How cymbals are made

Philosophy | Preparing the metal | Creating the shape| Finishing

Two philosophies

There are basically two ways to arrive at the desired product, the (hopefully good) cymbal: The hard (traditional) way and the easy (industrial) way. Both have their pros and cons. While these styles are exercised to the extreme by some, most cymbal makers seem to strive for combining the advantages of both in their manufacturing processes.

The handcraft approach

Back in the obscure age when the first cymbal smiths made their instruments (which was long before Avedis Zildjian I saw the light of what is now Armenia, by the way), the tools of cymbal making were just two: Fire to melt tin and copper, and a hammer to work the bronze. Even today cymbals are still made in that ancient fashion. It is no wonder that these cymbals are expensive. They would be unaffordable, were it not for the fact that the companies working that way are usually located in countries where wages are pitifully low (China and Turkey).

In short, western companies have to stick to the western, the industrial method to be able to survive in the market. But even some of those who had the choice of hi-tech vs. handcraft opted at least in part for the latter, and for good reason. The handcraft method assures unique instruments. This can be an advantage or not, depending on the drummer's approach. A player looking for consistent quality in his instruments might be annoyed by the ever changing variety in even the same type of cymbal while the connoisseur striving for individuality would like such cymbals for just the same reason.

The industrial approach

The industrial approach, first of all, is characterized by efficiency of means. All of today's cheap cymbals are made according to this method. Why? Simple, if they were not, they were not cheap! Many single steps present in the traditional method are combined to reduce cost. For example, the complicated and labor-intensive procedure of making the shape by hand-hammering may instead be accomplished in one single step, by either pressing the raw disk into shape, or by spin forming it. As many steps as possible are executed by automated machinery, rather than by hand.

On the other hand, the mere use of industrial methods does not mean the outcome has to be cheap. Many of the high priced and top quality western made cymbals were not possible to produce in adequate quality and at affordable prices without the use of today's hi-tech. And the wide range of budget cymbals simply would not exist. Even in making expensive cymbals there is a reason do use mechanical, machine-controlled tools to execute certain kinds of work: Precision and control. Many of today's complicated hammering and lathing patterns just would not be possible to execute by hand. In automated machinery it is no problem to introduce a predefined and controlled amount of randomness (to mimic manual work and get its sonic results) while on the other hand precision has clear limits when all you have is a pair of hands.

So the bottom line is: The industrial/hi-tech approach warrants for consistent quality and affordable pricing.

Industrial vs. Handcraft

To sum it up: The industrial method is good for controlled quality (in both cheap and expensive instruments!) and therefore yields even sound throughout a cymbal line. The handcraft method automatically produces unique instruments because a hand is never as consistent as a machine. None of the two philosophies is really in favor when it comes to sound quality -- the degree of care and time you invest and the amount of control of the process is what counts. High quality cymbals are expensive because they need a lot of work. Given even amounts of care, it's not the quality that differs, just the type of sound -- which is ultimately a matter of taste.

Preparing the metal

For cymbals that do not start as a sheet metal disk, casting is the first step. Casting here refers to B20 bronze only. All B8 bronze cymbals are made from sheets, as well as the typically machine-made nickel silver and brass cymbals. This applies to all Paiste and Meinl cymbals, also some Sabian and Zildjian. All cheap cymbals are also made from sheets since this is the raw material that allows for minimized production processes.

Casting

Casting means heating a piece of (B20) bronze until it melts at about 1200 °C. The fluid metal is then poured into a mold and let alone until it gets solid again. The result is a ‚pancake', about 6-10'' in diameter and about 1.5-2'' thick, called an ingot or pellet (Zildjian). Each cymbal, large or small, is made out of its own casting.

Roto-Casting

This is a process developed by the Zanchi brothers (formerly of UFIP) and exclusively used by UFIP. Rather than casting the bronze in an open mold, it is filled into the roto-cast machine. This is basically a mold with the approximate shape of the future cymbal to be made. The mold is completely closed, except for a small hole at the top where the bronze goes in. During casting the mold rotates at some hundred rpm, thus evenly distributing the bronze in it. Due to its inventors, roto-casting creates a more even inner structure and therefore more durable and better sounding cymbals. Since a roto-cast already has the size and shape of the cymbal, there is no need for the other manufacturer's next step, rolling.

Rolling

Rolling has two purposes. First, the small and thick ingot is flattened to come closer to the final size and thickness of the cymbal. Second, the metal structure is getting denser and more even, thus making the metal stronger. After casting, the bronze is very hard. So, first the ingot is heated up to soften the bronze, which would break otherwise. It is then sent through a rolling mill several times. At each pass, the disk is getting larger and thinner. It is also turned in a different direction each time to flatten it evenly.

Tempering

After rolling, the raw disk is heated again. The temperature differs, depending on the manufacturer, even with different lines of the same manufacturer, but always much lower than the melting point. Tempering may happen by hand (Istanbul and UFIP) or in a automatic oven (Zildjian, Paiste), again depending on the manufacturers philosophy and technical equipment. Through tempering or annealing, the metal often gets a rainbow-like coloring, which may have an appeal of its own.

UFIP's roto-cast cymbals need tempering, because after casting the bronze is extremely brittle. The first blow from a hammer would break it to pieces. Heating softens up the metal and makes it malleable and workable.

The rolled disks are fired as well, but for other reasons. After rolling the disks have a strong tension in them and are often warped. Such a disk would just pop back like a spring when hammered. Tempering removes that undesirable tension. Sabian achieves the same by bending the disks several times in different directions.

Note that B8/MS63/NS12 disks need less heating (or non at all) because the material is considerably more flexible compared to the brittle B20.

Cooling

After tempering the hot cymbals are cooled. This may happen in a variety of fashions, from merely letting the disk rest for a while to cooling them in wet sand, oil, water or more esoteric fluids. The inner metallic crystal structure, and with it, the mechanical properties of bronze depend on its temperature. When splat cooling the metal is 'frozen' in its current state (so called phase), thus conserving the desired properties.

Creating the shape

Cupping

Now we have a disk of about the size and thickness of the desired cymbal. The disk is totally flat and does not sound like a cymbal at all. The cymbal sound comes with the shape, the profile. The first step is making the cup. This is usually done with a huge hydraulic device pressing the disk into a mold of the desired cup's shape and size using a pressure of a few dozen tons (Sabian, Paiste, Zildjian).

Again, there is at least one other way to do it. Obviously, because cymbals were made a long time before the industrial age. Some manufacturers either stick to ancient traditions refusing to use machinery at all, or they cannot afford it.

In either case, there are two major ways to follow. Either the cup is formed with a big stencil and fitting mold underneath, driven by two men beating it alternately with two-handed hammers (Zildjian, up to 1950?). Or by a single worker equipped with nothing but a regular, one-handed hammer and a good amount of time (Istanbul, some UFIP). It may take hours and hundreds of strokes to do it this way. Naturally, the amount of work depends on the size of the cup and the thickness of the disk. This said, it is quite obvious that a cymbal with a hand-hammered cup of some size cannot be cheap...

Hammering

Now the disk has a cup but the bow is still missing. Although it resembles a cymbal in shape, the sound is far from that. So the next step is the creation of the bow. The curved shape will bring out the typical cymbal sound and will increase the tension in the cymbal. Other than at rolling before, the tension is created in a symmetric pattern around the center, which establishes sound and sustain. This is actually the threshold between the former metal disk and the future cymbal.

Between series of hammer blows the cymbal is checked for correct profile by eye (UFIP) or with a wooden template (Sabian) and put on level steel table to avoid warpage of the edge.

Lathing

A cymbal after hammering is already pretty much a cymbal -- in some instances this is actually the last step in production (consider Paiste's RUDEs or Zildjian's Breakbeat or K Custom Dry Light cymbals, not to mention many Istanbuls). For most of the cymbals however, lathing is the final step.

At lathing the cymbal is basically 'shaved' with a sharp steel while it is rotating on a lathe-bench. This removes the surface which looks mostly mat and dull from tempering. The result is a cymbal that has the shine of freshly cut metal, in the case of bronze a very appealing sight, reminiscent of gold.

Not only the look is changed, however. The sound receives drastic changes as well. Through lathing, the cymbal surface is covered with a host of fine and sharp ridges and grooves. They enable very small vibrations in the instruments, the amount of high frequencies rises, and the sound starts to shine. The sound 'opens up', as the craftsmen say. Since the grooves influence the high-frequency behavior of a cymbal, the shape of the lathing tool tip, the speed at which the cymbal rotates, the pressure on the tool, the shape, depth, and denseness of the grooves all have their share in the sonic result.

During the lathing process the cymbal is checked against a model, measured for thickness and weighed to ensure the correct thickness and weight that has been defined for the specific model.

Buffing

For so called 'Brilliant' or 'Reflection' cymbals there is still another step, buffing. The cymbal is rubbed by hand with a piece of cloth dipped into some metal polish or turned in the bench and treated with automated brushes, depending on manufacturer and series. Buffing with high pressure and/or high speed may re-temper a cymbal to some degree which in turn alters the sound. To much tempering will remove the tension in the metal, so this delicate. When buffing, the sharp ridges are being rounded off. Thus, the sound gets rounder as well. Generally, buffed cymbals sound mellower, but also a bit more focused, and less sparkling.

Quality Control

After the prospective masterpiece has completed its respective final step, there is quality control. This is to ensure, that any flaw which escaped the eyes of a busy craftsman is now detected, and corrected. If not possible, such cymbals are usually destroyed. This does not seem to happen at all manufactures, though. In any case, a cymbal that has passed the final test, gets the brand name, model, and size stamped on it. It is then a recognized instrument and is protected by a warranty.

The actual steps carried out for final testing vary greatly for different brands. Most common is a quick stroke with a drum stick, which is enough for an experienced tester to tell if it is good. Weighing is also common. At UFIP and Istanbul the weight is then marked under the bell of each cymbal.

Finally, stamps are punched in, ink logos are applied and, depending on the brand, a protective lacquer or wax covering is added. This is to prevent the cymbals from getting stains from handling by factory personnel and later users. Consequently, at firms that do not favor coating for sound reasons, testers are wearing gloves. Now, finally, at last... Done? Well, almost. All the better cymbal series are kept on the shelf for a couple of weeks. I could not validate this myself, but cymbal makers of otherwise quite contrary opinions assure alike, that letting a fresh cymbal alone for a while betters the sound audibly. Italian cymbal artisan R. Spizzichino claims to have developed a solution to that problem, though.