All companies have their history, the Zildjian history starts in 1623
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' 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' 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.
Brand families from Zildjian
All products from Zildjian
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Article number 1810810
Zildjian 20" K Crash Ride
Full-bodied, quick, short, dark sound. Good Ride definition.
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Article number 1810912
Zildjian 20" K Dark Crash Thin
Full-bodied, quick, short, dark sound. Dark, warm, low-pitched crash.
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Article number 1812018
Zildjian 20" K Symphonic Light (Brilliant) Pair
Specially designed in close association with the world's top drum corps specialists. The new K.
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Article number 1810731
Zildjian 21" K Sweet Ride
The K Zildjian Sweet Collection extends the iconic K Family into a new direction of tonal colors that are...
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Article number 1811114
Zildjian 22" K Constantinople Bounce Ride
Designed in conjunction with Jazz legend Kenny Washington; this newest edition to the K Constantinople line is...
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Article number 1810830
Zildjian 22" K Dark Medium Ride
Full-bodied, quick, short, dark sound. The 22" K Zildjian Dark Medium Ride is designed to perform in rock and...
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Article number 1810832
Zildjian 22" K Light Ride
Full-bodied, quick, short, dark sound. The 22" K Light Ride features the same "smoky" sound and excellent...
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Article number 1810819
Zildjian 22" K Ride
Full-bodied, quick, short, dark sound. Clear, full-stick definition.
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Article number 1810732
Zildjian 23" K Sweet Ride
The K Zildjian Sweet Collection extends the iconic K Family into a new direction of tonal colors that are...
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Article number 1810834
Zildjian 24" K Light Ride
Full-bodied, quick, short, dark sound. This 24" beauty is designed to generate wide variations of sound with...
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Article number 1810857
Zildjian 8" K Splash
Full-bodied, quick, short, dark sound.
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Article number 1899933
Zildjian KC0801W Worship Pack
This warm and complex collection features the innovative K Custom range.
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Article number 1811401
Zildjian 10" K Custom Special Dry Splash
The 10" Splash is extra thin in weight with a great quick splash sound that opens and shuts right down.
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Article number 1810932
Zildjian 10" K Custom Dark Splash
Spectacularly clean clear and articulate.
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Article number 1811408
Zildjian 14" K Custom Special Dry Hi-hat
This unique HiHat feature an A thin top with heavy bottom. Nice solid chick sound with a dark stick sound....
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Article number 1810943
Zildjian 14" K Custom Dark Hihat
Spectacularly clean clear and articulate. Warm, full-bodied tone with clean stick sound.
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Article number 1810980
Zildjian 14" K Custom Fast Crash
Spectacularly clean clear and articulate. K Custom Crash with new bell design.
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Article number 1810993
Zildjian 14" K Custom Session Hihat
Spectacularly clean clear and articulate. Unique pairing, modeled after Steve Gadd's personal HiHats.
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Article number 1811413
Zildjian 15" K Custom Special Dry Hi-hat
This unique HiHat feature an A thin top with heavy bottom. Nice solid chick sound with a dark stick sound....
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Article number 1811416
Zildjian 16" K Custom Special Dry Crash
Extra Thin to Thin in weight. Quick fast attack with lots of dirt in the sound and shuts down quickly.
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Article number 1810982
Zildjian 16" K Custom Fast Crash
Spectacularly clean clear and articulate. K Custom Crash with new bell design.
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Article number 1811216
Zildjian 16" K Custom Hybrid Crash
Designed with Akira Jimbo to combine darkness and brilliance. The new 16" Crash offers a more complete and...
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Article number 1810990
Zildjian 16" K Custom Session Crash
Spectacularly clean clear and articulate. Designed with Steve Gadd.
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Article number 1811418
Zildjian 17" K Custom Special Dry Trash Crash
Extra Thin to Thin in weight. Quick fast attack, lots of dirt in the sound and shuts down quickly. New hole...