Tosco by Sabian?

[Bo Eder]

So what's the word on these Tosco by Sabian cymbals?

I saw this on eBay today, and it seems to fit the bill for what I'm looking for without spending alot of money just to have for the double bass kit:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/18-TOSCO-SH...043?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e696ddafb

Anyone know if these sound any good? $50 too good to be true? I'd ultimately like a big 24" Zildjian Swish, but who's got $500 lying around?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[GruntersDad]

From the Pearl Forum.

Back in the 80s, the Italian made Tosco Cymbals were sold in the States as a "budget" cymbals. They were like a "poor man's K" type thing. They had a very low & dry, hand-hammered quality which is excellent for Jazz. I bought an entire set : 20" 18" 16" 14" hihat. I still have them stored, and though I now use Ks exclusively, I love these Toscos.

In the 90s Tosco was bought out by Sabian, and they produced "Tosco by Sabian" series. After that another company took over, but I cannot remember the name. This company agressively promoted Tosco Cymbals for a very short preriod of time. The cymbals were reviewed on Modern Drummer magazine, and I remember full-page ads as well. But this effort was short lived. All the sudden Tosco disappeared, and I never heard about them again.

Today, it's really hard to come across these Toscos on market. On eBay I pay close attention to Tosco. They are rare, inexpensive but in my opinion very excellent quality. I just got another 20" Ride from eBay for $60 and I just love it..

 

[sacco]

Well, since I am not very young (...), I perfectly remember that Tosco cymbals were widely used in Italy during the 80s. Actually, it is true that they were a kind of Zildjian second line (Tosco belonged to Zildjian), but, at least in Italy, they were not considered cheap cymbals at all. Some Italian big names played them and I also remember that Charlie Watts used a Tosco China (or Swish) model for years.

If you are interested in Tosco's sound, have a look at this video: Tullio De Piscopo with Pino Daniele in 1983 (!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaFrOl_L7QY

Please do not forget it was the 80s, but believe me, I could attend one of the concerts of this tour and I was really impressed by De Piscopo's playing and by his kit and cymbals (hey, it was 1983, and I was still playing a small Slingerland kit with a couple of cymbals ...)

 

[Bo Eder]

Well, since I am not very young (...), I perfectly remember that Tosco cymbals were widely used in Italy during the 80s. Actually, it is true that they were a kind of Zildjian second line (Tosco belonged to Zildjian), but, at least in Italy, they were not considered cheap cymbals at all. Some Italian big names played them and I also remember that Charlie Watts used a Tosco China (or Swish) model for years.

If you are interested in Tosco's sound, have a look at this video: Tullio De Piscopo with Pino Daniele in 1983 (!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaFrOl_L7QY

Please do not forget it was the 80s, but believe me, I could attend one of the concerts of this tour and I was really impressed by De Piscopo's playing and by his kit and cymbals (hey, it was 1983, and I was still playing a small Slingerland kit with a couple of cymbals ...)

Thanks for that clip! Two things I learned from that video:

1) Toscos (then) sounded a little dry, but acceptable
2) If you're an aging guy gaining weight (which I'm becoming, slowly), don't wear sleeve-less shirts.

 

[sacco]

Thanks for that clip! Two things I learned from that video:

1) Toscos (then) sounded a little dry, but acceptable
2) If you're an aging guy gaining weight (which I'm becoming, slowly), don't wear sleeve-less shirts.

Hi Bo, I fully agree on both things, and I stopped wearing sleeve-less shirts a while ago ... Just kidding, I can still wear them (ehm ... well, if they are not too small ...)