you tell me where I might find an anvil block like yours? Thanks a lot

[@ARDrummer]

I bought some steel round on ebay and used an angle grinder to curve the top and edges. Not the most fun thing to do, but it worked :) You can use any type of anvil that has a dome shape with curved edges. Here is a link to the one I bought. Cold rolled steel may be even better than what I used. www.ebay.com/itm/274436398246

[@seppoinnanen5577]

@@ARDrummer Oh my, if I had known that when I made my own from a gymnastic handle ball, cutting it in half...

[@GAMEDOGWARRIORS]

Cool

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks!

[@Twoholesofman]

Where did you get the anvil?

[@ARDrummer]

I bought some steel round on ebay and shaped it with an angle grinder.

[@Twoholesofman]

@@ARDrummer thanks for the reply, it seems like a lot of cymbal making is very secretive when its really just hitting stuff with hammers.

[@ARDrummer]

@@Twoholesofman Yes, it take a little time to get used to hammering and the "feel" of it, but it is doable without tons of training :)

[@morgunstyles7253]

Looks like gretsch catalina set?

[@ARDrummer]

@@morgunstyles7253 It's a Ludwig Element birch.

[@PaulDes]

Very interesting video !

[@ARDrummer]

Thanks for visiting

[@unclerhombus]

I don’t hear much of a difference

[@ARDrummer]

@unclerhombus The change a little easier to hear in person.

[@terrtt]

better before hammer

[@ARDrummer]

👍 As I said at the end of the video...I did this as an experiment to see how it changed the sound

[@terrtt]

@@ARDrummer question is there a proper science to the hammering? what determines dry vs bright

[@ARDrummer]

@@terrtt I don't know much other than my personal experience with it...but I don't think you can ever make a cymbal brighter by hammering. For me it always makes the cymbal drier and darker (because it doesn't vibrate as much with more hammering). Lathing a cymbal is another way of changing the sound by making the cymbal thinner, therefore lowering the pitch.