Istanbul Agop
Istanbul Agop's founder, Agop Tomurcuk, was born in Istanbul-Turkey in 1941. Growing up in the Samatya neighborhood of Istanbul, he followed in the footsteps of his older brothers Oksant and Garbis, by beginning work as an apprentice cymbal-smith at the age of 9 at the only cymbal factory in Turkey. Here, Agop learned, and later helped to refine every aspect of the cymbal making process, becoming a master at every process and eventually becoming the chief cymbal-smith, until that company ceased production of their cymbals in Turkey in 1977.
Feeling “like a fish out of water,” after a little over a year spent working various odd jobs, Agop became to determined to continue the Turkish tradition of handmade cymbals on his own. With a little bit of asking around, he was able to locate and buy up much of the equipment and tools he used at his previous company. He rented a small workshop in the Bakırköy-Kartaltepe area of Istanbul, and began to experiment and produce some cymbals with the help of his dear wife, Uskui Tomurcuk. But the limited resources and manpower made things very difficult.
“At the end of the day, my father’s cousin once brought him home by carrying him on his back” explains Agop’s son and now company Co-President, Arman Tomurcuk. Eventually, he was able to set up a small, but functional factory and his older brother, Oksant joined the company as chief cymbalsmith. They began by selling cymbals locally to some music stores in Istanbul’s Tünel area, but the prospects of this were limited.
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Istanbul Agop 20" XIST Power Crash
Modern production techniques combined with traditional by hand cymbal-making processes bring drummers a diverse selection of sounds from classic to innovative and distinctly modern designs to cover every style of music. Learn More -
Demo of Exact Cymbal - Istanbul Agop 18" Signature Crash - 1244g
Paper thin, dark, dry and low pitched. Learn More -
Demo of Exact Cymbal - Istanbul Agop 21" Signature Agop Ride - 1724g
Dry stick definition with warm and complex overtones. Mellow crashride capabilities Learn More -
Demo of Exact Cymbal - Istanbul Agop 22" OM Cindy Blackman Signature Ride - 2468g
The 22" OM Ride has a clear, slightly metallic stick due to the unique black finishing and intense hammering, and features a dry, trashy crash sound. Learn More -
Demo of Exact Cymbal - Istanbul Agop 15" Signature Agop Hi-Hats - 905/1135g
Extremely dry and dark, crisp chick sound. Learn More -
Demo of Exact Cymbal - Istanbul Agop 16" Signature Hi Hats 1141g Top, 1304g Bottom
Istanbul Agop 16" Signature Hi Hats 1141g Top, 1304g Bottom
Extremely dry and dark, crisp chick sound.
Learn More -
Xist Natural Crash 20"
Modern production techniques combined with traditional by hand cymbal-making processes bring drummers a diverse selection of sounds from classic to innovative and distinctly modern designs to cover every style of music. Learn More