MusicRadar

Alchemy Professional cymbals are entirely handmade in Istanbul’s famous Turkish foundry

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• Review

Crash landing

For review we have three Power crashes, 16", 17" and 18". Although described as Power crashes, they are not stupidly heavy and painfully brash like some. On the contrary, they were cultured and well rounded. They’re actually medium weight rather than heavy, so they are pretty fast and almost dry.

A glancing blow delivers a full bodied whoosh which decays quite quickly and yet is not thin. There’s just the smallest hint of traditional K-style trashiness which just adds to the overall character.

The 16" is definitely what I’d describe as a fast crash, while the 18" is fuller and relatively loud though still quick to respond. In between, the 17" has a bit of both – it’s still fast, it’s bright and it has body and colour. All-in-all, this is a rather pleasing little collection.

Forceful hi-hats

There’s just the one pair of 14" Power hats. The ‘Power’ designation seems to suit the hats rather better than the crashes since the hi-hats are more forceful. They’re the same gauge as the crashes, but being smaller makes them feel relatively heavier.

Where relatively heavy hi-hats score over thin hi-hats is when you play them closed. Light hats, when closed, often produce a pathetically feeble tick, while pedaling is a waste of time if you’re in a loud rock band.

Heavier cymbals give you a fulsome tone when closed and a loud chick when pedaled. And this is what we have here. The closed tone is strong and well defined and rises considerably in pitch as you ease your foot off the pedal, gradually opening up the cymbals and whacking them with the shoulder of the stick. Plus the pedaled, chick sound is bright and clear.

To reiterate, please bear in mind that this is just a small sample of Istanbul’s Power series, showing just one side of the company’s varied ranges.