sorry, I can't see that far but-----the chances are very very very ----Zenstat, would you finish this sentence for me ?
...unclear at this time due to lack of conclusive evidence. (you did ask a statistician for an answer)
The 602 line was discontinued in 1989 not 1969.
http://www.paiste-only.com/paistewiki/index.php?title=Formula_602
Spinning: Without photos of what you mean, I can't really follow what you are saying about fine curved radial lines. I think there might be some benefit in following it up, but it won't tell us about 602s and Germany.
We broached the radial lines subject already in trying to get to what precisely it is that people think is a sure sign of being "rotocast". Here:
http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=37602
I'd say this is another area where we would benefit from clear illustrations of just what we are talking about. That's why I'm such a stickler for people documenting how they arrived at a decision, not just announcing the decision.
Thanks Calfskin, for filling out the picture of how you have tested different cymbals. I think we agree that the 602 material is harder and more brittle. We disagree over exactly what this implies about the production process. I say we don't know because we lack sufficient evidence of the secret proprietary process (and secret proprietary isn't just Paiste of course, Zildjian plays the same game). Are you convinced by the evidence you have that "sheets" were only rolled one way in the mill? Is that the key difference? Or do we leave things in an "unknown" state and just say 602s were harder and more brittle and breakage was a problem but we don't yet know why.
One interesting followup will be to see if the relaunched 602s get the same sort of reputation for cracking that the original ones did. We might have to wait a few more years to hear. You haven't by any chance had a look at the new 602 material to compare it with the old 602 material?