Rare Vintage K Zildjian Istanbul 20” Ride - Made In Turkey

Size

20”

Brand

K ZILDJIAN ISTANBUL

Vintage 20” Istanbul K Zildjian, made in Turkey, probably sometime in the 70’s. If you know, you know this is the holy grail of cymbals. Video is available, just message me. Picked this up used at a music store on a trip to Istanbul, Turkey in the 2000’s. Weight is 2,062 grams, so medium light weight, great for jazz & pop/rock, less so for really heavy/loud stuff. Beautiful dark and complex sound, great stick definition, excellent bell and crashable with a nice wash. The stamp is incomplete and faint, not unusual for the era. At the bottom left, you can make out a “K” and to the right below, the end of “Zildjian & Co”. Tried to enhance photos as much as possible. Also, there is some keyholing and hairline cracks in the bell, but they have not expanded at all since I bought it and does not seem to affect the sound. As seen in the photos, one approx. 1/2” and two shorter, approx. 1/8”, and are all hairline thin. None of them are moving or rubbing against each other while playing as this is a very thick part of the cymbal. From what I’ve read online this is not uncommon on old K’s and is usually caused by shrinking of the bronze, rather than hard playing. Handled correctly, it will not expand more. Price reflects the condition, these normally go for $1,500 and above and are becoming extremely rare.