Istanbul Agop Epoch Signature 20" Crash

Thick bands of deep lathing cover the cymbals on both sides (except for the bells), with slivers of raw bronze visible between the grooves. Some kind of buffing process has been applied to the cymbals as they catch the light, but beneath the brightness, patches of discoloured and pitted bronze are scattered across the width of each model.

They also possess the familiar Istanbul Agop trait of being covered in a fine patina of grime which rubs off on your fingers. Like the original Epoch ride, the hi-hats have a small bell; in contrast, the crashes feature well-proportioned bells (although in keeping with the overall flat profiles of the crashes, they don't rise much vertically).

Where the hi-hats are assertive, the crashes are downright forceful. Each crash opens with a blast of high frequencies which slice through, giving impressive projection. The opening brightness nips back quickly but lingers on within a deeper - and still penetrating even while subsiding - decay.

With each step up in diameter the crashes get both louder and darker, and the 19" and 20" models make convincing crash/rides. In our experience, some cymbals - particularly loud ones - can be wearing when hit frequently over the course of a gig, but we found nothing of the sort with these. Their warmth and musicality made them a pleasure to play over and over."

Review written by Adam Jones ("Istanbul Agop Signature Cymbals review - Lenny White/Joey Waronker-endorsed Turkish pieces", musicradar.com, November 18, 2009)

Review: "Lenny White's Epoch line was developed a few years ago when the Return To Forever drummer approached Istanbul Agop to re-create the famous ride that jazz legend Tony Williams used on the classic Miles Davis album Nefertiti, The resulting 22" Epoch ride cymbal (which we reviewed in the July 2008 issue) proved so successful at capturing Williams' raspy tip-and-shank signature that White and Istanbul decided to expand the line with four crashes (17", 18", 19", and 20") and 14" hi-hats.

All of the Epoch crashes share the ride cymbal's extensive hand hammering, cursory lathing, and fairly flat profile. But unlike the ride, which has a small lathed bell, the crashes' bells are large and unlathed. The 19" and 20" models have wide, flat bells, and the 17" and 18" versions' bells jut up to a round crown.

The medium-weight 17" ($469) and 18" ($519) Epoch crashes had a chunky, explosive attack and a quick, dark, and slightly trashy decay. The 19" ($589) and 20" ($659) models sat more in the multipurpose crash/ride category. As rides, they possessed dry stick sounds with a controlled and tempered wash. As crashes, they required more than a delicate shoulder accent to get them to open up. The 20" had an especially rigid feel that reminded me of Germanic symphonic cymbals. These crashes, along with the rest of the Epoch series, seemed to have a certain "I dare you" atti tude that could turn off drummers looking for instruments that "play themselves." But when you really dig in and hit these plates with confidence, there's a lot of color and complexity to be explored."

Review written by Michael Dawson ("Istanbul Agop - Epoch, OM, Waronker, and Chamberlain Cymbals", Modern Drummer, April 2010, pg. 22)

Artist/song where it can be heard:

Istanbul Agop Epoch Signature 20" Crash

Navigation menu

Personal tools

Namespaces

Variants

Views

More

Search

Navigation

Manufacturers

Tools