Istanbul Mehmet

This is the first new cymbal I have tried in awhile. The drummer for my old band recently started raving to me about these new cymbals that I had never heard of. He then showed me this model, the 16" Mehmet Legends. I hadn't even heard of the brand Istanbul, but I assumed that they were Turkish, and since the Turks have most of the cymbals market covered with Zildjian and Sabian, I thought that these would be a worthy addition to any collection. And I was right. The sound that my drummer (and I, to a lesser extent) was able to get out of these cymbals was something else. I couldn't believe the highly rhythmic, funky sounds that my drummer got when jamming with these. I think that the extra inches give the cymbals a rounder, more deep sound than most hats, which is why they worked well when playing rhythms that are high-hat busy. I would say that the most likely advocates of these cymbals would be old school Soul and Jazz players, and especially fans of Funk (particularly real, 1970s funk, and not newer, Chili-Peppers influenced funk-rock). The newer rock styles tend to favor brightness over depth (for better or worse), and the tones that make a good rock sound work aren't really possible with these cymbals. The fact is though, that these are probably an acquired taste. I'd certainly recommend hearing them, or even better, trying them out before purchasing. Keep in mind that because of their size, they are somewhat more difficult to get used to. However, a decent amount of rehearsal with them will get you used to them, and their size will open up new ways of playing to those who haven't really explored the hi-hat.