Grand Master cymbals
Kristallin01
Our local Sam Ash just recently got a couple of those wonderful Grand Master
cymbals from Turkey (where else?), and I'm in love! I wanted to know more, but
the guy there didn't know that much about them, apart from that they sounded
amazing. Does anybody here play them?
I was wondering if anybody out there knows who their US distributor is, and if
they have a website?
Thanks a lot!
enn...@ohsu.edu
Glad to hear Grand Masters are becoming more available.
I think the US distributor is Kaman, but I'll have to check my info at home.
I'll try to post their US contact info tomorrow if nobody beats me to it
today. Definitely worth seeking out. Also, I think the November or December
1998 Modern Drummer (anybody help me out here?) had a very favorable article
and review.
American Music in Seattle always seems to have a good selection.
I had the chance to talk with the president of Grand Master, Asim Can Gunduz,
in Istanbul. He is a wonderful character, very generous with his time and
stories of cymbal-making lore.
The way he told it, the Grand Masters are made in a traditional Turkish style,
as opposed to the Armenian style of Zildjians. He told us the story of how he
was approached by an aged cymbal-maker who was insistent upon showing him how
true "breathing" Turkish cymbals were made. The cymbal-maker wanted to pass
the secrets along before he died. It had been a long time since he had
made cymbals, the process was dangerous, but he remembered how. Asim kind of
humored him, maybe gave him some money, and told him to go make a cymbal and
bring it back. A few weeks later the cymbal-maker came back to see Asim. His
hair and eyebrows were singed off; his hands and arms had freshly bandaged
burns on them, and he was carrying a big bag. Everyone was looking to see what
was in the bag. When the old cymbal-maker pulled out his cymbal, it looked
somewhat crude: heavily hammered with a lopsided bell and off-center hole.
Then he played it, and of course it was magic.
According to Asim, Grand Master uses a different formula for their alloy than
any other cymbal brand, including some secret ingredients and a stirring stick
containing a gold ingot.
Contrary to the story of the prototype, quality control at Grand Master is
very stringent, and I think it shows. Although there is a wide variety of
sounds from cymbal to cymbal, I haven't a bad one yet, unlike some other
hand made brands...
My vote for sleeper of the decade is Grand Master's second line, Pasha, which
is hand hammered and lathed, but has a hydraulically pressed bell. Pasha
cymbals are the super bargain of Istanbul cymbals. If they had decent
distribution, I think everyone would be talking about them. They sound a lot
like the Grand Masters, but at a greatly reduced price!
I play a Pasha 21" jazz ride which I love!
In article <20000906142742...@ng-fm1.news.cs.com>,
Kristallin01
I heard the Pashas last time I was in Cologne at Drums Only, really great
cymbals! I don't know about here, but in Germany they're in the medium price
range, somewhere between Sabian Pros and AAs, but a lot more character for your
money.
Thanks for the info!