Is there such a thing as the cymbal holy grail?

I personally have never found it, partly because no one cymbal can fulfill all of the desirable functions and sonic characteristics I ‘require’ and partly because my tastes and desires are continually changing.

I’ve heard fantastic cymbals from almost every major and independent manufacturer.

My personal preference is for cymbals that have had more human hands on processes in their manufacture. Nothing can replace human experience, skill and intuition.

Further resources -

There is a greet deal of information available on the net. It can be tricky to find, but it’s there.

Some of the best information I’ve found is from the independent cymbal-smith Mike Skiba on the website www.cymbalholic.com. Here’s a link to Mike’s articles:

http://www.cymbalholic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13473&referrerid=2029

‘The Cymbal book’ by Hugo Pinksterboer is a great resource.

Youtube has some great videos showing the Turkish method of manufacture and a couple of videos on one of the all time greatest cymbal-smiths, Roberto Spizzichino.

Cymbal company factory tours are easily found and very informative.

Some independent cymbal-smiths who are doing fantastic work are:

Michael Paiste, Steve Hubback, Matt Nolan, Matt Bettis, Jesse Simpson and Heather Stine.

Great cymbalsmiths whose work you should check out but are sadly no longer with us, are Roberto Spizzichino, Mike Skiba and Johan Van DeSijpe. Searching their name in google will yield results.