Sizzler

Intro: Sizzler

mainly used in jazz a sizzler makes a cymbol sound well like metalic rain, or frying metal... anywayse it sounds awsome but not alwayse wasy to find a good one... so make one out of junk...

STEP 1: Materials

Drum set (ok not necessary but why else would you make this), old guitar strings(assuming your playing with a band this is easy to get), bottle caps the metal twist off kind from soda (or beer maybe?), solder, heat source (even a match will do), wire cutters... its not really that hard I promise...

STEP 2: Planning

Find your ride(or crash any other wouldn't sound right) a medium ride works best(older cymbals sound mellower) the radius of the cymbal decides how long the arm(guitar string in our case) is going to be...

STEP 3: Basic Assembly

Cut the largest guitar string to a few inches longer than the length the arm is going to be. Make a loop in the end of the arm and bend it so the arm will not rest on the cymbal. Make two small holes in some bottle caps to feed a guitar string through… this is important to make then small enough so you don’t warp the cap too much. Attach one cap to the loop on the end of the arm. Make a smaller string into a loop on another cap, attach this to the middle of the arm loosely for now so it hangs down…

STEP 4: Test

Ok now attach the end of the arm that doesn’t have a loop to the bolt or top of the cymbal stand. Fine tune the bend and loops in the strings so the arm is off the cymbal and the caps are flush on the cymbal at the correct radius. Just play around till it sounds right and then melt a lil solder onto the wraps in the wire to fix it in place…
Now its time to rock out(or just jam in a major jazz/blues session)… have fun!!!

Comments

[goodfeets]

I've just used lamp pull ball chain attached to a keyring. I thought I invented the idea as an alternative to drilling holes and adding rivets.

[olivergon]

The metalic chain is an old trick I saw many years ago from a German friend. He used the ones that come with the lavatory caps.

[LuisiJ]

they actually sell those premade for rediculous prices i made another version of this since the death meatal lead guitarist just had to bang on my set... but yea bottlecaps is a unique sound...

[nospleen]

Thats how I've seen it done too, with the lamp chain. It seems to work really well. Just one strand dangling down the cymbol makes it sound very mystical...or shimmery...or whatever that sound is.

[Tycho7]

Cool idea! The two sizzlers I've made for my friends (I'm not a drummer) were made from some rides that we "borrowed" from our local school's music department. I drilled a bunch of holes in them with a drill press, then popped some rivets in the holes. As long as the rivets were only half way popped, they sizzled like bacon.

[SeMi_AuToMaTic]

i hate to ask, i might sound stupid, butt can you post a picture of your drumset? There one of my favorite instruments to learn how to play. to stay on the subject of jazz, i got a new saxophone!

[LuisiJ]

haha i guess i should take a pic when i rebuild the sizzler for hopefully another jazz performance next weekend

[vati]

Many Years ago the sizzlers were 2 arms that folded and at the ends were little tamborine jinglers.Now the music shop owner told me that is what the jazz drummers used.I bought one and lost it.I have been looking for one for 40 years now with no luck.This is the closest I have seen,beer tops,Very neat idea.I might give it a try.If anyone out there has seen the one I talked about please contact me,I would like to buy one.Thanks,Vati

[cymbal]

those sizzle arms are made by cannon percussion and can be bought thru the internet for about $20.

[LuisiJ]

those were what i had on my vintage drum set... they broke after so many years of use before i got them... caps were the closet thing i could get to sound like a real sizzler for a jazz performance i had two days later... if u can find some i would love to get a real pair again...

[havic]

Use some tape and pennies to get that sizzle sound out of my cymals. Just place a few pennies in a row on a strip of tape and stick it on the bell (or where you like) of the cymbal. I use this all the time and it's so cheap and quick to make at the start of a gig. I like the lamp chain idea. I've seen these products at my local music store. All of these methods are great but I'm thinking of making a cymbal with rivets, because of the sustain that is achieved by them. (stirke it once and it just sizzles for days!)

[Thunderexpress]

The simplest way of doing this is with paper clips. all you have to do is attatch some together and than stick it under the wing nut on your cymbal. It has alot of sustain (more than the bottle caps) because its so light. This gives it really really light sound which sounds cool.

[Thunderexpress]

Jazz drummers aren't the only ones who use riveted rides some rock drummers use them like ginger baker and mitch mitchell, they did come from a jazzier background though.

[Joe93]

Cool i will give it a go