Roberto Spizzichino
Roberto Spizzichino lives in Tuscany near the small town of Collodi (where the famous story of Pinocchio originates from) with his wife and two teen kids. He is an active drummer in the Italian jazz/bebop scene but his activities have shifted from drumming to cymbal manufacture in the last couple of years. More recently, Spizzichino has engaged in drum building as well.
How it started
As opposed to other cymbal makers who follow a family tradition, Spizzichino started cymbal manufacture out of a personal need. 'I was looking for cymbals with the sound of the old K Zildjians from the Istanbul factory', he told me. Since these cymbals are hard to find and often overprized for the increasing demand and decreasing numbers available, he decided to make his own cymbals. Almost 20 years ago, being a beginner with no experience in cymbal technology, it took him considerable amounts of effort, time, and money to arrive at his current widely acknowledged level of expertise. Since Spizzichino Cymbals Factory is a one-man enterprise and has no bronze foundry, he has to acquire his raw materials elsewhere. At one time there was an agreement with the (also Tuscanese) UFIP cymbal factory who provided him with raw roto-cast B20 cymbals which Spizzichino then would further process into R. Spizzichino cymbals.
Difficulties on the way
His instruments had reached some acclaim proving that it was time to set up a more professional production. A production building was rented and machines acquired when the bronze contract with UFIP ended. Spizzichino had a hard time finding a foundry to supply bronze and was almost ready to do that himself but could not get satisfying casting tools. Another attempt was made with an American cymbal distributor to marry Italian craftsmanship with traditional Chinese bronze making technology to produce the desired 'old' sound in series. During a two week visit to China Spizzichino produced a couple of prototypes and returned to Italy. At the same time he used to work for a Italian company making entry level cymbals by the brand name of 'Spizz'. Very much to his astonishment, he was later asked about 'his' cymbals being displayed at the American NAMM show. According to Spizzichino, said distributor had started a series production in China without telling him. The Spizz logo had simply been copied off his business card.
Current production
Currently he purchases Chinese cymbals of Wuhan or equivalent provenance and uses these as the raw material for 'R. Spizzichino Cymbals Factory' instruments. Furious advocates of 'all hand manufactured' cymbals may be quite astounded by the fact that the 'pies' Spizzichino starts with are more or less finished cymbals with a 'stamped' cup. 'I was telling them again and again they should not lacquer the cymbals before shipping them to me but to no avail!' he remarked. Those in doubt may rest assured that the Chinese 'ready-mades' receive as much time and effort as other manufacturers spend on flat disks. Anyway, the result is what counts/sounds. And the wide demand alone in the U.S. for his cymbals makes a clear statement on the quality of the instruments.
Maintaining the big beat: Spizzichino at the bumper
Spizzichino told me he had been asked why he kept experimenting even after he achieved to recreate 'that old K sound' that is currently so hip. 'I'm still not completely satisfied' he told me. Being a one-man company busy not only producing cymbals but occupied by all the other activities that come with a business, he cannot produce a large volume. Since most of his production is pre-ordered, a stock comparable to those of other manufacturers just cannot build. At the time a shipment of 150 pieces from China arrives, even more orders have piled up. 'I'm never quite sure about the sound my customers get because all the cymbals get shipped fresh, before they reach their final sound.' Once a drummer returned to him with a cymbal bought from the factory and Spizzichino was pleasantly surprised by the sound. 'Oh, that's one of mine?' he asked.
Things to come
A fruit of this unsatisfying situation is a new process he developed lately. 'This is my only secret!' Spizzichino proudly told me. This undisclosed procedure is to achieve the sound change usually available only through aging almost immediately, Spizzichino claims. He showed me a pair of Zildjian Orchestra cymbals from the 1930's a symphonic musician had brought in order for Spizzichino to make a copy of his beloved favorite instruments. He then gave me a freshly created cymbal with the secret process applied for comparison. The result indeed was surprising. I never saw a new cymbal come as close to a really old one in both sound and appearance.
Correcting the shape of a brass cymbal he had given me to make into a gong
At the time I visited 'R. Spizzichino Cymbals Factory' (August of 2001) the one-and-only chief executive worker was busy preparing an overdue shipment for the U.S. before closing down for a well-earned but short holiday at the Tuscanese seaside. Nevertheless, he took a generous amount of time to answer my questions and show me around. During the six hours Roberto devoted to me we discussed cymbals and sounds a lot. I finally told him: 'Look, I want the impossible: The spanking ping of a heavy cymbal with the dry wash and control of a thin one!' The answer was surprising: 'No problem, I can do it. Now that I have succeeded with my new aging process I feel like I can do anything!' We agreed I should return later in a production pause where there would be more time, bring a couple of my favorite cymbals to speak where words fail, and to experiment. Grazie molto, Roberto, I can't wait!
