AJAHA Cymbals produced cymbals from the 1910s through the 1970s. Ajaha cymbals appeared in the 1912 Gretsch catalog, fourteen years before Fred Gretsch Sr. registered the Zildjian brand in the United States. The 1941 Gretsh catalog says, "For almost thirty years American drummers have ranked Ajaha second only to K Zildjian." The telltale identifying mark is the signature "X.E. Ajaha" on the underside of the cymbal bell. Some observe that the characters X and E resemble the Greek characters "hee" and "ksi." The last Ajaha cymbals were produced by Tosco-Italy, in the 1970s as a stencil brand supplied to Gretsch drums.
Very early Ajahas (date based upon visual stylistic/craftsmanship grounds) tend to be small, 11-14", and either very heavy, or paper thin. The UFIP produced Ajahas of the 70's run the gamut of sizes 12"-22" and weights. Also of note is that these UFIP versions bear an ink-stamped reproduction of the Ajaha signature.
As to whether Ajaha was initially a Turkish maker, or a European (possibly Italian) maker who had apprenticed in a Turkish workshop (perhaps even the K Zildjian workshop in Istanbul) is open to debate. Its difficulty is compounded by the relative rarity of such cymbals still in existence.
The lack of concrete information on these cymbals may also be because the only identifying mark was an ink signature or stamp (as opposed to an embossed stamp), so the ink may have worn off, leaving many Ajahas as "no-names." Also, the varied quality of those that are identifiable does not encourage further investigation. Lastly, in keeping with the very unfortunate tradition of not discussing past artisans they did business with or employed (if there is no marketable gain for doing so), Sabian (Tosco), UFIP (Italy), and Gretsch may have more information on Ajaha than they are willing to disclose. Too obscure for almost any musicians or collectors to care about, these cymbals have little market value today. Ajaha the company, and the cymbalsmith, remain an enigma.
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