I'm fond of the newer Constantinople cymbals. I've never been a fan of the later A's or K's. I like some of the old old Zildjian's. Not many of them, but a few. I much prefer "other" cymbals. Zildjian took a very strange turn in the 80's and on. The K's are not hand hammered. They went to that odd pneumatic thing (same thing they used on the A's) and implied they were using old world craftsmanship. It's just not the same. They are getting better at it, but it's still not there. So, I guess it means I like the new Constantinople cymbals and not much more.

I'm a fan of 70s and before Zildjian A cymbals. As they go back in time, they get better, in my opinion, with 50s As being a healthy balance of complexity and volume. 60s and after sound best played loud, while some 50s and before are just too quiet, but very complex.

As for the new As, I'm not a fan...there's a certain inherent brightness/brashness to them that prevents me from saying, "there's a good-sounding cymbal."

[COLOR="DarkRed"]All handcraft was abandoned on A's in the '70's....even late 60's A's show some handcrafting to them. That is when they lost their sound. Complete mechanization comes, quality goes. All that can be said for that is that a company can then make thousands of cymbals 99.9% identical....

...but who cares, really ?

Some newer Zildjians are decent....the Sweet Ride ain't a bad cymbal at all. As McJ says, the new Constaninoples are very good, mostly (particularly because they went BACK to makin' 'em the old fashioned way).

....but quite honestly...when you can pick up a new Istanbul or Bos or Masterwork for 65-70% of the price of a new K Const...why in the world would you ever buy the Zildjian, really ????[/COLOR]

Just got hold of a few 60-early 70,s and they are outstanding imo.Mind you they are 17,16,19"er,s and remind me of the Krupa/Rich soundCool1

I love the old 40's, 50's and 60's A's that I have. But I also like the new K's when I use them like an A. Does that make sense? If I want a K type vibe in a new pie, I look at other makers.

I'm in the process of playing them all to see what I like, then I will attempt to ID the old ones and then sell what I don't need.

I have owned and played some very nice 70's A's.I also own some modern K's, a 20 heavy ride,and thin 16 and 18 crash,and they are all nice ones.I think Zildgian has dropped the ball on the curernt A's,they seem to have put more emphasis on the development and marketing of the lower and upper lines,and the A line is kind of the red headed stepchild.The hats are still consistently good I think.But if you are trying to put together a full set with crashes splashes and ride,that is what I would call the zildgian challenge.It's like Zil's attitude is we will make a few nice ones accidentally,and it is up to you to go find them.I live in the Atlanta area,so there are 3 Gc's 1 sam ash and two independents with well stocked cymbal rooms,so if I went to every one I could put together a good set,but if you don't have access to a lot of them it would be tough to put together a good set IMO.

Thanks all

While I generally agree with you, I have a K Con 22" medium thin low and a 22" medium thin high. I picked up the M-T-H at Soul Drums, Toronto out of aound 1/2 dozen they had in stock. I had an equally large choice for the M-T-L which I picked up at Drummer's World in NYC. Spent well over an hour in each shop picking out the one I wanted. I own around 20+ rides including 2 old K's, a number of old A's and and several Bosphorus as well as several comtemporary K and Sabians including and Artisan. The K Cons definitely hold their own. I haven't heard a single A I have liked made after around 1970, and don't care for the majority of current K's either. The A's are too bright, pingy and metallic, and most of the newer K's are... well...boring!