How to Choose a Good Splash Cymbal

In this video I show you the qualities I look for when purchasing a splash cymbal. I demonstrate several different vintage and modern splash cymbals and tell you what I like and don't like about them.
Here are the models and weights of the cymbals in the video
Paiste 10" Traditional Splash Weight = 330 grams
Sabian AA El Sabor 13" Splash Weight = 503 grams
A Zildjian 12" Splash Weight = 470 grams
Paiste 602 12" Splash Weight = 408 grams (cracked)
Zildjian Remix 12" Splash Weight = 417 grams
Wuhan 8" Splash Weight = 160 grams
Paiste Signature 8" Splash Weight = 148 grams
A Zildjian 1980's 10" Splash Weight = 257 grams
Stanople10" Splash Weight = 280 grams
Unknown 10" Splash #1 Weight = 310 grams
Unknown 10" Splash #2 Weight = 276 grams
Drums are Craviotto Private Reserve
20'x15", 10 x 8, 12x 8, 14x14 floor tom, 14x 6.5 Snare Drum
The Hi Hats are Sabian 13" HH Regular
Sticks are my custom Vic Firth Signature set stick in maple. These are available only from me at [e-mail]. They are also available in Hickory.
The microphones are Neumann U89 overheads and a Shure Beta 52 on the bass drum.

[@buddyblueyes]

Nice! I'm also a fan of the 6" Zildjian A, similar to what Manu Katche uses. First time I heard him hit that cymbal I had to have it. To this day everyone still wants to know what that cymbal is after shows. The unknown splash you used remind me of my dad's 11' Unknown splash from the '50s that was on his Leedy Ludwig kit of the same vintage (a 1952 I believe, the kick was a huge 26" boomer!). It had a permanent, built in mount with felts around the bell hole, but sitting above, a metal topper that you couldn't mount to modern cymbal stands, it didn't have threads. There was no hole on the top of the mount to allow a rod to go all the way through? I wish i had a picture. The only way to attach it was to set it on top the hit hat stand pull rod. Oh man, I got to find one of those again. I'm chomping at the bit for your comparisons between Jazz Chinas - novo's, pangs, swishes... thoughts on the conical bells of the Wuhan's differentiating that brands sound, etc. Again, great demos, all the way!

[@elithepitbulldog2209]

My favorite splash is the first, and only one I own. It’s a 10” A zildjian The El Sabor is great as well, wish I could find one from the 90s. My favorite of yours is the zildjian remix 12” That said I own over 50 cymbals and none of them except the splash are under 18”. I just like big cymbals As always, appreciate your videos, and hope your dogs are doing great!

[@Dan-hc1ow]

I really like the 12" 602 and the Stanople. I have mostly Zildjian splashes, with a few Sabian and a couple of Paiste. Several of my Zildjians have cracked along the tonal grooves. It's hard to find splashes that are not too thin because so many of them are just too clangy, so I tend to go for the thinner ones. My favorites right now are my Sabians. I have an HHX Legacy 10" and a very early HH 10". They both have just the right blend of frequencies to cut without being too annoying on their own or sounding too thin. I got an 8" Zildjian A splash with my first kit and I had no idea what to do with it until Stewart Copeland came along.

[@monsieurlehigh4912]

The Paiste 10" Dark Energy is my favourite allround Splash.

[@kevinseverance120]

Great video and some wonderful sounding splashes. If you haven’t checked out the Zildjian Oriental Trash Splashes (9” and 11”), they are great. Very lightweight, dark and airy.

[@fredrkane8481]

Great video! I love the one you did on ride cymbals. Turns out the one I use, a 22" Paise 2000, would suck for Jazz as it has a low end hum that accommodates the wash. Found out that the hum was amplified because it was just a little too close to my thin shell bass drum. Just the same, knowing that it's capable of such an offense bugs the crap out of me. My fav splashes are my Paiste 10" 602 modern essentials and my 8" Paiste 2000. It"s all the splash vocabulary I need.

[@kimchune5708]

i think Paiste made the Stanople for a while in the 60s

[@timcline2799]

Great video. I have 10” K dark splash that happens to be the oddest cymbal. Completely useless as it’s intended, splash. Can be used as a stand in for a gong.

[@garydonnelly100]

My favorites of mine are the 7 inch Sabian HH Evolution and a 12 inch K. The Sabian is really trashy and gets out of the way very quickly. The 12 inch K doesn't sound at all like a splash but more like a small crash. That's what I was looking for when I got it. I intended on getting a 13 in crash but I hit this one in passing in the store and it stopped me in my tracks! Some others I have are 6, 8 and 10 A Zildjians and I also have a 6 in A Custom. Both of the 6 inch ones feel a tad thicker and they have a somewhat bell-like quality to them. And I also have a 9 inch Oriental Trash Splash that I sometimes will mount upside-down over a Zildjian Azuka. They compliment each other nicely. For a long time I just didn't care for splashes because they seemed rather vaudeville for my taste until I heard what Richie Heyward of Little Feat was doing with them and later when Vinnie Colaiuta was with Sting I was hearing some very interesting things he was doing that I understand was also inspired by Heyward. When used within certain time and fill contexts as the "high notes" of phrases mixed with the various pitches of toms and larger cymbals, they can offer some unique melodic possibilities.

[@thetornado]

Stanople = Paiste

[@brent3760]

Rick, the vintage A you have with the bent edges is most likely a Flange hi hat bottom. They made 12 to 15 inch flange hats for a few years. That's probably it my man! At least my guess!

[@rickdior]

Hi Brent I thought that at first, but it's much too light for a bottom, even back then.

[@brent3760]

Well, it definitely has a unique sound!​@@rickdior

[@uglypinkeraser]

I want my splashes to sound like tiny dry crashes. I like to keep the trash qualities or china cyambal sound out of my splashes. I had a hard time finding some budget options that I liked until I landed on some Pergamon Vintage 1997 Jazz Series cymbals on reverb. I've got a 9" and 12" splash and they both sound so good. dark dry mini-crash sound.

[@elithepitbulldog2209]

Paiste made the Stanople for Ludwig back in the 60s