Drums
& Equipment - Cymbals - Sizzle Cymbals
A sizzle cymbal is a cymbal to which rivets, chains or
other rattles have been added to modify the sound.
These rattles have two main effects on the tone of the cymbal:
* Most obviously, the sound of the 'wash' of the cymbal is made louder
and more penetrating, and is dominated by the sound of the rattles
themselves.
* Also important but less obvious, the cymbal loses some of its sustain
and dynamic range, because whenever there is insufficient energy left in
the cymbal to lift the rattles the sound cuts out sharply.
Both effects have musical uses, and can also be used to mask unwanted
overtones in cymbals of lesser quality. However the best results are
still generally obtained with high quality cymbals.
The most common form of sizzle cymbal used in a drum kit is a large ride
cymbal with a number of rivets loosely fitted but captive in holes
spaced evenly around the cymbal close to the rim. This might be called
the traditional pattern sizzle cymbal. The loose fit allows the rivets
to rattle in the holes. Swish and to a lesser extent pang cymbals with
rivets installed in this way were heavily used as main ride cymbals in
the swing band era. Many early rock music drummers, such as Ringo Starr,
used a secondary ride cymbal with rivets, normally a ride cymbal thinner
than the main ride and ideally one size larger. This was used for
variety, to back a lead break or to give extra tone colour to the whole
of faster songs.
Many other rivet patterns have been tried, but the only one to have
gained much following is a single cluster of three rivets close together
in an arc close and parallel to the rim. This gained popularity in some
genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s and was predicted to
replace the traditional pattern, but the traditional pattern has
remained more popular overall. Bottom hi-hats, crash cymbals, splash
cymbals and even bell splashes have been fitted with rivets.
Some cymbal makers claim that if the rivets are removed from a sizzle
cymbal its previous tone will be restored, despite the fact that this
leaves small holes in the cymbal. Whether this is entirely true is
controversial, with a result that the value of a cymbal is generally
reduced by rivet holes. However it is also true that many classic
cymbals from which rivets have been removed have excellent sounds
despite the holes.
Two chain sizzlers
Two chain sizzlers
In order to produce a sizzle sound without the need to bore holes in the
cymbal, sizzlers may be used. There are two main patterns:
* Rivet sizzlers suspend rivets above the rim of the cymbal, normally in
two groups 180 degrees apart.
* Chain sizzlers suspend several short lengths of ball chain on the
surface of the cymbal, most often either near the rim or more commonly
in many places along a diameter. These chains may be fixed, adjustable
in length, or completely removable. Sometimes a single chain of balls
from a cabasa is used.
* Home-made sizzlers may be made at home with a coin and electrical
tape. Take a 3 inch piece of electrical tape and place one end of it
over a coin. With the rest of the tape, place it on a cymbal about 2 - 3
inches in from the outer edge, away from the playing area. When the
cymbal is struck, the sizzle sound will ring for about 20 to 30 seconds,
depending on the type of cymbal and the positioning of the sizzler.
When a sizzle cymbal is required in an orchestra, most often a chain
sizzler is used. This allows the finest control and greatest range of
tone in the hands of a skilled percussionist, and also allows any cymbal
to be used without any permanent effect on its tone, giving still more
tonal possibilities.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sizzle_cymbal
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