How Tight Should Your Cymbals Be? Here’s What You Should Know!

The Issues Every Drummer Faces with Cymbal Tightness

When I first started drumming, I remember thinking the same thing as you. “How tight should cymbals be?” 

I didn’t really understand it, but over some time and through personal experiences I was really able to figure it out!

Here’s Exactly How Tight Your Cymbals Need to Be

Your cymbals should be tight enough to where they’re secure on the cymbal stand but loose enough to where they can move freely a few inches.

This also allows for the resonance to be sustained so that you can get the best possible sound from your cymbal. 

In terms of your hi-hats, you should also have the top hi-hat tight enough, so that you don’t have a delay in the pedal when keeping time (and also to keep it secured on the clutch). 

You should keep it loose enough to allow the cymbal to be freely expressed. This also allows hi-hat ‘slosh’, which is often what a lot of drummers desire. 

What Type of Drummer are You?

All of that can really vary depending on the type of drummer you are and what style of music you play and the angle of your cymbals. 

It can all boil down to personal preference as well, which comes with a lot of trial and error. You will find out what works best for you in the long run.

Determining Your Personal Set-up

As I had mentioned, your cymbal tightness will eventually be determined by personal preference. Some things that can be taken into consideration though are your style of drumming/genres you play, and the size/weight of the cymbal. 

The proximity of the cymbal (how close it is to you) is something that you shouldn’t overlook either. I actually almost forgot to include that within this post!

As far as your style of drumming/genre, if you don’t hit as hard and/or your genre requires lighter playing, you won’t have to worry as much about the cymbal being too loose. 

However, if you’re a harder hitter (or the genre requires it), you’ll want to find that medium spot. Once again, make sure that the cymbal can move freely a few inches without much constraint. 

Normally, if you’re playing genres where it’s required that you hit harder, you’d also want to make sure that the cymbal is a little tighter on the stand (vs someone who’s playing softer genres). 

This will keep the cymbal from flying off the stand (it is not a fun thing at all and the people around you will get a little irritated LOL). 

The size of the cymbal is another thing you’ll need to think about when determining the tightness of your cymbal too. 

If you have a smaller cymbal, you’ll definitely want to make sure that it’s secured on the stand before you start playing (and even if you’re playing softer).

Another bad experience I had in the past was when a splash cymbal came flying off of a cymbal stand in middle school band class. 

This was a completely opposite experience of the one I mentioned earlier. With that being said, I’d highly recommend ALWAYS securing any smaller cymbals (12 inches and below). 

The angle of the cymbal is another important factor when figuring out how tight/loose you’ll want it on the stand. If you have it tilted up to 45 degrees, this could be good or bad for a loose cymbal. 

Like I said earlier, if it’s a larger cymbal, you won’t have to worry as much. This angle on a smaller (and lighter) cymbal could cause the cymbal to come rocking off the stand (you rock dude, literally). 

Let me be honest, even if a small cymbal is not angled, it’ll probably come flying off if not tight enough.

The angle can be good for cymbals though as it can work to your advantage to really save the edge from a lot of force. Enough consistent force = a cracked cymbal edge which is never any fun. 

Lastly, this leads to proximity. I mentioned proximity because it is important, but I don’t believe it is as important as how hard you hit. 

If a cymbal is closer to you, you can exert a lot more force. So, if you have a smaller/lighter cymbal and it’s close to you and not secure or tight enough, it will either fly off or sway all over the place. 

You really just need to make sure that the cymbal isn’t too close to you and that it’s secure enough. That’s seriously all it comes down to. There is a happy medium and you will find it.

I saved the hi-hat for last because there aren’t as many factors as cymbals floating freely on a stand. You have your top hi-hat secured on a clutch with a nut and the cymbal sandwiched in between a couple of felt pieces.

Then, there’s the bottom hat and both cymbals are basically fed and locked together on your upper pull rod. All the while, nestled nicely atop your cymbal seat. 🙂 

The tighter the nut is holding the high hat down, the less the cymbal will rock back and forth. This can also choke the sound a little though, so you are sacrificing that. 

I mentioned ‘slosh’ earlier because a lot of drummers keep that top hat looser to allow the cymbal more sustain and movement back and forth (which in combination with the bottom hat can give it that nice slosh). Say it with me now, Slosh. 

Be careful with how loose the top hat is though because it can be an issue with trying to use your hi-hat peddle. It can cause some delay when you’re trying to keep time with your hi-hat foot and it can often make unwanted ghost noise, which can be annoying. 

The nut can also come loose off the clutch and then you’ll have to stop playing just to put the hat back on and tighten it. 

Nothing is truly more annoying with hi-hats than constantly securing the top hat on the clutch over and over again. 

I actually deal with this a lot and I don’t even have my top hat that loose. 

Start Experimenting With Your Cymbals

I keep coming back to personal preference because, at the end of the day, that’s really what comes into play. As you start learning more, you’ll figure out how your genre/playing style, cymbal sizes, angles, and proximities will come into play. 

This was really what I’ve experienced over the years and how I found what was comfortable for me. 

I know plenty of drummers who have found a happy medium with their cymbals being way less secure than mine. 

Some even have nothing to hold the cymbal and it’s literally just the cymbal on the stand. I can guarantee they have looked at some of the things we talked about in their decision though. 

Moving Forward with your Cymbals

So, how tight should cymbals be? Well, it’s completely up to you, but I hope that this post has helped your decision some. 

If you want to know the gear that has made my life easier as a drummer, check it out here. 

Until next time! 

-Evan C.