meinl – TrentDavis.net

12" Wuhan "Lion" cymbals cut down to 8 1/4" hand cymbals.

I was asked by a friend of mine to cut down her pair of 12″ Wuhan China (or “Lion” cymbals, as they call them) into a smaller set to use as hand cymbals.

Fig. 1 - One of the unaltered Wuhan "Lion" cymbals. — Fig. 1 – One of the unaltered Wuhan “Lion” cymbals.

There was one slight problem. Years ago when I first got into repairing cymbals I took my own version of the Hippocratic oath where I swore to “do no harm” to a set of undamaged cymbals. I was a little conflicted but I figured that since these cymbals aren’t for me and that the owner really wanted this to be done, I was okay to do this procedure. Plus, she had been using these as a set of hand cymbals already and they sounded truly awful. Therefore, I was only making improvements. Much like adding rivets to a cymbal.

I started by putting both cymbals on my cutting jig and finding the best diameter to use. I wanted to retain as much of the cymbal as I could but eliminate the flare. Once a diameter was decided upon I started cutting.

Fig. 2 - The first cymbal on the cutting jig. — Fig. 2 – The first cymbal on the cutting jig.

Fig. 3 - Getting close to finishing the cut on the first cymbal. — Fig. 3 – Getting close to finishing the cut on the first cymbal.

The cutting went pretty smoothly although the imperfect nature of Wuhan cymbals tends to affect how balanced the cut-down cymbal is. For example, the mounting hole was off-center on each cymbal which really caused a lot of warping and vibration. You can see this in some of the pictures.

Fig. 4 - Just finished cutting down the second cymbal. — Fig. 4 – Just finished cutting down the second cymbal.

After they were cut down I mounted them on my buffing wheel and de-burred the edges. My friend also wanted me to polish them and remove the logos. This was more trouble than it usually is since these cymbals are so out of balance. I used both a coarse and fine grained sanding sponge then finished up with 0000 steel wool. I finished that up with a thin coat of polyurethane to protect them and they are ready to go.

Fig. 5 - Taking the coarse sanding block to the underside of the first cymbal. — Fig. 5 – Taking the coarse sanding block to the underside of the first cymbal.

Fig. 6 - Finishing up the underside of the first cymbal with some 0000 steel wool. — Fig. 6 – Finishing up the underside of the first cymbal with some 0000 steel wool.

Fig. 7 - The top of the first cymbal ready to be polished. — Fig. 7 – The top of the first cymbal ready to be polished.

Fig. 8 - Taking a coarse sanding block to the top of the first cymbal. — Fig. 8 – Taking a coarse sanding block to the top of the first cymbal.

Fig. 9 - Following up with a fine-grit sanding sponge. — Fig. 9 – Following up with a fine-grit sanding sponge.

Fig. 10 - All done after finishing up with some 0000 steel wool. — Fig. 10 – All done after finishing up with some 0000 steel wool.

Fig. 11 - Time to start cleaning up the second cymbal. — Fig. 11 – Time to start cleaning up the second cymbal.

Fig. 12 - Cleaning up the top of the second cymbal with a coarse-grit sanding sponge. — Fig. 12 – Cleaning up the top of the second cymbal with a coarse-grit sanding sponge.

Fig. 13 - the underside of the second cymbal. Before... — Fig. 13 – the underside of the second cymbal. Before…

Fig. 14 - ... and after. — Fig. 14 – … and after.

Fig. 15 - This is a shot of both cymbals. The one on the left is halfway through cleaning up the top. This was problematic due to the imbalance in that cymbal which is caused by the mounting hole being so far off-center. — Fig. 15 – This is a shot of both cymbals. The one on the left is halfway through cleaning up the top. This was problematic due to the imbalance in that cymbal which is caused by the mounting hole being so far off-center.

Fig. 16 - A close-up of the two cymbals. The one on the left has been polished up a bit. The one on the right only has the edge de-burred which actually polishes up the area around the edge a bit. — Fig. 16 – A close-up of the two cymbals. The one on the left has been polished up a bit. The one on the right only has the edge de-burred which actually polishes up the area around the edge a bit.

The finished product ended up being 8 1/4″ in diameter. They look cool and they sound a lot better.

Fig. 17 - Top-down view of the finished product. — Fig. 17 – Top-down view of the finished product.

Fig. 18 - The finished product. — Fig. 18 – The finished product.

Let me know in the comment section below if this was helpful and if you have any questions. Also, if you cut down your own cymbals, feel free to share your techniques.

Every Time I Fall – Performance video

Music, Percussion

Trent DavisOctober 12, 2016November 1, 2016

I recorded the drum tracks for Every Time I Fall, a song I’m working on with Jongwon Kim.

I have a somewhat peculiar way of recording.

I actually record the drum tracks a total of eight times, one after the other without any breaks in between. Typically, the first two tracks are throw-aways. I use them as a chance to warm up while also re-familiarizing myself with the structure of the song and the ideas that I wanted to incorporate into it. The reason I like these takes to be recorded rather than just playing it a few times on my own is because I might spontaneously (or accidentally) play something that is just perfect for the song that I may not remember afterwards so it’s nice to have it documented.

I don’t actually expect to have a “keeper” take until the fifth or sixth time through the song. Once I get these, I use them as my safety net. Now I have two more takes where I can get crazy and try things that may not work but would be fun to at least attempt and listen to later. These two takes are usually filled with screw-ups but every now and then I hear something that I really like and I will actually incorporate it into the song, either with editing or doing a few more takes.

On this particular song, I had gotten a keeper take by the fifth run-through. The sixth and seventh were nice but didn’t really speak to me. Then on the eighth take I just didn’t worry about anything and focused on just playing comfortably. I wasn’t going for flashy. It was just one of those moments where you realize you know the song well enough to play it without even thinking about it. Actually, while I was doing this take, I believe I was thinking about a few metalworking projects I have planned. In my subconscious I was just enjoying the song. It was like background music that I was controlling. This ended up being the take that I’m going to use for the final recording.

Anyway, here are a few videos. I recorded the tracks in Ableton and didn’t do any real mixing or mastering other than the basic levels that I have set up for my drum recording template. The first version includes the temporary guitar backing tracks. The second version is only the drums.

Every Time I Fall (With backing tracks)

Every Time I Fall (Without backing tracks)

https://youtu.be/XfvmdlpETMM

Video Performance – Test

Music, Percussion

Trent DavisOctober 11, 2016November 1, 2016

This is just a test of the over-the-head GoPro setup. The audio was recorded in Ableton and edited into the video.

This was when we were auditioning a new keyboard player so it’s a pretty low-key performance. I was also just getting over the flu so I didn’t have a lot of energy. To top it all off, I was also breaking in a new pair of Doc Martens, which I normally really love to wear when I’m playing but which are rather unforgiving when they’re fairly new.