Experimenting with Blue Magic™

A while ago I sat in at an open mic and got to play on the house drum kit.  It actually belongs to Bill Gates (he’s not THE Bill Gates; he’s A Bill Gates).  The cymbals on this kit looked like molten gold.

I’m a fan of shiny cymbals.  I know a lot of the drummers out there say never clean your cymbals because it affects the sound.  If you let the natural patina build up – not to mention the grime that will accumulate in the tonal grooves – it mellows out the cymbal and makes it sound warmer.  That’s all fine and everything, but it’s not for me.  I like my cymbals shiny and bright sounding.  It’s just a personal preference.

I asked Bill Gates what he used on his cymbals and he told me about a metal polish called Blue Magic.  I’ll write up a more in-depth walkthrough on using this stuff but in the meantime here are some before and after shots of my hi-hat cymbals that I used Blue Magic on.

Sabian AAX 13″ Studio Hat Top – Before

Sabian AAX 13″ Studio Hat Top – After

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