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Avedis Zildjian I (the first) was an Armenian alchemist in the city of Constantinople in the early seventeenth century. While attempting to create gold by combining base metals, he discovered an alloy of copper, tin, and traces of silver with unique sound qualities. In 1618, Avedis used his secret alloy to create cymbals of spectacular clarity and power. The sound of the instruments was so extraordinary that the Sultan invited Avedis to live at court (Topkapi Palace) to make cymbals for the Sultan's elite Janissary Bands. As Avedis's reputation grew, the Sultan gave him the name "Zildjian" in Armenian (Zilciyan in Turkish), a word meaning "son of cymbal maker." In 1623, Avedis was granted permission to leave the palace in order to start his own business in a suburb of Constantinople named Psamatia. That same business is now nearly four centuries old and has been passed down to Zildjian heirs for fifteen generations. Relocating to America in 1929, Avedis III moved the Zildjian factory to Quincy, MA and then to its current location in Norwell, MA for Zildjian's 350th Anniversary. The business passed to Avedis's son, Armand in 1977 and then to Armand's daughter, Craigie, in 1999. Currently, Craigie and her sister Debbie continue the family tradition in what is recognized as the oldest family-owned business in America. |
Featured Product  AE Cymbals   One of the biggest stories at this year’s NAMM Convention is the debut of Gen16's the AE (Acoustic Electric) Cymbal. While electronic drums and percussion have been around for years, the AE Cymbal is a completely new twist that uses established technology to create essentially a completely new instrument. “The Acoustic Electric Cymbal is capable of creating a wide range of sounds, from that of a classic Zildjian cymbal to some very non-traditional sounds,” explains Zildjian’s VP of New Business & Product Development, John Roderick. "For drummers, it will have an inspirational impact akin to what the acoustic electric guitar has done for guitarists.” Unlike most existing electronic percussion systems, the AE Cymbal is not a sample trigger device. Instead, it’s an actual cymbal, and plays like one, but at reduced volume levels, utilizing a unique dual microphone and DSP engine to amplify and model the cymbal’s output. "One of the most important things for us in creating the AE Cymbal was that it had to feel and play like a real cymbal,” says Paul Francis, Zildjian’s Director of R&D. “Most of what’s currently available for drummers are rubberized, cymbal-shaped trigger pads, and they typically lack the feel and responsiveness of a real cymbal. For us at Zildjian, we’ve always been about the real feel.” As Francis explains, the original concept for a low-volume acoustic cymbal was proposed by Korg. “They came up with the basic perforation pattern and approached us to perfect the design. We did extensive testing to create a perforation pattern that would maintain the integrity of an actual cymbal. We also worked to develop the right alloy formula that could deliver the feel, sound and durability we needed, and could be manufactured in a wide range of sizes and shapes.” Amplifying the cymbal was a challenge of a different magnitude. “We came up with a dual microphone system we liked, but there were other challenges,” says Product Specialist Chris Ryan. “One of the biggest was to determine how to best implement signal processing into the mix, as well as how to make the microphone work with most cymbal setups and hardware.” The Gen16 team began a painstaking process of designing the pickup housing and refining the tone modeling and signal processing system that would ultimately become the AE Cymbal System. After many months of programming, the system was ready for the true “acid test.” “Leon Chiappini, our master cymbal tester, and Paul Francis had to give their approvals of each of the sounds,” says Ryan. “Leon has been at Zildjian since the early 1960s, and learned his craft under Avedis and Armand Zildjian. And Paul’s been our head of R&D for years and has designed and tested more than his share of cymbals. Both of them are pretty much capable of identifying any type of cymbal blindfolded. When Leon and Paul gave their approval, we knew we’d done it. Then we knew we’d created something really special.” Stay tuned to www.Gen-16.com and Zildjian.com for more to come.  Gen16 Digital Vault
The Gen16 Digital Vault is literally the next generation of innovative products from the world´s leading cymbal maker, The Avedis Zildjian Co.. The Digital Vault offers a top of the line virtual cymbal environment for your computer featuring extreme flexibility and power for any digital audio workstation or the perfect addition to any e-drum set up.
Gen16 Z-Pack Vol. 1 - A Series The Gen16 Digital Vault is literally the next generation of innovative products from the world’s leading cymbal maker, The Avedis Zildjian Co. The Digital Vault offers a top of the line virtual cymbal environment for your computer featuring extreme flexibility and power for any digital audio workstation or the perfect addition to any e-drum set up. The Gen16 Digital Vault Z-Pack Vol. 1 features the cleanest, most accurate and realistic cymbal sounds ever created; a must-have addition to any serious drum sampling arsenal. The samples on this volume contain 14 of the most popular A Zildjian cymbals recorded at the highest quality with multiple velocity layers for the bell, bow, and edge of each cymbal in addition to multiple articulations of stick, mallet, and brush. Each factory reference cymbal has been hand-selected by Zildjian's Master Cymbal Tester Paul Francis, and painstakingly recorded by percussion sampling guru John Emrich. The result - the purest cymbal samples available anywhere. The Z-Pack also includes exclusive artist groove tracks. Gen16 has collaborated with accomplished musicians like Peter Michael Escovedo, Michael White, and Dave DiCenso to create a series of drum and percussion groove tracks. Now you can bring their talent into your studio. Each drum and percussion performance is available as full music audio (full band or music minus drums), as well as separate GM (General MIDI) files. Move your ideas in new directions and take your sound to the next level. Run Gen16 Digital Vault Z-Pack on the included software powered by BFD eco or with latest versions of BFD2 products.  14" Quick Beat Hi-Hats Short, tight, funky beat. Fast response. Four holes in bottom for fast air release.  ZBT 3 Box Set Pre-matched box set includes an 18" ZBT Crash Ride and 13" ZBT HiHats. |
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