About us / about the cymbals
CYMBALISTIC is an online dealer of Cymbal & Gong cymbals, and is an outgrowth of Todd Bishop's CRUISE SHIP DRUMMER! drumming blog.
Cymbals are personally selected by Bishop for sound and playability, with the needs of jazz drummers, and anyone seeking classic 50s/60s cymbal sounds, in mind.
CYMBAL & GONG is a small company based in Portland, Oregon, which produces some of the world’s finest traditional hand made cymbals, crafted in Turkey. We believe they are consistently some of the best jazz instruments made.
Cymbal & Gong lines available through CYMBALISTIC include:
HOLY GRAIL
Holy Grail cymbals recreate the sound of jazz music of the 1940s-1960s. Sonically and visually, each instrument is unique, while being remarkably consistent— in sound and in quality as instruments. The tasteful brown / verdigris patina on the Holy Grails not only looks great, it is integral to the cymbal; the finishing touch on their unique sound – smoky and complex.
Holy Grails come in two designs:
Kervan / “Turkish style” are modeled after mid century Turkish made jazz cymbals, with a low profile round bell.
American Artist / “A style” are a little heavier, with a larger, squarish bell used on American made cymbals from the 1950s.
JANAVAR
Inspired by a 1960s European B8 bronze line, but truly its own instrument— an improvement on the original, we feel— Janavar series are lighter weight rock/pop cymbals made of B20 bronze. Sound is generally clean, full, and bright.
Some customer feedback:
The Janavar is… quite simply the best crash cymbal I’ve ever owned. Modern crash cymbals, no matter the weight, have a “clang” when hit softly. Heavier weights never lose it and lighter weights won’t let go of it until struck with enough force, at which point the room is filled with chaotic high-frequency radiation and the floor manager is giving you the stink-eye. That’s not an issue playing an outdoor rock gig but won’t do during dinner service or to the discerning ear of a studio microphone.
At Cymbalistic we offer Janavars in two custom forms, the Special Janavar, which is given a heavy patina, and the Extra Special Janavar, which has “K style” hammering and lathing, and a heavy patina, often with rivets. Some of our most popular cymbals recently.
MERSEY BEAT
This series is patterned after a set of cymbals played by a rather famous British Invasion drummer hailing from Liverpool. The series includes: very thin 14” hihats, 18” crash-ride, and 20” crash-ride with four rivets. Ostensibly cymbals for pop music, the 20″ Mersey Beat has been very popular with our jazz drummer customers.
MIDNIGHT LAMP
“Half-Turk” design— unlathed on top, lathed on the bottom. These are very thin, with a small bell. Intimate, low volume cymbals, with a very modern smoky/glassy sound, great for recording.
TODD BISHOP is a jazz drummer, Origin Records recording artist, writer, drum instructor, and visual artist living in Portland, Oregon.
CRUISE SHIP DRUMMER! is a leading drumming web site, helping people drum smarter, not harder, since 2011.