Have you ever wondered how cast cymbals are made?  And what variations there are in the process that give cymbals their unique sounds?  There are some wonderful resources on the net for learning about the process.

Recently I did a little research in hopes of learning more about some of the top manufacturers, and how their production techniques result in their signature sounds.

Here are a few favorites.

Sabian Factory Tour

The Sabian website has a great description of their manufacturing process. Check out the photo album here.

Zildjian Factory Tour

On the Zildjian website you’ll find a highly interactive factory tour, including great sound and video.  The Zildjian factory is not open to visitors, so the online tour is a great way to see what goes on behind the scenes to create these incredible instruments. You’ll also get a sneak peek at the amazing room where the world’s greatest drummers come to test out the latest models.

Take the tour here.

Paiste

While the Paiste site doesn’t have an online tour of its factory, it does have a good page that describes their process. Quoting from their site “… explaining our methods in too much
detail would reveal our secrets, and we would rather not substitute such revelations
with misleading and trivial simplifications.”

Check out the Paiste Cymbal Production page here.

The Science Channel

The Science Channel did a feature on how cast cymbals are made (using the Zildjian factory). You can get a good end-to-end view from casting to final polishing. View the video on YouTube.

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