Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals Series Guide: Traditional, Nostalgia, Black Sea and Sultan (2026)
Istanbul Mehmet cymbals cover a serious range of hand-finished drum sounds, with Canadian prices in this guide running between $209.99 CAD and $3,189.99 CAD. They suit drummers who want more personality than a generic bright cymbal pack, with options for dark all-round playing, vintage ride character, dry stick definition, and controlled crash accents. The $1,379.99 CAD Traditional Set is the practical starting point for a player building a working kit, while the $3,189.99 CAD Tony Williams Tribute Set targets drummers chasing a light, expressive jazz-oriented voice.
Istanbul Mehmet Overview
Istanbul Mehmet is an Istanbul, Turkey cymbal maker with deep roots in the city’s cymbal-making tradition. Mehmet Tamdeğer began working at age nine for Mikhail Zilcan, grandson of Kerope Zilcan. He learned the craft through Mikhail Zilcan and Kirkor Küçükyan, then worked in the K. Zilcan factory in Istanbul during the 1950s.
Mehmet Tamdeğer and fellow cymbalsmith Agop Tomurcuk later founded the Istanbul cymbal works. Their cymbals first reached the U.S. market in 1984. The current Istanbul Mehmet catalogue still centres on distinct cymbal voices rather than a single house sound. Traditional, Nostalgia, and Black Sea sit in the Heritage range. Sultan belongs to the Custom range. Session covers the Modern range, while IMC Bronze is the accessible entry line.
That split matters at the kit. A Traditional cymbal can cover rehearsals, recording, and loud gigs without changing your whole setup. Black Sea is much more specific, made for players who want dark dryness and a raw blackened appearance. Sultan sits in the middle, adding brightness and projection while keeping some woody control.
Traditional Series
The Traditional series is for drummers who need one dark, responsive cymbal voice to cover jazz, rock, pop, heavier music, and general session work. Istanbul Mehmet fully lathes these cymbals, giving them warm overtones and a controllable response. This is the series to start with if you do not want every cymbal in your setup to have a narrow specialty role.
Traditional Hi-Hats
The 14-inch Traditional Hi-Hat Medium is $649.99 CAD for drummers who need a dependable pair of hats for regular gigs, rehearsals, and recording. Its medium weight makes sense for players who need a balanced feel under the stick and pedal. The fully lathed surface helps deliver the warm overtones and dark, controlled character that define the Traditional line.
The 14-inch Traditional Hi-Hat Light is also $649.99 CAD, aimed at players who use a lighter touch and want more delicate response from their hats. It keeps the same natural finish and Traditional-series character, but the lighter weight is the key buying decision. Choose the Medium for a more general-purpose setup. Choose the Light if subtle dynamics matter more than a firmer feel.
Traditional Crashes and Rides
The 16-inch Traditional Crash Medium costs $379.99 CAD and suits drummers who need a warm crash for fills, chorus hits, and everyday accents. Its medium weight and natural finish place it squarely in the all-round Traditional lane. It is a sensible add-on if you own the Traditional Set and want another crash voice without changing the overall tonal direction.
The 20-inch Traditional Ride Original is $619.99 CAD for players who need a warm ride with clear stick definition. It is a useful choice for a drummer building a straightforward working setup around the Traditional sound. The 20-inch size also keeps the role familiar for players moving up from a standard cymbal pack.
Nostalgia Series
The Nostalgia series is for drummers who want the character associated with popular vintage ride cymbals. These are choices for players who hear the ride cymbal as a musical voice.
Vintage-Voiced Rides
The 22-inch Nostalgia 50s Ride is $809.99 CAD for jazz drummers, acoustic players, and studio musicians who want a light ride with vintage-inspired character. Its job is to give your pattern a more expressive, old-school identity than a conventional all-purpose ride. The natural finish supports the classic visual direction, while the light weight should appeal to players who want a responsive musical feel.
Nostalgia also includes a 70s Ride, Flat Ride, crashes, and hi-hats. The 50s Ride comes in 20, 21, 22, and 24-inch sizes, so the 22-inch model is a strong middle choice for a player who wants a larger ride surface without stepping into the biggest available diameter.
Black Sea Series
The Black Sea series is for drummers who want a dark, dry sound and a blackened look. Its rides offer defined sticking, while the crashes are short and punchy. This is a focused sound for music where the cymbals should support the groove with texture and control rather than spread wide, bright wash across the mix.
Dark and Dry Rides
The 20-inch Black Sea 1623 Ride costs $649.99 CAD and is aimed at drummers who need defined stick sound with a dry, dark feel for close-miked recording or controlled live work. It has a light weight and raw finish. Buy it if you want your ride pattern to stay articulate without the brighter character of a Traditional or Session setup.
Black Sea Hi-Hats
The 14-inch Black Sea 1623 Hi-Hat is $679.99 CAD for players building a cohesive Black Sea setup around that dry, dark voice. This light pair has the same raw finish and blackened visual treatment as the ride. Pairing these hats with the 20-inch ride makes more sense than mixing Black Sea with a bright cymbal family if your goal is one connected sound across the kit.
The full Black Sea range is concise: 14-inch hi-hats, 16-inch and 18-inch crashes, plus 20-inch and 22-inch rides. That compact range makes selection easy. Pick your preferred ride size, add the hi-hats, then choose a crash size based on how much physical spread you want around the kit.
Sultan Series
The Sultan series is for drummers who want Traditional brightness paired with the dry, woody character of Turk cymbals. Istanbul Mehmet describes Sultan as a combination of those two lines. The partly lathed and partly untreated crash surface is central to the sound, keeping overtones in check while allowing the cymbal to project.
Sultan Crashes
The 16-inch Sultan Crash Medium is $379.99 CAD for drummers who need a compact accent cymbal with warmth, definition, and controlled sustain. It has a medium weight, natural finish, full attack, and smooth sustain. This is a good fit for a player who finds a fully bright crash too open, but does not want the short, dry response of a more raw cymbal.
The 18-inch Sultan Crash Medium costs $459.99 CAD and serves the same player looking for a larger crash voice. Its extra size makes it the better choice if your crashes need more presence in louder band arrangements. Both Sultan crashes are made in Istanbul, Turkey, and both keep the same partly lathed, partly untreated approach.
Sultan Hi-Hats
The 14-inch Sultan Hi-Hat is $649.99 CAD for drummers who want medium-weight hats with the Sultan balance of brightness and dryness. It is a strong option for players who need clear articulation without moving to a plainly bright cymbal setup. Match it with either Sultan crash if you want a consistent voice for groove work and accents.
Session Series
The Session series is Istanbul Mehmet’s Modern-range all-round option. It blends the mellow Traditional sound with the brighter attack of the Radiant series. The result is a medium-weight, brilliant-finish cymbal family for drummers who cover varied gigs and need a more direct, bright-leading attack than the Traditional series provides.
Quick Accent Cymbals
The 10-inch Session Splash costs $209.99 CAD for drummers who need fast, bright accents in a compact space. Its job is simple: add short punctuation to fills, transitions, and arrangement changes without introducing a large crash. It makes particular sense for a player with a dark main setup who wants one brighter effect cymbal within easy reach.
IMC Bronze Series
IMC Bronze is Istanbul Mehmet’s entry line for drummers who want B20 cymbals at a lower price than the Heritage and Custom families. The series combines modern production with Istanbul Mehmet’s traditional cymbal-making approach. It is the sensible place to begin if your current cymbals are holding back your kit but a Traditional pack is outside the budget.
IMC Bronze Hi-Hats
The 14-inch IMC Bronze Hi-Hat is $369.99 CAD for beginners, developing players, and working drummers who need clear attack, smooth response, and warm tone without spending Heritage-series money. This medium-weight pair has a natural finish and is designed to work across many styles. It is the practical Istanbul Mehmet choice for a drummer who needs a capable pair of hats now.
Cymbal Packs and the Tony Williams Tribute Set
The Traditional Set is $1,379.99 CAD for drummers who need a full, coherent cymbal foundation in one purchase. It includes 14-inch hi-hats, a 16-inch crash, a 20-inch ride, and a bag. The medium-weight set gives you the dark, responsive, all-round Traditional sound across the essential cymbal positions. It is the best choice here for a player replacing a basic starter set or assembling a complete working kit in one move.
The IMC Bronze 3-piece set uses the same core sizes, 14-inch hi-hats, a 16-inch crash, and a 20-inch ride, plus a cymbal bag, for $819.99 CAD. The $560 CAD gap buys the Heritage-range Traditional set over the entry IMC line. That is a meaningful difference. Choose IMC if cost controls the purchase. Choose Traditional if the darker, fully lathed Heritage character is the sound you want to keep for years.
The Tony Williams Tribute Cymbal Set is $3,189.99 CAD for serious jazz players and collectors who want a lightweight, natural-finish set built around Tony Williams’ iconic sound. This is a premium purchase with a specific musical direction. It makes sense for a drummer whose playing depends on cymbal colour, touch, and dynamic movement.
Who Is Istanbul Mehmet For?
Istanbul Mehmet is for drummers who choose cymbals by sound and feel rather than by logo or volume alone. Traditional works for the player who needs dark, musical cymbals across several styles. Nostalgia suits a drummer who wants a vintage ride identity at the centre of the kit. Black Sea is for dry, dark setups where stick definition matters. Sultan fits players who want warmth and projection with more controlled overtones.
Session makes sense for busy players covering varied gigs who need a brighter attack, while IMC Bronze gives developing drummers an affordable route into B20 cymbals. If you are building your first serious cymbal setup, start with a pack. If your kit is already functional, add one specialised ride, splash, or crash that solves a clear musical need.
More Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals to Explore
Browse Categories
Shop Istanbul Mehmet
Blackout Audio is Toronto-based and ships across Canada. Orders over $199 CAD qualify for free shipping, making cymbal packs and most individual Istanbul Mehmet cymbals eligible by price. Start with the sound category that matches your playing, then build outward with complementary hats, crashes, rides, and effect cymbals.
