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Zildjian, a 400-year-old cymbal-making company in Massachusetts

Drummers across the globe know the Zildjian name because it’s emblazoned on every shiny cymbal they make. What’s less known is that the family has been making their famous cymbals, with a secret process, for more than four centuries.

(Robin Lubbock/WBUR)Even in Massachusetts many people have no idea an industrial factory outside of Boston designs, casts, blasts, rolls, hammers, buffs and tests at least a million Zildjian cymbals each year. At the time jazz was exploding, so Avedis III travelled to New York City so he could develop new sounds with pioneers, including Gene Krupa. Armand, who started working in Zildjian's melt room when he was 14, eventually brought Debbie and her sister Craigie inside to teach them the secret process.

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