Istanbul Agop Cymbals

Church Drummer · #1 (**permalink**) 04-27-2008, 01:52 PM

I bought an Istanbul Agop dark Crash 16" yesterday, got it at a close out price, and it is a great sounding cymbal that compliments my ride really well. I would like to know how may of you out there are playing Istanbul Cymbals, how are they holding up for you over the long haul.

taye drummer · #2 (**permalink**) 04-29-2008, 05:00 PM

Church drummer you must be loaded,Buying Istanbul's , I would put them on my wish list
for my all time cymbals. And a custom made kit from taye company,I would fly to the company
give them specks for all my drums,and hardware, write them a check , a seven piece purple
with flakes in it.I would fly to Agop camp and have them custom make me a good set of cymbals.Then for my second set Paiste would provide the rest.

Church Drummer · #3 (**permalink**) 04-29-2008, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taye drummer

Church drummer you must be loaded,Buying Istanbul's.

Not really like I said got a really good closeout price, it was an in store demo cymbal that they had a while. I picked it up for only $189.00, which is about 1/2 of list price.

taye drummer · #4 (**permalink**) 04-29-2008, 10:10 PM

Thats great i wish i could find good deals here where i live,but there overpriced for the store.

TonyIce · #5 (**permalink**) 06-08-2008, 05:52 AM

I've been playing Istanbuls for a few years, the Agop Trad Darks are my favourites by a long way. I too have a 16" dark crash which is beautiful.

I added the 20" dark ride - it's an absolute beauty, for me it treads the line between clarity and explosive-yet-subtle crashiness perfectly. Obviously it takes a while to learn how to control it, but when you and it are on the same page it's an extremely rewarding cymbal to play. Very expressive.

I'd recommend an 18" dark crash too, my all time favourite cymbal (so far). For me, the 16" hints at what lies within the 18", it's got everything - perfect attack and decay but the smokiness lends it great character. I can't walk past that cymbal without tapping it, just for a quick fix. These are, of course, all things I like in a cymbal and may not be to everyone's taste.

As for how they hold up, I must admit I've been through a couple of 18" darks. I used to play in a very heavy band and thought I'd risk it, but they're a touch too delicate to really go hammering them night-after-night. They'll take a beating, but if you're going to lose it and thrash out perhaps try the trad heavy range, I have a couple of those too and they're still a beautiful bunch of cymbals, but they're obviously louder and will stand up to just about anything.

This is probably old news to you, but try http://www.cymbalsonly.com and have a listen to different cymbals, the sound files up there are as accurate as you'll get without having the things there in front of you, and it can give you an idea of what you're after - maybe then you can go to a drum-store armed with a list of specific cymbals to try.

In short - lovely cymbals!