[Johan VDS]

Hi !
My name is Johan and I'm from Belgium.

I'm a drummer and I've always loved to play dark, rich sounding cymbals.

But at some point in the past I got a bit fed up with the kind of so called "dark" cymbals that were available in the shops. The modern Zildjian K's (not being hammered by hand anymore) lacked the darkness and complexity I was after. To me most sounded too one-directional and sterile. Even the new generation of Turkish cymbals (at that time being the Istanbul Mehmet Agops), although being handhammered, weren't quite what I wanted.

So I decided to rehammer cymbals to get the sound I wanted. After quite a bit of trial and error I started to understand the bronze, feel the correlation between shape-thickness-tension and gradually achieved the ability to guide the sound through strategical hand-hammering and lathing.

I've been doing this for 20 years now and lately people from all over te world have been sending me cymbals for modification, or let's say for a total re-creation into a totally different type of cymbal with a more complex or rich sound than can be expected from factory cymbals. Factory cymbals for me are basically "blanks".

Apart from light, dark or complex jazzcymbals I also create heavy cymbals with a complex and rich sound.

The cymbals I've hammered can be seen and heard HERE.

Some "before and after modification" files can be heard HERE.

Also check out some of the amateur cymbals I converted into professional cymbals HERE.




This is a Tony Williams-like 22" Complex Dark 22" ride I hammered from a Paiste Signature Power Ride. SOUNDFILE





A 20" Light Complex Dry Jazz ride made from a Zildjian Avedis Medium ride.
SOUNDFILE





A 17" Dark Thin Crispy Crash hammered from a Ufip Class. SOUNDFILE




A light 20" Deep TrashyFlatride made from a heavy Zildjian Avedis flatride. SOUNDFILE




An 18" Perforation Trash made from a Sabian AAX crash. SOUNDFILE.




This was a Zildjian ZBT 20" ride, now a light (professional !) very complex jazzride. A before and after SOUNDFILE



A 16" Reverse China hammered from a Paiste Dimensions crash. SOUNDFILE




A before and after pic and SOUNDFILE of a Paiste Traditional, made lighter, more jazzy and washy.




An 18" Ripple Trash, hammered from a Ufip ride. This unique cymbal has a very special SOUND and can be used as an alternatieve china, but also as a ride and crash:




Finally a "before and after" pic and SOUNDFILE of a cheap 16" Headliner B8 alloy crash cymbal, now a professional dark thin crash: