Effects Cymbals

Kit & Gear

Also called splash, china, effect cymbal.

Effects cymbals are the odd-shaped extras: splashes, small and bright with a fast decay; chinas, with turned-under edges that give a trashy, gong-like blast; and stacks, two cymbals bolted together for a short, dry sizzle. They add colour, not timekeeping.

You use effects the way a painter uses accent colours. A splash on the offbeat before a chorus adds sparkle. A china on the downbeat of a heavy section makes it hit like a door slamming. One well-placed effect in a song is worth more than a wall of six cymbals you never touch.

Small effects are fragile. Play them with controlled, glancing strokes and let them speak, because their whole identity is a quick burst of sound that dies fast. Choking a splash by grabbing it with your free hand is a legitimate technique and saves you from letting it ring over a quiet verse.

Resist the gear bug here. Before you buy another cymbal, learn what your crash and ride can do when you vary where and how you hit them. Most beginners discover that their existing kit already covers most of what they wanted the splash for.