[lastditch]

hey guy's what are your thoughts on how tight to go with your cymbals.I mean the tightness of the wing nut atop your stand.Do you think a tight or a loose setting effects the durability of the cymbal?If I use like 3 or 4 felts I like the feel of my cymbals being nice and tight...not moving around too much.Especially the ride.But it makes me hesitant to hit them hard.I play metal and I see alot of guys whose cymbals barely move.I also see alot of guys with broken cymbals...like me!

[UPSTROKE]

I set mine up to be be kind of in the middle. I like to see about a 2-3" wobble at the edge when it's setup right. Like you, I'm afraid of cracking them if their too tight. But, I don't want them wobbling around for half an hour either. I want them ready for the next good smack.

[mouse]

Loose as ever to let them breath their natural tones. I use widgie rubber type washers on the bottoms and the smallest felt i can find, on the top.
http://www.wedgie.com/cgi-bin/ccp5/c..._detail_cymbal

Exception is my china which i use i felt below and two on top so it is reasonably firm so it doesn't wobble too much when played in it's upside down position (or is that right way up). Never broken a cymbal in my life.

IMO thinner cymbals that are tightened right up are more at risk of breakage than heavy weight, the vibrations are the greatest at the bell, so all cymbals must not touch the metal of the stand and if too tight the vibes are transfered to the outer weaker edge. A heavy blow at the wrong angle risks a crack. Always play with a glancing blow unless your'e loaded. The cymbal manufacturer sites tell you this which is good of them, imagine how many repeat cymbal sales they would get if all drummers smacked their instruments on the edge $$$.

[Smee]

Originally Posted by UPSTROKE

I set mine up to be be kind of in the middle. I like to see about a 2-3" wobble at the edge when it's setup right. Like you, I'm afraid of cracking them if their too tight. But, I don't want them wobbling around for half an hour either. I want them ready for the next good smack.

I am with UPSTROKE on this..................

[guss]

depends on the symbal crashes loose, splash medium, and china right.

[Blake N]

I agree with mouse. I have mine loose. As mentioned too tight and you risk damaging your cymbals.

[STNDRUMS]

I use about a medium tension. I don't like to have the cymbals waving all over, it drives me crazy when they come loose.

[UPSTROKE]

This is turning out to be more interesting than I thought it would. It's kind of like--How tight do you like your snare head? Everybody seems to have their own preferences. That's what makes each drumset & each drummer unique.

[skinslapper]

I keep my crashes resonably loose and everything else a bit tight. Especially the chinas'.

I keep my top hat pretty loose. That's because I only place it about 1/4" above the bottom when open. I know alot of people open them right up, but I couldn't play them like that with my foot off of them. I don't want to have to control them all the time with my left foot.