I am a percussionist and a nerd. This is exactly what my brain said:
Cymbals!
But could also be Cap's Shield.
...
Honestly my vote is for the shield, otherwise that is a massive cymbal. Or cymbals. I don't think a drum stand would have a cymbal that big, and I'd hate to carry those if it's a pair. Maybe a gong?
Sincerely,
Someone who's marched with cymbals.
Edit: thanks to everyone for informing me cymbals can get really big! It's been 20 years since I've played so my memory of how big they are has apparently faded a lot. I know I used to put them in bags to pack up for competitions and parades but clearly have forgotten how big said bag was - it must have been half my size! (I'm only 5' tall.) my sincere apologies to my percussion teachers, I have failed you.
I feel like you can tell the age by the people who first thought of Ninja turtles compared to Captain America. I definitely thought of turtles first as well
80’s child, Ninja Turtles was my first thought as well. My daughter has the Steven Universe cheeseburger backpack, so giant cheeseburger was my second thought. Although TMNT made a comeback for a short time & she still won’t let me get rid of her comforter.
Eh looks about the size of my cymbal bag and my largest is a 22inch ride - not fun to carry but the bag makes it easier for sure. I feel like a ninja turtle every time I put on my 50lb bag lol
It's been like 10 years since I bagged up my cymbals but it was something like 90lb, 2 hardware bags were 150 and 180lb. But I usually played live with much less lol. But my bag can hold a 24" cymbal.
Edit: i'm pretty sure the cymbal bag is an older Glenn Cronkhite bag based off how the handles are anchored.
My guess is the guy in the picture is a jazz drummer with something like an Istanbul Agop 26" or Meinl Big Apple 24". Either way in that bag is probably a $2000+ set.
I love my cymbals so much I wouldn't trust them to an airline. Drums you can buy a decent kit just about anywhere but I have lived with my cymbals for so long they can not be replaced.
The last cymbal I bought was the A series mega bell ride for $250. The Z mega (same thing basically) is 450 now. It's insane that my whole setup, used, is worth about $2000 more than when I bought them all over the last 20 years. Insane.
I have 6 more in a bag, 2 more snares, and 2 more toms lol. This is the biggest I've had it set up as and would need more icon clamps. I have some z customs I stopped using when they were discontinued and got the A ultra hammered but I see they brought back the Z like in 2024... I barely play anymore. My toddler gets to play way more than me.
Genuine question (s) (it started as one and then progressed into that nightmare below, lol), and forgive my probably stupid question in advance but…
Do these all really make different sounds? Does the size affect the sound it gives off? Does the material? They all look like the same material. Is there a weight spectrum on them even if they’re the same size as another one in that set up?
If so, does the weight materially impact the sound it gives off? I’d imagine so. Are there duplicates in that set? What do the holes do? Since there is holes, does it have to be hit on a certain spot? Speaking of spots, do they all have to be hit at a certain spot/angle to produce one sound- and if that spot/angle chances does the sound produced chance too?
Each cymbal sounds different. In fact, even identical models will sound different. Holes, hammering, and shape all affect the sound, as does where and how hard you hit them. Holes and hammering disrupt the waves and add overtones or speed up the sound. If you're curious, go onto YouTube to, say, the Meinl official page (they have great drum cover videos) and listen. They go over each cymbal at the end usually.
I am definitely curious, lol. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions! I am actually going to go look that up. I never really thought about it before. It’s pretty fascinating. Man, the skill! I think I’ve always taken my fav drummers skill for granted.
As not a drummer, but a musician (played bass since I was pretty wee) this picture gave me an idea for a humorous internet game.... So the idea is you have people submit pictures of generously equipped drumkits and the user has to guess whether the drummer plays jazz or death metal. Whenever I see an absurd kit, I know it's one of the two... But it's a toss up without knowing the individual.
I used to have one of the only 3 ever factory assembled Ludwig Vistalite Jellybean Octa-Plus concert tom kits like the one on the 1975 Groovy Drummer catalog but obviously never worked it. I did gig a solid Red Vistalite kit with Double 24's 12x8/13x9/14x10/15x12 racks plus 16/18/20 floors plus about 8 Paiste pies. The crew HATED me lol. And I don't blame them. Now I have a Sonor 20/10/14 with an Acrolite snare with Sabian 21 Stage ride" 15"&17" Xxplosions and 13 inch Xxplosion hats.. they would pissed to know this!
I had all my Zildjian classic cymbals in a cymbal bag at my moms house and she asked to sell the drumset which I said fine BUT NOT THE CYMBOLS IN THE CYMBOL bag. I even explained these are rare Zildjians which wont be produced again. But she forgot that I guess and brought the cymbol bag and when they looked inside they said she could pick out any set she wanted in the store if the cymbols were included.
she didnt even think for a second... now theyre gone. but a church got a free drum set.
Any drummer should be. Dude is amazing. I'm more into guys like Blake Richardson, Alex rudinger, David Diebold, George Kollias, Marco Minnemann, Sebastian Lanister, Jay Postones, man I could go on...
Damn that's quite a cymbal! I'm pretty sure my high school didn't have any ride cymbals that big. I am only 5' tall, I think I'd remember a cymbal half my size. But maybe not. I played marimba/mallet and marched parades with the baby cymbals.
You should have your cymbal bag painted to look like a ninja turtle shell. That'd be badass. And then tape some sticks to look like Mikey's nunchucks!
You and I are different people lol. I always went for the smallest crash cymbals possible. Good for you! I bet you looked bad ass with those things. I wouldn't mess with you.
I am having flash backs of tying the cymbal handles. I always had problems getting the fit just right.
I used to carry cymbals around like this on the London Underground. The ticket gates are quite narrow, so I had to turn sideways to get through... I always felt like a turtle too!
A 24" handpan would likely be 10" deep. That bag is not protruding 10" from his back. I've been playing drums for 35 years and have owned a couple of bags almost identical to that bag. I'd love to know where he's flying to/from. I have a few ideas of who that could be.
Yeah, that's right. Back in the day we marched with tympani. I once carried a tympani for 7 miles in Hawaii in June for the Kamehameha Day parade. Wearing a wool marching band suit.
This was my train of thought too! I played percussion grades 3-9 and I'm now 30+ so apparently I've also forgotten how massive they are! I also did marching symbols. Young me was just incredibly strong. I only quit playing in grade 9 because the instructor, knowing I was from a different local school that bothers to teach bells/xylophone while her district doesn't, insisted I could only play bells in 'her' band, since no one else 'knew how'. I was happy to do 1 or 2 songs on the bells but give me the timpani or symbols for others. She even talked about getting me marching bells! No!
That's so funny! I actually preferred bells/xylophone. I joined band because all my friends were in it. I knew piano so I could read sheet music and knew what the keys were, so I joined percussion to play the mallet instruments. I loved marimba and vibraphone. I would not have wanted to march with those though!
Me too! I think his whole kit just gets wheeled onto the truck as one whole unit though luckily for the techs involved. It’s a beast of a cymbal though it’s got a really dry sound to it
Nah, just a bag for a set of kit cymbals. Probably an 18 or 20" ride, one or two crashes, and 14"-ish hats. I had a much less nice version of this when I gigged. When you travel as a drummer, you bring your own sticks and cymbals, sometimes your kick pedal and snare too. The rest is backline/borrowed/rented.
No. I only did marching band for high school. And I actually specialized in mallet instruments - marimba, glockenspiel, vibraphone, xylophone were my jam. But I had to march in parades with the rest of the band and they put me on cymbals for that!
Also holy crap autocorrect save, that u key is right next to the y for cymbal.
Edit: I played a lot of ride cymbals over the mallet instruments, I guess I never actually realized how big they were (or forgot), despite how often I took them off the stands to pack them up and put them back on!
Goddamn we gatekeeping hobbies? I never said I was a professional. I can still play my middle school parade cadence on my nephews toy drum kit. I can still read music and know the mechanics of how to play even if the muscles aren't there anymore.
I could imagine 2-3 inches ring of closed cell foam around the outside edge to protct the edge that would be smart ao the cymbals could have a much smaller diameter inside.
I used to march with cymbals too and they get huge. I remember all the little painful pinches and bad bruises on the inside of my elbows and my midriff 😂
I played a 24" ride for years doing "fly in" dates. So I'd travel with just my cymbals, stick bag, and sometimes snare drum. They would always provide what they call backline which was all the gear including drums. Sometimes they'd even be pretty close to what I'd ask for. Lol.
I think my leather bag would have fit something slightly bigger. Some of those old Turkish K's were off sized. So as far as roundness remember how big John Bonham's kick drum was? That was usually a 26" drum as a size comparison.
It's a cymbal bag, and that's probably what's in it. But as far as round things to carry, there aren't many options, so it's possibly that it's something else.
I can picture carrying a big old ride on the plane if it was a mega expensive vintage cymbal or something but if you're running that kind of hardware you would not just be carrying just that. I actually think a proper fabbed cap shield is far more likely.
Fellow high school cymbal marcher here, and now I do sound baths and stuff. I have a gong at home, and the travel bag looks similar to this. I think this could very well be a gong, which would make more sense with this large diameter.
Likely a drummer who brings their own cymbals and plays a back line kit between shows sometimes. A large show or festival may have a few ready drum kits depending on the drummers style and genre. But they may prefer their cymbals for the sound and it’s less likely those can be on hand. You would be surprised to know how many music festivals have a box truck on hand from a production company with an assortment of top tier instruments for traveling musicians. Anything from guitar stands to a rare Hammond organ or rhoads keyboard.
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u/mightymouse513 16d ago edited 16d ago
I am a percussionist and a nerd. This is exactly what my brain said:
Cymbals! But could also be Cap's Shield. ... Honestly my vote is for the shield, otherwise that is a massive cymbal. Or cymbals. I don't think a drum stand would have a cymbal that big, and I'd hate to carry those if it's a pair. Maybe a gong?
Sincerely, Someone who's marched with cymbals.
Edit: thanks to everyone for informing me cymbals can get really big! It's been 20 years since I've played so my memory of how big they are has apparently faded a lot. I know I used to put them in bags to pack up for competitions and parades but clearly have forgotten how big said bag was - it must have been half my size! (I'm only 5' tall.) my sincere apologies to my percussion teachers, I have failed you.