Often misunderstood, yet always envied, the drummer is a beast of simple pleasure. Consequently, his instruments suit him well. Few instruments are as physical as drums and cymbals. Rhythmic and sexual, the drum kit is music's id. Bold and commanding, the drums themselves are men in the percussive world, sometimes brash, yet solid and dependable. Cymbals, however, are feminine. No other instrument can shriek like a banshee and still whisper as softly as a tender maiden. As the sopranos and altos of the percussive spectrum, cymbals add angelic harmony to the meat-n-potatoes of the snare, kick, and toms.
Drummers love cymbals. It's only natural. They come in all shapes, sizes, sounds, and degrees of luster. Certainly all stick twirlers have their opinions when it comes to cymbal selection. To the average drummer, the subject of cymbals is touchier than politics. Any veteran drummer's cymbal set up is an extremely personal matter -- the result of years of failed courtships. Great expectations, wincing pain, eternal bliss, wishful thinking, utter sorrow: these are the mental images that stir in a drummer's mind while beholding a specific cymbal. Some are lucky enough to find satisfaction early, while the rest are doomed to a meager existence, trading cymbals on Craigslist for the rest of eternity, in search of the ever elusive holy grail cymbal. Many drummers love their cymbals as much as their mothers; others love them even more. A broken cymbal can evoke as many tears as a former lover.
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