The traditional process
Historically, cymbals were made from individually cast cymbal blanks which were then hot-forged, often with many annealing processes, to form the rough shape of the cymbal. The finishing stages consisted of cold-hammering to unevenly harden the metal, then turning on a lathe to reduce the thickness, and then often a final cold hammering. The hot and cold hammering were all performed entirely by a highly skilled hand and was a labour-intensive process. The only machine to touch the cymbal was a hand-heldModern developments
Each stage of this process has been modified by the use of recent technology. One of the main effects has been that far closer manufacturing tolerances can be achieved, resulting in more consistent sounding cymbals. This has also provided the opportunity to omit some of the traditional steps completely, and so unlathed, partly lathed, and even unhammered cymbals have entered the catalogs of major makers, and achieved widespread acceptance.Modern casting techniques
Rotocasting
The more unusual of these is rotocasting, in which the mold is spun to force metal into the details of the mold bySheet metal cymbals
Many modern cymbals are stamped or, less commonly, hammered fromForging techniques
Some manufacturers of bell bronze cymbals now use hot-rolling and cold-pressing of individual cymbal blanks rather than traditionalHammering techniques
Many manufacturers claim that their cymbals are "hand hammered", but again these words may not always mean the same thing.* Some hand hammered cymbals are hammered using a hammer held in the cymbal maker's hand. Others are hammered using a proprietary machine, but are still described as "hand hammered" because the hammering is under the control of an individual craftsman. In general, truly hand hammered cymbals tend to have darker, lower, richer tones, and there tends to be far more variation in character between cymbals of supposedly identical models. Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals are an example of traditionally hand hammered cymbals. Cymbals hammered by automated machines tend to be brighter, higher in pitch, and more cutting. Most significantly, the variation between supposedly identical cymbals is noticeably reduced, assuming adequate quality control. The difference in sound is due mostly to the nature of the hammering: hand hammering is done randomly (that is not in a regular pattern) and thus the cymbal has a darker sound-even if this "random" style is dictated and executed by a computer. Symmetrical hammering- which is almost always done by a machine- gives the cymbal a brighter sound. This fact is reinforced by the example of some cymbals from English independent cymbal maker, Matt Nolan, which are unusual in being truly hand hammered but made from Malleable Bronze. The results are darker sounds from what are normally considered brighter alloys. Paiste has used the same production processes from at least the mid 50's or earlier (they got their first hammering machine in 1952) to the present on all their top of the line Swiss and German produced cymbals.Turning (lathing)
During the 20th century, the mechanicalPolishing
Modern cymbals are available in several polishes or finishes. Traditional fully lathed cymbals are coated with clear lacquer to protect the bare metal from oxidizing or tarnishing or "browning" from exposure to air and other elements, as well as oil from fingerprints. Because the cymbal retains its shiny look until the lacquer starts wearing off, this finish is still the most common. The first departure from this was the appearance of "bright" or "brilliant" finishes. These are the result of polishing high speed buffer. Some metal is removed in the process, especially the microscopic ridges in the grooves which produce the high end "zing" sound of a cymbal. The process actually dulls the sound of the cymbals but makes them very visually attractive. These cymbals are usually lacquered as well. In the case of bands ofSee also
*External links