So the same concept (use them however you want) would apply for marching band cymbals? Is the grommet the only thing that makes it different?

People typically use the grommet to protect the leather hand straps from getting eaten away by the sharp edges of the central hole. Some people use them on cymbals that have such bad keyholing that the cymbal won't sit properly on a cymbal stand.

Whether a cymbal is better suited as a crash or ride generally has more to do with the taper of a cymbal than just the weight alone. Weight is the accepted, but not infallible, gauge because most people don't take calipers to their cymbals as a way of analyzing their physical characteristics and how they influence the sound. It's just not standard practice. Only us really geeky cymbal guys (:rolleyes:) do that.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Mastro...just my experience.....I dunno if there is a cut-and-dry protocol on weight....

For me, a 22" is considered light if it's under 2200g, medium if it's around 25-2600g, heavy if over 26-2700g.

20" light/thin = 1900g or under

20" medium = 2000-2300g

20" heavy = over 2500g

Again, just general yardsticks. I feel that Turkish handmades, such as Istanbuls or Bos's for example, play "lighter" than their actual weights.....so a Turkish hand-hammered 2300g 20" ride would play lighter sounding/feeling than, say, an Avedis or Sabian AA of the same weight....

I agree that a grommet could also mean it was a band/field cymbal....and/or one half of a pair of marching cymbals....not always, but oftentimes...[/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Yes SirWell-said. For a time there I was coming across a number late 50's-early 60's A. Zildjians which were medium or medium-heavy in weight...BUT...they played like a wonderful, light Jazz ride. turns out most of the weight was up there in their bell area, and upper bow...while they tapered very thin at their edge.

So there was an instance where the generalizations of weights proved to be very fallible....

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Thanks! Good info and of course it's general ranges. For me my old K's seem like totally different animals than my AZ's. There's something similar about cheap Wuhans to my old K's.

I think I'll go weigh my 22" AZ Heavy, now where is that Craftsman floor jack?...

Drumaholic turned me on to this..........

He said it's only a rough guideline

Thanks!

I'm gonna have to get someone to help me with my 22" tho...

18" is a notorious size for band cymbals....hand crashes.

Take a look at the edge underside and see if there is wear there....that will be a clue. They would also be on the heavy side and do make nice crash rides.

As long as no stairs are involved, I'll come over and help you move it......

:)

electricit [COLOR="DarkRed"] If you said that on some other websites, you'd get hung.....

hehehe...yes, well the similarity is the trashiness quality...lotsa overtones, lotsa wash. Those Dream/Bliss cymbals are chinese as well, kinda like a more refined Wuhan...and actually, they even more than standard Wuhans do actually sound a little Old K-like. Of course, while some attributes are K-esque, many others (particularly the stick response) are not.

...people were telling me about Dreams, and I thought it was a load of marketing crap, because they are so cheap...but really, they aren't bad at all.

I didn't say they are good...I mean, given my druthers I'd buy an handmade Istanbul, Masterwork, or Meinl Amun or Byzance before I'd go for a Dream/Bliss....

but they aren't bad....for the money particularly.....

OK, sorry to digress.

To the O.P. I would say, if they aren't heavy 18" cymbals, they are probably worth the asking price. Or ask if you can take two for $150.....providing they sound decent to your ear....

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