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Zildjian's K Constantinople range made its debut in 1998.

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Zildjian's K Constantinople range made its debut in 1998 and was one of the final projects undertaken by the late Armand Zildjian. An exercise in recapturing the mystical qualities of old, Turkish-manufactured K cymbals, the success of the K Constantinople range was a reflection of Armand's lifetime within the industry.

The original Ks that inspired the K Constantinople range were made under the tutelage of Kerope Zildjian in the late 19th and early 20th century in what was Constantinople (now Istanbul). They became popular among jazz drummers in the '50s and '60s and specimens still change hands, today.

Since Armand's death in 2002, Zildjian's research and development team, led by Paul Francis, has continued work on the K Constantinople range, in effect reproducing cymbal-making techniques from 100 years ago. The result is 10 new cymbals - seven Hi Bell rides, two Flat rides (the first K Constantinople examples) and a new pair of hi-hats.

Back to the future

K Constantinoples begin life in the Zildjian factory alongside other cast Zildjian cymbals, but once they have been rolled and cupped they go to a select team of cymbalsmiths to be worked by hand. Only 40-50 cymbals are ever produced and all work is overseen by Paul Francis.

The cymbals certainly have the appearance of being handmade and are covered in a network of deep hammer marks and extensive lathing. In addition, radical spiral lathing is found on the Hi Bell models, whereby the metal between the lathing grooves is left unfinished. Each cymbal takes around seven days to make and any pits or other surface impurities that would usually be removed on modern cymbals are retained, providing all-important individual character.

The Hi Bell rides are available in a choice of weights and tunings in two diameters - 20" and 22", with the exception of the Dry ride, which comes in the 22" diameter only. The two Flat rides are similarly separated by their sizes (20" and 22"), while the hi-hats are 13" versions of the existing 14" K Constantinople hats.

The new Hi Bell rides are easily distinguishable from the regular K Constantinople rides on account of their more pronounced bell shape (hence the name). The design comes from a pair of 18" K cymbals made in Constantinople in the early 20th century, now owned by Joe Adato of the Cleveland Orchestra. The larger surface area of the bell is intended to provide a wider range of frequencies without being overpowering.

Lathe to the rhythm

The theory behind the spiral lathing featured on the Hi Bell rides is that it helps keep the cymbals controllable, so while the rides are all thin enough to open easily for crashing, sticking is reproduced cleanly without being swamped by wash. The spiral lathing is only present from the bell to roughly halfway out of each cymbal, in order to strike a balance between control and liveliness. The exception to this is the Dry ride, which features full spiral lathing right up to the outer edge.