Paiste · Drums and Percussion

Paiste

Paiste was originally founded in Germany, but was moved to Switzerland by the owner.
Michail M. Paiste in 1945. In 1901 his farther, the musician and composer Michail Toomas Paiste had founded a publishing company and instrument shop in St. Petersburg in which instruments were also made and repaired. The operation flourishes for many years until the upheavals of the Russian Revolution force its closing in 1916. In 1917 he returns to his native country, Estonia and re-opens his business in the city of Tallinn. It is here that he begins to design and manufacture cymbals for concert and marching bands together with his son, Michail M. Paiste. Seeking to meet the rapidly evolving demands of "modern music" and the emerging drum set, the son begins to develop his own special concept for Turkish style cymbals, which he prefers over the Chinese style as a starting point. It is during this time that he also develops the first gongs. The resulting instruments receive awards and international recognition as they begin to be exported to Europe, the USA and overseas. The events of World War II force Michail M. to leave Estonia for Poland in 1940, where he re-establishes the family business. The company struggles with a wartime shortage of raw materials and difficulty in maintaining international relations, but manages to survive. Towards the end of the war, Michail M. and his family escaped Poland as refugees, bringing him to Northern Germany where, for the third time, he begins to produce cymbals and gongs. In 1957 Michael M. establishes a manufacture in Switzerland, also bringing a third generation, sons Robert and Toomas, into what becomes the companies base for future development. A new era begins as Robert and Toomas make Paiste Switzerland the hub of its international business activities. In 1981 the founding of Paiste USA led to the company having a firm foothold in the world’s largest music instrument market. After 50 years of absence Paiste opened a subsidiary in Estonia, the same year a further was opened in Spain.

Paiste is always creating new sounds with cymbals, gongs and bronze percussion instruments following the demands of drummers and percussionists. Paiste is always able to offer a large spectrum of authentic and unique sounds to fit the personal wishes and demands of the musician. The Paiste program is designed to keep pace with trends. The capability to do so has developed over many decades of hard work and experience. The result is a very diverse product range covering most musicians’ demands.
Famous drummers using Paiste include: Bela B. (Die Ärzte), Vom (Die Toten Hosen), John Dolmayan (System of a down), Joey Jordison (Slipknot), David Silveria (Korn), Brad Wilk (Audioslave), Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden), Dave Lombardo (Slayer