Sabian New Cymbal Additions

ManualsBrandsSabian Manuals18" Crash CymbalsCrash Cymbal

GEARREVIEWS

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taking over. At full tilt, a meaty note sits

beneath the roaring wash. A thoroughly

sophisticated and versatile pair of hats.

Latin with a twist

The new AAX El Sabor Picante hand

crashes are related to the existing AA El

Sabor cymbals, but while the AA models

are Latin-infused crossover cymbals,

the AAX Picante hand crashes are

speciﬁcally aimed at percussionists.

Each cymbal (16" or 18") sports three

playing areas. The heavy, raw bell

and centre area are suitable for clave

stickings and ride patterns respectively,

and the lathed, extra thin bow is hand

crashable. It’s quite a concept, and takes

expert cymbalsmithery to take such a

hefty slice of metal down to paper thin

at the outer edge.

So, are they jacks of all trades and

masters of none? Not at all. The 18" is

proﬁcient in all three disciplines. The

deftest tap is enough to open the cymbal

for crashing. It does so with a dark

warmth that has more than a hint of

trashiness, and a sweet decay follows.

Attacking the central band with sticks

brings out very different characteristics.

The unlathed shoulder is very dry and

gives excellent stick deﬁ nitionovera

smouldering wash and the bell is strident

and penetrating – perfect for clanging

out ﬁ ery patterns.

The 16" Picante is a little higher in pitch

across all the surfaces and so doesn’t

KEY FEATURES

ince their

introduction

last year,

Sabian’s Vault

crashes and Artisan

rides have won

much deserved

praise. With two new

cymbals joining the

ranks, the Vault collection

is gradually expanding into

something resembling a

range. Sabian is keen to stress

however, that the Vault cymbals do not

make up a range in the conventional

sense, more of a concept (or collection of

concepts) developed without restraints.

Vault models can be created from any

metal, have any appearance, any sound

and be any price (though so far have

been consistently expensive). Inspiration

is often derived from contemporary

music and musicians, and innovative

designs and techniques are deployed.

ur ow

n vau

The two new Vault models are a 20" ride

and a pair of 14" hi-hats. The ride is a very

different beast to the Vault Artisan rides

reviewed last year. It’s a more forward-

looking concept, designed speciﬁ cally

for modern applications. It is available in

brilliant ﬁnish only and, for the time being,

is only being made in the 20" size (other

sizes can be requested as special orders).

Sabian

New Cymbal

Additions

From £212 | Sabian unveils

its ne

st cr

onc

Adam Jones listens up.

ESSENTIALS

PRICES

Sabian Additions

14" Vault

hi-hats £430

20" Vault

ride £325

16" AAX El Sabor

Picante Hand

crash £212

18" AAX El Sabor

Picante hand

crash £247

21" AA Raw-Bell

Dry ride £316

CONTACT

Arbiter Group Ltd

2nd Floor

Atlantic House

Stirling Way

Borehamwood

WD6 2BT

Telephone

020 8207 7860

Website

www.sabian.com

The cymbal is cast from Sabian’s

B20 bronze and is hammered with small-

peen AA precision-automatic hits. The

resulting barely visible indentations

contribute to the integrity, shape and

tension of the metal, and therefore the

sound. The top of the cymbal is covered

in narrow, pin-point lathing and is buffed

to a mirror- like shine. With all of the

techniques described so far, you might

expect the ride to produce glassy-bright

tones. Well, it certainly is a bright cymbal,

but wait… ﬂip it over, and the underneath

has been left completely raw. This

untreated bottom focuses the cymbal,

tightening up its response and keeping

wash to a minimum. Obviously some

wash is generated, but the stick sound

seems to ﬂoat above it, on a cushion of

silvery sweetness. The cymbal works

through all levels of volume, slicing

through, while still sounding clean,

controlled and inherently smooth.

The 14" Vault hi-hats are cut from

a similar cloth to the 20" Vault ride.

Featuring the same tight lathing and

reﬂ ective ﬁnish, the cymbals are paired

as a medium top and heavy bottom.

The word that best describes the hi-hats’

sound capabilities is ‘clarity’. Again, silvery

top-end is a prominent feature, but not at

the expense of warmth and musicality.

Played with the tip of the stick they

are precise and delicate. Upping the

dynamics brings a gradual increase in

volume without the high frequencies

The AA Dry Raw-Bell ride has

been introduced in response to

requests from rock drummers

for an AA version of Sabian’s top-

selling HH Dry Raw-Bell model.

While being highly

polished on top,

the new Vault ride

is left completely

raw beneath to

focus its sound and

reduce wash.

RHY130.gear_sabian 0100RHY130.gear_sabian 0100 8/9/06 06:52:338/9/06 06:52:33

Summary of content (2 pages)

PAGE 1
GEARREVIEWS Sabian New Cymbal Additions The AA Dry Raw-Bell ride has been introduced in response to requests from rock drummers for an AA version of Sabian’s topselling HH Dry Raw-Bell model. From £212 | Sabian unveils its newest creative concepts. Adam Jones listens up.
PAGE 2
GEARREVIEWS The two El Sabor Picante hand crashes have been road tested for a year by Karl Perrazo and Richie ‘Gajate’ Garcia and received a deﬁnite thumbs-up. quite have the same authority as its bigger brother, but is still an intriguing and very convincing cymbal. AA OK The 21" AA Raw-Bell ride is an AA variant of the popular HH Raw-Bell Dry ride. The AA version has been devised to address the demand from rock players for the same model, but with a brighter, more cutting edge.