UFiP cymbals opens new retail network

The Music Shipping is backing its Italian UFiP cymbals range with a major promotion which will see a number of approved stockists apppointed across the UK.

The new UFiP programme will see the appointment of a small number of specialist drum shops which will open official UFiP Centres. Additionally, a UFiP UK Pro Centre will be based at MSC’s warehouse in the West Midlands, where retailers will be able to accompany customers to test the full UFiP range at the centre. Pro players will also be able to visit to try the range for themselves.

Music Shipping’s Craig Fenney said: “There are numerous series all targeted at different styles of player and UFiP do use the terms ride, crash etc. but cymbals need to be played and listened to as UFiP crashes do sound great as rides as well and vice versa. This is why we feel that they should be in shops for players to hear and not just listed on the internet.

“We will also be running trips to Tuscany, for artists, teachers and customers to visit the factory and see cymbals being made; and at that point they can discuss adjustments and ‘customise’ their own ‘signature’ sets.”

UFiP, or Unione Fabbricanti Italiani Piatti (Italian Cymbal Manufacturers Union), was formed in 1931 by the grouping of four independent cymbal ‘artisan’ families in Northern Italy. Cymbals had been made in the area for hundreds of years prior to that. UFiP has retained most of the original  methods of manufacture but with the addition of some modern technology, where it is advantageous. The cymbal smiths at UFiP serve a six year training period where intricate skills such as hand hammering are passed on from the old to the new generation. Each cymbal takes around two to three weeks to produce to allow the B20 bronze to ‘rest’ between production stages.

One of the unique methods UFiP uses is its patented Rotocast centrifuge bronze casting system. The moulds for the cymbal blanks spin as the bronze is poured, which decreases the possibility of impurities and air bubbles in the finished cymbal.