Take a stroll through the  drums section of today’s modern music superstore, and as you peruse the variety of cymbals you will no doubt conclude “These are not my grandfather’s cymbals.”  The striking variations in the shapes, sizes, and colors of available cymbals is truly profound!

Of course the most popular seem to be the more traditional round perimeter, brass, sloping, with the hemispherical bell, type of cymbal.  These include the typical, heavy, 22″ Ride Cymbals formed from a heavier gauge piece of brass.   But this general description can also be used describe crash and hi-hat cymbals.

These are usually left unfinished with a very shiny brass look just like they did after being ‘turned’ on the lathe.  Some manufacturers finish theirs with a protective ‘clear coat’, preventing (or at least delaying) the need for actual cymbal polishing, a chore few drummers relish the thought of.

In recent years some manufacturers have created a colorful variation of the clear coat; a protective color coating.

They even come in beautiful black finishes.

I love the look of this black beauty!

Some have left areas of the cymbal dull and unfinished, and other areas shiny, creating a look with striking contrasts.

Then there are ones with a pattern of large holes that vary in hole size, placement, and quantity.

Some are hammered and contain holes.  (Not sure that’s proper English.   Can “holes” actually be “contained”?)

Others have been stamped out into strange shapes, some with holes, even slots too!

Some consist of two or more layers of brass stacked on top of each other, making for a unique, metalic ‘clack’ with a quick decay.

Some have been made flat and have attached “jingles” or “zils” similar to a tamborine.

Then there is the matter of flatness:  Whereas most are sloped to some degree, others are intentionally made completely flat, no bell intended.

Then there is the “china” variety, with its distinctive curled outer edge.

Some “Chinas” also have a unique conically shaped bell.

And of course, I would be remiss if I left out the “Gong” family of brass bangables!

And just when you thought there could not possibly be a further variation in the family of ‘suspended pieces of metal to hit’, here comes the . . .  whatchamacallits!

Yes, there continue to be no rules even when it comes to cymbals.  (After seeing some of those last ones, I don’t think a couple of rules would be too restrictive.  Do you?)