:thumb:
Wow, that's amazing. Beautiful stuff.

OUTSTANDING score and LOVELY pics...Thanks for sharing...

Now go and hook up a mic and hit those things and send us the audio files...NOW!!ha
Mark

I might be going to that same factory in the summer holidays. I too am an Istanbul Agop user and fan. How did you gain access to the factory? Do they do guided tours? If so how much do they cost per person?
My cymbal set-up is as follows:

Istanbul Agop 13" Sultan Hi-Hats
Istanbul Agop 9" Traditonal Splash
Istanbul Agop 11" Traditional Splash
Istanbul Agop 16" Traditional Medium-Thin Crash
Istanbul Agop 17" Traditional Medium-Thin Crash
Istanbul Agop 20" Traditional Custom Dry Ride

Heres a couple of pictures of my beloved Istanbul Agop 20" Traditional Custom Dry Ride.

[IMG]http://img222.echo.cx/img222/6619/myride22rl.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img222.echo.cx/img222/6076/myride0ia.jpg[/IMG]

And here is a pic of my Sultan Hats. Crisp and complex.

[IMG]http://img52.echo.cx/img52/3025/myhihats5ux.jpg[/IMG]

Excellent thread! brilliant pictures! amazing cymbals!!

Man thats just insane, those look so nice.

I need new pants :(

I love the look of the sultan hats, I can just look at those for a good 5mins hahaha.

[QUOTE=Double Bass Jim]I love the look of the sultan hats, I can just look at those for a good 5mins hahaha.[/QUOTE]

I wonder if they sound different if you hit them on the differently finished bits? Cos that's a whole other type of sound in one set of hats if they do...

^^^
They do actually. Not a major difference though. But what I find incredibly impressive is that the bottom hat is actually heavier than the top. You don't see that too often these days.

The bottom hat is a goldier colour too

[QUOTE=British Boy]But what I find incredibly impressive is that the bottom hat is actually heavier than the top. You don't see that too often these days.[/QUOTE]

You're kidding right?

Theres only a few select pre-paired hats that have a heavy top hat, for instance the gadd ones do thats about it.

[QUOTE=GooseFilms.net]now cmon, why would they speak english? has england ever ruled over turkey? turkey is extremely uninfluenced by the english, hence, why the **** would they speak english? im sure a good number of people there speak persian among other languages, i know turkish isnt a language

ED: i googled it, languages are Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek. i just remembered that persian was the language used in ottoman courts[/QUOTE]


Turkish IS AN ACTUAL language.



the turks descended from asiatic nomadic tribes around mongolia , invented belly dancers , kebabs , the double knotted rugs and harems :naughty:

while the americans...invented new sports because they couldnt win the traditional sports (lol) , the hot dog , the franchise , fast food.

therefore

Ottoman Culture > American Culture

How do I know all this? im half turk :lol:




(just joking about culture boys and girls)

[QUOTE=British Boy]They do actually. Not a major difference though. [/quote]
Cool.

[quote]But what I find incredibly impressive is that the bottom hat is actually heavier than the top. You don't see that too often these days.[/QUOTE]

This has already been said, but, you're taking the piss, right? I can guarantee that if you look on the Zildjian, Sabian and Paiste sites that over 90% of the hats will have heavier bottoms than tops.

[QUOTE]This has already been said, but, you're taking the piss, right? I can guarantee that if you look on the Zildjian, Sabian and Paiste sites that over 90% of the hats will have heavier bottoms than tops.[/QUOTE]

Ok I was over-exaggurating, but really all the entry level hats these days are very close in weight, whereas with Istanbul's there is a significant difference.
With alot of cymbals these days, you can't hear any real difference wether your hats are top/bottom or bottom/top.

That's nuts man. I'm sure we were all expecting a big high tech factory and to our surprise we see these men sitting on little wooden chairs just hammering away. Definately vintage- old fashioned. Must have been a very cool experience.

you'd think with the money they make they'd renovate that poor factory...looks kinda in rough shape ^_^

I'm not sure if they even make that much money.

yeah totally!

It really is just all about the art of making good fine cymbals over there!
And to be honest, I don't think they make all that much money!
Those cymbals really don't cost that much. You pay a lot for them in local stores becaue:
- they are the third or sometimes even fourth party that needs to have some profit on them
- they are "rare" since they are not the result of mass production

British boy, about that "tour". There is not much to tour you know? It's just 3 rooms:
one with a LOT of finished cymbals, 1 with an oven that melts the material and puts them in a rough cymbal form and 1 with some hammer dudes and the other two who finish them and put on logo's. And that is it :)

I love Istanbul. Where the quality comes before the money and the quantity!! :D

I agree whole-heartedly. :)

[QUOTE=British Boy]Ok I was over-exaggurating, but really all the entry level hats these days are very close in weight, whereas with Istanbul's there is a significant difference.
With alot of cymbals these days, you can't hear any real difference wether your hats are top/bottom or bottom/top.[/QUOTE]

I still disagree.

[QUOTE=British Boy]
With alot of cymbals these days, you can't hear any real difference wether your hats are top/bottom or bottom/top.[/QUOTE]

then you sir, have no ear

[QUOTE=British Boy]
With alot of cymbals these days, you can't hear any real difference wether your hats are top/bottom or bottom/top.[/QUOTE]

Yes, maybe if they're the exact same size/weight.

Look at K/Z dynos, sold solely in that configuration because of the difference in sound of an identical K/K to an identical Z/Z.

Also, they sound MUCH more different if you have it K/Z to Z/K. I owned a pair for quite a while.

I didn't notice before but my current HHX Power Hats are Medium or Medium-Heavy top (I think). Not that big of a difference but they have Hi-Hat Top and Hi-Hat Bottom printed there for a reason.

Also I don't mean to sound like an *** or rude. Just giving my opinion...whether it was wanted or not. :D

****, I'm so jealous. And I thought I was planning a trip when I decided I'd like to make a visit to the Sabian plant. I feel very small now. :)

I'm totally jealous about your cymbals Dx. Awesome setup with amazing cymbals. I've played a few Istanbuls and they made my mouth water.

Awesome DX, I'm going too this summer :)

You and me once had a chat about it, and then my parents were wondering were to go to this summer, I gently said istanbul was pretty nice and went to the vacation store to get some istanbul books for them :p

next destination : Istanbul > factory :D:D

[QUOTE=alexi2]Awesome DX, I'm going too this summer :)

You and me once had a chat about it, and then my parents were wondering were to go to this summer, I gently said istanbul was pretty nice and went to the vacation store to get some istanbul books for them :p

next destination : Istanbul > factory :D:D[/QUOTE]

nice :)

a few things that you might want to know about and tips:

1. the factory is on the European side of Istanbul. If you're staying on the asian side, then you are in for quite a drive to get to the factory. Also, Istanbul itself is a lot more interesting on the European side in my opinion...

2. go there by taxi, they cost less then public transport in belgium :p

3. make an oppointment before you go, email them before leaving belgium and if necessary, call them a day or two from your hotel before going.

4. buy a cymbal bag and when you return to belgium, just take the cymbal bag as your hand luggage on the airplane. You are only allowed 1 piece of hand luggage, so they won't bother you.

I had to open the bag before getting on the plane. The guy briefly checked out the cymbals and that was it. IF they give you trouble like "you're not supposed to take that on the plane" or whatever, just tell them that you worked it out with the traveling agency before you left Belgium and that the airline you fly with also said it wasn't a problem AT ALL. That should do it.
You also get a paper mentioning the stuff you bought at the factory. Make sure YOUR full name is on it... That will proove to those guys at the airport that the cymbals are for YOU, and not for selling them in Belgium, wich would make you taking the cymbals on the airplane illegal.

5. don't try to bargain, that part of Istanbul doesn't work that way :D

6. Have fun :lol:

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask :thumb:

EDIT: o yeah, another thing: don't go there because cymbals are "cheaper", go there because you love Istanbul and want to see the magic first hand ;)

thats awesome... I wish i could do that...

If I'm not mistaken doesn't Matt Matt McDonough from Mudvayne use those cymbals too?? they sound amazing from when I saw them live.

could be, not sure...

Rick Latham is endorsed by istanbul, that I know

^^^
Yeah but Rick plays Mehmet not Agop.

Isn't Mehmet also made by Agop?
I'm not sure actually... could be that those are made in another factory though...

Still, there was a poster in the cymbal room with Rick playing Istanbuls...

Looks like you had fun. Congrats man!

Zildjian K factory closes down. Two workers get together, have tea, make own company called Istanbul. One fella dies so company splits in two. Therefore now we have Istanbul Agop and Istanbul Mehmet.

Post some pictures of those babies on your kit. That'd be great to see.

[QUOTE=LostInMusic464]Post some pictures of those babies on your kit. That'd be great to see.[/QUOTE]

it's coming :thumb:

I just set it up this afternoon. I needed to get some more stands as well :D
I forgot my camera so I couldn't take pics yet. It looks great though!

To give you a little taste in advance of the setup:

3 splashes
2 bells
1 china splash
1 mini china
1 big china
4 crashes
1 ride
1 hi-hat

That comes down to 14 cymbals on a 4-piece (5-piece if you count the aux snare though)
So much for the downsize I was so excited about :lol:

I'm still not going back to the full monster though...
Maybe just once to see how it will look like with EVERYTHING mounted :naughty:

<-- this noob is in awe.

hey Dx, sounds like you had a blast :D

i'm psyched for some audio *taps foot*

[quote]Whhaaatt!!
Crazy price![/quote]

... + airfare?

[QUOTE=spiritII]For those wondering:
€890 = $1,136
€2500 = $3,192 [/QUOTE]

Thanks :thumb:

WHAT!!! My island in greece is like 40 minutes by boat away from Turkey. I can see the mountains. I still haven't been there but when I go this summer I'm gonna go to Turkey and load up on cymbals!

just HAD to bump it...didnt you?

[quote=FockerTheLopper]WHAT!!! My island in greece is like 40 minutes by boat away from Turkey. I can see the mountains. I still haven't been there but when I go this summer I'm gonna go to Turkey and load up on cymbals![/quote]

Well done. Kudos to you. Way to revive a 7 month old thread.

dont you just love when people bump old forgetten threads from last year?