Playing "Crash/Ride" Beats...

[Flint]

This is a big thing now. Once upon a time, time was kept on closed high-hats. Then slushy hats, then open hats, and finally, as there's nowhere else to go, tracks are now being recorded with a full-on crash cymbal as the timekeeper.

You know, "Bash, Bash, Bash, Bash, Bash, Bash, Bash, Bash" ...

This might come off in the studio, or in a stadium, but in a small-to-medium-sized room, I just cringe at using this ridiculously high dynamic level. I used to simulate this sound with smaller crash cymbals, but they lose their stick definition as a trade-off for the lesser volume. I tried crashing my ride, but that's even more wash and even less stick definition.

I think I found something that works, but I'm not sure how it sounds to the audience (I'm playing in a plexiglass booth, mic'd over the PA, to a church service in a converted gymnasium... and yes, it's a very contemporary service):

I lay the shoulder of the stick into the bow (not the edge) of an 18" crash. Plenty of wash, plenty of bombast, but not tinnitis-inducing volume. To feel that the time is still being kept (they probably use a click track in the studio when they record stuff like this) I play a stepped high-hat note with every crashed 8th note. So it's a big wash with a clear note underneath.

"Wash, Wash, Wash, Wash, Wash, Wash, Wash, Wash"
+ "chick, chick, chick, chick, chick, chick, chick, chick"