Istanbul Agop 18" Cindy Blackman OM Crash

<Rewriting this review in an attempt to be more helpful.>

In most music styles, you hit your crashes pretty hard so they develop fully, but then you pull them way down in the mix, so only the high end can be heard and the lower frequencies are masked by other instruments.

This crash is exceptionally good for this use case, since it doesn't "choke" when you hit it harder, it just gets louder and brighter. In fact it gets so loud and bright I wouldn't want to smash it hard without ear protection.

But if you record it when it's given a proper beating, it sounds really good! Right up there with the best cymbals you'll ever find. The high end is gorgeous, and it has nice sustain too. If you're assuming a dark colored cymbal like this must sound dark and have a high end that dies off quickly, you're quite mistaken!

This cymbal is a great performer for loud music. Highly recommended.

However, I'm personally more interested in how a cymbal performs at pianissimo levels. I love "jazzy" paper thin cymbals that you can hear breathe when you give them a gentle tap. Cymbals that envelop the listener in a warm and cozy soundscape, at pleasant sound levels.

This cymbal ain't that kind of cymbal. It sounds very dark at soft hits, but not in a warm and organic way. Instead it sounds cold, hard, and OMINOUS.

It may be dark at quiet levels, but it's a very special kind of evil sounding darkness. Imagine Pandora opening her box and all kinds of trouble escapes to plague the world. Give this cymbal a gentle tap, and you have the perfect sound effect for this event.

If quiet death metal where the singer is an ASMR whisperer instead of a growler or screamer was a thing, this cymbal would be *perfect* for it! But alas, this genre sadly hasn't been invented yet. And so I would suggest not using it for quiet music. Go with something jazzy!

But for any music that is loud and full of energy and power, this one works great.

If this sounds like something right up your alley, I'd suggest getting the whole set. While I personally only have the 16" and 18" crashes, I think they would likely be best matched with their own kind sonically. And they're certainly most at home with their own kind visually. They look cool on their own, but become ugly ducklings when put next to any other cymbal.

This crash, being on the thin side, is quite sensitive so you do not need a lot of force to fully activate it. Regardless of that, it creates an assertive crash sound which helps to cut through the mix. Its frequency spectrum covers mainly the high and mid-high frequencies as if you have applied a high-pass filter. The decay is relatively fast as you would expect from a thin crash and the look is just unique.