Zanchi

Italian cymbal-maker, Fiorello Zanchi, reputedly started out working for the Tronci family of cymbal/pipe organ makers in the 1920s, according to Pinksterboer. Per the same source, it is said that Fiorello started his own workshop, Zanchi, in 1947, and began producing handmade, hand-hammered cymbals. However, to date none of these pre-50s Zanchis have shown themselves on the market (see below). Zanchi cymbals were marketed primarily in Europe.

Fiorello and Figli (Fiorello Zanchi and Sons) were responsible for all Zanchi cymbals. They changed the spelling to Zanki to prevent foreigners from mispronouncing the name. Carlo Biasei (UFIP) depicts Fiorello Zanchi as the teacher of all Pistoian cymbal makers: "He was the man with the golden hands". In the company's heyday, the early 1950s there were around fourteen people working at the factory. In the 1970s the demand for Zanchi cymbals became so great (mostly in the U.S.A. distributed by Unicorn), the company couldn't deliver sufficiently, which led to their closing in 1992.

Some of their earlier series included the "Vibra Cymbals" line; for a number of years, Vibras were believed to have been produced in the 60s or 70s. Recent information provided by an owner of some hi-hats in Connecticut confirms that his were purchased in 1958, so this is the oldest attribution anyone has contributed thus far. A few F & F Vibra cymbals have appeared on the market which also show the "Revere" embossment: interesting because Revere was an early stencil brand of Pearl, Japan in the 60s, so one may presume that, for some period of time, Zanchi had a business relationship with Pearl, However, Revere was also a stencil brand of Kent drums which were American made and sold. Later Kent did sublet some of their manufacturing to Pearl. But the Revere Spotlight cymbals were made by Zanchi for Revere made by Kent drum Company. Vibras were B20 Alloy, usually thin, and are described by some as trashy sounding. Yet, their sizzle and iciness are considered by some musicians to be unique, even by today's standards.

Perhaps Fiorello Zanchi's biggest contribution to cymbal-making history was his development of the "rotocasting" technique, in which molten bronze is poured into a cymbal cast that is mounted on a centrifuge, and rotated as the liquefied metal is being cooled inside the cast. This new technique created a brand new sound in Italian cymbals, much brighter than the previous Zankis. It is reputed that Fiorello used the larger workshop at UFIP to do his rotocasting. These rotocast cymbals bore a new embossed stamp, "Zanki Rotocasting". Some of these cymbals also show an additional embossment that reads: "Music Industries". Still others show an ink stamp by the Italian distributor "Mario Corso". It would appear from the varying stamps of this period that Zanki was associating with different distributors in an attempt to keep the cymbals on the market.