HiHat Size

What's the difference between 13' and 14' hihats? 13' hats seem a fair bit cheap than their 14' counterparts. At the moment I have cheap 14' hats. Is it worth going for the top end 13' or mid-high end 14' ones?

All serious replies much appreciated!!!

ONE INCH!!!!!!! - However as it appears you are in a metric country-an Inch means nothing!

Any hi-hat UNDER 14' Denotes the drummer is GAY! ANy Hi Hat over 14' Denotes the drummer has a small Wang! Go buy some Avedis Zildjian Quick Beats!

Hey Matt,

13' hats are generally higher in pitch and not quite as dark and 'washy.' If you like a lot of 'chick' in your playing and like your hat accents to pop out, you are probably better off with 13s. I played some Sabian AAX stage hats and they were very versatile and fun, although a little too bright. Go to Mars or Guitar Center or wherever they have one of those rooms full of cymbals and try a few out. That's the best way to discover what you're looking for.

jermz

These are Junk!

in an ideal world we could all afford expensive top of the line equipment so i suggest go with your budget. as for me i have used expensive 16' hit hats for the last 31 years. they give me that much more sound to work with although i have found that i go through hihat stands a regular basis. since i gig with a lot of different types of music styles i rely on the big cymbals to keep time ie. the open/choked style used on big band swing number like Mac the Knife. any one else use smaller cymbals and why?

16'? Man I thought 15' was big

I think I'll stick with 14's for the time being.

'top end' has nothing to do with size (works for hi-hats just like other things). The size simply determines the sound. For some like Zildjian new beats or quick beats I think the 13' ones sound better. For say Paiste Dark Crisps the 14' ones sound better than the 13' ones. There's no fixed rule here. Sometimes the large cymbals are louder...sometimes not. Use your ears.

One problem you may find, however, is that if the hats are too large in diameter they get too heavy for the hat stand and you have to deal with increasing the spring tension somehow.

I saved up for some K Mastersound 14' hats and they are the shit.

I play both 13' and 14' and for what it's worth I prefer the 13' (old As) for softer work where the hi hat is used more with the foot and less to ride on, for example, most jazz type work. I prefer 14' for more rock or pop settings where I ride on my hats more than my ride cymbal. I have 14' Quick Beat which I use most often and also some 14' El Sabors which I really like but they are louder than the Zildjians. Hope that helps

size is not all that matters, no pun..I have a pair of '14 Istanbul that I use for jazz. They are thin, dark and trashy and lower in pitch. I also have 13' Zildjan KZ combos that had a bit of the trashyness but also were crisp. I now use paiste signature 13' for funk, pop and totally love them, they are bright, crisp and quick. That's due to the thickness of the cymbal as well as the wedges on the bottom hat and the size. Not the best hats if you're into open hat bashing as they may ring at too high a pitch. Most '14 are better for that. So this may be more confusion than advice, check for thickness and just listen for the tone and if that's what you need. To sum it up (this doesn't always work though!) Rock=14 thick, Jazz=14thin, Funk=13 thick, quiet playing=13thin. If your on a tight budget, wait until you have the cash for what you need, remember this is ultimately your voice and you don't want to sound cheap.

was that like a good shit?