Description
Istanbul Signature Mel Lewis 1982 18″ Crash-Ride Cymbal
Istanbul have lovingly recreated a handful of ‘tribute’ cymbals in memory of their first endorser, Mel Lewis and we are pleased to be offering their wonderful Mel Lewis 1982 18” Crash-Ride cymbal as part of the Agop Signature Series. This thin-weight cymbal with its flatter profile produces a deeper, dry ‘crash’ sound and a clear stick definition with low overtones. Easily controllable with a lovely shimmer, the Mel Lewis 1982 18” Crash-Ride is a highly versatile cymbal for use in the Jazz-Big Band genres.
Check out the ‘crash’ element of this cymbal as played from within the mansion house of the Estate of Race…
Can you hear the old, dark, warm attack with its underlying dark swell? No horrible high frequencies there!
Always insisting on using Turkish cymbals, Mel Lewis switched to Istanbul, becoming their first endorser and continuing to play Istanbul cymbals up until his death in 1990. The Mel Lewis 1982 18” Crash-Ride is based on a cymbal originally created for his live work, accurately reproduced today thanks to the help of the Lewis family who allowed Istanbul access to his original cymbals to make a template.
Hear some more of this cymbal being played in this video (first cymbal by Hi-Hats)…
Istanbul Cymbals have strived to replicate every detail of the cymbals loaned to them for the manufacturing process and the exemplary work undertaken by their cymbal-smiths makes sure Mel’s legacy lives on by giving new players access to the same sounds he loved during an illustrious career in Jazz and Big Band music. As the late (and obviously great) Buddy Rich said of Mel:
Mel Lewis doesn’t sound like anybody else. He sounds like himself.
