Is Istanbul Agop bronze alloy richer/different?

[2oo2]

I’ve been listening to different demos of Agop Traditionals over Youtube and the constant I note is how rich, lush and wet the sound is, like it’s full of juice. These are the adjectives that come to my mind everytime I hear their wash. Personally have a 16” Agop Traditional Paper Thin that exhibits this sound and one thing I notice is how soft the metal is, feels like you could dent it with the slightest hammer blow.

So I was wondering if Agop (and by extension Mehmet) use a richer alloy different from other manufacturers. Only cymbals I’ve heard that close are some Sabian HH jazz models.

Only thing I can say is I’m enchanted and already thinking about building a full set of Agop Trads.

 

[Whitten]

I endorse Istanbul Agop. I have Traditionals and played K Zildjian Darks for years.
The Traditionals are in the same ball park for me. Just a bit nicer sounding. I guess I would say they are a bit softer in attack, warmer than K's.

 

[Ptrick]

I was an Agop endorser for 15 years. Nothing unusual in the alloy, they are just much more hammered than a lot of similar cymbals.

 

[paulwells73]

I was an Agop endorser for 15 years. Nothing unusual in the alloy, they are just much more hammered than a lot of similar cymbals.

The Agop Signature alloy is a bit different, isn’t it?

 

[2oo2]

I feel the alloy is richer in tin or actually has the advertised content of 20% (as opposed to other brands that I think some analyses found the tin percentage was less).

 

[Ptrick]

The Agop Signature alloy is a bit different, isn’t it?

The signature alloy is unique. Exactly what it is, I was never told. Mike Skiba believed it to be less tin, more copper, as he found it softer than typical B20. HIGHER tin content alloys are MORE brittle, and not necessarily warmer or more musical. OP was talking special out the traditionals, which is regular B20 as far as I know.

 

[zenstat]

A study of cymbal alloy composition. The bulk of this work was focused on testing claims that B25 or B23 is the "magic bullet" which creates that "Old K" sound and all the associated sonic properties of "that sound".

Alloys - Cymbal

www.cymbal.wiki

I've also got a collection of the advertising claims for different manufacturers and series over the years. The variation in the marketing claims for a single series over time (like Agop Signature) tend to be greater than the variation in the alloy itself.

There is a lot more to how a finished cymbal feels than the ratio of tin to copper. The grain structure of the alloy isn't just the ratio, it is how it is heated and cooled in its creation. Perceived hardness and where a cymbal sits on the "warmer" scale is more likely to be understood in the shaping, hammering, lathing, distribution of tension, shape of bow, bell, etc than manufacturer claims about "secret recipe".

 

[Demonslayer]

I've been playing Agop for close to 20yrs and it's never crossed my mind that the alloy could be any different. To me, the "rocket sauce" lies in the design and the hammering.

 

[dustjacket]

Splashed with holy water.

 

[underratedcowbell]

I always tought that Instanbul (Agop and Mehmet) were B25 alloy!