Other cymbal makers?

[circh bustom]

I had an Istanbul ride that cracked exactly how you mentioned. Luckily I got it on eBay for only $104. Have you looked online? I recently found a 17" K Custom Hybrid and an 18" K Dark Crash for $190 and $210 respectively including shipping. The seller listed them as used, but I swear the cymbals on the shelf at my local GC seemed more used. Not a fingerprint or stick mark to be found. The stamp wasnt even smooth yet. I only say this because I would never have spent the asking price for these cymbals, but $400 for the pair of top notch/sounding cymbals is great. I know Paiste seems to blur the lines between price and performance with some of their products although I can not speak for those cymbals whatsoever.

[Josiah]

'Silken' is Wuhan, though I think they dropped the whole thing.

I would say cracking a ride is either a defect, or a player issue. Rides shouldn't break with proper technique.

[circh bustom]

I was definitely using it other than its intended purpose. It sounded fantastic as a big ass crash. It was just odd that it cracked along the lathing and not at the edge. In fact it was about halfway from bell to edge, and the edges were perfect. It did seem a little odd though.

[Josiah]

It makes sense though, it cracked in the weakest area, the valley of the lathing. That particular spot was probably the thinner of the valleys in the lathing. Zildjian Z Custom's have this issue from cracking in the hammer marks because the transitions are pretty thin/weak.

Chad Sexton used to use some mighty expensive thin K rides for crashes on the earlier albums, great sounds no doubt!

[electrizer]

I lost YET ANOTHER Agop crash yesterday. It's been sounding funny and flat for quite some time but the crack must not have been so evident since I couldn't see it but I noticed the bastard finally. That's it! I'm not going to put any more money into that crap anymore. I'm so angry I feel like writing to them to give them a piece of my mind. Never in my life did I have cymbals which broke so readily. Eh...

But I managed to re-use this and other cracked crash to make myself a nice stack (on the right in the pic You lose some you get some https://twitter.com/ih8mybrain/status/209227989962063874/photo/1/large

[bstocky]

If your cymbal sounds "off" instead of looking for the crack, run your fingertip over the cymbal. Usually it's easier to feel than to see.

[langmick]

http://mycymbal.com/

Anyone play Matt Nolen cymbals? they sound pretty amazing here.

http://mycymbal.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=92&products_id=5714

[Josiah]

electrizer - You could try cutting the cymbals down to a smaller size, or bell/splash. Then it's not a complete loss. I use a couple "Gavin Bells" from cut down crashes, they sound awesome.

[electrizer]

I didn't cut them - I've stacked them (see my post) and it's awesome! But thanks!

[Julián Fernández]

Nice article about Z:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18261045