View source for Splash cymbal

{{Short description|Type of effect cymbal}}
{{Drum kit components}}
In a [[drum kit]], '''splash cymbals''' are the smallest [[accent cymbal]]s, often a smaller derivative of the more common [[crash cymbal]]s. Splash cymbals and [[china cymbal]]s are the main types of [[effects cymbal]]s.

The most common sized splash has a diameter of 10", followed by 8". Most splash cymbals are in the size range of 6" to 13", but some splash cymbals are as small as 4".

Some makers have produced cymbals described as ''splash'' up to 22",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.china-gongs.com/product/fseries.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030630213120/http://www.china-gongs.com/product/fseries.htm |archive-date=2003-06-30 |title=F series primitive small cymbals, cymbal}}</ref> but a splash of 14" or more is more often described as a crash cymbal.

Splash cymbals include:
* '''Traditional splash''' cymbals, medium in weight with little or no [[taper (cymbal)|taper]].
* '''Rock splash''' cymbals, heavy but often with a slight taper.
* '''China splash''' cymbals.
* '''Salsa splash''' cymbals.
* '''Thin splash''' cymbals.
* '''Bell cymbals'''.
* Specialised '''''stack'' cymbals'''.

==History==
The original and traditional ''splash'', like many of the cymbal types in a [[drum kit]], was invented and named by [[Gene Krupa]] in collaboration with the [[Avedis Zildjian Company]].

Widely used in the jazz music of the 1920s and 30s, this traditional splash cymbal was not seen for many years in mainstream music for years until drummers such as Ringo Starr started to use them.  [[Stewart Copeland]] playing in [[The Police (band)|The Police]] brought it back to prominence. Thanks to a toy cymbal he found in a trip in Asia and which he brought to [[Paiste]], heavier splash cymbals, more suited to this style of [[Drummer|drumming]], were soon available and started being heavily commercialized.

A third phase in the development of splash cymbals occurred when china splash cymbals became popular. These added a new dimension to drumming in their own right, and also led to the development of [[#Stacking|cymbal stacks]].

Several other types that are now regarded as splash cymbals, such as bell and salsa cymbals, have more quietly been added to the kits of leading drummers and to the catalogues of major cymbal manufacturers over the years. Today much of the color of an extended [[drum kit]] is provided by the wide variety of splash cymbals available.       
{{Gallery|File:Gene Krupa, Washington, D.C., between 1938 and 1948 (William P. Gottlieb 13341).jpg
|alt1=Gene Krupa playing two splash cymbals|[[Gene Krupa]] with two splash cymbals
|File:Stewart Copeland Marseille 2008.png
|alt2=Stewart Copeland with three splash cymbals|[[Stewart Copeland]] with three splash cymbals
|File:Dave Weckl.jpg
|alt3=Dave Weckl with piggybacked splash|[[Dave Weckl]] with piggybacked splash ([[#Piggybacking|detail below]])
|File:Mike_Portnoy.jpg
|alt4=Mike Portnoy behind a line of splash cymbals|[[Mike Portnoy]] with stacked splashes ([[#Stacking|detail below]])
}}

==Types==
===Traditional===
[[Image:Sabian AA 10 Splash.jpg|thumb|[[Sabian Cymbals|Sabian]] 10" AA Splash]]
'''Traditional splash''' cymbals, as first popularized by [[Gene Krupa]], are 8"-12" in size and medium in weight with little or no [[taper (cymbal)|taper]] and therefore a thick rim for their size.

The normal function of a splash cymbal is to provide a short, often highly [[syncopation|syncopated]] accent. For their size, they are hit relatively hard to produce a quick attack and decay. They tend to have little taper in order to provide the necessary strength for this, the bell being approximately the same thickness as the rim, resulting in limited richness of tone.
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===Rock===
[[Rock music]]ians favor a heavier splash cymbal often with a slight taper, 6"-12", giving a fuller sound at higher volumes.

===China===
[[File:Aachinasplashes.jpg|thumb|[[Saluda cymbals|Saluda]] Voodoo 12" china and 10" china splash, against a Paiste 20" china]]
[[China type]] cymbals of less than 14" are generally referred to as '''china splash''' cymbals when used in a drum kit, and are made in a wide variety of shapes and in sizes 6"-12".<ref name=cseries>{{cite web |url=http://www.china-gongs.com/product/cseries.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020109061923/http://www.china-gongs.com/product/cseries.htm |archive-date=2002-01-09 |title=Brass Percution Division}}</ref>

This [[terminology]] is not entirely consistent. Sabian for example call their rounded bell 12" china a '''mini Chinese''',<ref name=minichina>{{cite web |url=http://www.sabian.com/EN/products/AAX_Mini_Chinese_12_21216X.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304155110/http://www.sabian.com/EN/products/AAX_Mini_Chinese_12_21216X.cfm |archive-date=2008-03-04 |title=SABIAN Cymbals - AAX Mini Chinese 12}}</ref> and this same design is also available in 14",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sabian.com/EN/products/HH_Mini-Chinese_14_11416.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416182326/http://www.sabian.com/EN/products/HH_Mini-Chinese_14_11416.cfm |archive-date=2008-04-16 |title=SABIAN Cymbals - HH Mini-Chinese 14}}</ref> Paiste Twenty Series features a rounded bell '''mini china''' 8", 10" and 12", while in the Saluda Voodoo series the 12" square bell china is simply called a ''china'', while the heavier 10" rounded bell model is called a ''china splash''. This is not entirely illogical; Many of these cymbals have little or no taper, and as a result some of the heavier ones, unlike most splash cymbals, can be used as an exotic [[ride cymbal]] at moderate volume.

The 8" and 10" Sabian '''Rocktagon splash''' cymbals, smaller versions of their octagonal 16" and 18" ''[[Rocktagon]]'' crashes, are sometimes described as china splashes and have an intermediate tone.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sabian.com/EN/products/AA_Rocktagon_Splash_10_21032.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320091142/http://www.sabian.com/EN/products/AA_Rocktagon_Splash_10_21032.cfm |archive-date=2008-03-20 |title=SABIAN Cymbals - AA Rocktagon Splash 10}}</ref>

China splashes were used in Mike Portnoy's original cymbal [[#Stacking|stacks]], and remain popular as the top cymbal in a stack.

Examples:
* Hubei C series china 8" <ref name=cseries />
* Sabian AAX Mini Chinese 12" <ref name=minichina />
* Saluda Decadence China Blast 10"
* Paiste Twenty Mini China 8"

===Salsa===
A '''salsa splash''' is a small cymbal primarily intended for use with a set of [[timbales]]. Use of a cymbal or [[cowbell]] (but by tradition, never both) is a fundamental part of many styles of timbale playing.

Example:
* Sabian El Sabor Salsa Splash 13" <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sabian.com/EN/products/AA_El_Sabor_Salsa_Splash_13_21360.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320091126/http://www.sabian.com/EN/products/AA_El_Sabor_Salsa_Splash_13_21360.cfm |archive-date=2008-03-20 |title=SABIAN Cymbals - AA El Sabor Salsa Splash 13}}</ref>

===Thin===
'''Thin splash''' cymbals are made in sizes 8"-12" with a pronounced taper and a sound more akin to a crash than to traditional splashes. They are fragile and unsuitable for inexperienced drummers, and even then suitable only for quieter playing, and generally only available in [[cymbal alloys|B20 alloy]] and in the more expensive and professional cymbal series.

At the thinnest and most fragile end of the scale, a thin splash is identical to, and interchangeable with, a cymbal designed for playing by hand rather than by stick. And in either case, a single careless stroke with a [[Drum stick|drumstick]] will split the cymbal.

===Bell===
[[File:Bell splash cymbal.JPG|thumb|Bell cymbal made by cutting down a larger cymbal]]
{{main|Bell cymbal}} 
'''Bell cymbals''', 4"-8" or occasionally bigger, are extremely thick cymbals giving a bell-like tone. Paiste makes one in 13".

The earliest bell cymbals were made by cutting down a larger cymbal, particularly to salvage something from one that was badly split at the edge.

Bell cymbals range in shape from deep and cuplike, similar in shape to a [[church bell]], to a traditional cymbal shape, almost flat, and many in between.
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===Sizzle splash===
[[File:Aasizzler3c.jpg|thumb|Paiste 11" trad splash with sizzler]]
Small [[sizzle cymbal]]s, and splash cymbals with sizzler attachments, give an even shorter, washier tone than a traditional splash.

===Stacks===
Specialised thin '''''stack'' cymbals''', 8"-12", are designed specifically for [[#Stacking|stacking]], most commonly as the upper cymbal.

They are available individually or, more recently, in sets of two or three, including larger cymbals intended primarily as the lower cymbal or cymbals. These sets have provided new sounds but have not replaced the established technique of using a china, crash or another splash as the upper cymbal of a stack. Generally, the three way sets are designed to make possible several usable two-cymbal stacks in addition to the three-cymbal combination, and most cymbals of all such sets are designed to also be stacked with other cymbals, giving a very wide range of tonal possibilities.

Similarly, despite the availability of these cymbals specifically designed for stacking, many drummers still use a china or a splash as the upper cymbal.

Examples:
* Sabian Max Stax High 8" <ref>{{cite web |url=http://sabian.com/EN/products/Max_Stax_High_08_MP5005H.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411050759/http://www.sabian.com/EN/products/Max_Stax_High_08_MP5005H.cfm |archive-date=2008-04-11 |title=SABIAN Cymbals - Signature Max Stax High Percussion 08}}</ref>
* Paiste Noise Works Tripple Raw Smash 12", 14", 14" <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paiste.com/products/cymbals/noise_works_cymbal_stacks.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051109225040/http://www.paiste.com/products/cymbals/noise_works_cymbal_stacks.php |archive-date=2005-11-09 |title=Paiste Cymbals: Products}}</ref>

==Mounting==
The splash cymbal, because of its varied usage and small size, is mounted in many ways. Some common ways are:

* On a separate boom stand. This can be of relatively light construction without a [[counterweight]] owing to the light weight of the cymbal.
* On an auxiliary boom attached to a stand used principally to support a drum or another, larger cymbal. This is the traditional method.
* On an auxiliary boom attached to the rim of a [[snare drum]] or [[timbales]]. This is particularly popular for playing [[latin jazz|latin]] rhythms.
* By ''piggybacking'' on a larger cymbal. The two cymbals must be separated by an extra felt if they are not to each affect the other's tone and risk damage.
* By use of a double stand that mounts the top cymbal on an extension of the stand that replaces the wing nut holding the bottom cymbal. These are commercially available but more often created by adding an accessory to a single stand.
* As the upper cymbal in a '''stack''' in which another cymbal is deliberately in contact with the splash.

{{Gallery|title=Common mounting techniques
|File:Splash cymbalDK.JPG
|alt1=Splash cymbal on a separate boom stand|On a separate boom stand
|File:Un piatto Splash della UFIP Class Series.JPG
|alt2=Splash cymbal boom attached to another stand|attached to another stand
|File:2006-07-06 splash 10.jpg
|alt3=Splash cymbal boom Attached to a snare drum rim|attached to a snare drum rim
|File:Aasizzler3.jpg
|alt4=Splash cymbal as the upper on a double stand|on a double stand
}}

Several of these techniques, notably ''stacking'' and ''piggybacking'', are very rarely used for cymbals other than splash cymbals. The rim-mounted boom is restricted to splash cymbals owing to the weight of other cymbal types, but similar mounts, traditionally on the top of the rear rim of the [[bass drum]] but also on other drums, are occasionally used for other lightweight accent effects, particularly a [[cowbell (instrument)|cowbell]] and/or a [[Woodblock (instrument)|wood block]].

===Stacking===
[[File:Mike Portnoy stack.jpg|thumb|Mike Portnoy stacks a china splash on a traditional splash, [[#History|see above]]]]
A '''cymbal stack''' is a combination of two or more cymbals mounted in contact, producing a sound unlike any single cymbal. The effect is similar to a loosely closed [[Hi-hat (instrument)|hi-hat]], or can alternatively be seen as an extreme case of a [[sizzle cymbal]] with the upper cymbal serving as a single large jangle. The exact effect is dependent on the tension on the mounting bolt, and with some combinations can be varied from a very short crunch to a much longer buzz.

This technique was pioneered by [[Dave Weckl]], [[Mike Portnoy]] and others, originally using a china splash as the upper cymbal. Portnoy mounted both cymbals bell up, with no spacing felt, to maximize contact between them, and choosing cymbals of sufficiently different profile to ensure that the contact was not enough to [[cymbal choke|choke]] them completely.

As the technique became established, cymbal makers introduced specialized ''[[#Stacks|stack cymbals]]'' designed specifically for use in stacks. However the older technique, using a china splash on top of a crash, china or another splash, also remains popular.

Stacking should not be confused with ''[[#Piggybacking|piggybacking]]'', in which the upper cymbal is bell down, the lower cymbal bell up, and a spacing felt is used between the cymbal bells, preventing any contact.

===Piggybacking===
[[File:Dave Weckl's drum kit detail.jpg|thumb|Dave Weckl piggybacks a bell on a traditional splash, [[#History|see above]]]]

Piggybacking is a method of mounting a splash cymbal, mostly restricted to small splashes, by simply placing it inverted above another cymbal, with which it shares the mounting bolt and its sheath, washers if used and wingnut. A spacing felt is normally used to separate the cymbals, serving as the top felt of the lower cymbal and the bottom felt of the upper cymbal in order to avoid cymbal cracking.

There is an essential difference between this technique and ''[[#Stacking|stacking]]''. A cymbal stack produces a different sound to that produced by either cymbal individually. The piggyback, like the double stand, is primarily a method of mounting the splash cymbal, without producing any major difference in the tone of either cymbal.

Advantages of piggyback mounting are:
* Requires minimal mounting space, and therefore produces a more compact drum kit.
** Allows the drummer to move between the two cymbals of the piggyback in a single motion.
** A bonus for drummers who play in venues where space is very limited.
** In very large, [[drum kit#Extended kits|extended kits]], it allows more cymbals to be within reach of the drummer.
* Requires little or no extra equipment, only the cymbal itself and normally one extra felt for spacing between the cymbals.
** Faster setup and takedown.
** Lighter [[traps case]]s.
** Less to buy.
* It is possible to connect the two cymbals tonally by leaving out the spacing felt (but this risks damage and probably voids any warranty on both cymbals).

Disadvantages are:
* Requires the upper cymbal to be mounted bell down.
** Produces a trashier tone which not all drummers like.
** Exposes the rim to the stick in a way that the designer did not intend, often leading to damage. Many splashes have a relatively thick rim for their size, and can withstand a stroke that would break a crash cymbal, but thin splashes cannot generally be mounted bell down.
* Restricts playing of the lower cymbal, generally even to making playing its bell impossible.
* Restricts adjustment of the damping of either cymbal. The mounting bolt tension and the size of one felt are the same for both cymbals, as the mounting bolt, wingnut and this felt are all shared between them.

Many china splash cymbals and some bell cymbals are designed to be mounted bell down, and are particularly suited to piggyback mounting. Other splash cymbals, however, are very rarely mounted bell down except when piggybacked.

Most but not all drummers put an additional [[felt]] between the bells of the two cymbals, to eliminate any direct contact between the cymbals and retain the tone of each. However the slight contact between the bells if the extra felt is not used affects the tone of each cymbal only subtly, and some drummers like the tonal connection that results. Beginners sometimes use this technique for another reason entirely: The mounting bolt may not be long enough to allow an extra felt, or they may simply not have bought a felt when buying their first splash. Unfortunately, the metal to metal contact and the playing of the upturned splash rim both decrease the life of the cymbal, particularly at the hands of a beginner.

The lower cymbal of the piggyback is often a crash, or less often a [[ride cymbal|ride]], but larger splashes and even [[china cymbal|chinas]] can be used. The upper cymbal could in theory be any cymbal small enough to allow the lower cymbal to be played, but in practice is almost always a splash.

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{Percussion}}

[[Category:Cymbals]]
[[Category:Drum kit components]]