I've recently acquired some newer cymbals (from the 21st century) and found some of my vintage cymbals really sound very dry and a bit dead by comparison. I'd just got used to them as the change is so gradual.
I know there are those who say of vintage cymbals "Never clean 'em!", and I get why.
So, I filmed the four cymbals I cleaned, before and after cleaning. You can see and hear the difference and decide for yourself.
Notes:
The 14" 602 has a small centre hole and the stand I used here is too thick, restricting the movement and choking the sound of this cymbal.
I used standard Zildjian Cymbal Cleaner on the top surfaces of the cymbals, the undersides being pretty clean. But with the Zildjian 18" crash, which had gone particularly dry, I cleaned the underside as well.
Confession: I still wasn't happy with the sound of the 18" and so went a step further, into sacrilegious territory, and cleaned the top surface with Brasso!
Cymbal details:
602 14" crash I bought 2nd hand a few years ago, age unknown
602 22" ride (with 6 factory rivet holes) bought 2nd hand in about 1978 (it has a serial no.)
A. Zildjian 18" crash, bought 2nd hand recently, age unknown
A Zildjian 14" thin crash, bought new in the mid 1980s, making it the newest cymbal here. The others are 1970s or older.
Recording notes: just a basic little Sony stereo condenser (made for voice recording) about 2m from the cymbal and plugged straight into my Nikon D600 DSLR. The mic. position and camera levels were not altered, but I had to move things to have space to do the cleaning work, which is why the camera and cymbal stand annoyingly move between cuts.