Crash Cymbal

Kit & Gear

Also called crash.

A crash is a thin, flared cymbal you hit once and let ring. It's the punctuation mark of the kit: bright, loud, and designed to decay into a wash of sound rather than keep a steady pulse.

In a groove, crashes mark the moments that matter, usually the top of a new section or the end of a fill. One crash at the right time gives a song structure. Four crashes in one bar just makes noise. Treat it like a highlighter pen, not a typewriter.

Hit a crash with a glancing stroke, brushing up across the surface as if you're sweeping it, rather than stabbing straight down at it. You'll get a fuller sound with less volume, and you'll stop cracking cymbals that cost more than your first kit.

Set the crash low enough that you can reach it without lunging, tilted toward you, with nothing behind it except air or a wall you don't mind denting. If you're afraid of the cymbal, you'll play timidly around it, and everyone can hear that.