Istanbul Agop Mel Lewis 18" 1982 Crash Ride 1520 g

Mel Lewis could drive a big band, or a small group, with a fire that few drummers have been able to emulate. He was Istanbul Agop's first endorser. After his death in 1990 and with the blessing of his family, Mel’s chosen cymbals were flown back to Istanbul Agop factory. Every detail of every individual cymbal has been taken in with exacting detail and replicated by the hands of Istanbul Agop cymbal-smiths. These cymbals are Istanbul Agop's way of paying tribute to Mel’s legacy in the best way they know how. Originally created especially for his live performances, these tribute cymbals have highly versatile perspective ranging from small jazz settings to nostalgic big band sounds.

  Mel Lewis 18" 1982 Crash Ride

• Offers the best of both worlds in ride and crash characteristics.
• Displays smooth overtones with plenty of clear stick attack for riding.
• When used as a crash the attack is warm, responds quickly and expansively with a dark swell underneath initial crash sound and subtle with no irritating high frequencies. 

• Reviews

  "I don't know of too many cymbals that fulfill the promise of being both crash and ride. I always believed that in order to keep a proper balance, a crash/ride had to mute its ride elements and beef up its crash characteristics. That could be a recipe for disaster. The 18" Mel Lewis 1982 crash/ride is a different case. As a crash it's larger and louder than I'm used to. Along with a light gonginess, the cymbal chimed with a piercing, high pitched ring. Used as a ride, the 18" crash/ride generated vibrant tones on the high and low ends of the spectrum. I played it with mallets, achieving a waves crashing in the distance feel that rolled in and out very quickly. As a rock cymbal, this model wouldn't cut it. But we're talking jazz here. It;s certainly strong enough to be a ride in the traditional sense for a big band setting. Additionally, the pleasing color of its overtones make it perfect for being creative on a hard bop gig." - Will Romano

• Warranty

  Istanbul Agop has ONE year warranty against manufacturing flaws, starting from date of the purchase.

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