I have never heard of an inexpensive Spizzochino.

pricey no matter where you get them....

I saw a used one for $500 once. It sounded magical, but not $500 magical...

here's the response email i got from Lee.

"For 40+ years I have owned and played Istanbul "K" Zildjian cymbals. Since the production of the original old "K's" ended, there have been some very honorable attempts by cymbal manufacturers to recreate that sound. Over the years, many great jazz cymbals have been produced, but only one person has succeeded in duplicating, and even improving the original old "K" sound. His name is Roberto Spizzichino, the sole producer of "Spizzichino" cymbals. This gifted artisan makes these beautiful instruments by hand, by himself. I have been playing his cymbals for fifteen years now, and have spent much time in Italy visiting "Roberto". We have become very good friends. I am offering these beautiful cymbals to jazz artists. Since Spizzichino is a one-man operation, these cymbals are available only in limited quantities. I currently have new hihats, 18's, 20's, and 22's available. They vary in weight from thin, to medium thin. If you are interested in any of these pieces now or in the future, feel free to contact me.

Prices change depending on the euro/dollar exchange rate. 18s are $560.00, 20's are currently $700.00, 22's are $840.00, and 14" hihats are $770.00. These cymbals will never be in stores due to very limited production. There is no such thing as a retailer. There are no catalogs, letterheads, price lists, endorsers, etc. Thanks for your interest."

now if only i had the $$$

Falling Do

That's less expensive than I thought they were......

that's what i was thinking.

Yes Sir

Should be spelled $pizzicha-ching-o! Wow! Never heard them......and probably never will. I can't afford to hit "art".

check this!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-zoAJWpHZA[/ame]

I shopped at a drum store in Florida back when I lived there. The gent had purchased most all of Pearl's back stock of some of the birch and maple kits. Didn't like those. But, he had some Spizz cymbals on the rack amidst the others. I played them and thought they were cheap sounding. I ran into a couple of Spizz cymbals a few years later. I still thought they sounded cheap. I dismissed them after that.

With that said, the cymbals in that video are NOT the cymbals I tried. Those are beautiful hand hammered beauties. The one's I popped were B20's, but the hammering was not as sweet and the tone just wasn't there.

Are the early Spizz cymbals a bit more tone deaf than the more current ones? Just curious.