This is a very common question that we always hear and probably the most curious thing of this job. So we wanted to explain the steps of traditional Turkish cymbal manufacturing process. Because Bosphorus is flowing the tradition today as it should be.
If we line up the steps of traditional Turkish cymbal manufacturing, it looks like as below:
- Smelting
- Casting
- Rolling
- Pressing the bell
- Tempering
- Piercing the bell and cutting round
- Hard hammering
- Lathing
- Fine hammering
- Shaving the edges
Here at Bosphorus Cymbals, we make all these with man power instead of automatic machine systems. We use electric powered tools only for rolling, pressing the bell and turning the lathing plate. The rest is being made by our master cymbal smiths. This helps us to make unique cymbals every time instead of standardized photocopies. We like it to be this way because we know our products are used for creating art and first rule to create the art is being unique. We underline "100% Handmade” motto all the time because handcrafting is the key for uniqueness.
Every step of this process is indispensable. There is no shortcut for this process. Even "%100 handmade cymbal" and only "hand hammered" cymbal are not the same things. Because of this, what we make is completely different from mass production system made cymbals. Any good drummer, who cares for his sound, can understand the difference without seeing. For this reason, there is no other way to make cymbals for Bosphorus, even it is harder than what others do and even we produce fewer cymbals with more effort.
Of course we have respect to the others who make cymbals with different ways but there is a certain difference between us like the different planets in the same space. This difference will keep same until the technology make a synthetic brain for humans.