Today I have the pleasure of presenting the Xist cymbal set from the renowned Istanbul Agop brand. It's an option well worth considering if what we want is to outfit our drum kit with a suitable number of cymbals without making a big financial investment. Before diving into an in-depth look at this gear, let's take a look at the brand's history, because to understand the present you need to know the past.
The tradition of cymbal making in Turkey is well known; there you'll find many makers who boast of their age-old alloy formulas or of crafting cymbals in the purest traditional style, although I should add that not everyone sees it the same way. Many only proclaim the most romantic side of their factory's history, and others simply dress up their mass production, trying to offer you a novel, spectacular item.
I believe that when making a musical instrument we shouldn't skimp on time, effort and sacrifice, even if that understandably drives up the final price of the product a great deal. Let's never forget that both the instrument and the role it will play are aimed at our senses, at the spiritual, at art. These things know little about schedules and costs.
On the other hand, every company has to be profitable, and we have to accept, especially in the society we live in, that marketing a product depends on its profitability.
Istanbul
The Istanbul brand was created by two great legendary names in Turkish cymbal making, Mehmet Tamdeger and Agop Tomurcuk. Both were employees of the prestigious Zildjian brand in the 1950s. Mehmet says he learned his craft from Mikhail Zilcan, the grandson of Kerope Zilcan, and Agop was the foreman at that brand's factory in Istanbul.
When Zildjian moved to the U.S., the two formed their own company, and their first cymbals were exported in 1984, first under the name "Zildjiler" and shortly afterward as "Istanbul." The craftsmen signed each piece; some of these cymbals are now collector's items.
Over the following years, many original designs were developed, always using traditional methods. Many of these designs can be found in their product lines today. In 1996 Agop Tomurcuk died in an accident and, as a result, the company began heading in two different directions. It was decided that the company should be split. Agop's sons, Arman and Sarkis, carried on following in their father's footsteps, and Mehmet was free to run his own company independently and as he saw fit. Both companies had the benefit of the highly respected "Istanbul" name and used it, but set themselves apart by adding "Agop" and "Mehmet" to their products, as can be seen in their respective logos.
The Istanbul Agop factory moved to a new, larger facility in 2007, where today they combine making handmade items with the use of machines, giving rise to highly crafted product lines of different qualities. They remain one of the main brands chosen by drummers looking for the sound of traditional handmade cymbals.
XIST Series
The Xist range is a serious option for drummers looking for affordable cymbals with an acceptable sound. Let's not kid ourselves: they're inexpensive cymbals, but with good quality in their manufacturing, design, finish and sound. With this series, Istanbul aims to modernize its sound and break out of the stereotype of cymbals for jazz or for a demanding, educated audience.
The set consists of four cymbals: a pair of 14" hi-hats, a 16" crash and a 20" ride. In addition, it includes a larger crash, an 18-inch that comes as a bonus, plus a fairly high-quality bag for the whole set.
As the manufacturer explains, these cymbals are made by combining the most modern manufacturing techniques without losing any of the tradition of the master craftsmen in the process. I have to say I don't know to what extent the product passes through the workers' hands, or whether this is limited to packing the cymbals or something more. Their appearance makes me skeptical; we all know handmade cymbals have some "telltale sign" that gives them away, although the quality of these keeps us from dwelling on that.
The alloy is 80% copper and 20% tin, widely used and adopted by several makers and a sound compound. The finish in this case is what's known as brilliant, although there's also the option of a natural finish. Still, the best way to judge their quality is to play the cymbals and try to immerse ourselves in a world of colors and sounds that flood our senses.
The cymbals
The first thing that catches my eye is their appearance, with an attractive, elegant color and an almost natural shine. Besides the brand logo, they bear the series name Xist. Before hearing them, I can see that all the pieces are lathed, the tonal grooves are evenly distributed around the entire perimeter, and the hammering is applied in a uniform, orderly way. This tells us the manufacturing process isn't very complex or lengthy, but it is well executed and flawless in its making.
These are good-looking cymbals, and if we don't look too closely, they could pass for a product of comparable quality to any high-end cymbal.
14" Hi-Hat
Properly mounted on their stand, the pair of cymbals performs very respectably and shows no weaknesses in its job. They offer a warm sound and a pleasant tone, with good definition and a solid, clear chick sound. The pair tends to sit in a slightly low frequency range, with body, good attack and plenty of volume, although I have to confess I much prefer smaller hi-hats with a more defined, higher-pitched sound. However, I'd like to add that I don't dislike this model, and I recognize that it offers good characteristics in terms of weight, sound and tone. It's a versatile hi-hat that adapts well to different musical styles, sitting comfortably in genres like pop, rock, funk or blues.
16" Crash
This crash offers good qualities and truly noble behavior. Its thickness could be described as medium, medium-thin, and its tonal grooves are very evenly distributed and closely spaced, which makes for good response and a high, rich, bright sound. The hammering is regular and shallow, which controls the vibration and keeps it even across the whole surface of the cymbal.
I have to say I quite liked its sound, and I'm surprised that a cymbal in this range offers warmth and a quick response to the stick, as well as a smooth, dignified decay. It's a very musical cymbal with a very pleasant sound, volume and tone. It would be a perfect cymbal to accompany any pop, funk or fusion tune where clarity, brightness and projection are needed.
18" Crash
This is the cymbal that won me over the most. The folks at Istanbul Agop offer us a very appealing, tasty and complete gift. It's a size that bridges the gap from a crash to the ride very well, giving character to our setup and expanding its tonal possibilities. It has character and power, plus a personal touch in its sound, and it combines its large size very well with its thickness; it isn't a very heavy cymbal, blending agility and sturdiness at the same time. Obviously, it offers a much lower tone than its 16" partner, and the two complement each other magnificently. The hammering, finish, tonal grooves and bell are basically the same as on the 16" crash, and its weight and thickness could describe it as a medium-weight cymbal with great poise and solidity.
It doesn't offer a very fast response, but it does deliver a sustained, full sound, rich in nuances and with a smooth, controlled decay. It's the ideal complement to any cymbal setup and gives us lots of possibilities when playing, providing good support in heavily accented passages or offering volume and power in big fills.
20" Ride
The Xist series offers two ride sizes: the one included in this set, a 20-inch, or the 22-inch size. In my opinion, and without having been able to try that cymbal, I think the larger one would perform very well in a context influenced by genres like rock or jazz. The one we're reviewing today leans more toward pop territory. Nonetheless, it's a cymbal that adapts well to various situations and more than fulfills its role as the drummer's faithful companion, carrying the weight when backing a chorus, adding color to a band's guitar solo or providing a soft, mellow sound in a ballad.
It's an open cymbal with plenty of overtones, brightness and tonal breadth, with a sizable bell that gives a loud, clear ping, with a high, sustained frequency. The stick response on the body of the cymbal is defined and very colorful, while if we hit the edge hard we get a wide range of overtones and frequencies rich in mids and highs.
It has slightly more pronounced hammering than the other cymbals in the set, which gives it more controlled vibration. The tonal grooves converge at the edge of the cymbal in a compact, regular way, which helps the sound open up quickly and very naturally. I think it's a good ride, suited to a wide range of music and a large number of musicians.
Conclusion
At the Istanbul Agop factory they've managed to maintain tradition in making their cymbals, even as progress and technological advances sweep away everything in their path in the market and make up their most direct competition. Istanbul has managed to modernize without losing its identity, its craftsmanship and its quality.
This set offers good qualities within a very affordable price range, offering a good number of cymbals geared to a wide variety of styles and audiences. Istanbul is betting on a new, more eclectic audience, thus opening up a field where we used to find more commercial, conventional brands.
As long as this brand's management doesn't go for radical change, keeps its high-end products at the excellent quality that characterizes them and maintains the qualities of products like the one we've seen today, Istanbul will remain a benchmark in the world of handmade cymbals.
