Anybody re-lathed their old K's

[TDK]

Hello
I am would like to know if anyone has had any luck re-lathing an old K Zildjian Istanbul. There seems to be many out there that are overweight for a fair price and one could purchase and re-lathe them if there has been any success at it. Please let me know and thanks
T

[jaghog]

I know a guy that’s always at drum show buy sell pies he’s has success at that and they come out very nice
I forget his name “ boomer that’s it”
Gary

[OddBall]

Originally Posted by TDK

Hello
I am would like to know if anyone has had any luck re-lathing an old K Zildjian Istanbul. There seems to be many out there that are overweight for a fair price and one could purchase and re-lathe them if there has been any success at it. Please let me know and thanks
T

You would be changing it from a K to an OK Zildjian. Never again can you call it a K.

[jda]

The lathing is about 80% of the sound. Anyone and everyone has done it has lost his a...butt.. on the cymbal.

[Drumaholic]

Originally Posted by jaghog

I know a guy that’s always at drum show buy sell pies he’s has success at that and they come out very nice
I forget his name “ boomer that’s it”
Gary

Boomer does not lathe cymbals. He uses sandpaper. And when he's done with the process he subjects them to, all the original lathing lines are smoothed out and what results is akin to an A custom. He thinks he's making them "sound better". He also does after market hammering on them at the same time. He does this over and over on each cymbal continually sanding and hammering until the desired result is produced. After this process is finished their value and desirability to collectors has become severely diminished. Ultimately he then brings them to the drum show, or he sends them off to Maxwell's to try and sell them. And if he succeeds, it's always sold at a loss. So that begs the question: if he's working based on this theory that he's making them "sound better", then why is it that he never keeps any of these "improved" creations for himself? Because in fact he never does. The result is a colossal waste of time, effort, money, and a ruined vintage cymbal. And he does this with both old K's and old A's alike.

[grantro]

Originally Posted by Drumaholic

Boomer does not lathe cymbals. He uses sandpaper. And when he's done with the process he subjects them to, all the original lathing lines are smoothed out and what results is akin to an A custom. He thinks he's making them "sound better". He also does after market hammering on them at the same time. He does this over and over on each cymbal continually sanding and hammering until the desired result is produced. After this process is finished their value and desirability to collectors has become severely diminished. Ultimately he then brings them to the drum show, or he sends them off to Maxwell's to try and sell them. And if he succeeds, it's always sold at a loss. So that begs the question: if he's working based on this theory that he's making them "sound better", then why is it that he never keeps any of these "improved" creations for himself? Because in fact he never does. The result is a colossal waste of time, effort, money, and a ruined vintage cymbal. And he does this with both old K's and old A's alike.

Why does he do that to great sounding cymbals?

Cheers

[Drumaholic]

Originally Posted by grantro

Why does he do that to great sounding cymbals?

Cheers

Because they don't sound that great. The real question is why does he buy them in the first place?

[jaghog]

U guys when a pro is looking for a sound they pay

[Drumaholic]

Originally Posted by jaghog

U guys when a pro is looking for a sound they pay

What is that supposed to mean?

[Ludwig-dude]

Originally Posted by grantro

Why does he do that to great sounding cymbals?

Cheers

Great sounding is a subjective matter. I've owned a lot of different Zildjian's over the years, including a rare pair of K's made in the time of Constantinople (yes, pre-Istanbul days) Those are highly sought after for whatever reason, but to be honest, I never cared for the sound of them. I sold them for quite a bit many years ago, and replaced them with several "modern" K's at the time......I'm sure someone else thought they sounded fantastic.....

My ears have always liked the thinner 50's-60's A Zildjians....a bit brighter and a little easier to find a good sounding one vs those old Turkish made K's, at least to my taste.

So if someone wants to modify a more modern K to their taste, and it works out, why not? If not, well, not a huge deal as it probably never sounded good in the first place. I've heard stories of the old jazzers going through stacks and stacks of Turkish K's to find a real good sounding one.......kind of similar to the modern Chinese made Dream cymbal line....some are real nice, and some are just UGH!!!