Low volume cymbals are a great option for drummers who need to play at lower volume levels but don’t want to sacrifice the feel of playing real acoustic cymbals. They also help maintain a decent “real” cymbal sound instead of sounding entirely muted.
For Drummers Who Want to Practice Without Loud Volumes
Many drummers practice at home and have housemates or family members nearby while playing. Low volume cymbals can reduce the volume by 50-80% when compared to normal acoustic cymbals. This can make the sound much more tolerable for others in the household. If you practice at home or have kids that are practicing drums at home, low volume cymbals are an excellent solution to the noise issues while still keeping the drum kit fun and realistic to play.
While they are much more quiet, they don’t sacrifice the feel of a normal volume cymbal, so when you switch back over to a regular cymbal after practicing on a low volume cymbal there won’t be much of change or adjustment period, if any, in terms of how they feel and play.
They can also be great for drummers that don’t want to wear ear plugs while practicing, since the volume is much more tolerable. However, it’s good to think about the snare and other drums around the kit as well since they may or may not still be loud depending on how your treating the rest of the kit.
I can think of back in the day when I started playing drums. I’m sure my parents would have loved it if I had some low volume cymbals since I was practicing in my bedroom at home with an acoustic kit, and that certainly was not a quiet setup.
For Drummers Giving Lessons
Low volume cymbals can also be a good tool for drummers who are giving lessons to other drummers. The sound levels are much more tolerable and you’ll be able to communicate easier while students are playing or practicing during a lesson. You can easily talk over most low volume cymbals while they are being played. They also reduce volume fatigue in these types of situations.
For Drummers Playing Low Volume Gigs
The better quality low volume cymbals have a good enough tone to be used for live gigs in smaller venue situations. We’re talking really small venues here, and gigs where there won’t be a lot of live amplification to fight with. Think of gigs that maybe take place in a coffee shops or restaurants where you don’t want to overpower the atmosphere and still want to allow people to converse like normal while there is music in the background. Or maybe even situations like churches or house gigs. Basically, any place where a normal acoustic cymbal just seems like too much is a good situation to think about using low volume cymbals.
Low Volume Cymbals are Easily Swapped with Normal Cymbals
If you do decide to use low volume cymbals for either practice or otherwise, one nice thing about them is that they are easily swapped out for normal cymbals if you want to switch over. If you’re practicing at home with low volume cymbals, you can still use all the same cymbal stands that you normally use. You can then simply rotate your normal cymbals back in if you decide you want more volume or go out for a gig or something like that.
It’s not as restrictive of a change as practicing on an electronic drum kit might be, since you’re essentially still using the same gear and setup that you normally use with your acoustic kit. So if you’re the type of drummer that doesn’t like the shock of switching between electronic and acoustic drum kits for practice and other scenarios, low volume cymbals could be the better way to go.
If you’re wondering where to start and need some recommendations for good low volume cymbals, check out our list of the best low volume cymbals or our low volume cymbal reviews.
