How open do you keep your hi-hats? Ive been experimenting with it lately. I used to keep them pretty closed but i have them more opened now. I would say about half an inch. Its definitly alot louder and more "washy" sounding.

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i hate open hi hats, im not a drumer but as a guitarist, i like when my drumer keeps his damn hi-hats closed, just like he should his mouth, sometimes i do like it when hi hats are closed but then you release them and they open a little bit, i like it for small accents and stuff like, tss tss tSSSHH, but i dont care for open hi hats, when they are all the way open, some people that suck at drums always seem to have their hi-hat open all the way, and they always have the shittiest stock cymbals, and they have been playing for like 2 weeks, and they think their hi -hat all the way open is the shit, but if i was a drummer i would have 2 hats, one completly closed, and one semi-opened.

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I have 2 hi hats, one for closed (on my left) and one open (on my right) problem solved.

I have the clutch on my right set REAL loose so they ring lots and very loud, great for lots of double kick stuff,

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if you keep them open wide you can put the stick in between them, ring them up and down, kinda like a double effect , its hard to transition in and out but its kinda neat.

i blast with the hihats slightly open becoz i play single pedal and it doesnt sound full enough otherwise, but i agree there are drummers who abuse the open effect and dont actually utilize the whole foot lever contraption of the stand, as far as single bass pedal players are concerned, if your a single foot, your left should be at least like a metronome, not just resting off the lever

It obviously depends what your playing. Every drummer i've ever played with (along with myself) used open and closed hats for different songs. It also depends on what cymbal hardware you have

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