Sexy Cymbal Photos

[trashman]

'I tried SCreaming at you guys NOt To Sale when you found such gems...back in the days at CYMbalholic
another REason I was So Well Liked

I kept my mediocre work-a-day ones (relative to the amazing ones
knowing in the future how hard they would be to replace

I know, man.
And I even knew, as I sent that cymbal off to its new owner, that I would live to deeply regret letting it go.
It's the one that I'll never let myself live down.
I bought it from a guy in England without even hearing it first. I could just see how great it would sound, and it surpassed my hopes by country miles. Ugh.
I think I resented the set of Sonorlites that I got in the trade, for me making such a dumb move.
Dumb, dumb, dumb. So dumb.

I would, no questions asked, happily trade a stupendously-excellent and thin 22" type 3 old stamp to have that thing back.

 

[TPC]

This is the cymbal that I most regret letting go.
It was my first old stamp K. Zildjian.; a 20", type 2b, 1739g.
Just absolute perfection, and, with profound stupidity, I traded it for a full set of Sonorlites. A fine set of drums, but nowhere near a wise trade-off for me. I tried getting this cymbal back a couple years after, but wasn't able to make that happen, and I still keep an eye out for it out in the wild.
I'd never before, nor since, heard a 20" cymbal that I liked better than this one.

And here's a sound-file I made of it about 12 years ago:

Yeah - I remember that one. The thing looks so discombobulated - giant bell off-center, uneven bell-bridge transition, etc., but sounds incredible.

 

[trashman]

Yeah - I remember that one. The thing looks so discombobulated - giant bell off-center, uneven bell-bridge transition, etc., but sounds incredible.

Yeah, man. I'll never forget the moment I took delivery of it, unpacked it, marveled at the glorious olden-world imperfection of it, then ran to my drumset, mounted the cymbal, tapped it a couple times, and couldn't help but giggle about how good it sounded.

 

[Phantomlimb777]

I’m too broke to get into Ks, guys.

You’re making this very hard…

 

[Pink69]

I’m too broke to get into Ks, guys.

You’re making this very hard…

There are a lot of ‘40’s—‘50’s A’s that sound just as good as K’s. Don’t get hung up on a name.

 

[JDA]

It's extremely too late now
either disappeared or ridiculous prices or being held;
A's for the most part are Major Key
K's for the most part are Minor Key

 

[trashman]

There are a lot of ‘40’s—‘50’s A’s that sound just as good as K’s. Don’t get hung up on a name.

I’ve had a lot of 1940s/50s A. Zildjians. I love them, a lot, but don’t think I’ve had a single one that sounded like it was made by the same cymbalsmiths as my favorite K’s.
Sound just as good? That’s subjective.
But they certainly don’t sound the same.
It’s not just the name.

 

[Pink69]

Every cymbal sounds different just as everyone hears them differently. What I am saying is that a good sounding cymbal is a good sounding cymbal no matter what it is called and not to get hung up on thinking it has to be a certain flavor to have a good taste. And let’s face it, most people in an audience neither know nor care who made what.

 

[trashman]

I’m too broke to get into Ks, guys.

You’re making this very hard…

Nah, man.
It's a great time to be a cymbal nerd. So many incredible options being created by more independent cymbalsmiths and brands than ever before.
You can get into the old stamp K. Zildjian ballpark with something made by one of those guys for a fraction of the cost.
An exceptional old K is a very special thing; I'm not going to pretend that I don't think that, but the patience, effort, and cash needed to land one is probably better spent on grabbing three (or more) great cymbals made by the current makers.

 

[Phantomlimb777]

Nah, man.
It's a great time to be a cymbal nerd. So many incredible options being created by more independent cymbalsmiths and brands than ever before.
You can get into the old stamp K. Zildjian ballpark with something made by one of those guys for a fraction of the cost.
An exceptional old K is a very special thing; I'm not going to pretend that I don't think that, but the patience, effort, and cash needed to land one is probably better spent on grabbing three (or more) great cymbals made by the current makers.

I got a whole setup from a cymbalsmith local to me in Long Beach, but they’re pretty extreme and not really old K like at all.

I don’t really need to own one, but having that point of sound reference is important to me.

 

[trashman]

I got a whole setup from a cymbalsmith local to me in Long Beach, but they’re pretty extreme and not really old K like at all.

I don’t really need to own one, but having that point of sound reference is important to me.

I know what you mean. I definitely felt the same way before I decided to buy my first K. I needed to experience one for myself. Then I quickly realized that because the craftsmanship of Istanbul Ks evolved over the 30-ish years that they were produced, as JDA has described many times in many different threads, there are general reference points to each era that are characteristic of that era, and different to other eras.
You could find an incredible Intermediate Stamp K, and it could sound like what we generally expect from that era, but wouldn't really represent the lathing/hammering/shape or tone of what would be typical of, say, a 1940s Old Stamp, or even a 1970's New Stamp.
All that just to poorly attempt to illustrate that you might end up wanting multiple references. Ha!

Cool that there's somebody in Long Beach making cymbals. I'd love to see and hear what you got.

 

[Phantomlimb777]

I know what you mean. I definitely felt the same way before I decided to buy my first K. I needed to experience one for myself. Then I quickly realized that because the craftsmanship of Istanbul Ks evolved over the 30-ish years that they were produced, as JDA has described many times in many different threads, there are general reference points to each era that are characteristic of that era, and different to other eras.
You could find an incredible Intermediate Stamp K, and it could sound like what we generally expect from that era, but wouldn't really represent the lathing/hammering/shape or tone of what would be typical of, say, a 1940s Old Stamp, or even a 1970's New Stamp.
All that just to poorly attempt to illustrate that you might end up wanting multiple references. Ha!

Cool that there's somebody in Long Beach making cymbals. I'd love to see and hear what you got.

That could be arranged!

 

[bfulton]

Craig Lauritsen made two for me just before covid hit. The photo isn’t special, the cymbals…?
oh my.

 

[curly]

Funch Nefertiti Tribute.

 

[TPC]

Funch Nefertiti Tribute.

Hmmm …

2600 g ish?

Looks super!

 

[curly]

Hmmm …

2600 g ish?

Looks super!

That’s eerily close. 2609.

 

[nomsgmusic]

I must have missed this thread originally, and it makes me really miss the good ol' Cymbalholic days! Here some Swiss beauty. Masters Dark, Dark Energy Light Dark, Trad's, Modern Essentials, SCDR's, SCDChina, SCDCrash. Giant Beats, Old 602's, Paperthin Blue 602's, 602 Thin Flats, New 602's, Super's, even a Dimensions, and one little 2002.

More info here.

Musicians - Paiste

www.paiste.com

After looking through this entire thread, damn y'all have some great stuff!
MSG

 

[TPC]

That’s eerily close. 2609.

It just had that 2600 aroma.

How does it compare to the Nefertiti sound?

 

[curly]

It just had that 2600 aroma.

How does it compare to the Nefertiti sound?

Feels very fresh and I expect it has some settling to do.

 

[JDA]

you don't (as a Cymbalsmith) ever capture the sound from the recording

Old Ks are like that
They sound in person Different than How they Record; It's one of the Great Mysteries (Page 289 in the CymbalHolic Workbook under : K Mysteries section 204....
that's why they are Unrepeatable and- just be fine- with that