I’ve been more inclined toward Bosphorus. I had a couple of pre split Istanbul which were just too heavy for me. When I first encountered Bosphorus I thought, “These are exactly what Ive been looking for”. Eventually I had an “endorsement” and ended up purchasing a bunch. Since then Ive gotten a couple of Agops and a couple of Mehmets. In general I like the Mehmets a little more but that could just be the particular ones I have.

I purchased some Agop cymbals that I like a lot. They have a really extensive line of cymbals that run from super dry and dark, to jazz player endorsed cymbals and all the way to bright fast rock stuff. I think they are more innovative and willing to push the envelope than some of the other major guys out there. I could be wrong on that, because I simply can't go through every cymbal makers full product lines, but I have gone through Agop's and they really do have a cymbal for every need.

I went with their dark and dry Xist and Ion series and I'm very happy with them. They sound and look very cool.

I had an endorsement with Istanbul Agop for a while, until the US distributor was canned by the company owner in Turkey, and that was that. I bought a full line of their "bullseye" cymbals (I don't recall the name), but they were uniformly too dark for the music I was playing. Not their fault, but mine. I thought they looked cool. I still have the 10" splash. The rest were sold.

Then, I hooked up a deal with Bosphorus. It was a disaster. The guy handling US distribution was a putz. I bought a Stanton Moore Wide Ride, which I like and still have, but it's very dark and the bell doesn't cut. Then, I ordered 16" and 18" crashes. I explained to Mr. Putz that I was rock drummer and needed cymbals that cut through the mix. He sent me paper thin crashes that were too light and couldn't be heard over the band. I sent them back and requested he credit my Visa. After weeks, that never happened. I called him and he claimed the cymbals were never delivered. I went back through my UPS records and discovered that Mr. Putz himself had signed for them when UPS dropped them off. He finally "found" them in the warehouse and issued a credit.

Then, I bought a ride cymbal right out of Bosphorus's booth at NAMM 2007, paid for it and arranged to have it delivered after the show. Three weeks later, no cymbal. I called and was then told the cymbal had been stolen out of their booth on Sunday, the closing day of the show. Well, thanks for not telling me! They never had the decency to call and inform me about this theft, after they had charged my credit card and were sitting on my money. That was the last straw. I wrote them a letter and told them to shove their cymbals sideways, this relationship is over. I got a nasty letter back saying how dare you, that no artist had ever terminated an endorsement with them before. I called Mr. Putz and told him he was a flaming idiot. I guess I was right; Mr. Putz is no longer the distributor of Bosphorus cymbals, and Stanton Moore no longer endorses Bosphorus either.

I'm now endorsing Impression, a new line of Turkish-made cymbals, and so far, so good. I'm extremely happy with the Illumunati series 22" ride I got recently, and now have Illuminati 16" and 18" crashes on order. You guys should Google Impression cymbals and check them out. My next order will be 14" hats, a China and an 8" splash.