Masking tape and a pencil !!

I don't leave my cymbals unattended. As far as marking them ... no. I do not. I keep them sorted into blended sets. I.e. there is a set of hats paired with the specific rides and crashes they sound best with and these are packaged in cases. I used to keep them on a display stand a couple of years ago, but I outgrew it and was annoyed at always having 'extra' cymbals stored away.

I store that information in a spreadsheet not on the cymbal. If I had two or more cymbals which looked identical I suppose I might use something like archaeologists and museums use on artifacts. A very small number in ink under the bell would give you your unique id, and the rest of the info is in the catalog you keep in a spreadsheet or on a piece of paper. There are water based inks which are removable without bringing out the heavy chemicals yet once dried (carefully to avoid smudging) will stay put. If you have an accurate way of weighing you can avoid any ink by just using the weight of each cymbal (to the nearest gram) as the unique identifier. You would seldom have two cymbals with the same weight (to the nearest gram). If you do have duplicates then you can use just a small bit of ink to distinguish them and note that in your catalog.

I also store purchase price and purchase date. Photos are also a good idea. I also keep info on all the cymbals I have sold on (including...sale price and sale date). This keeps an inventory for insurance purposes as well.

Masking tape - but over time masking tape can leave stains - or maybe it just protects from tarnish so when it is taken off it leaves a visible stripe. I have several cymbals showing the stripes from the 70's penchant for deadening with masking tape. Plus it can curl off and fall off.

I put mine in cases also - but I have too many to sort into a couple sets or remember the details of. If you're not playing them at the time then they're "unattended" right? Every time I crack open a case and pick up a cymbal (usually to check on some new insight that drumaholic has mentioned like stamp variations, hammering, etc.) I have to search the cymbal to find the stamp(s) and try to remember weight, where I got it, etc. For example the only time I've weighed my cymbals I did it with a bathroom scale; I have a decent scale now but it seems pointless to weigh them if I'm just going to forget the weights or write them in a list where I won't be able to remember which weight goes with which cymbal.

Maybe I could add a poll - so far the options would be "don't mark", "masking tape", "sticker", "sharpie" or "grease pencil". Any other options? And how do I add a poll to this thread?

Zenstat, sorry I was posting at the same time you were so didn't see your answer. Excellent idea on using the weight as the ID!! - but I don't want to put it under the bell since I have some cymbals with signatures there and wouldn't want to mess them up. Easy to put it somewhere else on the underside though. I do have a list (handwritten at this point but easy to put in a spreadsheet) but needed a way to match up the ones in my list to the cymbals themselves.

Where does the water-based ink come from? Is it possible to get a water-based ink sharpie-type pen?

Thanks!

Over the years, these "sets" have numbered between four (jazz set) to well over thirty (improve rock). These sets stay organized and protected ... and unmarked. It's bad mojo to tape or deface a cymbal.

Hello...I have bags for all my cymbals and mark the bag, never touching the cymbal. Works good for me......Joe

Mark the case they're in, and don't put *identical* cymbals in the same case.

When I was a cymbal hoarder, I used garage sale stickers under the bell. They didn't leave any sticky residue, and I actually had trouble keeping them on the cymbals...

4 More,...

I thought you were gonna store them and later organize them, tape will effect the resonance,...don`t play with tape on them.

I see what you mean now. For the ones` you only use periodicly, use a lenghth of yarn through the hole and tie it in a knot around the cymbal, put the marked tape on the yarn, when you`re done with it, tie the yarn back to it and store it again.

Just an Idea !! A Ball of yarn don`t cost much !!