That may be the case with the IAK's and later ones, but I'm not so sure that's true with the EAK's. You see, nobody at Zildjian was required to make that distinction when asked. In fact I'm not even sure that they are even aware of the specific terminology that we apply to that specific time period, nor do I believe that they would have sufficient motivation to even care at this point. They have demonstrated time and time again that they are a bit deficient when it come to remembering their own past.But certainly they should still be able to remember this....Or would they?[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/drumaholic/kzildjianandco/tonyZildjianad.jpg[/img]
True. All we can do is take the bits and pieces and make sense of it. Back then there was a desire to keep the production methods close to the vest to be as old world as possible. Now that all of the hammering is computer controlled, they can change their tune and say hand hammering is irrelevant. After all, they are trying to sell new cymbals, so they have a vested interest in saying their current method is the best way.
Here are a few posts from the Ask Zildjian section of the old site. The first question was from me. Around the time of the debate with Matt and the other guys on the Pearl forum, I wrote Zildjian and this was their response on their old site.
1/7/2008 6:26:49 PM
Brian
Q : I was under the impression that the USA K line introduced in 1982 was machine hammered via computer controlled random hammering. Everything I read from Zildjian leads me to conclude this. Others insist that the early K's made in the USA were hand hammered until around 1985. They believe those cymbals have a distinctly different hammering pattern than later versions. Were they in fact machine or hand hammered? Thanks for your help.
A : No matter what any of the major cymbal manufacturers may state in their advertising, no cymbal has been completely hand hammering within the modern era. Early US K's were hammered via a mechanical reciprocating hammer while a cymbal was hand fed into the hammer area and this was done while the cymbal was still a flat blank. After hammering, THEN it was shaped by a pressing die. In centuries past, hand hammering was done to shape a cymbal but that is no longer necessary. In the mid-ninties, computer generating hammers were then used to perfectly hammer all K's in a random manner. The velocity of this hammer was 4 times harder than what anyone could possibly do it by hand.
10/10/2007 7:48:47 PM
Ray
Q : What is the difference between a K and an EAK (Early American K) ? I have a K with the serial number of JA-13543-121. Would this cymbal be considered an Early American if it was made in 2000 ? Thank you for all your efforts to inform and educate us all. Regards,
A : There has never been a K that has been considered an "Early American" K but there have been changes with the design of the K since they were first manufactured in the US in 1982. They started off with a rather smooth lathing process that continued until approximately 1989 when the lathing become more pronounced with more visible lines. That process continued until 2001 when the lathing reverted back to the smooth lathing style and has remained that way ever since. Your cymbal really does not affiliate itself with any particular K era.
6/26/2009 10:24:50 AM
Daryl Q : Are there any lines of Zildjian cymbals which are completely and literally hand hammered in the Old World traditional way? (and I mean a hammer held in the hand and striking the hammer as opposed to someone's hand guiding a machine hammer). I had heard that K Constantinoples are still made this way but I of course have no way of knowing. Thank you.
A : All major cymbal manufacturers no longer use hand hammering methods on their cymbals (no matter what their advertising might say). Zildjian is the only cymbal manufacturer that uses state-of-the-art computer technology to accurately create perfect random hammering patterns on its K and K Constantinople cymbal instruments. In addition, this method allows for a hammer strike velocity that is at least 4 times the velocity than what anyone could possibly do by hand. This additional power of the hammer strike allows for a much richer sound with its overtones. There are some smaller boutique cymbal makers that do still hand hammer their cymbals, but they will never achieve the perfect balance of overtones that the modern day K and K Constantinople cymbals possess.