Results 1 to 18 of 18

Thread: Modified Wuhan China

  1. #1

    User Info Menu

    Question Modified Wuhan China

    I have a 16" Wuhan china that someone gave me a few years back. It sounds decent but has a lot of sustain for a 16". I know all Wuhans are hand made so each on is different, and some come out better than others. I was thinking of modifying this cymbal with some holes to help it decay quicker. I have it marked out for 8 rows of holes and four holes in each row.

    I'm going to drill slowly to keep the areas around the holes from heating up and becoming brittle. I'm thinking of drilling the inner most holes 1/2", and as i move outward change to 3/8" for the next hole, then 5/16" and the final hole furthest from the center to be 1/4". I think it would help with decay and make it look cool as well. I wanted to know if anyone had experimented with anything like this or had any input or advice.

    [IMG][/IMG]
    [IMG][/IMG]
    Last edited by Animaldrums9585; 05-07-2013 at 11:33 AM. Reason: forgot pictures
    Love my Gretsch sound!

  2. #2

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Cool. I drilled holes and inserted rivets and gingles on a 18" Wuhan china.

    Custom Classic Pro Maple 6
    8",10",12",13" Mounted Toms
    (2)14",16" Floor Toms
    22" x 18" Kick
    6",8",10" Roto Toms
    14" x 6.5" Mapex Black Panther Snare
    13" x 3" Pearl Piccolo Snare
    Sabian: 13" Paragon Hats
    14" HH X Hats
    22" Paragon Ride
    (2) 16" Paragon Crashes
    20" Paragon Crash
    18" Paragon Crash
    20" Paragon Small Flange China
    19" Paragon China
    Wuhan:20"with gingles
    8",10" Splash
    Roc N Soc Lunar
    DW 8002B Pedals
    Tambourine
    Cowbell
    Sabian Squad






    C C Militia

  3. #3

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    If you are going to do this, use a stepped drill bit in order to make perfectly round holes. If you are attempting this with standard bits, the larger the bit, the more distorted the hole.

    _____________________________________________
    Ayotte Custom "Ray Era" w/Wood Hoops Copper Sparkle (10,12,14,16, 20)
    DW Rack

    1964 Ludwig Downbeat Black Diamond Pearl (12,13,14,16,20)
    ALL of its Original Hardware

    Ludwig Stainless Steel "Bop" (12,14,18)

    Ludwig 1947 Standard Deluxe w/Art Gold hardware 3ply Maple 6.5 x 14
    Ludwig 1959 LM470 Auditorium 3ply Mahogany 6.5 x 14
    Ludwig 1959 LM908P Jazz Festival 3ply Mahogany 5.5 x 14
    Ludwig 1964 LM400 Supraphonic 5 x 14
    Ludwig 1968 LM410 Super Sensitive 5 x 14
    Ludwig 1969 LM404 Acrolite 5 x 14
    Ludwig 1976 LM400 Supraphonic 5 x 14
    Ludwig 1977 LM401 Lacquered Brass Supraphonic 5 x 14
    Ludwig 1978 LM405 NYC Bd of Ed Acrolite w/factory Imperial Lugs 6.5 x 14
    Ludwig 1984 LB552 75th Anniversary Engraved Bronze 6.5 x 14
    Ludwig 1990s LM404 Black Galaxy Acrolite 10 Lug w/Silver Monroe Keystone 5 x 14
    Ludwig 2010 LB417BT Engraved Black Beauty 6.5 x 14
    Ludwig 2017 LB402B COB Supraphonic 6.5 x 14
    Ludwig 2020 LC662KTC Hammered Copperphonic w/all Copper Hardware 6.5 x 14
    DW Collectors 3mm Cast Bell Brass 5.5 x 14
    DW/Craviotto 2000 Steam Bent Solid Cherry 5.5 x 14

    Zildjian As and A Customs

  4. #4

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    I wanna try this with the cheap factory TAMA cymbals that i have laying around let me know how this works

  5. #5

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Quote Originally Posted by Rotarded View Post
    If you are going to do this, use a stepped drill bit in order to make perfectly round holes. If you are attempting this with standard bits, the larger the bit, the more distorted the hole.

    I just finished my project, and wish i had read this first... I started by drilling 1/8" pilot holes then stepping up the the desired sizes. It was going pretty well but I noticed when the bit would go through, maybe because it wasn't on a press but with a hand drill, the bit would penetrate then pull the cymbal to the back of the bit and pop the rest of the hole. Even going slow, it would take a very small chunk out of the side of some holes, maybe in thinner areas. To fix this, I did run a uni-bit, or stepped bit in them to clean them up, and had a slightly bigger holes but wasn't an issue and fixed this problem. It worked very well, and cleaned them up nicely. To finish off the holes, I used a counter sink bit to clean up the sharp edges on both sides. This is the finished product, and I did achieve the quicker decay I was after. Only time will tell if it holds up to the beatings it will receive.
    [IMG][/IMG]
    [IMG][/IMG]
    [IMG][/IMG]
    Love my Gretsch sound!

  6. #6

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Looks good man!
    Pdp LXE | Pearl ELX Export

    'Give me your fingernails, oh look, the moon' - Todd Sucherman.

  7. #7

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    question is... does it sound better now?
    Proud Yamaha Player

    The line between the real world and the machine world is becoming more and more blurred every day.But its not that humans are turning into automations or becoming slaves to the machines.No, we're simply growing toward each other!

  8. #8

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Quote Originally Posted by TxDrummer View Post
    question is... does it sound better now?
    Like I said before, it started off being sub-par to my ear, and had a long decay I wasn't crazy about. So it was like a wise man once told me, you can't make chicken salad with chicken sh*t.. but I got the decay to be faster, which was my goal. It still has the initial fast attack and kind of gongy sound. I have an array of Chinas to throw on the set for different sounds, and this being my least favorite, was being a dust collector before, but I may be using it more often now.
    Love my Gretsch sound!

  9. #9

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Quote Originally Posted by drumstix View Post
    Looks good man!
    Thanks man!
    Love my Gretsch sound!

  10. #10

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    You did a really good job, congrats. I'll have to remember this if I ever need help figuring out how to dry up my cymbals. They tend to sustain a good deal, not in a bad way but sometimes I wish they had a little more cut. What i've been doing is putting tape on the undersides but it gets sticky and weird.
    ZildjianLeague/LP/Aquarian/Mapex/Pearl
    Snares: 4
    RIP- Frank, Wolvie, Les Paul
    Quote Originally Posted by Pearl MCX Man View Post
    I wish I was your wife
    Quote Originally Posted by amdrummer View Post
    if double bass is cheating then so is using two sticks

    Forum Rules
    DrumBum
    No metronome?
    The Rudiments

  11. #11

    User Info Menu


  12. #12

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Quote Originally Posted by HolyChina View Post
    I wanna try this with the cheap factory TAMA cymbals that i have laying around let me know how this works
    Hey I didn't know Tama made their own cymbals. Very cool. Cheapie brass starter kit type deal?
    ZildjianLeague/LP/Aquarian/Mapex/Pearl
    Snares: 4
    RIP- Frank, Wolvie, Les Paul
    Quote Originally Posted by Pearl MCX Man View Post
    I wish I was your wife
    Quote Originally Posted by amdrummer View Post
    if double bass is cheating then so is using two sticks

    Forum Rules
    DrumBum
    No metronome?
    The Rudiments

  13. #13

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Quote Originally Posted by Russ View Post
    You did a really good job, congrats. I'll have to remember this if I ever need help figuring out how to dry up my cymbals. They tend to sustain a good deal, not in a bad way but sometimes I wish they had a little more cut. What i've been doing is putting tape on the undersides but it gets sticky and weird.
    I have done the tape before on the underside, and works well if you don't want to change the cymbal permanently. I used blue painter tape so it didn't get all gooey after being on for a while. I made this mistake with duck tape on a Z Custom rock crash. And of course I forgot about it and took forever to clean when I finally took it off... Never again!
    Love my Gretsch sound!

  14. #14

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Quote Originally Posted by marko138 View Post
    Awesome.
    Thanks dude!

    I also resurrected a Zildjian 20" classic china today. I cracked it many years ago and had it on the wall as deco in my cave. The crack came in about an inch and took a hard left in the lathe groove. I warmed it up in the oven (which took some finesse, with a toss and slam of the door) for a few minutes so it wasnt so brittle, then went at it with some tin snips and finished it off with the Dremel, cleaning up the edges. It sounds great again! I'll have pics up tomorrow.
    Love my Gretsch sound!

  15. #15

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Sounds like a great idea. I was thinking before I read what the tape was for, there was some sort of template you use to get all the holes straight in a line. It came out so organized and neat looking.
    ZildjianLeague/LP/Aquarian/Mapex/Pearl
    Snares: 4
    RIP- Frank, Wolvie, Les Paul
    Quote Originally Posted by Pearl MCX Man View Post
    I wish I was your wife
    Quote Originally Posted by amdrummer View Post
    if double bass is cheating then so is using two sticks

    Forum Rules
    DrumBum
    No metronome?
    The Rudiments

  16. #16

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Quote Originally Posted by Russ View Post
    Sounds like a great idea. I was thinking before I read what the tape was for, there was some sort of template you use to get all the holes straight in a line. It came out so organized and neat looking.
    Exactly.. I used 4", 6" and 8" Paiste 2002 accents for spacing. I laid each one in the bell and lined them up with a plastic T-sleeve off a cymbal stand to keep them fairly centered. The 10" ring was a little harder because all of my 10" splashes have a much lower profile bell and the sleeve wouldn't reach the bottom of the deep Wuhan bell, to lock in the plastic sleeve. I just got it close and went with it.
    Love my Gretsch sound!

  17. #17

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Looks like you did a nice job , but I can't help thinking it won't be long before it cracks.

  18. #18

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Modified Wuhan China

    Quote Originally Posted by NPYYZ View Post
    Looks like you did a nice job , but I can't help thinking it won't be long before it cracks.
    Thanks man, it may, but it was given to me so I'm not out much. It was a good learning project. I'm thinking if I heated up the cymbal it would have been more malleable to work with. That's what I did with this one, and it was easier to cut and work with.
    This was my other project I mentioned earlier. The resurrection of the 20" classic china. It still sound surprisingly good too.

    [IMG][/IMG]
    Last edited by Animaldrums9585; 05-09-2013 at 09:52 AM. Reason: forgot thank you
    Love my Gretsch sound!

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •