Norwell, MA, July 2010....Founded in 1623, the Zildjian company has earned a well-deserved reputation as the world's foremost manufacturer of cymbals. Now Zildjian has announced the formation of a new venture that places the company firmly at the forefront of 21st century technology. 

Gen16 by Zildjian makes its debut with the Digital Vault, offering authentic, high-resolution acoustic samples of the company's most coveted, exclusive master "reference" cymbals, along with rare, limited-edition cymbals never available to the public. Each cymbal has been hand-selected by Zildjian's Master Cymbal Tester Paul Francis from the "cymbal vault" at the company's Norwell, MA workshop, and meticulously recorded by percussion sampling guru John Emrich.

Powering the Gen16 Digital Vaults is a custom version of FXpansion's BFD Eco, an intuitive drum playback/production environment based on the award-winning BFD2 technology. The BFD Eco engine allows users to change pitch, mix or add effects to these Zildjian samples to create even more unique sounds.

Also included in the Digital Vault are full libraries of drum and percussion groove tracks from some of the industry's most in-demand drummers, including Michael White, Dave DiCenso and Peter Michael Escovedo. Each performance is available in various audio and General MIDI formats for maximum flexibility.

"The Gen16 Digital Vault is truly the most unique and powerful cymbal library ever created, and a must-have for any serious sample library," remarked Craigie Zildjian, the company's Chief Executive Officer. "It's classic Zildjian sounds, but it's like nothing you've ever heard before."

Zildjian will be introducing Gen16 via a new website, www.gen-16.com. A First Look public beta campaign is presently underway for select qualified users. To apply, go to http://www.gen-16firstlook.com and click Apply Now.