Im talking about four pairs of cymbals (or actually four individual cymbals) during my four years of band

Which for me runs from Late March to dec.. thats not bad considering how hard we play
cymbals can get the slightest crack in them and just continue to break with pressure

Four years or not. I've had kids that have used the same cymbals for 4 years and never had an invert, much less a crack. They were monsters too. Playing hard has nothing to do with it. Sorry to say but its the technique or just they way they are handled in general. Unless they are just extremely cheap cymbals. I doubt thats the case if they are Zildjians though. They usually hold up pretty well.

one bad hit can cause an invert...

you cant tell me that snare players dont miss a lick or chop every now and then

and sometimes all it takes for cymbals is one bad hit

Invert - When the edges of the cymbals are even, causing no air to enter or exit the cymbal and not letting the vibration of the cymbal to take place. For the most part an invert is caused by playing with bad technique, using to much arm and not enough wrist. Or just by banging the hell out of the cymbal without using a finese touch and not using the bottom/top flam crash (technique).

The only other way cymbals are very likely to invert is if the cymbal was made of a weak pour. This means after the cymbal was melted down from another cymbal it was poured into the casting, and while pouring the handler stopped pouring for a spilt second. Thus causing air to get inside the cast before it is cooled back down to a hard form.

Once a cymbal inverts it is proned to inverting more often yes, but inverting doesnt necessarly cause cracking on the cymbals. And if you knew how to take care of cymbals you would know that if a crack begins you drill a hole at the base of the crack to stop it.

And yes I am sure snare drummers miss a "lick or a chop" once in a while, but they dont bang the hell out of the drum to make it break!

You need to learn to respect your instrument as much as anyone else who know how to play theirs...

I love how you really just know everything about how I play or that I use such horrible technique.

Actually, my only pair that ever inverted were ones that were light-medium in thickness and were used before me. None of my new pair did that..

Everyone just knows everything dont they?

and as far as the "snares having bad licks or chops every now and then" i was talking about inverting and bad technique...

every now and then it just happens

Edit: Please do not double-post. You have 6 hours to edit your original post. Also, the other posters are simply sharing their knowledge.

the edges.. and usually they broke when our snares would play on them in the stands..

therefore, we got a pair for marching on the feild and a different pair for the stands



that has nothing to do with style and every "know it all" goes off about my technique.. hah i learned from a jsu instructor as well as a blue devils instructor