Agop Istanbul Cymbals - Traditional Jazz,, 30th Anniversary & Signature Rides! History and demo

Agop Istanbul Cymbals have their roots in the old Zildjian K Factory in Turkey. The founder Agop Tomurcuk was an apprentice at the factory when is was only nine and rose to become master cymbal maker there before it closed down in 1977.
He started Istanbul (originally called Zilciler) with his co-worker Mehmet Tamdeger but the company split in two after Agop died. His sons, Sarkis and Arman, starting the "Agop Istanbul" company and Mehmet launching the "Mehmet Istanbul" brand.

Hand hammered cymbals are a 600 year old Ottoman tradition and Turkey has been the birth place for modern cymbal making. These days however, there is no shortage of great cymbal makers, Zildjian, Sabian, Meinl, Bosphorus, Paiste, etc. and you can add independent cymbal smiths to the growing list, yet Istanbul cymbals still manage to stand out from the crowd.

In this video you will see and hear the following:
22 inch Traditional Jazz Ride
20 inch 30th Anniversary Ride
21 inch Agop Signature Ride
15 inch 30th Anniversary hi hats

Thanks for watching!