UFIP

UFIP, an acronym for Unione Fabbricanti Italiani Piatti[1] (Italian Cymbal Manufacturers Union) is an Italian musical instrument manufacturing company based in Pistoia, Tuscany.

UFIP S.r.l.
SRL
IndustryMusical instruments
Founded1931 (1931)
Headquarters
Pistoia
,
Italy
Key people
Luigi Tronci (President), Alberto Biasei (CEO)
ProductsCymbals, gongs, and metal percussion
Websiteufip.it

The company currently produces cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion instruments.

History

In the early 20th century the "Agati-Tronci" company, a known pipe organ manufacturer, began the production of cymbals, as they were difficult to import from Turkey. In 1926 a worker for the Tronci family, Fiorello Zanchi, left the company to start a new cymbal manufacturer with Manlio Biasei, the "Zanchi & Biasei" company. A number of cymbals manufacturers were founded in Pistoia after the First World War, starting a competition.[2] On January 6, 1931 four companies (Marradi-Benti, Zanchi & Biasei, Rosati Leopoldo and A. & B. Fratelli Tronci) founded a cooperative society called UFIP to stop the competition between cymbals manufacturers.[3] In 1947 Zanchi left UFIP to start his own company, Zanchi (later spelled "Zanki").[4] In 1968 UFIP changed from a cooperative society to an actual production company.[4] The grandson of Rosati, Buiani, co-founded with Giovanni Spadacini the Tosco company in 1974. In 1979, Robert Zildjian took over Tosco and transformed it in a Sabian subsidiary. One of the main innovation designed by Tosco is the Octagonal cymbal. This particular design inspired the Sabian Rocktagon.[4]

At the beginning UFIP sold his cymbals under commission of various drums companies, initially with Turkish sounding names such as "Zinjian" (commissioned by Pearl, Ludwig and Premier), "Kashian" (commissioned by Slingerland), "Pasha" (commissioned by Rogers), "Ajaha" (commissioned by Gretsch) and "Super Constantinoples" (commissioned by Dolnet).[4] In the United States UFIP cymbals were sold as "Atlas" and "Abraxis" until, in the early nineties, the company began to use the "UFIP" name internationally.[4]

UFiP is being distributed in the United States by Davitt & Hanser music.

Manufacturing

UFIP is known for using the "Rotocasting" technique. This technique was patented by the Zanchi brothers in the seventies. Rotocasting consists in casting molten bronze in a cymbal mold mounted on a centrifuge that spins approximately a thousand revolutions per minute.[5] This particular technique reduces air pockets in the alloy and ensures a thicker bell-to-bow ratio.[6] Most of the UFIP top level cymbal series are manufactured using the Rotocasting technique.

Products

Drum kit cymbals
UFIP Natural Series 14" hi-hats
  • M8 Series - Entry level cymbals made of sheet brass, hand hammered and hand finished.
  • Tiger Series ("Explosive and Quick") - Semi professional level cymbals made of sheet B8 bronze, treated with a special hardening procedure, hand hammered and hand finished. Powerful, explosive, with a quick response and a long sustain, they are suitable for loud music such as hard rock, heavy metal and punk rock.
  • Supernova Series ("Dynamic and Fast") - Professional level cymbals made of sheet B8 bronze, treated with a hand hammering procedure using fast rotation, featuring brilliant finish and hand polished. With their brilliant sound, quick response and dynamism are suitable for hip hop, drum and bass, funk and urban music as a whole.
  • Natural Series ("Dark and Deep") - Professional level cymbals made of cast B20 bronze, cast using the "Rotocasting" technique, treated with a thermal procedure to reduce surface tension, deeply hammered with double punch. With their warm, dark and rich tone, the Natural Series cymbals are ideal for jazz, R&B, fusion, blues, country and acoustic music.
  • Class Series ("Allround and Colourful") - Professional level cymbals made of cast B20 bronze, cast using the "Rotocasting" technique, hand made, cross hammered and hand finished. With its powerful but controlled sound, the Class Series is considered UFIP's most versatile cymbal line.
  • Class Brilliant Series ("Rich and Shimmering") - Professional level cymbals made of cast B20 bronze, cast using the "Rotocasting" technique, hand made, cross hammered, hand finished. Only light weight models are available for this series. With its fast, dynamic and warm sound, this cymbal line is ideal for pop, fusion, funk, acoustic, jazz and Latin.
  • Bionic Series ("Bright and Powerful") - Professional level cymbals made of cast B20 bronze, cast using the "Rotocasting" technique, hand made, deeply hammered with double punch and hand polished. With its powerful and bright tone, the Bionic Series is suitable for hard rock, rock, heavy metal and fusion.
  • Vibra Series - Professional level cymbal line made of cast B20 bronze introduced in 2015, cast using the "Rotocasting" technique. Developed with endorser Adriano Molinari (Zucchero Fornaciari), this series is manufactured in a similar fashion to the Blast Series, with the typical plastic deformation featured in the Blast Series replaced by a deep hand hammering. With their fast and dynamic sound, these cymbals are suitable for pop, fusion, acoustic, rock and world music.
  • Est. 1931 Series - Developed with endorser Federico Paulovich and introduced in 2018, the Est. 1931 Series features dark, low pitched soft cymbals with traditional sound. Cast using the patented "Rotocasting" technique.
  • Omnia Series - Introduced in 2020, the Omnia Series features modern, fast and versatile cymbals. Cast using the patented "Rotocasting" technique.
  • Blast Collection - Originally part of the Experience Series, these B20 bronze cymbals are treated with both traditional hammering and plastic deformation. The result is a trashy sounding cymbal with very short decay. In 2018, UFIP introduced "Blast Extra Dry Crashes", featuring a darker and drier sound compared to the original Blast crashes. In 2020 Blast Extra Dry rides and hi-hats got released, completing the collection.
  • FX Collection - From 2018 all splashes and chinas became part of the FX Collection, separating them from the standard series.
  • Experience Series ("Unconventional New Sound") - The Experience Series is the experimental series of UFIP cymbals:
    • Experience Collector Rides - Ride cymbals made of B20 bronze manufactured using the "Rotocasting" system. These ride cymbals have a very dark tone and they are ideal for jazz. They are hand hammered and available in Class and Natural finishes.
    • Experience Flat Rides - Flat ride cymbals made of B20 bronze manufactured using the "Rotocasting" system. Available in both Class and Natural finishes.
    • Experience Bell Crashes - These cymbals are a combination of the unlathed ride bell of the Bionic Series and the bow of the crash cymbal from the Class Series. This series is manufactured using the "Rotocasting" system.
    • Experience Del Cajon Cymbals - Introduced in 2015, these cymabals are designed to be played with the cajón. The Del Cajon series features very light and thin cymbals that are meant to be played with hands, mallets or brushes.

Hand-held cymbals
  • Symphonic Series - B20 bronze symphonic cymbals, available in three weights: "Francese" (light), "Viennese" (medium), "Germanic" (heavy). Size range is from 14" to 21".
  • Marching Series:
    • Professional Marching Cymbals - B20 bronze marching cymbals, available in medium and heavy weights, ranges in size from 14" to 18".
    • Light Bronze Marching Cymbals - B12 bronze marching cymbals, they are available in sizes of 13" and 14".
    • M8 Marching Series - Sheet brass marching cymbals, they are available in sizes of 13" and 14".

Percussion instruments

UFIP produces a variety of metal percussion instruments such as gongs, tam-tams, finger cymbals, wind chimes, tubaphones, snare plates, ximbaus (a triangular cymbal with jingles), Tibetan bells, Burma bells, bell trees, ice bells, crotales, bell plates and tubular bells.

Discontinued series

Among the discontinued series there are Ritmo, Solid Ride, Original, Kashian, Genio, Red Sound, Galaxy, Primo, Extatic, Rough and Firma. The last one was entirely hand made by senior cymbal-smith Damiano Tronci.

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References
  1. UFIP – UNIONE FABBRICANTI ITALIANI PIATTI on Italia Su Misura website
  2. "Storia della UFIP". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  3. "UFIP". Promo P.T. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  4. Hugo Pinksterboer (1992). The Cymbal Book. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780793519200.
  5. "Factory tour". UFIP S.r.l. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  6. "Blasting Onto The U.S. Market: UFiP Cymbals". Drum Magazine. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
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