Vintage 20" Tosco Ride

[DrumBob]

I just picked up a really nice older Tosco ride for $65 at Ritchie's Music in Rockaway, NJ, my fave music store. It's in great shape all around and looks to be 70's/80's. It's medium weight with great stick definition and good tonal balance, with a pronounced wash and a ringing bell that is well integrated into the overall sound of the cymbal. This plate seems to feature pretty midrange tones, but there's also quite a bit of glassiness to it was as well, which leads me to believe it'll cut through a rock gig just fine. I'll find out Saturday night in any case.

Anybody have old Toscos they'd like to talk about or any history to share? I know there's a Sabian connection that goes back years. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[moflofontaine]

I bought a pair of 14" tosco hi hats secondhand for $90 (app 60 US) about a year ago. They were great and I did a bit of research re: the sabian connection. I think if they say just "tosco made in italy" and nothing else they were made before sabian bought the tosco name and are supposed to be superior in quality than "tosco by sabian". either way if it sounds good it is good. I used these hats for a variety of styles and they held up well. They were similar to new beats but a little more brittle feeling and with a little less volume.. They did however develop a slight crack near the edge of the top cymbal and i stopped using them. I still have them but only use them for recording now if i need a different (more mellow) sound.

[Ulrich]

I've had some vintage tosco crashes in my possession. Currently I have a 20 ride and a 18 china (with round bell). I love those pies. They are underappreciated by most ebay buyers and therefore usually rather cheap. Most of the vintage toscos are in the vintage-avedis- or vintage-2002-league but they cost half the money. To my knowledge Tosco used to be a cymbal maker in the tuskany region, italy, before the production facilities were sold to UFIP and the marketing-rights were sold to Sabian. Because Sabian produced only minor quality cymbals under the name "Tosco" most people on ebay don't care for them. My advice for all you fellow cymbalholics is to get your vintage TOSCOs fast before they turn out to be collectors' items!

[larold]

I used to have a pair of "Ludwig by Tosco" hats. Nice cymbals but way too heavy for me. They sounded a lot like Sabian's Jack DeJohnette hats.

[Luciano]

I have a 20" Tosco with a cut, it's a nice cymbal though say medium heavy
it bears a stamp saying "Tullio De Piscopo" he was a well known Italian drummer. Then I have a 14" bottom hat.......
These cymbals are rather old and if somebody is interested I can send pics.
Luciano