Thanks Zen. I got this from a reputable drum trader. I thought he knew what he was selling me. LOL! The holes are indeed not 1/2" but 3/8". It was done well enough I had to pull out the machinists scale to measure distances to confirm it is not a factory drill job. The pattern is a couple mm off. Must be Monday: I started off the day thinking I had some 'Quick Beats' just to find out I have some "Ghetto Beats." :p

Apologies to the OP: I had no idea I was spreading disinfo. Cooked Egg

Here are the pics. When I opened the box I was a little worried about what I got. The bottom hat doesn't have the Zildjian stamp. Also, the holes were drilled by the previous owner. The top hat has the Zildjian stamp. Any idea on what series and year this could be? The top is dirty but the bottom is not. Bottom line....these things sound great! They sound very similar to my other vintage Zildjian hats. I am happy Clapping Happy2

The Zildjian trademark is the CO version from the 1980s. Here are all the identifying features:

http://black.net.nz/avedis/avedis-gallery.html#CO

As far as I know that trademark is used on the Avedis series, but I haven't collected up examples of all other (entry level) series from back then.

That ink saying

14 / 35

HI-HAT

BOTTOM

from the bottom hat then it looks like it isn't from the Avedis series. The diameter info on the Avedis series is below the other words and includes the units:

14" / 35 CM

unless there are some I haven't yet docuemented on my site. Because I really only focus on the pofessional lines I haven't got much on the other series. So that bottom hat might be a Zildjian from a lower series or maybe something else. Hopefully some others will know.

Thanks for the info! The thing throwing me on the bottom hat is there is no trademark....only the part you can see where it says 14/35....

Steve- I have an EAK which is from '80 or so. Is that stamp of use to you? Ink is intact as well.

This might be a long shot, but due to you not finding a Zildjian stamp, that ink has said a name to me. Sabian. Early Sabian's at most had " Canada " etched in and a lot of their font was really close to Zildjian.

It could be a Sabian....I really have no clue what it is, lol. Main thing is that is that the hats sound great!!

Well that's key. As long as they sound great and you're loving them. Name is really inconsequential.

I agree! I'm just glad the top hat is the Zildjian. To me the top cymbal makes the biggest difference sound-wise.

Thanks for the offer. I think I've got all the North American made Ks covered in my reference collection, I just haven't gone on to add those pages to my web site. But if I find a hole in my collection I'll be in touch.

Even the earliest Sabian cymbals had the current sabian trademark with the curves (representing a cymbal -- you can see how they are closer together at the bell). If there are any changes in the pressed in trademark over time we haven't spotted them. The earliest ink on the precursor to the AA series is unlike the mystery cymbal, and the size information is on the bottom not the top:

[img]http://black.net.nz/drums/sabianMiniBell18z.JPG[/img]

This image of the cymbal bottom also the early ink version of the pressed in trademark stamp. The small pressed in die stamp version is on the top side of this cymbal, along with model info which is in a hollow font.

The earliest ink on the HH version is also quite different from the mysetery hi hat. I haven't got model and size ink examples for the lesser lines, only HH and what became the AA line. But I'd say that mystery hi hat isn't likely to be Sabian ink. As with the North American K info, I've got a reasonably complete set of Sabian info but I haven't written up a Sabian gallery and timeline yet.