Hand Cymbals

[envirodiver]

I play a cajone, congas and various percussion instruments. I would like to add a cymbal to my sound. I'm not sure what direction to head in. I've read that super thin crash cymbals work well for hand and stick or brush play, and it seems that cymbals that are designated to be played by hand are very expensive. I use soft brushes for a lot of my cajone play and would like to have cymbals (primarily for crash) that will work for hand and brush.

Any suggestions?

[PASHA]

Welcome, I can not give you advice on the cymbals, (I never play with my hands) but I wanted to advice you to use tape over your fingers in order NOT to damage your fingers. Check out Johnson & Johnson, they have tons of surgical tape of different sizes that will work great for the purpose. (there is some great drum tape available at our drum store also...)

I actually know one of the coolest hand drummers from NY (at least he is one of the coolest in my opinion) - He never plays without drum tape on his fingers...

Here is his link if you are interested: http://www.shakerleg.com/

Hope that helps...

[rdrummer322]

 In what little hand drumming I have done (just showing off on the drum set) I found that thinner, smaller cymbals seem to rise to the crash easier than larger and thicker cymbals. I recommend trying 2 in order to add color and choice. If it were me, I would go with a 12" and 14". You may also be surprised to find that some more inexpensive cymbals may work better.  Go to your nearest store, focus on smaller cymbals, and slap a few!