Iorillo Cymbals: the rebirth of B20 bronze between vintage car bodywork and jazz

The genesis of Iorillo Cymbals, founded by Mattia Iorillo in Casalbore, Southern Italy, represents a methodological unicum in the landscape of contemporary percussion lutherie. A former national athlete and multifaceted musician—a bassist in his early days and a harmonicist in a blues trio—Iorillo developed an empirical and visceral knowledge of metals while working as a panel beater and specialist in the restoration of vintage cars. His compulsive passion for finding the ideal cymbal sound, considered the cornerstone element that defines and anticipates a drummer’s sonic identity—especially in jazz—drove Mattia to transfer his hammer technique and geometric intuition from car body panels to raw metal discs.

Without attending formal courses, using a piece of decommissioned railway track as an anvil, Iorillo faced years of rigorous study and testing. The brand unites blues symbolism—represented in the logo by the Blue Hound, the legendary devil dog of Mississippi mythology—with centuries-old casting traditions. Choosing to stay and invest in his homeland, Mattia transforms originally misshapen plates into acoustic masterpieces capable of gracing jazz festival stages and conversing with industry professionals, offering cymbals where the sound becomes an extension of the artisan’s very spirit.

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The collection

Iorillo Cymbals production is divided into two operational channels: the creation of unique instruments starting from raw metal blanks and the radical regeneration or advanced customization of existing cymbals:

• Signature Rides (B20 Custom Series): Signature cymbals entirely handmade and forged on commission starting from B20 bronze discs. Characterized by extreme lightness and an ultra-responsive touch, they are optimized for jazz drummers who seek maximum stick definition combined with a dark and controlled wash. Among the standout models is the 20-inch Ride created specifically for the renowned jazz drummer Pietro Iodice.
• Avant-Garde Effects and Stacks: Complex instruments designed to control sound decay, such as trash cymbals lightened through calibrated holes, asymmetrically cut cymbals to enhance short resonances, and spiral cymbals derived from complex profiles.
• Modifications and Re-shaping: Radical interventions on budget or damaged cymbals from brands like Paiste or Zildjian, where the instrument is lathed, thinned, and super-hammered to isolate the bell or drastically alter its original frequency spectrum.

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Construction philosophy, techniques, and materials

Mattia Iorillo applies a construction philosophy based on the rigorous management of internal alloy tensions to his bronze modeling:

• B20 Bronze Forging: the raw material par excellence is B20 Bronze (80% copper, 20% tin, with traces of silver), cast and transformed into raw blanks on specific commission by Turkish master casters. This bell metal alloy, which is structurally dense and rich in intermetallic bonds, requires millimeter-level control of temperature and impact force to avoid breakage during cold plastic deformation.
• Manual Hammering: stemming from high-level car bodywork, Iorillo knows that each individual hammer strike does more than just change the shape of the sheet; it introduces local tensions that redistribute vibration nodes and alter harmonics. A dense and deep hammering compresses the bronze’s crystalline lattice, lowering the instrument’s fundamental pitch and enriching it with dark, complex frequencies. The commission process is symbiotic: the cymbal is modified progressively by exchanging audio tracks and laboratory data with the musician, as the instrument is considered finished only when the client says it is.
• Natural Patina: contrary to commercial dictates, Iorillo firmly maintains that cymbals should not be cleaned, but left to live. The natural oxidation of bronze exposed to air creates a thin surface patina that physically acts as a microscopic molecular damper, drying out harsh high frequencies and improving the instrument’s overall yield. It is essential, however, to isolate the noble patina from dirt accumulated through disuse (dust and humidity), which would otherwise end up literally choking and dampening the instrument.

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Collaborations and recognitions

The value and authority of Iorillo Cymbals are certified by the almost immediate adoption of his works in top-level concert contexts. The brand’s trial by fire occurred thanks to Pietro Iodice, one of the most authoritative figures in Italian jazz drumming, who tested and immediately brought a 20-inch Demiurge-style Ride created by Mattia live to a festival. Constant exchanges with professionals of the caliber of Carlo Corso, Niccolò Russo, and Francesco have allowed the workshop to develop versatile solutions (such as 24-inch flat rides and drilled chinas), consolidating the brand within the community of drummers searching for a unique and irreproducible tonal identity.

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Direct experience

The relationship between the master builder and the drummer is configured as a shared laboratory. The client can request the modification of their own vintage cymbal or the creation of a ride from scratch, defining its exact weight, the profile of the curvature (bow), and the height of the bell (cup) to calibrate its output.

Before any lathing or drilling, Iorillo performs a structural analysis of the source alloy to prevent micro-cracks and ensure maximum longevity and reliability of the instrument on stage.