a few days ago i got an email from a drummer in finland.

Hello
I'm doing some research on cymbals and their manufacturing. I was
wondering if you could tell me when was my Meinl Byzance 20" Medium Ride made? The serial number is 3043483. I haven't found any info anywhere so this is my last hope and I'd really appreciate any help.

all our serial are generated after a simple principal which tells you when the cymbal was made. in this case here the serial number is 3043483 and what it means is this:

first digit "3" is the year of manufacture: 2003
second and third digits "04" are the month of manufacture: april (04)
and the last digits "3483" are an ongoing number. they are not relevant for the manufacturing date.

we have started with the laser engraving in about 2001 for our byzance cymbals only. later on then we began to apply it to all other series as well.

in the late 90ies we used to have a series called "custom cymbal shop".
those had a serieal number applied using black ink on the inside of the
bell. that number works after the same principal. for example 9901335
means made in january 1999.

so next time you spot that number, you know what's going.

- norbert

in 2006, a band appeared on the german scene. they are called rivo drei and their drummer is felix lehrmann. their album "yeah! jawohl! und ueberhaupt!" has become one of my all-time favourites. i've seen them live many times, and i have invited them to perform at our 2006 meinl drum festival. maybe some of you have seen them there too.

felix lehrmann has had an awesome career in the german drumming scene during the last couple of years. he's one of the first-call studio drummers. his style is unique and recognizeable with a deep pocket. just check out some of the videos we recorded with him demonstrating our various cymbal series.

i am pleased to see that rivo drei has now released their second album, "funk + doener". it's got everything that you'd expect from rivo drei: felix' flashy yet groovy drumming, german lyrics that really mean something, and oliver rivo's songwriting skills. this cd is going to be in my cd player for quite some time now and "hallo phantom" is my new favourite song.

you can order the cd at rivodrei.de. there is an english version too. or download on iTunes or amazon.

- norbert

ever since we've developed and introduced our range of symphonic cymbals about one year ago together with jens herz, principal percussionist of the bamberg symphony orchestra, i have learned so much new about the requirements a classical percussionist is looking for in terms of cymbal sounds.

some time ago i was introduced to guido margrrander, percussionist of the bavarian radio symphony orchestra. i gave him a selection of our symphonic cymbals for testing. apparently the 22" heavy cymbal pair has been chosen to be used at their yesterday's concert at the herkulessaal in munich. i had the great pleasure to experience this amazing concert, gustav mahler's first symphony "titan" played by one of the world's leading orchestras.

i'm excited to have the opportunity to keep on working more in the classical szene in the future in terms of cymbal sounds. besides all the music i grew up with, i have always loved classical music and have listened to it all the time. i find it very fascinating now to also sneak into that world more and more working with classical musicians in terms of the sounds they are looking for. i love it!

- norbert

yesterday i got an email from amon amarth's drummer fredrik. he just finished recording for their new album. it all turned out pretty well is what he said and that he's got a new favourite hihat now, byzance dark hihats. these seem to soon have legendary status in the drumming world. a lot of drummers are using those and get great results.

a few weeks ago i have sent a new byzance china to him in the studio for the recording. he now tells me that he has carefully "bent the cymbal a little bit when it is brand new". it instantly "softened it up a little" and made the sound a bit smoother and softer. interesting! i can clearly imagine that, but at the same time, i recommend to do this very carefully. i'm glad it worked for him though.

fredrik also said "all in all, probably my best effort ever on an album". congratulations fredrik - can't wait to listen to it.

- norbert

once again our czech artist milos meier keeps impressing with another one of his slick drum solos. this was recorded at a drum festival in holland. it's 10min long and i like every second of it. besides that there's another one in the video section which was recorded at praha music city earlier this year. have fun watching.

- norbert