The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian, is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded by the ethnic Armenian Zildjian family in the 17th-century Ottoman Empire, the company relocated to the United States in the 20th century. Today, it is the largest cymbal and drumstick maker in the world.
Sabian is a Canadian cymbal manufacturing company established in 1981 in Meductic, New Brunswick, where it is still headquartered. Sabian is considered one of the big four manufacturers of cymbals, along with Zildjian, Meinl and Paiste.
Cymbals are made from four main alloys, all of them copper-based. These are: bell bronze, malleable bronze, brass, and nickel silver.
Modern cymbal making comprises many different techniques, from traditional hand methods to completely automated mass-production.
The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is an American manufacturer of instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment, however it is best known for its solid-body electric guitars and bass guitars, particularly the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Precision Bass, and the Jazz Bass. The company was founded in Fullerton, California by Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender in 1946. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California.
In western music, a China cymbal is a distinct type of crash cymbal designed to produce a bright, crisp, and explosive tone that has brought it the nickname trash cymbal. The name "China cymbal" comes from its shape, which is similar to that of the Chinese Bo. Such cymbals are most frequently mounted upside down on cymbal stands, allowing for them to be more easily struck and for a better sound.
In a drum kit, splash cymbals are the smallest accent cymbals. Splash cymbals and china cymbals are the main types of effects cymbals.
The swish cymbal and the pang cymbal are exotic ride cymbals originally developed and named as part of the collaboration between Gene Krupa and the Avedis Zildjian Company. The current Zildjian Swish Knocker is a redesign of their original swish, with more rivets, deeper bow and shallower bell, based on a cymbal made famous by Mel Lewis, who coined the name knocker.
Paiste is a Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. Paiste is a Finnish and Estonian word that means "shine".
Brian Young is an American drummer and music producer. He is best known as the drummer of the New York-based, Grammy-nominated power pop band Fountains of Wayne and Seattle-based alternative rock band The Posies. From 2012 to 2021 Young was the drummer for the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain.
Blas Elias is an American musician and drummer of the glam metal band Slaughter. He also drums for the Las Vegas production of Blue Man Group. Elias has toured with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra since 2017, and has been a rotating cast member of the Las Vegas production show Raiding the Rock Vault. In 2019 he returned to Slaughter as a full-time drummer.
KMC Music is an owner and distributor of several brands of musical instruments. The company is currently a subsidiary of Canadian corporate group Exertis | JAM.
Stanton Moore is an American funk, jazz, and rock drummer from New Orleans. Most widely known as a founding member of Galactic, Moore has also pursued a solo recording career and recorded with bands as diverse as jazz-funk keyboardist Robert Walter and heavy metal act Corrosion of Conformity.
Joe Bergamini is a drummer from New Jersey in the United States. He is the co-founder of the instrumental progressive rock band 4Front. 4Front's other founder, guitarist/songwriter Zak Rizvi, went on to become a member of the classic rock group Kansas in 2016. Since 2000 Bergamini has been a member of progressive rock band Happy the Man, and appears on their 2005 album The Muse Awakens. In 2003 Bergamini began working on Broadway, with his first show being the New York and national tour productions of the Billy Joel musical Movin' Out, and has also performed at the Broadway productions of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, School of Rock: The Musical, Rock of Ages, In The Heights, The Lion King, Jersey Boys, Pippin (revival), Jesus Christ Superstar (revival), Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, and Million Dollar Quartet. In addition to performing with Billy Joel himself at Movin' Out, Bergamini has also performed with Bumblefoot, Dennis DeYoung and Deborah Gibson. He held the drum chair for the short-lived Broadway show Gettin' the Band Back Together in 2018. Bergamini was born in Belleville, New Jersey, and grew up in East Hanover. He attended the New Jersey Institute of Technology, receiving a bachelor's degree in architecture while studying drums with Dom Famularo on Long Island, as well as teachers Al Miller, John Riley, and Jim Chapin.
Robert Zildjian was the founder of Sabian Cymbals, the second-largest manufacturer of cymbals in the world.
Jeff Hamilton is an American jazz drummer and co-leader of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. A former member of the L.A. Four, Hamilton has played with jazz pianist Monty Alexander, bandleader Woody Herman, and singer Rosemary Clooney, and has worked extensively with singer Diana Krall.
Istanbul Agop Cymbals is a cymbal producer based in Turkey. Its products are well respected for their unique sound, which is formed by the method and the alloy used, the formula of which is known only to the owners of the firm, Armenians Arman and Sarkis Tomurcuk. It is one of two companies that formed after the split of Istanbul Cymbals.
Joey Muha is a Canadian drummer, best known for his YouTube videos, many of which have millions of views and have been featured on multiple websites. He is a member of the industrial metal band Threat Signal, death metal band Jungle Rot. and pop band Liteyears. He has also played for bands associated with Nuclear Blast Records, Victory Records, MapleMusic Recordings, etc.
The Leedy Manufacturing Company was an American manufacturer of percussion instruments headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Leedy was highly successful in the early twentieth century, and was at one point the largest manufacturer of drums and other percussion instruments in the world.
