Learn How This 400-Year-Old Company Makes Cymbals!

A Zildjian cymbal 

Post Author - Ellis Nolan

Even if you’re not a musician, you’ve probably heard the name Zildjian. Even if you haven’t heard their name, you’ve definitely heard their sound. The 400-year-old cymbal maker has supplied instruments to the most notable names in music history, including Buddy Rich, Ringo Starr, and even Mozart! At the heart of Zildjian lies a closely guarded secret as old as the company itself. A recent article from WBUR in Massachusetts offers a closer look inside the storied manufacturer.

The Zildjian family began making cymbals in Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1618. According to Debbie Zildjian, a current member of the Zildjian board of directors, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire summoned her ancestor, Avedis I, to create cymbals for high-ranking military bands. An experienced metalsmith, Avedis I was actually trying to create gold when he first synthesized the now highly protected alloy formula that Zildjian uses in their cymbals. The Sultan was so impressed by Avedis’ cymbals that he was given the family name “Zildjian,” which combines the Turkish words for “cymbal” and “maker” and the Armenian word for “son of.”

Avedis I, now Avedis Zildjian, would go on to form his cymbal company with permission from the Sultan in 1623. His product was immensely popular since the resonance and tone of his cymbals were ideal for many different styles of music. Business was also helped in the 1700s by European composers such as Mozart and Haydn who had begun using cymbals in their symphonies.

By the 1800s, Zildjian had expanded business internationally with Avedis II at the helm. Following his passing in 1865, his brother, Kerope II, took over the operations of the company. Kerope II’s management saw the introduction of the original K. Zildjian line of cymbals (not to be confused with Zildjian’s current K. Zildjian lineup), which are highly coveted by orchestras worldwide and are considered to be priceless.

Drummer Gene Krupa with his Zildjian cymbals

The 20th century marked many major turning points for the Zildjian company. In 1909, fleeing oppression in Turkey, Avedis III emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts, where he found work at an Armenian candy company and eventually became an American citizen. Meanwhile, Aram, Avedis III’s cousin, continued the family’s cymbal production in Istanbul and Bucharest. In the late 1920s, Aram reached out to Avedis III, asking him to take over the family business.

Wishing to do so but unwilling to return to the instability of Turkey, Aram and Avedis moved the Zildjian company to Massachusetts, where the company’s headquarters remain to this day. The opening of the Avedis Zildjian Company in America led to a veritable explosion of cymbal innovation. Led on by the jazz drummers that were quickly gaining popularity at the time, Avedis III developed the first cymbals for the drum set, including the hi-hat (or “sock” cymbal), ride, crash, and splash cymbals. In 1964, Ringo Starr used Zildjian cymbals for the Beatles’ legendary appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, causing such a spike in demand the Zildjian company opened another manufacturing facility.

Today, the Zildjian Company remains headquartered in Massachusetts, owned and operated by members of the 13th and 15th generations of the Zildjian family. The alloy alchemized by Avedis I remains a family secret passed down from generation to generation, and for good reason: Their instruments are continuously used on countless recordings and stages around the world. So next time you hear “Come Together” or “Sing Sing Sing,” take note of the cymbals. You could say they’re 400 years in the making!