The sound of rimshots can be described as "part normal snare and part loud, woody accent",[1] or "generally sharper, brighter and more cutting [than a standard accent]",[2] since the technique produces large amounts of overtones.
[3] The stroke is used on the snare in rock, pop, Jazz, and blues and on the tom-toms in Afro-Cuban music.
[4] As a result, the stroke is frequently used in bossa nova to imitate the sound of claves; it is also used for ballads in rock, pop, and country music.
A rimshot when used to accent the punchline of a joke being told by a live comedian may or may not simultaneously be played with a small cymbal crash.
Despite having previously been scripted into the routine by the comedian, these were designed to appear to be improvised by the drummer, so as to accentuate the joke.