BOSPHORUS 20" LATIN SERIES RIDE CYMBAL

Latin Series

Designed for extreme versatility in any musical setting. These cymbals embody the perfect fusion of South American Folk Music and traditional Jazz. The Bosphorus Latin Series Cymbals are a thin weight series with distinctive lathed and unlathed rings that deliver a mellow tone with a rapid decay. Created for extreme flexibility in almost any musical environment.

Bosphorus Cymbal Factory

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Bosphorus Cymbals was established in 1996 by three master cymbal smiths, Hasan Seker, Ibrahim Yakici and Hasan Ozdemir. They are called Masters because they are the most experienced cymbal smiths in Turkey who are still working actively.

The founders of Bosphorus were three good friends who grew up in the same neighborhood. Their common thread was being sent to work in a neighborhood cymbal workshop. Their humble beginings included cleaning the workshop and other menial tasks, but in time they were trained in the art of making cymbals. In the early ages of their youth they became cymbal smiths. Their teachers were the masters who manufactured the legendary cymbals of 60’s and 70’s.

After 16 years at the same workshop the friends ventured off on their own and established their own company. Today they maintain good relationships with their former employers. The Masters continue to respect their teachers to this day.

Bosphorus Cymbals has 16 cymbal smiths, 8 of which have been in training since day one. The Masters continue to craft in the workshop with their workers, guiding them to create the perfect cymbals with their nearly 30 years of experience.

Introducing Bosphorus Cymbals, Hundreds of years ago the hand making of cymbals began in Bosphorus by local artisans. Now made in Istanbul Turkey , they keep the hand made tradition alive to this day; Bosphorus take no shortcuts, especially in the hand-hammering process. This is a critical step and is absolutely necessary to create the fine nuances and depth of expression that your music demands.

The crew at Bosphorus believe hand-hammering means simply that:
a man striking a cymbal with a hammer held in his hand. The artisan hears the sounds of the hammer blows as he feels the cymbal in his other hand, bringing to fore years of experience and mastery. That's the only way they make each and every cymbal bearing the Bosphorus logo.

Sensing the importance of this process, some companies market their cymbals as hand-made. But are they really? Guiding a pneumatic hammer is not hand-hammering. Adding a few hammer marks by hand after completing the pneumatic process isn't hand hammering.
At Bosphorus, one man with one hammer makes cymbals one at a time. They call this an essential human dimension the “Soul of the Cymbal”.