China cymbal and technique

[Fifty]

My dad bought me a 17" AAX-Treme Chinese cymbal for Christmas. Heh, pretty cool of him huh? I wanted a bigger size so we went to my favourite drum store (Just Drums) where he bought it and they didn't have the 19" in stock so they ordered me one. (And, because it was boxing week, I might add they had fifteen percent off cymbals so I actually ended up with $12 back by exchanging it, pretty good deal if you ask me!) and while I waited for the cymbal to ship, the guy at Just drums offered me a 19" Paragon China as a loaner. (which sounds pretty darn good as well)

Anyways, when you play a china cymbal (assuming it's inverted), do you hit the flange at the edge as if it were a crash cymbal, or hit the peak of the flange? (where is starts to bend downward. I don't want to destroy the cymbal, and for me it seems like hitting it at the edge feels better and sounds better.
Whaddya think?

[Kazaamski]

I don't hit the edge when playing inverted. I usually try to hit the peak.

[wolvie56]

I'm not sure if there is a right or wrong way, whatever sounds good for you. Having said that I have always read that you shouldn't hit it on the edge with any force.

[Northern Redneck]

I don't hit the edge when playing inverted. I usually try to hit the peak.

This

[NPYYZ]

I play my China's inverted , I play the outer two inches of the cymbal that is usually a flat section. Also it you are playing top of the line cymbals that you mentioned, you should not have any worry about breaking them. If you do break them you are hitting them way to hard.

I play Wuhan China's that are great sounding and very low priced. I've never had one break, ever.

[pastor_bob]

Fifty, I would agree that you shouldn't aim for the edge. Like NPYYZ, I generally go for the flat area between the edge and the peak, but if I miss that, it will be on the peak rather than the edge. Also, and there is a thread on good cymbal technique, make sure you don't strike straight into your cymbals. If you learn to use a slight sideways motion, your cymbals will last longer.

[Fifty]

Fifty, I would agree that you shouldn't aim for the edge. Like NPYYZ, I generally go for the flat area between the edge and the peak, but if I miss that, it will be on the peak rather than the edge. Also, and there is a thread on good cymbal technique, make sure you don't strike straight into your cymbals. If you learn to use a slight sideways motion, your cymbals will last longer.

Thank you PB for mentioning that thread, I reviewed it a while ago, and since then my playing technique is much more natural, swift and effortless actually with regards to cymbals.

The X-treme China has a really small flange, I am supposed to aim between the edge of the cymbal and the peak right? So that my stick is almost parallel to the flange?

[atomcorr2]

i always try to hit the peak.

[weezy]

I'll play it just about anywhere but the edge, depending on what kind of sound I'm trying to get out of it.

[Rob on Drums]

The cool part about china cymbals are their versatility. Depending on where you hit them, you can get a slightly different sound: Hit it on the edge, and you'll get a sharper attack. Hit it on the flange, and you'll get more of a "woosh". The x-treme has a wide flange, in my opinion, so this would hold true. Experiment, see what works the best for you.

[Kazaamski]

Hitting on the edge isn't necessarily bad either. Big band drummers have been using chinas as ride cymbals for awhile.

[marko138]

I just discovered a tiny crack...about 1/8th of an inch long on the edge...on my 18" AAX china. I'm sad. I've had it for 6 years. It was the first china I bought.

[jordison515]

I play my china on the flange. I used to play it on the peak, and ended up cracking it. If you do some searching in the cymbal section of the forum, there are some prettttyyyyy uglyyyyyy pictures in there of my old china.