Cymbal types, explained

The cast, in order of importance

Hi-hats

Two cymbals on a pedal-operated stand, and the pair you touch more than everything else combined. Closed, they give the crisp tick that drives most grooves; the pedal adds chicks, splashes, and every shade between closed and open. Standard size is 14 inch, with 13s and 15s as legitimate variations. If you can only buy one good thing, buy good hats.

Ride

The big one, usually 20 to 22 inches, parked over the floor tom. It is for continuous patterns: the ping of each stick stroke, the wash underneath, and the bell for accents. Jazz lives on the ride; rock visits it in choruses. A ride with a clear stick sound and a usable bell is the second purchase that matters.

Crashes

The accent cymbals, typically 16 to 18 inches, for punctuating fills and section changes. One is enough to start; a second at a different size gives you a high and low crash voice.

Effects, later

Splashes (quick, small accents), chinas (trashy, explosive), stacks (dry, clipped). Fun, genuinely useful in some styles, and entirely optional until you know you need one.

How size, weight, and surface change sound

Variable	Smaller / thinner	Bigger / thicker
Size	Higher pitch, faster response, shorter sustain	Lower pitch, slower swell, more volume and sustain
Weight	Darker, washier, opens up at low volume	Brighter, more stick definition, needs and takes more force
Surface	More lathing and a brilliant finish lean bright and glassy	Heavy hammering and raw or dry finishes lean dark, trashy, complex

This is why "thin" on a modern cymbal is a feature, not a flaw: thin cymbals speak at human volumes. Thick heavy cymbals were built for projection over loud stages and can sound like struck plates in a bedroom.

Reading the market

Four names dominate: Zildjian, Sabian, Meinl, Paiste, with Istanbul Agop, Bosphorus, and others serving the boutique end. Every big brand has the same ladder: an entry brass tier (skip it if you can), a B8-family intermediate tier, and B20 professional lines where the classic sounds live. Two buying truths follow:

• The used market is exceptional. Cymbals do not wear out, they only crack from abuse. A 20-year-old pro cymbal with clean edges is simply a pro cymbal. Check for cracks (edge and around the bell) and keyholing, then buy with confidence.
• One pro cymbal beats three budget ones. Budget cymbals are the loudest reminder of their price in any kit. A used pro ride plus used pro hats will outclass a whole new intermediate pack, at similar money.

A sane buying order

1. Hi-hats: the best 14s you can afford, used pro over new budget.
2. Ride: a versatile 20 or 21 with stick definition and a bell you like.
3. A crash, 16 or 18, thin enough to open at your usual volume.
4. A second crash or an effects piece, only once the first three feel like home.

And listen before you buy when you can. Cymbals vary piece to piece even within a model, and the one that sounds right in a video may not be the one in the box. This is the one drum purchase where the in-store gong show is genuinely worth it.