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Thread: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

  1. #1

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    Default Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    Two days ago I got a 12" Istanbul Mehment splash delivered. Got it on Ebay, discounted, as it was a floor demo at a music store. It looks brand new to me, and it's sure nice looking, with the bullseye design (Sultan series).

    So far not crazy about the sound. Doesn't sound very splashy or trashy to me. It sounds "bong-y" for lack of a better word. It is thicker than the 8" Saluda splashes that I own. Could it be too heavy to be a decent splash ?
    Do I need to play around until I discover the best possible spot and angle to strike the thing ? Any other thoughts ?

  2. #2

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    Way too big for a splash, IMO. I like smaller paper think splashes. To me that is the splash sound. 12" is too close to a crash size.

  3. #3

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    The only 12" splash I have ever owned was an AA rock splash. It was too much like a crash for my liking. I suspect that it had more to do with the weight than the diameter. I have a 10" Mehmet that I absolutely love.

    Splashes always sound better when playing with others or playing the whole kit than just hitting them on their own. The other sounds bury the decay and make the sound more, well, splashy.
    Mmm... Saturns.

  4. #4

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    The biggest splash I own, or have ever owned is 10" paper thin. Anything bigger than that just never sounded like a splash to me. Play with it though and get a recording of it with the whole kit/band. It might end up sounding great, you never know.

  5. #5

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    It's not the diameter. Meinl 12" Extra Dry Splash...super quick decay.
    It is probably too heavy. I like very light splashes. With the 12" size it's easy to remove the splash character if it weighs too much. This is something a lot of brands seem to have a problem with. You might try using it in a stack or maybe finding another 12" cymbal to make hi-hats, or even drill rivets in it for a more unique sound.

  6. #6

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    For reasons like this I can't shop for cymbals online. I need to hear them first in person.

  7. #7

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    Try taping pennies or putting a chain on top of it to add some sizzle.

    I'd play it for a month and if it doesn't work out, trade it for something.

  8. #8

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    Quote Originally Posted by SpazApproved View Post
    For reasons like this I can't shop for cymbals online. I need to hear them first in person.
    I can shop for cymbals online only if there are accurate recordings of each. I actually matched my set of 4 splashes completely online from multiple websites and they sound perfect. But I couldn't order something without hearing it.

  9. #9

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    Quote Originally Posted by 8beat View Post
    Try taping pennies or putting a chain on top of it to add some sizzle.

    I'd play it for a month and if it doesn't work out, trade it for something.
    I was thinking the same thing, trying w/ a chain or rivet(s).

    **

    Meanwhile... last night I apparently made my common mistake of using the internet while drinking. This morning I found the e-mail from Ebay, congratulating me on being the winning bidder on a brand new Saluda "prototype" 10" O-zone china splash ! O-boy !!!

  10. #10

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    That should be much thinner for sure, ozone-style cymbals usually are. I have a 10" Saluda china and it's very thin.

  11. #11

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    I have an older "A" Zildjian 12" thin splash........bought it new in the early 90s.
    I love it and I use it a lot..............especially in crash combination licks.
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  12. #12

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    Agree with majority...splashes should be thin to have the right sound. I have one thin one which I love and one thicker which I'd like to replace with a thinner one.

  13. #13

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    cymbal sounds are so subjective - very difficult to judge how one will sound to your ears.

  14. #14

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    I took home 3 of the same splash cymbals from work to try them on my kit. All though the same brand, same size, same series each had a different sound. It's just how it works. Very close yes but different. I choose the one I liked best. Returned the other two back to work.

  15. #15

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    Quote Originally Posted by weezy View Post
    Splashes always sound better when playing with others or playing the whole kit than just hitting them on their own. The other sounds bury the decay and make the sound more, well, splashy.
    ^ This

    I have a (dirt cheap) Stagg SH 10" Splash that has the 'boingy' sound, if you strike the splash on its own and let it ring out this boingy decay sound is audible and not particularly pleasing. When mixed with all the other sounds in normal play you can only hear the initial splash sound and it sounds good.

  16. #16

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    I think it's just the combination of diameter and thickness/weight. There's so much involved in cymbal design, it gets impossible to tell what will sound good without trying it out. My 10" Wuhan splash is so thin and flimsy it feels like a child's toy. Somehow, it sounds wonderful. I've beat on it for 2yrs with no issues. My 14" thin crashes (1 Wuhan and 1 Zildjian A) both sound like garbage, but my 14" Wuhan medium thin sounds very good. I gave up trying to predict cymbals, LOL.
    -Brian

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    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  17. #17

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    Quote Originally Posted by crispycritters View Post
    ^ This

    I have a (dirt cheap) Stagg SH 10" Splash that has the 'boingy' sound, if you strike the splash on its own and let it ring out this boingy decay sound is audible and not particularly pleasing. When mixed with all the other sounds in normal play you can only hear the initial splash sound and it sounds good.
    I guess that's why a like the sound of my two 8-inchers placed together in a loose x-hat fashion, like I showed in my hi-hat video when I first joined this forum. No boingy decay, just a crisp splash like on those old jazz records from the 1920's.

  18. #18

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    Perhaps your Mehmet Splash needs to go through a bedding in process before it sounds its best? The sound of my splash seemed to become considerably smoother after a few months of use - I don't know if this is common as all my cymbals (except for this splash) are second hand.

  19. #19

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    As some have said, its about thickness, i have a 14" cymbal from the 50s, it's paper thin and don't think anyone would classify it as a crash (maybe in those days it was tho). Size matters not

    I agree with Spaz, I would never buy a cymbal online, even two of the same factory made cymbals can sound different, let alone handmade Turkish ones. Maybe it sounds fine when played in context? Unless you're playing jazz of course, then it's naked...

  20. #20

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    Have you tried messing with how tight you have it mounted? real loose vs tight. I agree with the others..thin and smaller diameter..but you now own it...maybe use it for a different effect.
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  21. #21

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    I think I am going to sink a rivet into that Istanbul, and hear what that does for it. Or maybe if I can get to music store today, I'll see if they have one of those sizzle-chain attachments.

    If I still feel its not one I am ever going to seriously use, then I can always send it with my 12-yr old son back to my ex-wife's house. He just has a snare drum over there, right now .. I can fix him up with a jaw & cymbal rod.

    ***

    This is the cymbal I won on E-bay the other night (I do now have a vague recollection of bidding on it). I really didn't think I was going to win it with my max bid of $100. I just wanted to piss off the other bidders who thought they might get a new cymbal for around $35 !! I got it for less than the $100, w/ 26 unsuccessful bidders. I swear : no more late-night Ebay-ing while drinking !!!

    I didn't get a tracking number, so I do not know when to expect its arrival.. hopefully this week :

    [IMG][/IMG]

    Saluda frequently puts one-off 'prototype' cymbals up for auction. (The 13" hi-hats that I purchased 3 years ago were prototypes ... I think they became the basis for their 'Symbolic' line.)
    Last edited by JoePasko; 09-27-2015 at 07:10 AM.

  22. #22

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    Default Re: Splash cymbal sounds too bongy to me.

    little Mehmet's dentist appointment ... I promise this will be painless

    [IMG][/IMG]
    Last edited by JoePasko; 10-05-2015 at 06:59 AM.

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