shoulda perhaps drilled from the top instead of the bottom. just what I would be done I haven't drilled a lot but you did inspire me to fix a Sikhism zbt 18 China that's been just a clang of shredded metal for the past 13 years or so tho I don't really have any tools so I drilled about 130 holes around the outside around the outside....than I just bent the extra off n tried to smooth it a little tho it didn't really work well it'll cut ya. it did cut me. but for the first time in 13 years the thing finally resonates again. I just gotta maybe hammer the edge back up cuz its kind of a low volume splash China bell sound. and turned it from an 18 to like a 15. so next is to turn my 16 pulse crash down to a 7 bell splash thing. but I don't have a band saw or grinder so I'm Gunn a have to drill those same 100 holes by hand and rip the extra off. thinking that's Gunna be a while. but ur channels def got me thinking a little so I appreciate it. not a lot of diy drummers that I can think of. iv always been diy and made some weird shit and stacked weird cymbals before you really started seeing stacks be a thing. so my internal wheel is spinning so uve done ur job dude thanks
It could be just me, but for them being cheap cymbals, they do sound decent. They would definitely work in a practice set or even as emergency back-ups. What do you all think?
It was making me nervous when he was drilling because those little shards were flying and his face was so close without any glasses. Safety first my dude
Usually you've done a great job at making things sound better, but this time I actually (and surprisingly!) preferred them the way they were. After drilling the holes they sound more like Thomas Lang signatures and effect symbals than actual go-to hihats. On top of that, god damn what a chore making those had to be.
Thats funny. I feel the complete opposite. I think they sound better alone after being drilled, but sound worse in the mix. They sound louder in the mix to me and stick out in a bad way. Very biting and unpleasant in the mix.
Draicor Yes they sounded better. There was more depth to the sound which was lost with the holes.The holes also made the sound more clangy and one dimensional.
Played a pair of frx yesterday and I absolutely love them. Your hats really don’t sound the same as FRX, but I think they sound cool and is a def improvement over what the originally sounded like. Cool stuff
I've drilled 192 relatively big holes around the bell of a 20" meinl meteor brass ride and it improved a lot imo, it's now my favorite ride for a number of applications, it's less ridiculously bright and the overall volume didn't go down much. I recommend everyone try it if you have an old brass ride lying around.
I'd like to see you put tambourine jingles into hihats, rather than rivets. I've seen all kinds of tamb attachments, but what would it sound like with 4 or 8 pairs of jungles ON the top hat cymbal? Maybe underneath (in the space between the hats)?
Dude, you've inspired me. I've been designing various instruments and I'm considering starting my own business. I'll be meeting with Black Swamp at their headquarters this summer to discuss some business interests. I'm also building a foundry to melt aluminium and b20 to make gongs and whatnot.
The cutting angle ground onto standard metal bits makes them want to screw into Brass/bronze. It helps to flatten the rake on a whetstone I.e neutral rake instead of positive. Keep special bits for brass/bronze.
I have a 18in zildjian a custom fast crash that has a giant chunk broken off of it and I'm not sure what I should do to it to save it or turn it into something awesome so I can still use it. There's about a 4in wide by 1 1/2in deep chunk missing from the outer edge of the cymbal. What would you recommend me to do with it and how would I go about doing so? Thanks man! I love and appreciate your videos and all of your awesome creativeness and hard work! Keep it up man!
me watching him drill: "no way he does that all with that drill bit'' me continuing to watch: ''wow he's really good at drilling holes'' *breaks* ''there it is!" "oh he broke 3, that's more like it''
I only own the FRX 21” ride. The only issue I have with it is that I don’t like how it sounds when I crash on it. But i do like when I use the tip of the stick with it.
In my opinion, the idea of companies to drill holes in the cymbals is a brilliant marketing move, of course this changes the tone of cymbals to a more specific, but not so much as to sacrifice service life and durability
i actually made something similar a while back, i moved to a new city in an apartment and had no opportunity to practice at full volume. So i went to my colleges workshop and started drilling. i did the first cymbal (16"crash) by hand and started considering spending 300 bucks on some brand low volume cymbals. But then i started using a 3 axis milling machine we had at the workshop, and it only took my 2 hours to drill about 300 holes into my 20" ride. it went way faster and alot more precise, it wasnt even necesarry to properly mark the holes beforhand. So if you have the possibility of using such machines save yourself some time and nerves :)
I agree with some people saying they sound smaller, but I also think you achieved your goal of making FRX hi-hats. They sit in the mix a little less harshly.
You should invest in some butter bits, they are used by locksmiths and safe crackers, and will make very short work of any metal. If you don't want to shell out the money for butter bits (they are salty), then look into getting some drill hog M7 cobalt bits. They are a bit cheaper than butter bits, but are very sharp and durable and far better than anything you can get at a big box store.
Hey Dave, if you have some identical cymbals, perhaps you could run an experiment to see what effect is had on the sound, when drilling different areas of the cymbal? Say, drilling an identical number of identical holes on the bell, compared to on the bow (obviously space them out a bit more). Or, perhaps test different sizes/number of drill holes? Or, if you want to do something stupid, try riveting a cymbal, but using tambourine jingles instead of rivets.
What about doing the holes on the bottom hat like Zildjian did with the quick beats. I do believe there is no bell on the bottom hat but whatever or do the bottom holes than add rivets on the top hat.
One main factor that everyone is leaving out is that the FRX cymbals are lathed down thinner than a normal weight cymbal. Less mass = less energy = lower volume. Also probably different hammering patterns.
Hey, you should buy a cheap SPL (dB) meter for your videos like Ola England. I love the mods, and I am generally curious about ways to make drums quieter so that I can play in my apartment. I figure drilling cymbals is one way to do that, since that's what most of the off the shelf low noise cymbals feature.
When you hit the top hi-hat on its own, it sounds like it could be used as a neat effects cymbal. A bit like the distortion splash that Chris Adler uses.
Take those hats and cut wedges out so that they can either act like normal hats, or if they are turned correctly, they fit together and the edges pass each other when closed
I know this is an old video, but if you're still taking suggestions: how about making a "sound edge" style bottom hat (I think Sabian call it "X-celerator"?)
What about riveting two the high hats together? Or do some kind of rod between the hats. Maybe drill three holes through both hats and then inserting a wind chime piece through the holes and tied to the stand so that the chime acts as a rivet between both hats.
Project idea with those hats. I really like the way the meinl jazz thin hats sound but they seem like regular b20s thinner and the add flat hammers to them. I've been wanting to try this for a while but I don't have access to a lathe. So yeah thin those extra ones out and hit an with a hammer.
I think you should extend the holes near the edge or make bigger holes on the bow. Would be cool to hear how they change. + Please use eye protection. I was very worried watching you drill those holes without 😅
I can't tell from the recording if it's softer or louder, but I definitely like the sound of the cymbals better before you drilled them. Same with the FRX I tried at my local drum shop - don't like 'em.
So many drilling experts in the comments all of a sudden haha
rdavidr why aint you using cutting lube, why are you applying force at an angel der der hurrr derrr burrr
I have master in drilling holes in the University of Minnesota. So I know what I'm talking about:
That was a lot of holes.
shoulda perhaps drilled from the top instead of the bottom. just what I would be done I haven't drilled a lot but you did inspire me to fix a Sikhism zbt 18 China that's been just a clang of shredded metal for the past 13 years or so tho I don't really have any tools so I drilled about 130 holes around the outside around the outside....than I just bent the extra off n tried to smooth it a little tho it didn't really work well it'll cut ya. it did cut me. but for the first time in 13 years the thing finally resonates again. I just gotta maybe hammer the edge back up cuz its kind of a low volume splash China bell sound. and turned it from an 18 to like a 15. so next is to turn my 16 pulse crash down to a 7 bell splash thing. but I don't have a band saw or grinder so I'm Gunn a have to drill those same 100 holes by hand and rip the extra off. thinking that's Gunna be a while. but ur channels def got me thinking a little so I appreciate it. not a lot of diy drummers that I can think of. iv always been diy and made some weird shit and stacked weird cymbals before you really started seeing stacks be a thing. so my internal wheel is spinning so uve done ur job dude thanks
rdavidr you should invest in a drill press
What about lines? Like a die grinder cut.
Drilling holes in drumstick increases *aerodynamics*
tommy stueland i gonna drill a bunch of holes in my car so it will get faster and im gonna win all the races /o/
PHiiLZ hilarious
tommy stueland thx thx
Is it the same if I drill holes in my dick?
Brenda P
Brenda you are funny !!
Make a drum set out of holes!
hi senpai
can you send me some? I dont have enough :/
isn’t that kinda what a drum set is? holes with plastic covering them?
Don't you need holes in the drums so they don't explode on impact
@@edgarespino3005 well yeah, but will more holes make it quiter
Wow it even changes the snare sound, very impressive!
ridiculous OMG it’s true! Damn...
It even makes the other cymbal disappear, noice
Brenda P True! This is creepy
I'm glad you decided to tackle this.... cause I sure are hell didn't want to. ;)
It actually sounded decent before, but then you turned it into first act cymbals.
lol
But now they have character! It's like he jazzed up his Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles!
DIY Rototoms... let's see what you can do
C’mon Dave. Rivet Hi-Hats!
backed
I feel like this made them sound smaller. Almost like they got turned into 12" hats instead of 14" hats.
yes! that describes them perfectly
Woah you're famous now, send me an autograph
I got the same feeling. I don't think they sound better or worse, just different....
He got rid of 2 inches of resonance probably he should have only done the bell holes
i use 12" hi hats and my first thought was that they sound a lot like mine, but with a much better chick sound, and a louder closed sound
It could be just me, but for them being cheap cymbals, they do sound decent. They would definitely work in a practice set or even as emergency back-ups. What do you all think?
They're supposed to be B20 unlike the rest of cheap brass or B8 cymbals out there.
As soon as he said the drill bit size, I knew he was gonna mention rivets
5:57, the most “I have so many other things I could be doing right now” face
He was reminded how many drill bits he broke, he wasn’t happy.
Sup David, project idea: Drill 96 holes in a drill bit and use it as a lower perceived volume cowbell. Hit it with a drill bit.
96 holes in a drill bit sounds like quite the challenge
rdavidr can do it. He has level 60 drilling skill.
Mark Davis
Level 60 uh ? Reading ancient cultures I see.
Now to try and fill the holes in
It was making me nervous when he was drilling because those little shards were flying and his face was so close without any glasses. Safety first my dude
Joe De La Rosa That’s what eyelids are for.
fucking pussy.
Joe De La Rosa Dude... the world is not a play pen. There is danger at every square inch of the Earth. Get over it already.
Wizzle Remember, always wear safety glasses when living in the world.
Welcome to my laboratory, where safety is the number one priority
I thought they sounded better overall before.
Me too
Same
You deserve more views,likes, and subs for the content quality and the satisfying edit.
Usually you've done a great job at making things sound better, but this time I actually (and surprisingly!) preferred them the way they were. After drilling the holes they sound more like Thomas Lang signatures and effect symbals than actual go-to hihats. On top of that, god damn what a chore making those had to be.
While i preffered their standalone sound before drilling,
They actually sound better in a mix.
I completely agree!
The kit's mix? I completely disagree :) More musical eq separation in original state w/ the snare.
I agree as well
Thats funny. I feel the complete opposite. I think they sound better alone after being drilled, but sound worse in the mix. They sound louder in the mix to me and stick out in a bad way. Very biting and unpleasant in the mix.
Draicor Yes they sounded better. There was more depth to the sound which was lost with the holes.The holes also made the sound more clangy and one dimensional.
Make a Swiss cheese drum kit
Use some sort of oil when u drill through the cymbal. It should make it easier and less drill bits would break
I deadass cant breathe the way you threw the drill gun 😂😂😂
I lost it when Dave broke the bit and threw the drill!
Played a pair of frx yesterday and I absolutely love them.
Your hats really don’t sound the same as FRX, but I think they sound cool and is a def improvement over what the originally sounded like. Cool stuff
I love your videos, great work keep it up !
Such an improvement when opening and closing the hi hats I wish mine sounded like them
I actually really like the bark of the drilled hats. It’s so satisfying
There's something about your videos, its satisfying and at the same time make us curious about the results. Well done.
I personally love how they turned out, sound real crispy
That wasn't the purpose of this video.
I've drilled 192 relatively big holes around the bell of a 20" meinl meteor brass ride and it improved a lot imo, it's now my favorite ride for a number of applications, it's less ridiculously bright and the overall volume didn't go down much.
I recommend everyone try it if you have an old brass ride lying around.
Your Videos are usually therapeutic and relaxing but this one makes me feel like l’m at the dentist!! 🤣😬🤣🤣
Dude you're great! Keep these videos coming. There's definitely been a few things you've done I've always wondered about. Thanks
Drill press would not have work? Got hand it to you Dave you have way more patience and guts than I would making the hats like that.
I'd like to see you put tambourine jingles into hihats, rather than rivets. I've seen all kinds of tamb attachments, but what would it sound like with 4 or 8 pairs of jungles ON the top hat cymbal? Maybe underneath (in the space between the hats)?
Nicely done!!! Good idea to 'pop' some rivets,,, starting with the fresh 96
Dude, you've inspired me. I've been designing various instruments and I'm considering starting my own business. I'll be meeting with Black Swamp at their headquarters this summer to discuss some business interests. I'm also building a foundry to melt aluminium and b20 to make gongs and whatnot.
that's a long hard road - you need to practice making three times as much as you practice playing.
bro i need a gong
I am in love with your musical editing skills
pls pls pls post more often i will do anything u inspire me to make my own cymbals and drums!
That dumpster piccolo seriously sound awesome
The cutting angle ground onto standard metal bits makes them want to screw into Brass/bronze. It helps to flatten the rake on a whetstone I.e neutral rake instead of positive. Keep special bits for brass/bronze.
that looks gnarly in the best way possible
I have a 18in zildjian a custom fast crash that has a giant chunk broken off of it and I'm not sure what I should do to it to save it or turn it into something awesome so I can still use it. There's about a 4in wide by 1 1/2in deep chunk missing from the outer edge of the cymbal. What would you recommend me to do with it and how would I go about doing so? Thanks man! I love and appreciate your videos and all of your awesome creativeness and hard work! Keep it up man!
ffs I got hella jumpscared when dave got mad dude, he's usually pretty cool
that hoodie is sick, hope to see those in the merch store soon!
me watching him drill: "no way he does that all with that drill bit''
me continuing to watch: ''wow he's really good at drilling holes''
*breaks*
''there it is!"
"oh he broke 3, that's more like it''
The holes almost made them sound like splash cymbals instead of hi-hats. Interesting tone
I only own the FRX 21” ride. The only issue I have with it is that I don’t like how it sounds when I crash on it. But i do like when I use the tip of the stick with it.
Holes are goals
Man... What a insane job! Nice!
In my opinion, the idea of companies to drill holes in the cymbals is a brilliant marketing move, of course this changes the tone of cymbals to a more specific, but not so much as to sacrifice service life and durability
Hey Dave, how about a diy remote hi hats stand?
i actually made something similar a while back, i moved to a new city in an apartment and had no opportunity to practice at full volume. So i went to my colleges workshop and started drilling. i did the first cymbal (16"crash) by hand and started considering spending 300 bucks on some brand low volume cymbals. But then i started using a 3 axis milling machine we had at the workshop, and it only took my 2 hours to drill about 300 holes into my 20" ride. it went way faster and alot more precise, it wasnt even necesarry to properly mark the holes beforhand. So if you have the possibility of using such machines save yourself some time and nerves :)
I just want to know where I can get that hoodie!? Solid project though keep it up.
I own a pair of these as well. They do sound decent stock but I would use them with the holes. Maybe drill the bottom hat too.
I appreciate the editing in this video:)
I agree with some people saying they sound smaller, but I also think you achieved your goal of making FRX hi-hats. They sit in the mix a little less harshly.
Curious about the post-drilling step you did. Seemed like it cleaned up each of holes a bit. What tool did you use?
You never fail to impress me with your editing on these videos.
You should invest in some butter bits, they are used by locksmiths and safe crackers, and will make very short work of any metal. If you don't want to shell out the money for butter bits (they are salty), then look into getting some drill hog M7 cobalt bits. They are a bit cheaper than butter bits, but are very sharp and durable and far better than anything you can get at a big box store.
I like it I may do a set of high hats like that but What if you do all the holes in random spots all over it like Swish cheese
Forget the hats..
Give me more of that snare!
I want that tone... hopefully you won't mind if I make a one-shot sample to layer in my vst
Hey Dave, if you have some identical cymbals, perhaps you could run an experiment to see what effect is had on the sound, when drilling different areas of the cymbal? Say, drilling an identical number of identical holes on the bell, compared to on the bow (obviously space them out a bit more). Or, perhaps test different sizes/number of drill holes? Or, if you want to do something stupid, try riveting a cymbal, but using tambourine jingles instead of rivets.
I like how you're wearing a Milwaukee shirt and using DeWalt gear hahahaha
What about doing the holes on the bottom hat like Zildjian did with the quick beats. I do believe there is no bell on the bottom hat but whatever or do the bottom holes than add rivets on the top hat.
They sound great holed!
Amazing ! in the sample "After" the snare is also brighter 😂
Nice upload....that looked like alot of work!!! You can definitely hear a difference :)
power groove is sick!!! on after work
One main factor that everyone is leaving out is that the FRX cymbals are lathed down thinner than a normal weight cymbal. Less mass = less energy = lower volume. Also probably different hammering patterns.
Yummmm. Metal shavings in the eye!
Turned it into a kids learner drumset hihat
i'd like to see some holes on your stickers and other merch, that could improve their looking
Hey... what about drilling in an 18" and bigger floor tom?.
Hey, you should buy a cheap SPL (dB) meter for your videos like Ola England. I love the mods, and I am generally curious about ways to make drums quieter so that I can play in my apartment. I figure drilling cymbals is one way to do that, since that's what most of the off the shelf low noise cymbals feature.
Would be interested to hear it the other way round and have the holes on the bottom hi hat like the z quick beats, nice transformation!
I definitely like the "after" much better.
I actually like the way they sound with the holes...gives em more character,stand out sound...but that's me....I'd use em....
I just want to know how I get my hands on a bright orange rdavidr face hoodie!
Double hi-hats, where the top cymbal is a full set of hats, and the bottom cymbal is also a set of hats.
When you hit the top hi-hat on its own, it sounds like it could be used as a neat effects cymbal. A bit like the distortion splash that Chris Adler uses.
I honestly liked how it sounded before. Afterwards was to weak an airy to me. With your other set of hi-hats you should drill the holes on the bell.
I think it would sound sweet as the bottom cymbal!
Try adding tambourine jingles to the other set of hats! Similar to something I saw on a Chris Dave video.
Yup you tuned this Hihat in a 100% positive way!
You should set up a giveaway for those cymbals!!! ;D
Take those hats and cut wedges out so that they can either act like normal hats, or if they are turned correctly, they fit together and the edges pass each other when closed
Amazing as always David
I know this is an old video, but if you're still taking suggestions: how about making a "sound edge" style bottom hat (I think Sabian call it "X-celerator"?)
What about riveting two the high hats together? Or do some kind of rod between the hats. Maybe drill three holes through both hats and then inserting a wind chime piece through the holes and tied to the stand so that the chime acts as a rivet between both hats.
Project idea with those hats. I really like the way the meinl jazz thin hats sound but they seem like regular b20s thinner and the add flat hammers to them. I've been wanting to try this for a while but I don't have access to a lathe. So yeah thin those extra ones out and hit an with a hammer.
I New 3:36 was coming before the video started 😂
I can't help but wonder what Sabian B8s would sound like with holes. Gotta be more people playing B8s than just me haha.
Best video in a while David!
All this time for what the machine that makes the FRX can do in less than 30 seconds .. I wish you good luck!
I think you should extend the holes near the edge or make bigger holes on the bow. Would be cool to hear how they change.
+ Please use eye protection. I was very worried watching you drill those holes without 😅
I actually think the FRX version sounds more abrasive and a bit tinny. Definitely dig the sound of these untouched much more. Cool experiment though!
That snare is banging
i feel davids the kinda guy to go to home depot to get one single drill bit and end up leaving with supplies for a whole home improvement
I can't tell from the recording if it's softer or louder, but I definitely like the sound of the cymbals better before you drilled them. Same with the FRX I tried at my local drum shop - don't like 'em.
sounds more high pitch and tinny i kinda like it