youre right. those are very uncommon. ive read that the hollow block logo stamp was too heavy for some of the thin cymbals of that time. i cannot verify that though,just what ive read. ive only seen a few of those. hollow blocks are some of my favorites. i'd love to find some hats one day..great find!

mike

sorry if i missed it, but is it a 14 or a 15?

mike

Thanks Mike. That sounds like a very reasonable explanation. And no, you didn't miss it, I just forgot to say it's 14"

I was just comparing it to another Zildjian A Hi hat (a 50s one I think) of a similar weight and it has a deeper pitch and a larger bell. Is this a characteristic of the vintage? Surely not a cut down cymbal?

I have a bout a 900 gram bottom hat hollow logo and a later top hat about 750 grams ands its such a great sound the best ive had, and I have had a lot match it up you will b happy but you have to find the right top hat

Thanks jaghog. So the larger bell signifies it's a bottom hat? I have a really nice Super Zyn that I'll try as a top with it. It weighs just under 800g.

I'm with Mike. These are very rare. Quite a find.

And jaghog, you've got a hollow block stamp 50s hat as well? That's exciting. You two have doubled the number of these I've seen in the past few years. That's how rare they are.

Andrew, I'm also interested in the Tosco bottom which came with this pairing. Most of the Italian cymbals I've seen are not 14" but rather metric 35 cm which means a bit smaller. I don't know if that 35 cm is true for most Toscos. The block stamp hat -- is it a full sized 14"? And is it then a bit bigger than the bottom? I've got a Trans Stamp 14" hat which is undersized to the point where it is slightly smaller than 35 cm. But I don't know about block stamps -- whether they tended to be undersized or not.

Well it's nice to know it's rare. It's odd just how many rare things show up on our side of the world. I bought it from a guy selling a beat up Maxtone kit and these hats were sitting loose, propped against the FT in one of the photos.

You are right - just checked the measurements and the Tosco is exactly 35cm. The Block stamp cymbal is bang on 14". The other 50s Zildjian I have is slightly over 14" (although it's partner is 14") and the Super Zyn is slightly under. Just checked my 60s As and they are smack on 14".

Any comments on the different bell size and profile?

BTW the Tosco weighs a whopping 1300g (edit: actually I just weighed my bottom 60s A hat and it's also 1300g and I use this live all the time so not too bad I guess - for rock and roll at least).

I take it you saw the 20" A ride on TM that the seller says is 4500g? That's got to be a man hole cover at that weightMind Blowi

I haven't had hands on enough 50s Zildjian cymbals to really know much about the different profiles and bell sizes. I have an early Zildjian 60s bottom which I can pair up with my Trans Stamp top, but that's it for Zidljian hats I've got on hand. The Trans Stamp and 60s bottom have pretty much the same bell sizes (both diameter and height) and fairly similar profiles, although the Trans Stamp does the slight downward bend at the outer edge.

Yeah, I remember seeing a 20" 4500g cymbal. Seems unlikely even when Zildjian were at their heaviest phase. Mind Blowi is about right.