Cymbal alloys

Cymbals are made from four main alloys, all of them copper-based. These are: bell bronze, malleable bronze, brass and nickel silver.

Bell bronze

Bell bronze, also known as bell metal, is the traditional alloy used for fine cymbals, many gongs, and, as the name suggests, bells. It is normally stated to be one part tin to four parts copper, that is 20% tin, and this is still the most common formula. But there has always been some variation. Larger and smaller bells are cast with differing amounts of tin, and some bell, gong and cymbal makers use small but significant amounts of other elements, notably silver, gold and phosphorus. Bell bronze is a two-phase alloy, meaning that some of the tin is not dissolved in the copper grains but exists between them. This makes the metal harder and more brittle than a single-phase alloy, and also affects the way the metal responds to hardening by hammering and lathing, and greatly restricts the use of mechanised techniques of manufacture.

Major orchestras generally use bell bronze cymbals, which are capable of a greater dynamic range than any others.