UFIP, acronym for "Unione Fabbricanti Italiani Piatti" (translation: Italian Cymbal Manufacturers Union), is an Italian cymbal manufacturer, based in Pistoia, Tuscany.
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. 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. In 1947 Zanchi left UFIP to start his own company, Zanchi (later spelled "Zanki"). In 1968 UFIP changed from a cooperative society to an actual production company. 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.
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). 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.
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. This particular technique reduces air pockets in the alloy and ensures a thicker bell-to-bow ratio. Most of the UFIP top level cymbal series are manufactured using the Rotocasting technique.
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.
Extatic Series ("Mellow and Warm") - Professional level cymbals made of cast B20 bronze, cast using the "Rotocasting" technique, hand hammered using cross hammering, finished with a combination of Class and Natural finishes. With their controlled and rich sound, these cymbals are ideal for pop music, fusion, pop rock and funk.
Rough Series ("Forceful and Controlled") - Professional level cymbals made of cast B20 bronze, cast using the "Rotocasting" technique, deeply hand hammered with five different punches, finished using handcrafted turning system. With their powerful, penetrating and controlled sound, these cymbals are suitable for studio situations, rock, hard rock and fusion.
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 Experience 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.
Experience Series ("Unconventional New Sound") - The Experience Series is the experimental series of UFIP cymbals:
Experience Real Chinas - China cymbals with a conventional rounded bell instead of the usual conical bell. There are two variations for this cymbal: the first one, the "Experience Real China Cast Bronze", is made of B20 bronze and manufactured using the "Rotocasting" system; the second one, the "Experience Real China Tiger", is made of B8 sheet bronze and is treated with the same hardening procedure used for the "Tiger Series". The Cast Bronze version results mellower in sound compared to the trashier tone of the Tiger one.
Experience Samba Splashes - B20 bronze splash cymbals with upturned edge manufactured using the "Rotocasting" system, created with the help of Luis Agudo, ideal for Latin music.
Experience Hand Cymbals - B20 Bronze cymbals manufactured using the "Rotocasting" system. Conceived with the help of Marco Fadda. These cymbals are very thin and they are meant to be played with hands or bows.
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 Blast Crashes and Hi-Hats - B20 bronze cymbals, treated with both traditional hammering and plastic deformation. The result is a trashy sounding cymbal with very short decay.
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".
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.
Among the discontinued series there are Ritmo, Solid Ride, Original, Kashian, Genio, Red Sound, Galaxy, Primo and Firma. The last one was entirely hand made by senior cymbal-smith Damiano Tronci.
