Rodjian Roth

All I know is the little I have heard or read -------that they are East German and were the better cymbal made there; better than the white brass ones branded, Trowa, that is.

Here is what I see. It looks to be a cast cymbal, because there are some spots on the undersurface , like little slag pockets, air bubbles, impurities or whatever. It is extensively hand hammered ,on the top,with very good but antique looking lathing. In fact, if you look at it from a distance, it looks like it could be a Turkish K.

However; I don't think it is bronze. I think it is cast yellow brass, which makes it the only one I know of,like that. It had numerous dents along the edge----about 25 or so , which you hardly ever see on a cast bronze cymbal. They were easy to straighten, which indicates that it is a more malleable metal than bronze.

It looks to me ,like the East Germans were trying to make a decent cymbal but for some reason unknown( likely economic-----although I don't know ,whether brass is cheaper to make and pour than bronze-----maybe they had lots of scrap), they chose brass over bronze. It even smells like brass.

It is a decent ride cymbal, closest to a K ,if I had to describe it. It has a little of the tinniness and ring that characterises brass or B8 cymbals but the undertones are distant and dark. It crashes with authority and complexity, with lots of sustain. very nice, more open bell.-----1723 gm. and it has exactly the same stamp as the one you picture.----- Maybe the East Germans had some Turkish P.O.W.'S or some Armenian friends? If you hold it at arms length, it looks like a Turkish cymbal.

Posted on 12 years ago

Drumaholic

Member

Joined 16 years ago

Posts: 2374 Threads: 168

From calfskin

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I picked one up recently. It's a 19"----actually 480mm, a little under 19". All I know is the little I have heard or read -------that they are East German and were the better cymbal made there; better than the white brass ones branded, Trowa, that is. Here is what I see. It looks to be a cast cymbal, because there are some spots on the undersurface , like little slag pockets, air bubbles, impurities or whatever. It is extensively hand hammered ,on the top,with very good but antique looking lathing. In fact, if you look at it from a distance, it looks like it could be a Turkish K. However; I don't think it is bronze. I think it is cast yellow brass, which makes it the only one I know of,like that. It had numerous dents along the edge----about 25 or so , which you hardly ever see on a cast bronze cymbal. They were easy to straighten, which indicates that it is a more malleable metal than bronze. It looks to me ,like the East Germans were trying to make a decent cymbal but for some reason unknown( likely economic-----although I don't know ,whether brass is cheaper to make and pour than bronze-----maybe they had lots of scrap), they chose brass over bronze. It even smells like brass. It is a decent ride cymbal, closest to a K ,if I had to describe it. It has a little of the tinniness and ring that characterises brass or B8 cymbals but the undertones are distant and dark. It crashes with authority and complexity, with lots of sustain. very nice, more open bell.-----1723 gm. and it has exactly the same stamp as the one you picture.----- Maybe the East Germans had some Turkish P.O.W.'S or some Armenian friends? If you hold it at arms length, it looks like a Turkish cymbal.

Probably made from melted down old WWII Russian shell casings.

Posted on 12 years ago

danypriestHUN

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Joined 9 years ago

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From calfskin

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Does anyone here know anything about these cymbals?

Yep! They're awesome![IMG]https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t35.0-12/11024859_879805105394371_236600231_o.jpg?oh=bf6776094b62975018fb41094cc90abe&oe=54F40A35&__gda__=1425275752_ba5a1f5f34cb53854651610fd1cd4bf5[/IMG]

Posted on 9 years ago

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