Sabian Cymbals

Sabian cymbals get their name from the founder’s three children, SAlly, BIlly, and ANdrew. While researching the company, I found that the founder is the son of Avedis Zildjian. While you might not find this information on their official website, a short history can be found on the Sabian Wikipedia Page.

The Sabian website does have some cool features though. You can see how Sabian Makes Cymbals. They also have a couple tools that allow you to create your own “dream” set-up where you can preview how the individual cymbals sound.

Cymbal Series Overview

Here are a few examples of the various lines of cymbals available through Sabian. I’m not going to try to explain each one because their official website has already done a great in depth job of that.

All of the examples below are available from my affiliates and can be found in the Drum Store.

AA Series

Explosive energy and bright tone are what you can expect from cymbals in this Sabian series. Splashes, crashes, hi hats, and rides, you can get them all from this vintage line. Don’t forget to check out the official Sabian website to hear examples of all their cymbals.

AAX

Sabian AAX Limited Edition Cymbals deliver pure, bright shimmering tones. Like stainless steel, AAX is cool, modern, and extremely efficient. With its streamlined design and sound-shaping Auto-Focus Response feature, AAX is the ultimate breakthrough in modern cymbal making.

Tap with your finger or thrash with a stick, Auto-Focus Response maximizes sensitivity, equalizes high & low pitch levels, and purifies sounds by filtering out conflicting overtones. AAX sounds are pure and accurate. The AAX line offers perfect sound in the studio and onstage.

Sabian AAX delivers the freedom to sound great in any music. Package includes 14 inch Hat cymbals, 16 inch Crash cymbal, a 20 inch Ride cymbal and also includes a Free 18 inch Crash cymbal.

HHX

The warm, explosive response is fast and shimmering, for increased cut and projection. The Sabian HHX Series Hot, shimmering darkness is the sound of HHX. With its Tone Projection design, these Modern Dark cymbals shoot their tone through the music around it. Darker, dryer, dirtier, funkier… only HHX delivers darkness with such efficiency.

XS20

These Sabian cymbals models are designed to deliver full, bright, and powerful accents that cut through the loudest volumes. XS20 Modern Value Crafted using an innovative technique, Xs20 delivers bright sounds, professional looks, and great feel at a nice price, making this the ideal choice when you discover that the sound of your cymbals matters.

B8 Series Personal Review

I bought a Sabian Cymbals B8 starter kit around back in 1998. It was an inexpensive way to replace most of my old-worn out cymbals. Included was a pair of hi hats, a ride, and two crash cymbals.

The ride and hats are still in great shape and the larger sixteen inch crash is just now starting to crack. It has a small hairline crack that hasn’t impacted the sound to much yet. The smaller fourteen inch crash is torn to shreds.

To be fair, I was pretty rough on all of the cymbals, so I can’t really complain. At the time I was an immature drummer who hit everything way too hard. They have held up for a long time and were put through a lot of punishment. They are a good investment for a drummer on a budget.

I’ll also add that I think the hats and ride sound better with age.



Learn more about Cymbals