Hi guys,
is there anyone who knows anything about Smyrne cymbals?
what is that brand for? I was looking for on the web but couldn't find out anything.
I own a nice and (looks like) quite old hi hat but I really don't know where it is coming from.
thank you for help.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]Post a pic...I am sure drumaholic will be by soon enough to identify it.
I have never heard of that maker. If there is an embossed stamp, try to get a closeup of that too...
Nuthin' better than a good cymbal mystery....guitar2[/COLOR]
Hi, this is the picture I took of it,
the embossed stamp is mirrored but anyway it says SMYRNE, wich is a turkish city, but maybe in this case just a brand.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]Yeah...the city's named Smyrna.
I have your answer. I looked at your pic and looked at the stylization of the stamp, along with the lathing grroves and what I could see of the hammering.
First thing that jumped into my head was : Italian.
It's a UFIP/Italian made cymbal...probably a stencil brand ( stencil brands= made by mother companies but stamped under another name).
http://vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=5662&page=2
If you go to this thread and scroll down near bottom of this page, Drumaholic posted his "Rosetta Stone" showing all of the logos UFIP produced under. In the upper left near the corner...not at very top left...but a little down and a little to the right...is a Smyrna stamp.
There ya go.
I bet it's quite a decent old cymbal....most UFIP stencils are good.
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hi,
thank you very much for your help!
So it's made in Italy with a fantasy turkish name...
anyway the cymbal itself is pretty good matched with a 15" zildjian as I use to do sometimes.
all best.
Hi; I am a french drummer wanting to "know what" about Smyrne cymbals; some say UFIP stencils; I own a few UFIP stuff and don't agree totally with this statement: these Smyrne are so thin and brittle, with these strange bell shapes and unique hammering: watch these ones: the 21" starts shimmering with a slight tap of the thumb and swells easily.
the 12" has lost its voice but should have been a very nice big splash.
Any new clues ?
[IMG]http://imageshack.us/scaled/large/692/u599.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imageshack.us/scaled/large/46/4wgs.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imageshack.us/scaled/large/43/uasb.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imageshack.us/scaled/large/69/91ym.jpg[/IMG]
Re: Soft's cymbal
Now, it's quite obvious that this cymbal is a bit too damaged to play - but I must say......
Not sure about you all, but I have grown to appreciate the mere beauty of certain cymbals - this one would be included - potentially a keeper for the mere beauty of it. Fortunately, most times these come very cheap (if not free in a deal) as they are pretty much worthless otherwise.
John
I currently own several cymbals , with a very similar profile, lathing marks, hammer marks and casting marks. Some of mine , carry a small circular made in Italy stamp and some of them don't and carry no other mark.
Having owned many Italian cymbals , it seems clear that although there is a family resemblance amongst them, there were a number of makers, Originally, Ufip was a collective of the Benti, Biasei,Rosati,Tronci and Zanchi. One of them, Rosati(?), left early on , Zanchi went independent sometime in the late 40's and a descendent of Biasei started Tosco, so there were at least 4 makers plus Belotti, a long established maker. There may have been others. It seems there was a lot of cooperation, as well, so your cymbal seems certain to be Italian but not necessarily a Ufip.
If you go to this thread and scroll down near bottom of this page, Drumaholic posted his "Rosetta Stone"
Slight correction. Drumaholic doesn't say this is "his" Rosetta Stone. The photo is in fact by Ronn Dunnett as part of his tour in Italy a few years ago. Since Drumaholic has complained in the past about others using his timeline research without credit, I'm sure he would second my attempt to set the record straight.
The photo in question (courtesy Ronn Dunnett)
[img]http://black.net.nz/cym2012/ufipStencilBrands.jpg[/img]
I can't provide a link to the original pictorial at the moment (can't relocate it on the web). But from memory, Ronn mentions a wall in one part of the factory where they have all (or at least almost all) of the logos/trademarks they have put on cymbals manufactured by UFiP. It isn't a deep dark secret, but you have to go to the factory to see it.
@ Soft:
The 21" cymbal you posted looks like my UFiP in profile and bell shape. Mine has the pressed in UFiP pyramid stamp over the pressed in Made in Italy circular stamp. I have two 20s. This is one of them. I trust you can see the similarity (the post lathing hammering and steep sided bell bell in particular). If you look at that image of UFiP stencil brands I posted above, second row 3rd one across (below the Cantor on the first row) you will see something which looks like Smyrne with the star and crescent moon above it. My eyes aren't so great at this and others may be able to see it better than I can -- or find another one on the page when it comes to that.
[img]http://black.net.nz/cym2012/ufip7.jpg[/img]
[img]http://black.net.nz/cym2012/UFiP1675gEdge.jpg[/img]
