TDJ-Issue-Three

approach rather than people who approach me. A lot of people in the industry
are raising concerns over endorsing artists because people are coming round
to the idea of individuality now and having your own sound.”
“So would you have reservations about scaling production up?”
“I would have reservations, yeah. My goal is not to make a big company and
loads of money. Yes, of course I need to make a living, but I also want to enjoy
what I’m doing. I think in the case of making cymbals, it would be difficult
to teach someone to make cymbals like I do. It’s not that my way is the best,
but even if I had an apprentice and taught them very closely, they’d still end
up making their own cymbals. Maybe with other things, like with triangles
for example, that is an engineering process. You could show someone how to
do exactly the same thing and make it sound the same as the last one. With a
cymbal, I don’t think you can do that. There are just so many variables. How
many hammer strokes there are, where they are, how heavy they are, what
type of hammer you use. It’s what I hear halfway through that informs which
direction I take it. That’s why they’re wonderful things.”
Matt’s right about this, and it’s easy to see the allure of what he’s doing. It’s
just him, in a workshop, being his own boss and producing quality, highly
desirable instruments. But there is a danger of over-romanticising this. What
he’s doing is hard work and ultimately, like any manufacturer, Matt needs
to sell what he makes. Thankfully, a growing interest in bespoke, unique,
customised products has been beneficial to independent manufactures
everywhere. In the same vein, I had wondered about what Matt’s perception
of other, larger cymbal manufacturers was. Not once did he say anything bad
about any of them. I suppose, in some sense, they’re not directly competing
as such. Matt has no capacity or apparent desire to produce thousands of
cymbals per year and it’s unlikely the larger companies will be looking to
scale down and stop producing their flagship lines. At the very least though,
a cymbal, gong, triangle or bell from Matt Nolan Custom helps secure his
kitchen lino’s continued existence.
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