Metals
Copper makes up the largest portion of most cybmals. Tin is the second most abundant alloy used. A good rule of thumb is that student cymbals include about 8% tin and 92% copper while professional level cymbals have about 20% tin and 80% copper.
Both student and professional quality cymbals can be made with various amounts of other materials. These include: zinc, nickel, manganese, aluminum, silver, gold, and phosphorus. The desired sound will dictate which metals and what amount of these other metals are used.
The 20% tin / 80% copper mixture is called "Bell Bronze". This formula produces cymbals capable of great dynamic range. The 8% tin / 92% copper blend is called "Malleable Bronze", which can be made into sheets and stamped into shape to reduce manufacturing costs. They are considered a great choice for students due to the cheaper price and the fact that they are less sensitive than bell bronze, which is easier to play for someone learning.
Bell bronze is a two-phase alloy, meaning that some of the tin is not dissolved into the copper grains but rather exists between them. This makes the metal harder and more brittle than the malleable single-phase alloy.
Why is this important? It affects everything about how each metal type is formed into cymbals. This is apparent in the two methods of forming the basic cymbal shape. Let's start with...
Casting
You may have seen images of buckets pouring liquid hot metal into molds, and then worked into some object? This is very much the way bell bronze cymbals have been made throughout history. Large and small companies alike use this technique.
The mold resembles the cymbal's final shape and dimensions, but more work is required before the final product is achieved. Various methods of refinement are discussed below in the "Refining Techniques" section.
Stamping
The malleable alloys are rolled into sheets where they are "stamped" by a machine into a likeness of the final cymbal form. In case you're wondering, bell bronze is not commerically available in sheets, it can only be made by the cast method.
Malleable means that the metal can be shaped or formed, as by hammering or pressure. Many metals are malleable, but the degree to which malleable sheet bronze can manipulated while cold allow cymbal companies to apply a wide variety of techniques to get a nice range of sounds during the refining process.
Refining Techniques
Now we have two pieces of metal that started out very differently but now must go through similar "refining" processes. The methods of shaping are universal, but HOW they're applied is not the same due to the differences in metals (remember? hard vs. soft).
There are 3 techniques used in cymbal making to create the sound and finish of each model. The first is...
Hammering
Hammering has several purposes for the cymbal. It is key for the bell bronze type since the form is less defined from the casting process. The shape is literally by blows from a blunt hammer.
For sheet bronze, hammering has more to do with altering the attack and sustain. Recall that the shape was formed when the cymbal was "stamped" out.
Hammering can be achieved the old-fashioned way (by hand), or the more recent way (by machine). Machines can be programmed for repeatable patterns or controlled by the cymbal maker.
Here are a few guidelines on how the different hammering techniques affect the sound of a cymbal:
- Hand hammered cymbals tend to have a darker, lower, and richer tones. Each cymbal is also unique since the blows are applied at the will of the crafter
- Cymbals hammered by automated machines tend to sound brighter, have a higher pitch, and cut through the mix better. Since machines can be programmed to replicate blows, there tends to be less variation between cymbals of the same type and model.
- Machine hammered cymbals that are controlled by a person naturally fall in the middle of the others when it comes to sound and replication. Be aware that some companies claim thier cymbals are "hand hammered", when they are in fact controlled by hand and hammered by machine.
Lathing
Lathing is where the cymbal is spun on a machine and the metal is actually peeled away from the surface. Like hammering, this technique can be done entirely by machine or in the hands of a cymbalsmith.
For bell bronze cymbals, lathing is essential for creating the shape of the cymbal. Sheet bronze cymbals are lathed as part of sound development.
Recent innovations have included partial lathing of both sides, lathing on one side and leaving the other "raw", and finally a blend of both hammering and varying degrees of lathing.
Finishing
Once a cymbal has been hammered and/or lathed, the final step in cymbal making involved creating some type of finish.
Cymbals can be allowed to tarnish, which the formation of an oxide layer on the surface. This was traditionally done to give the cymbal a more "mellow" sound with time.
Brilliant finishes have appeared in more recent years. This is accomplished with an abrasive polish, adding metal plating, a lacquer, or a combination of these to prevent the oxide layer from forming.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Bell bronze cymbals (commonly called "cast" cymbals) cost much more than malleable "stamped" cymbals due to the the amount of hands-on time required. An individual uses skills and artisitic freedom to create a unique instrument- so the extra cost is justified.
