UMC

UMC may stand for:

Organizations

ESP Guitars

ESP Company, Limited (株式会社イーエスピー, Kabushiki Gaisha Ī Esu Pī) is a Japanese guitar manufacturer, primarily focused on the production of electric guitars and basses. They are based in both Japan and Los Angeles, California, USA, with two distinct product lines for each respective market. ESP Company manufactures instruments under several names, including "ESP Standard", "ESP Custom Shop", "LTD Guitars and Basses", "Navigator", "Edwards Guitar and Basses", and "Grassroots". Their products range from Japanese-built custom shop instruments to lower end mass-production Korean, Indonesian and Chinese made instruments.

History

In 1975, Hisatake Shibuya opened a shop called Electric Sound Products (ESP) in Tokyo, which provided custom replacement parts for guitars and quickly gained a reputation for the high-quality of these replacement parts. At this time, ESP also began crafting guitars under the ESP and Navigator brand in the Japanese market. Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones and Akira Takasaki were users of these guitars.

Avedis Zildjian Company

The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian /ˈzɪldʒⁱən/, is an American cymbal manufacturer based in Norwell, Massachusetts. The company was founded in Constantinople by Armenian Avedis Zildjian in the 17th century, during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. Zildjian is nearly 400 years old, and thus is one of the oldest companies in the world. Zildjian also sells drum-related accessories, such as drum sticks and cymbal carriers. It is the largest cymbal manufacturer in the world.

On December 20, 2010, it was announced that Avedis Zildjian Company had merged with Vic Firth, Inc. According to the announcement, both companies will continue to run autonomously.

History

Beginnings

The first Zildjian cymbals were created in 1618 by Avedis Zildjian, an alchemist who was looking for a way to turn base metal into gold; he created an alloy combining tin, copper, and silver into a sheet of metal that could make musical sounds without shattering. Avedis was given the name of Zildjian (Zilciyân) by the Sultan Osman II (from the Turkish word zil – cymbal, dji – maker-seller, ian – a common suffix used in Armenian last names which means same as in English) and began an industry in 1623, the details of whose main product remained secret for generations. It became family tradition that only the company's heirs would know the manufacturing process.

Remo

Remo is an American drumhead, drumset, world percussion, and banjo head company founded by Remo Belli in 1957. They are well known for their highly successful WEATHERKING series, which is now seen on orchestral, world, marching percussion, and drum sets. In addition to drumheads, Remo also produces drumsets and ethnic percussion instruments.

History

Drummer and founder Remo D. Belli experimented with PET film as a possible material for the production of drumheads after World War II due to its consistency in tonal qualities and resistance to weather changes. Throughout the 1960s, it was a fight to gain market acceptance, as purist jazzmen preferred the sound of natural calfskin. However, these calfskin drumheads had to be frequently tuned with weather fluctuations. Remo Belli created convenience for professional drummers when he pioneered the use of Mylar, a synthetic polyester film for drumheads. Originally, the drumheads were white and opaque to help mimic the look of calfskin. Later innovations were clear drumheads, two ply drumheads (for added durability and depth), and simulated natural drumheads with a product called "FIBERSKYN", which is currently on its 3rd version.

Drum Workshop

Drum Workshop (also known as DW Drums or simply DW) is a drum kit and hardware manufacturing company based in Oxnard, California.

History

Drum Workshop was founded in 1972 as a teaching studio by Don Lombardi. It originally offered private lessons and the occasional workshop. However, Lombardi, along with student (and current Senior Executive Vice President) John Good, began a small drum equipment sales operation to cover the facility's operation costs.

This operation soon created the first-ever DW product: The height-adjustable trap seat, which was envisioned by Lombardi. The demand became so great that, after accepting an offer to purchase all of Camco's manufacturing equipment, the primary focus of the DW operation became drum hardware manufacturing. DW's Camco origins can still be seen on their drums today in their unique round "turret" tuning lugs which were designed by George H. Way and originally featured on George Way Drums. Following this, the next big product introduced by DW was the 5000 series nylon strap bass drum pedal, which was essentially a Camco pedal with the DW name placed upon it. The pedal was soon joined by the double bass pedal, the rotating-base and cable remote hi-hat stands. After additional growth and expansion, the first full DW endorser was found in Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe after he tried out a prototype DW drumset when he came to the shop to get his pedals adjusted.