[COLOR="DarkRed"]It's a 70's stencil version of Ajaha...made for Gretsch in the UFIP factory. the signature is actually an ink "stamp" repro of the original Ajaha signature.

These are very good cymbals.....actually, arguably...musically superior to the older, ink-signed Ajahas (although historically less important).[/COLOR]

[COLOR="Red"]electricitMo'fo b#stards ! Gretsch has apparently decided that now that Ajaha is on the vintage cymbal radar....they are gonna cash in on it (!?)

I contacted them several years ago...several times, different folks...inquiring about Ajahas (as they appeared in their catalogs from the '40's-70's). Every reply there claimed "We have never heard of these"

Wow...I guess someone there clued into taking some marketing advantage of the interest.....

....god bless America.Toilet (so does this mean they'll recompense me for all of the research I have done on 'em in the past half-decade ?)

(Will see if they are really gonna help fill in the blanks they have been so mum about....or just use this as a new avenue to sell stuff......)[/COLOR]

thats very interesting. the newer one does look like a quality cymbal and very playable. if it sounds as good as it looks i would buy it. im no expert but the lathing does look quite like a. zildjian. my ajaha however sounds like it should be on a one man band setup somewhere in east jibib. or possibly sound effects for pee wees playhouse. corny. i do like the history though. as you can see i posted that new ajaha link a while ago and sometimes click on it to see if there is any updates with it. none so far.which brings me to another question. is the corporate lack of knowledge of these items a more or less standard thing? for gretsch to deny knowledge of the cymbals that were sold with their kits seems weird. ok maybe they dont know from which italian workshop they came from or obscure details that only cymbal geeks care about, but to not know anything about them? seems like each of these major drum manufacturers could use a resident historian. drums have been a part of our country since its beginning (part of civilization for a few thousand years). i dont feel at all silly in saying that they are of huge historical significance both politically and in popular culture, from the battlefields of the revolutionary war, to buddy richs jaw dropping styles, to vinnie paul tearing it up. they touch everyone in one way or another. fascinating

Most of these modern day companies have no interest in the past. All they care about is selling new "units" for today, and everything else is irrelevant. Zildjian is especially guilty of this. Just try mentioning the Zildjians that were made in their golden era days to Cragie at one of her cymbal fests and then just watch how quickly her eyes start to glaze over.

Anyway those Ajaha's were distributed by Greysch and advertised as being "2nd only to K. Zildjian". Some were very nice. Unlike Jaye, I've heard some of the older ones that sounded excellent to my ears. A pair of thin hi-hats that were from the 40's come to mind that I thought were killer and in every way and just as good as the old Zildjian of the era. I think you just have to run into the right ones because these older examples were hand hammered, and hand hammered cymbal run hot and cold no matter who makes them. Its just all do to the vagaries of the artisan's touch with that silver hammer.

Hand signed and with the Constantinople too.....it's the Great Grandfater of all Ajaha's.

All bow down in reverence....

[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/drumaholic/ebaycymbals/Ajahaper20Const.jpg[/img]

except mine is hand signed as yours is. but i also have the zeltian stamp on top. just sayin........ and yours looks like it was run through a garden chipper with rusty blades. not for nuttin.... ALL BOW!

[COLOR="DarkRed"]I agree....the thinner old, hand-signed Ajahas can be pretty nice. Just that most of 'em seem not to have been on the thin side.

The stamped stencil ones are really good cymbals.....yes, in ways sorta like an Avedis...but in ways...not. Basically, a lotta good cymbals came out of the UFIP facility in the '70's-80's. I have an entire set of the stencil Ajahas and they are every bit as good if not better than their contemporary big-named American and German counterparts. A 20" ride in a good weight is definitely worth $200-250 easily....and they don't tend to get up that high on auction....

Unfortunately, Drumaholic...I fear that you may well be correct (although I hope not). if I were a bettin' man, I'd have to say that Gretsch is just gonna resuscitate the name in order to find a new selling niche created by the interest in the originals. Typical corporation stuff....in a day when once-respected-but-now-defunct vintage names and labels appear to be bought and sold like 2-bit ho's.....

....so I am not hopeful......(but it'd be nice to be surprised....maybe.......)[/COLOR]

Some things....maybe even most....shouldn't ever be resurected.

This beause they almost invariably turn out to be a dissapointment, and a stain on the name of the classic original.

Super Zyn is just one example of that.

Just found this thread... I have two Ajaha cymbals. I got them both in 1982 and they were in a used pile at a music store.

The first is a 22" medium. Stamped sig and Made in Italy on the underside, Medium stamped on the top and barely readable. This is a dandy ride, but it has a very low voice and a wash that can get overpowering. It has a tape gook spot I need to clean off, and it also has been marked with a red marker... 22" & $89.50... I can't get it off but it's barely noticable.

The second cymbal is about 17" and also stamped medium. But this one had a crack at one time and was cut down from a larger size... it was never finished and it's not quite round. The stamped sig is not very readable.

Pictures below...

Cassidy

Sorry, didn't mean to be a thread killer. I was really excited to finally know what these cymbals are.

Hey Jaye, is my 22" ride one of those stencilled ones you're saying is worth 200-250 bucks?

Cassidy

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Yup....yeah, maaaaan.... I have TWO of those 22" stamp-signature ones....they are both smokin' rides. Do you like yours ?

....yes, if you talked it up on an eBay listing it'd top $200, I am almost certain.[/COLOR]

I love it. I just think it's cooler that it's worth decent money... makes it sound even better when I play it! LOL

Cassidy