Mikey

I'm in agreement with Manny here, but it took some trial and error (and some fracked notes on gigs) for me to figure this out.

Realize of course that everyone is different. I sound my best when I am playing a rim diameter ranging from a 1C on the large end to a 3C on the small end. I've been doing a lot of lead playing the past few years, so I have downsized to a Reeves 43 or Warburton 4 rim. (Very close to a 3C inner diameter). I still get "my" sound, but find endurance to be helped by playing a slightly smaller rim. However, I have tried at length to play rims in the 7C to 10 1/2C range (various makes: Reeves 41, Warburton 5 and 6).......In all cases, my sound got small and tiny, no matter how long I kept the piece on my face. I equate rim diameter to shoe size. I wear a size 10. I can wear a 9, but they get tight and then my feet hurt. I can also wear an 11 or 12, but they are too loose and I end up falling down a lot.....
I have a sound that I am known for, both for classical and commercial playing. When I stray from that sound, people start asking questions. As far as a "commercial" type sound, I still prefer the wide, fat, projecting "wall" of sound, like so many players get or used to get (Doc, John Audino, Snooky, Gozzo, etc).........

But that's just me and my preference.