Thanks for the link. I'd say your files aren't completely swamped by the auto-leveling (auto-gain or whatever you call it) but they are certainly suffering from it. Do you get the chance to turn it off, or do you have no control over it in your camera interface?

As a comparison (and to supply some sort of bona fide) this is my Zoom H4 and my 50s A Zildjians

sounds

This is an early H4 and I think we're talking maybe $120 to find one used today. It seems a worthwhile investment to go for a quality recorder, even though you haven't got video capability. There are lots of different brands out there these days. Gone are the old days of needing a $250,000 recording set up to get a decent sound. This is straight to MP3 so it isn't even the highest resolution.

Oh, and loved the Black Beauty with the calf head. What a great old snare.

There are far too many cymbal sellers online and or on eBay that over or under estimate a cymbals weight range just to sell it or get rid of it. I have found that most of the best sounding cymbals regardless of make are in the thinner weights . Sellers often leave out the weight and just state "thin" then it arrives and it's a medium heavy!...I too have asked the weight on hi hat and pre serial 602 Ride cymbals and then when the seller gave the weight, then it became obvious why they didnt list the weight to begin with! I don't even bother looking any further unless the weight is listed, far too many sellers out there trying to dump heavy, clangy sounding cymbals and not listing the weight is a great way to get rid of stock. By far the 1st place I look for vintage cymbals and the site that has not just the weight listed on all the cymbals, but the best demo's I have seen is Classicvintagedrums.com

I asked the same question about 2 years ago and VM2K turned me on to the (My Weigh 7001DX-Black) $34.50 from Old Will Knot Scales, Toll Free 877 861-0322, 7000g. capacity in 3 weight measurements, digital LED readout with a press and hold button (So one can remove the cymbal and easily see the readout) also has an aux. pwr. supply available for $5.50 more. Great price and stellar reviews. Can't beat that!

I would say that any scale that can go to 1/10 of an ounce will work. I have an app on my phone that can do the conversion, or you can just type in something like "ounces gram conversion" to Google. A little converter will be listed first and you can type in the ounces and get an answer.

It's really not out of line to request amplifying info when considering a purchase. If weighing a cymbal would push the sale into the zone of aok, then I would be a cymbal weighing fool - if I were in the business of selling drum gear. That's not much work to help out a potential satisfied customer.

Out of curiosity how many cymbals do you get that way over 10 lbs? That over 4500 grams. Since it seems rare to see cymbals here weighing more than around 3500 grams I can only assume you're talking about 24" or more likely 26" cymbals. Online sound files are great to have but additionally, as a jazz player, I'm looking for cymbals in very specific weight ranges within specific diameters. As an example, I would usually not be interested in a 2300 g 20" cymbal. I prefer my 20's and 22's medium thin to thin, and occasionally medium in weight. It has to do with the sticking, spread, sustain and voicing I prefer. I like low volume, woody sounding cymbals and find that those in certain weight ranges give me the sound and feel I'm looking for.

I put more importance on pictures and weight and size than on sound files because there are too many variables that can have an effect on the sound of the cymbal. Mic type and placement, stick size, even playing style of the player. All those variables obscures the informative quality of a sound file. Gram weight is a quantifiable measurement that can't be obscured except if it isn't correct.

I have had a couple of cymbals that actually exceeded my smaller scales weight, a 25.5" ride, an old gong, and a couple of very heavy 22" & 24" cymbals. Not many in the grand scheme of things but there have been a couple.

For the recordings I just use a Nikon digital camera that also has a video option and I record everything with the mic that is on the camera, nothing more. There is no option for controlling audio on the the camera that I have been able to find and I don't edit any of the videos in any way.

its important for many reasons. being c.t. pro whatever you should know! the size and weight of a cymbal as well as the alloy that makes it is what it sounds like. i play an 18 at 1700 grams as my ride. great cymbal. bought it as a crash. but cause of its profile,weight,and more importantly size and shape of the bell its a ride. emoticons blow.

In addition to sound files, photo's and grams, I also like to know the weight of the previous owner of the cymbal.