Cymbal alloys 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
Cymbal alloys Cymbal alloys Cymbals are made from four main alloys, all of them copper-based. These are: bell bronze, malleable bronze, brass, and nickel silver. 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