Sweet! Looking forward to seeing the other pics!

Wow what a day!

Was that the legendary “vault” in your picture? Looks like a lot of cymbals on shelves there...

I’m not crazy about them putting modern cymbals on Buddy’s kit. Why not leave the originals Jake, or new re-creations of the originals?

Yes that is the Artist Vault.

That’s a great question that should be asked!

I went on the tour a couple of years ago with the local drum store and it was absolutely fascinating to see what starts out as a ball of raw material and what they turn out at the other end......eye candy to the max!

I was going to say this exact thing!

At the very least, put some "seconds" on there that didn't make the cut and leave them with no ink stamps, so they at least look authentic and period correct!

I did that tour years ago and was treated very well by the people at Zildjian, although I was a bit turned off at how fast the cymbals were produced, after I then toured the Sabian factory and watched the time and care that went into their cymbal production. It was no contest. The Sabian guys and ladies were really committed to their work, whereas the folks at Zildjian seemed like they were just spitting them out as fast as they could.

That was at a point where I couldn't find any Zildjian cymbals I cared to own at any store I visited. I hate to say it, but that's pretty much still true. I own a good set of Mastersound hats and some old Zildjians, but I haven't bought a new Zildjian in perhaps fifteen years. There are just so many better alternatives out there; Paiste, Meinl, Sabian, Turkish, Istanbul, and so many others. Zildjian is last on my list these days.

DrumBob!

I'm with you on this! My thoughts are that all the major cymbal makers are now producing so many lines of cymbals that they are merely a commodity item. All my preferred cymbals are A. Zildjians from the very late 60's and early 70's. The one exception is my trusty 20" ride, which is a Sabian, which I believe I purchased some time in the 80's. I love the sound of all the "aged" metal! Just beautiful sounding cymbals that the majority of new ones can't duplicate.

-Mark

That is so true! The Zildjian factory is very professional and efficient, but the folks at Sabian treat you more like they're giving you a tour of their home ("farmhouse" would be more appropriate considering its very rural location). The guy in jeans and flannel giving me and my wife the tour was a former lathe operator there and he couldn't have been nicer. Everyone there is really proud of their work and they're actually thankful that you'd take the time to check out how they make cymbals. They let me strike everything on display except the prototypes in "Area 51" (their name for the artists/endorsers vault). Turned me into a real Sabian fan.

Mike

The Sabian experience was really eye opening for us. They took us into the vault and let us try out cymbals from a rolling cart of prototypes. Every cymbal we played was killer. Mark Love manages the vault, and he was super nice to us. Everyone was great, including Bob Zildjian and his wife, Willie, who invited us to dinner at their favorite German restaurant in Meductic that night. I love sauerbraten, and it was the best I ever had. I made sure I sat next to Bob. His stories about Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa were priceless.

Finally adding more pictures from the tour!

From the lobby:

- signed Ringo drum heads (anyone see what's wrong in this pic?)

- a car owned by Avedis(?) Zildjian

- cymbal art

- brass drum?

- a zilzen (cymbal player)