Edirne’s cymbals going around world

EDİRNE – Doğan News Agency

An atelier in Turkey’s northwest has become a favorite for musicians in different parts of the world looking for unique cymbals instead of the cookie-cutter variety available in so many parts of the world.

“Famous drummers use our cymbals. They come here and order cymbals specially pro-duced for them. And we produce cymbals upon special order,” said Mustafa Er, who pro-duces hand-made cymbals under the brand name Aegean Cymbals in the province of Edir-ne’s Uzunköprü district.

With his 12 workers, Er produces the hand-made cymbals using a mixture of copper, bronze and tin before contributing to the country’s economy by exporting them around the world, especially the United States and Europe.

He learned the business from an Armenian master in Istanbul and established his own at-elier in Uzunköprü. 
“Lots of foreign bands use our cymbals; we receive orders from almost all around the world. Drummers want cymbals unique to them. We are 12 people in total; we are a small enterprise actually. But this is the reason why we are in demand. The cymbals are not mass-produced; they are totally hand-made. When a musician buys a cymbal from us, he knows that it is the one and only in the world. In Europe, cymbals are the same as the next, but ours are different.” 

Just like a fingerprint 

Er said the cymbals produced in his atelier were as unique as a fingerprint. “These hand-made cymbals are actually like fingerprints, which are all different from each other. This is the most important feature of our cymbals. Among the countries we export the cymbals to are the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia and England.”

Er said the formula of their products, a mixture of bronze, copper and tin, was a secret. 

“Here we don’t tell the formula of the cymbals. This is a secret for us; we know the con-tent only. There are only eight-nine companies in the world producing hand-made cymbals. Since the formula is a secret, it does not develop too much. It is always the same and we keep this secret. This is a business from father to son,” he said.

One of the most important features of the cymbals is that the hammer marks do not overlap. 

The workshop only produces about 25-30 cymbals a day and prices range between $25 and $250.