Bell bronze, also known as bell metal, is the traditional alloy used for fine cymbals, many gongs, and, as the name suggests, bells. It is normally stated to be one part tin to four parts copper, that is 20% tin, and this is still the most common formula, but there has always been some variation. Larger and smaller bells are cast with differing amounts of tin, and some bell, gong, and cymbal makers use small but significant amounts of other elements, notably silver, gold, and phosphorus. Bell bronze is a two-phase alloy, meaning some of the tin is not dissolved in the copper grains but exists between them. This makes the metal harder and more brittle than a single-phase alloy, and also affects the way the metal responds to hardening by hammering and lathing, and greatly restricts the use of mechanised techniques of manufacture. Major orchestras generally use bell-bronze cymbals, which are capable of a greater dynamic range than any others. They are also generally the preferred cymbals of drum kit players.[citation needed]
Signature Bronze Alloys
In 1989 Paiste released professional cymbal series composed of sheet metal bronze with about 15% tin. Though the manufacturing requires the metal to be rolled hot at certain stages, it is not tempered like traditional B20 cymbals but annealed. Using this alloy allows for greater consistency between blanks compared to traditional cymbal alloy, and is more applicable to Paiste's 2002 production methods. Examples include Paiste Signatures, Traditionals and Dark Energy. Paiste calls this Signature Bronze or Sound Formula. For a time, Paiste produced no bell metal cymbals, but now produces high-end cymbals of both this alloy and bell bronze. Since then, other manufactures followed the lead and implemented lines of high tin sheet metal alloy. Zildjian Project 391 series employed Paiste alloy explicitly, however many companies (Zildjian included) produce cymbals with B12 (Such as Zildjian ZHT, now S series) and B10 alloys. Meinl cymbals are well known for employing both alloys.
There is some evidence that a similar sheet alloy was used by the Hammerax company (though with added iron and nickel). [1]
Malleable bronze
Malleable bronze is an alloy of tin and copper containing typically 8% tin. It is a single-phase alloy and can be cold rolled into sheets, unlike bell bronze. It is readily available as commercial sheet metal in many grades and thicknesses.
Cymbal bronzes containing 8% tin are most normally called B8 alloy. Paiste refer to their 8% tin bronze as 2002 alloy.
From the mid 20th century there were attempts to make top-quality cymbals from malleable bronze, originally for reasons of economy. As the Paiste patent referred to above says:
Less than three decades ago experiments were carried out for economical considerations with a commercial common bronze sheet or plating containing 8% tin by weight. The result was that the old bronze rule was confirmed and proven to be correct. One had to realize that with careful working and processing of the cymbal it was possible to achieve considerable qualitative results with the bronze sheet or plating containing 8% by weight tin, but these results could never approach the results obtained with traditional cymbals having a tin content of 20% by weight.
Not everyone agrees with this unfavourable assessment, written well after the development of the very successful Paiste 2002 series. In particular, top-line malleable bronze cymbals proved exceptionally suitable for the louder music then developing. The best of them now approach, and some claim equal, the best bell bronze cymbals in quality.
Examples of malleable bronze cymbals include: Harpy H, Meinl One of a Kind, Meinl Custom and Amun, Meinl Lightning and Raker, Meinl Classics and some Generation X, Meinl Trooper and Cadet, Orion Solo Pro and Solo Pro Master, Orion Viziuss, Paiste 2002 and Giant Beat, Paiste 802 and Alpha, Paiste 502 and some Exotic Percussion, Pearl Pro, Meinl MCS, Sabian B8 and B8 Pro, Sabian Pro, Sabian Pro Sonix, Sabian APX, Sabian B8X, Soultone Custom Brilliant, Soultone Extreme, Soultone Natural, Soultone Vintage, Soultone Vintage OldSchool 1964, Soultone Gospel, UFIP Tiger, UFIP Supernova, Zildjian I Series, ZBT, ZXT, ZHT, and the sonic "XXX" series by Krash Cymbalz, a B10 alloy line for the heavy-handed, aggressive drummer.[2]
Brass
Some of the finest traditional gongs and china-type cymbals and nearly all zills are made from brass. However, it is not widely used in cymbals. Brass cymbals are inexpensive beginners' cymbals, not meant to last long; the rigidity of brass yields cymbals harsh in sound and very prone to cracks at the bell hole and the border.
Many of the "show" cymbals provided by many drum kit manufacturers for use in shop window displays are also made from brass. These are typically very poor in tone, some even being disks of untreated metal and unplayable despite the reputable brand name they may bear.
The brass for cymbals is about 38% zinc in copper, which is very easily worked, readily available as sheet metal, and easily the cheapest metal stock normally used for cymbals. The tone of brass cymbals tends to be warm but dull compared to any sort of tin bronze, and very few drummers exploit it.
Examples of brass cymbals include: Harpy B, Meinl Marathon M38, Meinl Meteor, Meinl HCS, Orion Twister, Paiste 101, Paiste 302 and some Exotic Percussion, Pearl, Royal, Twister Series by Orion, Solar and Sbr by Sabian, Soultone Intro, UFIP M8, Planet Z by Zildjian. Nearly all zils of all makes are also made out of brass.
Nickel silver
Nickel silver as used in cymbal making is an alloy of copper and nickel, and an alloy with about 12% nickel is used for some beginners' cymbals. A very few specialised high-quality cymbals are also made from nickel silver, as are some top-quality gongs tending to the more modern and exotic sounds.
Some maintain that the term nickel silver should only be used for alloys containing an appreciable content of zinc, and would call this cymbal alloy nickel bronze instead, but the use of the term nickel silver for all cymbal bronzes with nickel as the main alloying metal is well established.
Nickel silver is malleable and available as commercial sheet metal, and gives a bright tone but without the shimmer and sensitivity of tin bronzes. In the early to mid 20th century nickel alloy cymbals were far more widely produced and used, and so many older recordings were probably made using cymbals with a significant nickel content.
Evelyn Glennie is particularly noted for exploiting the tones of nickel silver cymbals.
Examples of nickel silver cymbals include: Some Foremost, Meinl Streamer and Marathon N12, Paiste 402, the original 1970s Paiste 101 (current 101s are Brass) and some Exotic Percussion, Sabian Signature Glennies Garbage, and some Zilco.
Other metals
Cymbals have also been made from silicon and aluminumbronzes but these alloys have not become generally popular.
Meinl FX9 is an alloy of 69% copper, 15% manganese, 15% zinc and 1% aluminium, and was used for the new Meinl Generation X line released in 2003. Previous Generation X models were made from malleable bronze. FX9 is described by Meinl as not being a bronze at all, and was previously described by their sales literature as containing tin rather than zinc. There is a minority view that the word "bronze" should be reserved for two-phase alloys, which may be their usage here.
Unlike cymbals, some gongs are made from several different metals fused together. Many different metals have been used. Parts of some traditional gongs, notably the bosses of some "nipple" gongs, are made from iron based alloys.
A few independent cymbal makers have also used stainless steel and titanium to produce cymbals and gongs.
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic, and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion. In use since prehistoric times, it is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other within the same crystal structure.
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such as arsenic or silicon. These additions produce a range of alloys that may be harder than copper alone, or have other useful properties, such as strength, ductility, or machinability.
A gong is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs are a flat, circular metal disc that is typically struck with a mallet. They can be small or large in size, and tuned or can require tuning.
Sabian is a Canadian cymbal manufacturing company established in 1981 in Meductic, New Brunswick, where it is still headquartered. Sabian is considered one of the big four manufacturers of cymbals, along with Zildjian, Meinl and Paiste.
Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper with nickel, usually along with small quantities of other elements added for strength, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent.
Modern cymbal making comprises many different techniques, from traditional hand methods to completely automated mass-production.
In western music, a China cymbal is a distinct type of crash cymbal designed to produce a bright, crisp, and explosive tone that has brought it the nickname trash cymbal. The name "China cymbal" comes from its shape, which is similar to that of the Chinese Bo. Such cymbals are most frequently mounted upside down on cymbal stands, allowing for them to be more easily struck and for a better sound.
The swish cymbal and the pang cymbal are exotic ride cymbals originally developed and named as part of the collaboration between Gene Krupa and the Avedis Zildjian Company. The current Zildjian Swish Knocker is a redesign of their original swish, with more rivets, deeper bow and shallower bell, based on a cymbal made famous by Mel Lewis, who coined the name knocker.
Phosphor bronze is a member of the family of copper alloys. It is composed of copper that is alloyed with 0.5–11% of tin and 0.01–0.35% phosphorus, and may contain other elements to confer specific properties. Alloyed tin increases the corrosion resistance and strength of copper, while phosphorus increases its wear resistance and stiffness.
Tombac, or tombak, is a brass alloy with high copper content and 5–20% zinc content. Tin, lead or arsenic may be added for colouration. It is a cheap malleable alloy mainly used for medals, ornament, decoration and some munitions. In older use, the term may apply to brass alloy with a zinc content as high as 28–35%.
Bell metal or bell bronze is an alloy used for making bells and related instruments, such as cymbals. It is a form of bronze with a higher tin content than most other bronzes, usually in approximately a 4:1 ratio of copper to tin. The higher tin content increases the rigidity of the metal, and increases the resonance. Historically, it was preferred for early cannons. Today, it also has industrial uses, being specified for valve bodies, piston rings, bearings, and bushings.
Plating is a finishing process in which a metal is deposited on a surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improve solderability, to harden, to improve wearability, to reduce friction, to improve paint adhesion, to alter conductivity, to improve IR reflectivity, for radiation shielding, and for other purposes. Jewelry typically uses plating to give a silver or gold finish.
Paiste is a Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. Paiste is a Finnish and Estonian word that means "shine".
Meinl Percussion is a manufacturer of percussion instruments based in Gutenstetten, Germany. The company’s cymbal production is one of the "big four" manufacturers of cymbals, along with Zildjian, Sabian, and Paiste.
Metals used for architectural purposes include lead, for water pipes, roofing, and windows; tin, formed into tinplate; zinc, copper and aluminium, in a range of applications including roofing and decoration; and iron, which has structural and other uses in the form of cast iron or wrought iron, or made into steel. Metal alloys used in building include bronze ; brass ; monel metal and nickel silver, mainly consisting of nickel and copper; and stainless steel, with important components of nickel and chromium.
C41100 Lubaloy is a wrought copper alloy that is composed mainly of copper and zinc. Lubaloy possesses many favorable characteristics making it, and other types of brass, a popular choice in manufacturing. It is a source material in many processes including the creation of electrical components and bullet-making. There are both positive and negative health effects that are associated with the use of this material.
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