Paiste (English pronunciation: , ) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

s, and metal

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

. is an Estonian word that means "shine". Apart from cymbals and gongs, Paiste has also manufactured other percussion instruments such as

crotal bell Crotal bells (Greek 'crotalon' – castanet or rattle) are various types of small bells or rattles. They were produced in various pre-Columbian cultures. In Europe they were made from probably before the early Middle Ages and though many founders ...

finger cymbals Zills or zils (from Turkish 'cymbals'), also called finger cymbals, are small metallic cymbals used in belly dancing and similar performances. They are called () in Egypt. They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells. In Western music, several pai ...

and

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

s, later discontinued.

History

The first Paiste cymbals were produced in 1906 by

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n musician Toomas Paiste in his instrument repair shop in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, to customer orders. Toomas had served in the

Russian Imperial Guard The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (russian: Лейб-гвардия ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard) were military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Rus ...

, and retired in 1901 to open a music publishing business and music shop.History
on Paiste website, 16 Nov 2019 The cymbal-making aspect of the business expanded with the passing years, despite the disruption of several moves necessitated by war: first to

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, Estonia, in 1917, where Toomas' son Michail M. Paiste decided to concentrate on cymbal production and export. In 1940, the family and the cymbal-making operation moved to Poland, where they continued under extremely difficult conditions, and in 1945 to Germany. Finally, in 1957 a new headquarters and production facility was established in Switzerland. The business was continued by Michail's sons, Robert and Toomas (born Kurt), with both the Swiss and German operations as the main manufacturing centres. Since 2003, the company has been headed by Toomas' son, Erik. Robert Paiste died in 2016, aged 84. "In Memory of Robert Paiste"
on Paiste website, retrieved 26 January 2017
More here
Paiste unofficial timeline 1900 to 1986

Innovations

Paiste has developed several innovations to cymbal design and manufacture. Among these are: Paiste cymbal

*The

Flat Ride Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...

: A

ride cymbal The ride cymbal is a standard cymbal in most drum kits. Its function in the kit is to maintain a beat,Schroedl, Scott (2001). ''Play Drums Today!'', p.7. Hal Leonard. . "It's called the ride cymbal because you 'ride' on it--that is, you maintain a s ...

without a cup or bell. Originally designated as Space Sound in the Formula 602 line. Designed with

Joe Morello Joseph Albert Morello (July 17, 1928 – March 12, 2011) was an American jazz drummer best known for serving as the drummer for pianist Dave Brubeck, as part of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, from 1957 to 1972, including during the quartet's "classic ...

. Introduced in the 1960s. *The

splash cymbal In a drum kit, splash cymbals are the smallest accent cymbals. Splash cymbals and china cymbals are the main types of effects cymbals. The most common sized splash has a diameter of 10", followed by 8". Most splash cymbals are in the size range o ...

: Widely used for jazz music in the 1920s and 30s, the traditional splash cymbal was not seen for many years in mainstream music until

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

’s drummer

Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...

brought it back to prominence in the early 80s. Thanks to a toy cymbal he found in a trip in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and which he brought to Paiste, heavier splash cymbals, more suited for harder styles of drumming, were soon available and started being heavily commercialized. Then alongside

Manu Katché Manu Katché (born 27 October 1958) is a French drummer and songwriter of Ivorian descent. He has worked extensively as a session musician, notably with Sting and Peter Gabriel, and his solo albums as a bandleader are largely in the jazz fusion ...

spread the use of this type of cymbal. *The Sound Edge Hi-Hat: Introduced in 1967. To prevent airlock, the bottom cymbal of the

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...

pair has ripples along the edge. Also applied to

hand cymbal Clash cymbals (also called concert cymbals, orchestral cymbals, or crash cymbals) are cymbals played in matched pairs by holding one cymbal in each hand and striking the two together. To differentiate this type of cymbal from a suspended cymbal, ...

sets. *The use of B8 bronze as a

cymbal alloy Cymbals are made from four main alloys, all of them copper-based. These are: bell bronze, malleable bronze, brass, and nickel silver. Bell bronze Bell bronze, also known as '' bell metal'', is the traditional alloy used for fine cymbals, many ...

: Referred to by Paiste as "CuSn8" alloy or "2002 bronze". First introduced with the Stambul 65 series in 1965. Gained general acceptance with the Giant Beat and the 2002 series. Paiste was for a time the only major cymbal company to use the B8 alloy for its high-end lines, although Meinl has recently introduced a line of high-end cast B8 bronze cymbals as well.

Zildjian :''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (disambiguation)'' The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded ...

and

Sabian Sabian may refer to: *Sabians, name of a religious group mentioned in the Quran, historically adopted by: **Mandaeans, Gnostic sect from the marshlands of southern Iraq claiming John the Baptist as their most important prophet **Sabians of Harran, ...

use this alloy primarily for entry-level lines, choosing instead to use bell bronze for high-end products. * 'Flat' bells: With the introduction of the Sound Creation Short Crash in late 1977, Paiste was the first to make use of a flattened bell design. Used today with the Crystal Hi-Hats and Crashes of the Signature series. *Unlathed cymbals: Introduced in 1980 as the RUDE series. Made from the B8 alloy, unlathed cymbals were marketed towards louder music styles as

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and heavy metal. *Inverted bell on China cymbal: Introduced in 1983 as the 2002 NOVO china type. Makes it easier to play ride and crash on a

China cymbal China type cymbals from three continents In western music, a China cymbal (or Chinese cymbal) is a distinct type of crash cymbals designed to produce a bright, crisp, and explosive tone. It is for this reason that they have been nicknamed "''tra ...

. *Coloured cymbals: Introduced in 1984. *Proprietary Signature Bronze: A patented

introduced in 1989 with the Signature line. According to the patent, this alloy consists of

phosphor bronze Phosphor bronze is a member of the family of copper alloys. It is composed of copper that is alloyed with 0.5–11% of tin and 0.01–0.35% phosphorus, and may contain other elements to confer specific properties (e.g. lead at 0.5–3.0% to form ...

with a 14.7% to 15.1% tin content by weight. It has been claimed by Paiste to be the first bronze alloy specifically developed for cymbals. *Sonic Texture Formula: Introduced in 2001 with the Innovations series. A patented lathing technique to get a more complex sounding cymbal. Many of these innovations were used by other manufacturers when the applicable patents expired. For example, almost all the larger modern cymbal companies offer a flat ride cymbal and an alternative to the Sound Edge Hi-Hat.

Notable artists

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of U2 *

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of Testament/

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of Slipknot *

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* Frank Beard of

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of Toto *

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Brad Wilk Brad Wilk (born September 5, 1968) is an American drummer. He is best known as a member of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, 2007–2011, 2019–present), Audioslave (2001–2007, 2017), and Prophets of Rage (2016–2019). ...

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...

Patents

References

External links

*
Paiste in the Drumming Database
{{cymbals Cymbal manufacturing companies Percussion instrument manufacturing companies Manufacturing companies established in 1945 1945 establishments in Russia 1945 establishments in the Soviet Union Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Switzerland Estonian brands