K Constantinople Rides and Hihats

GEARREVIEWS
APRIL 2006 RHYTHM 101
ESSENTIALS
PRICES
13" hi-hats £541
20" rides £460
22" rides £542
CONTACT
Yamaha-Kemble
Sherbourne Drive
Tilbrook
Milton Keynes
MK7 8BL
Telephone
01908 366700
Website
www.zildjian.com
From £460 | Zildjian’s best examples yet of contemporary
cymbals that speak in vintage tones. Adam Jones is smitten…
Z
ildjian’s K Constantinople
range made its debut in 1998
and was one of the fi nal projects
undertaken by the late Armand Zildjian.
An exercise in recapturing the mystical
qualities of old, Turkish-manufactured
K cymbals, the success of the K
Constantinople range was a refl ection of
Armand’s lifetime within the industry.
The original Ks that inspired the K
Constantinople range were made under
the tutelage of Kerope Zildjian in the late
19th and early 20th century in what was
Constantinople (now Istanbul). They
became popular among jazz drummers
in the ’50s and ’60s and specimens still
change hands today. Since Armand’s
death in 2002, Zildjian’s research and
development team, led by Paul Francis,
has continued work on the K
Constantinople range, in effect
reproducing cymbal-making techniques
from 100 years ago. The result is 10
new cymbals – seven Hi Bell rides, two
Flat rides (the fi rst K Constantinople
examples) and a new pair of hi-hats.
Back to the future
K Constantinoples begin life in the Zildjian
factory alongside other cast Zildjian
cymbals, but once they have been rolled
and cupped they go to a select team
of cymbalsmiths to be worked by hand.
Only 40-50 cymbals are ever produced
and all work is overseen by Paul Francis.
The cymbals certainly have the
appearance of being handmade and are
covered in a network of deep hammer
marks and extensive lathing. In addition,
radical spiral lathing is found on the Hi
Bell models, whereby the metal between
the lathing grooves is left unfi nished.
Each cymbal takes around seven
days to make and any pits or other
surface impurities that would usually
be removed on modern cymbals
are retained, providing all-important
individual character.
The Hi Bell rides are available in
a choice of weights and tunings in
two diameters – 20" and 22", with the
exception of the Dry ride, which comes
in the 22" diameter only. The two Flat
rides are similarly separated by their
sizes (20" and 22"), while the hi-hats
are 13" versions of the existing 14"
K Constantinople hats.
Zildjian’s K Constantinople
cymbals speak with the same
warm, dark tones as vintage Ks.
K Zildjian
Constantinople
Rides & Hi-hats
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