Review: Istanbul HiHats (Sultan & Traditional)
epb
i picked up a couple pairs of istanbul hi hats yesterday via george's
drum shop's wonderous cymbal auditioning program and i thought i'd
share some thoughts.
first of all, i was all over the damn internet (local and
not-too-local drumshops were not happening) looking for a pair of
hats, and of course after it was all over i ended up doing my business
within rmmp. i also hassled mark polis, self admitted "gear whore"
and a man of fine taste, a lot in the course of it all and many thanks
to him for his advice.
anyways, the two sets that i ended up going with were both 13"s:
istanbul mehmet regular traditionals and istanbul mehmet sultans.
they both came in some nice, individual zippered bags.
both sets look great. i love the particular shade of gold that they
have and the hammering looks cool. the partially unlathed sultans are
especially dope. unfortunately i pretty much hate the istanbul logos.
man, they are HUGE. actually, the trads look aiiiight, but the
sultans have writing all OVER them.
is there a simple way to have logos removed?
long story short, i will definitely be going with the traditionals
over the sultans. the traditionals have a nice, medium high pitch and
absolutely sizzle partially closed. they have that great glassy
mellowness when you whack them half open a la tony williams, too. and
the foot sounds are lovely as well...just the right volume and not
hollow sounding at all. just really nice, not very dark, but still
complex, classy hi hats.
the sultans share many of the same characteristics, but are a bit
heavier and noticably clanky-er...not really sizzling like the trads.
they are still sweet, though. they're also a fair bit louder that the
trads and lower in pitch. a bit more unique than the trads; very hip,
just not quite my style.
both pairs were about $200. george actually didn't pick them out, but
i let him know what i was looking for and he passed it along to his
distributor. he definitely hooked it up right, so i would recommend
george's connections to anyone interested.
tss-t-tss-tss,
Sock Simballs
ramalane
"epb" <ethan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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: ladies and gentleman,
Nice review. I may apologize to you after all.
/ramalane
--
In my beloved state of South Carolina
sending or accepting a challenge to duel
is a misdemeanor, as is carrying or deliver-
ing that challenge to another party...
"Hell, I've got $300! Let's throw down!" -Ramalane
mwitthoft
of Zildjian would you compare them to)
epb wrote:
> ladies and gentleman,
>
> i picked up a couple pairs of istanbul hi hats .. will definitely be going with the traditionals
Mark Polis
Mehmet hats seem to really be getting it right these days with their hats.
I've come across very few dogs.
I'm glad you got to A/B the two pairs, and that you tried out the Sultans.
Two of my favorite pairs of hats are 14" Mehmet Traditionals and 13"
Sultans!
Hats that really satisfy you are tough to find - tougher even than rides.
Enjoy them in good health.
--
--
o-----« Mark Polis b.d...@suscom.net »-----o
"You play because you must." - drummer Tony Williams
--
--
Soak a rag in paint remover, lay it on the cymbal's surface for twenty
minutes and thenm wipe off ALL logos with ease.
"epb" <ethan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5a3bc2ed.03061...@posting.google.com...
Dan Radin
news:3EEA1F32...@austin8.rr9.com...
> How do they compare to the more findable Zildjians? (and which flavor
> of Zildjian would you compare them to)
My guess would be that the only Zildjian model nearly comparable would be
the K. Constantinoples.
Harry Hulsizer
>is there a simple way to have logos removed?
Ethan,
Dab a rag in some paint thinner and rub. They'll come right off.
Harry
rhythmman
I also have the Mehmet Traditional hats and love them. They don't
sound ringy when tightly closed, but have a dry, dark bite to them. I
couldn't be happier.
Welcome to the Mehmet family,
Dan
epb
> Nice review. I may apologize to you after all.
>
> /ramalane
it's all good in the 'hood with me one way or the other.
peace,
ethan
epb
> of Zildjian would you compare them to)
>
ooh. tough question. i played a pair of the 14" zildjian "vintage"-y
cie hi hats a couple of weeks ago and i would say the mehmet trads are
similar. i like the istanbuls better, though...more character, a hair
bit lower pitched, and a lightening-quick stick response (due to the
smaller size, reckon).
i have a pair of older 13" new beats that i would say sound similar in
the closed position, but the istanbuls are FAR more sophisticated when
played open with sticks or foot.
i have no doubt that the istanbuls are far cheaper than the cie hats,
too.
as far as findability, i really trust a few people's taste that post
here, and a few of their cohorts, and my confidence in them far
outweighs the risks inherent in buying stuff of the net. plus, with
the cymbal auditioning deal, the risks are further minimized, so you
can't help but come out on top (rather than settling for whatever's in
sam's ass or guitar center or whatever).
comparatively,
ethan
naknir
Hey,
I have a 15" hihat made by Istanbul, which is simply the best hihat I
have ever heard, and everybody else tells me the same thing. It has a
signatue of Mehmet Agop underneath both hihat cymbals, so I guess it
was made by him.... I guess it's an honor...?
Istanbul makes great hihats. My drum teacher uses the Mel Lewis series
14" hihat and it's a sweet, great hihat. Great chick sound, stick
sound and overall sound.
As opposed to Bosphorus which I don't like their hihats.... I played
and heard many Bosphorus hihats and was never excited by their sound.
But, in my opinion, they make the best rides and crashes.
-----------------------------------
Nir Brener, an 18 years old drummer from Israel.
kujawat
I just got in a pair of 80's 13 new beats that are just sweet. They are a
lot thinner than the late 90's ones I had. The older A's are great when you
find the "right one".
Tony
"epb" <ethan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5a3bc2ed.03061...@posting.google.com...
JohnFuckPope
>
Funny. Not as funny as you actually thinking anyone gives a fuck, but still
funny.
Rolo Tomasi
mwitthoft
(those are the top dollar ones without the giant K on them, right) in
the local shoppe and they sounded pretty delicious.
epb
> Hey,
>
> I have a 15" hihat made by Istanbul, which is simply the best hihat I
> have ever heard, and everybody else tells me the same thing. It has a
> signatue of Mehmet Agop underneath both hihat cymbals, so I guess it
> was made by him.... I guess it's an honor...?
> Nir Brener, an 18 years old drummer from Israel.
nir,
fyi, i think that the signature signifies *two* cymbalsmiths, a guy
named Agop and a guy named Mehmet. i think they both originally
worked at the same cymbal company (istanbul), and then they split up
and made their own versions (or something like that).
e
naknir
Yeah, that is also what a drummer friend of mine told me.... So does
this means that my 15" hihat cymbals were made by these two fellows
(Agop and Mehmet) ??? That would be a cool thing if that's the case.
It will also make me understand why my hihat sounds so damn good....
:-)
-----------------------------------
Sam Savoca
> Yeah, that is also what a drummer friend of mine told me.... So does
> this means that my 15" hihat cymbals were made by these two fellows
> (Agop and Mehmet) ??? That would be a cool thing if that's the case.
> It will also make me understand why my hihat sounds so damn good....
> :-)
>
>
Hey Nir, are cymbals cheaper in your area?
Sam S.
naknir
wrote:
Hey Sam,
Not really.... They are actually more expensive.... Everything here
related to drums is more expensive: Drums, cymbals, sticks etc.
That is probably because there are shipping costs added to every
product not made in Israel... These extra costs doesn't exist in the
USA since most of the stuff is being made there and isn't being
shipped for long distances.
Another reason is the lack of a real competition between music stores
in Israel, since there are so few ! I know only one drum shop in
Israel which is in Tel Aviv and is called "Dr. Drum", and all the
other are music stores, and there are only 3 "big" ones.
That's a real bummer....