by Nathan Hawthorne

Created on: April 27, 2008

In this article I'm going to be telling you about some of the main cymbal companies, how they differ and help you decide what's right for you. (Saluda, zildjian, sabian, paiste, istanbul)

We'll start with the main company Zildjian.
Zildjian is said to be on of the oldest companies in the world. Ziljian means "son of a cymbal smith" and the business started up 400 years ago in Istanbul, Turkey. The Zildjians had a tradition that only the oldest son of the family would receive the secrets of cymbal making from his father, and this tradition went on for hundreds of years until recently. During the last century, Avedis Ziljdian III passed down the cymbal making secrets to both his sons Armand and Robert.

This led to a family feud and legal battles which eventually led to Robert Ziljian forming a new company Sabian. Sabian (named after his three children SAndy, BIlly, and Andy), also made cymbals but with a different quality and therefore it attracted large amount of drummers as well.

Sabian is now also having family problems many drummers are hoping for a new brand of cymbals to come out of this family feud but it is unlikely.

Next we have Istanbul.
Istanbul cymbals are cymbals that use the traditional way of making cymbals, though they do not make cymbals the same way as Ziljian and Sabian. One of the makers of this brand claimed to have learned his art from one of the Ziljian family and says he used to work in one of their factories.

Here's a relatively new one Saluda Cymbals.
Saluda is based in the USA and started up in 1999. Their dream was to recreate the brilliant sounds of handmade cymbals they had heard 45 years ago, and so all their cymbals are hand made. This company also make custom cymbals, all you have to do is contact them and explain what you want.

The final cymbal of this article I will be discussing is Paiste.
Paiste (pronounced Pie-stee) cymbals are Swiss cymbals and one of the world's largest manufacturers of cymbals. They were first created in 1906 by an Estonian musician called Thomas Paiste and expanded with the help of his son a few years later even though the first world war was starting up.

For further information on these cymbal companies you can check their respective websites.

Play on!

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