Zildjian Cymbals

Before becoming an endorsee of Paiste, Stewart Copeland played mostly Zildjian cymbals (a.k.a. Avedis Zildjian cymbals) for live and studio work with The Police between 1977 and 1980 (not to mention Klark Kent).

Stewart Copeland had the following set of Zildjian cymbals, from the hollow logo "A" series:
 * 14" hi-hats
 * 8" Splash
 * 16" Crash (x2)
 * 18" Crash
 * 22" Ping Ride

While using Zildjian, Stewart occasionally slipped in one or two Paiste cymbals to live setup, presumably borrowed ones. For example, the Paradiso concert in June 1979, where a Paiste 2002 crash cymbal is visible. He would go on to become an endorsee of Paiste cymbals in March 1981, so he switched to their cymbals instead.

Even so, he probably still had the Zildjian cymbals shipped to Montserrat in Summer 1981 as potential back-ups while recording Ghost In The Machine at AIR Studios there. In one Didi Zill photo, he is seen with looks like a Zildjian 22" Ping Ride (judging by the bell shape) and a few Zildjian splashes, which is clearly unusual considering he was endorsing Paiste by then. But he had two different TAMA kits set up at AIR, so it makes sense the Zildjians made their way into one of these.