Sabian Burries The Bodies

In a move they say was driven by consumer curiosity, Sabian has buried 100 of its Vault Artisan ride cymbals and will dig them up from the ground in mid-2009.

Why? According to Sabian VP of Sales Peter Stairs, the company receives hundreds of queries annually regarding the “aging of cymbals by burying them in the ground.” So the company says it has buried cymbals in an undisclosed spot near the Sabian factory in eastern Canada. The project is entitled 'One of 100'.

Stairs assures that “Anecdotal comment indicates that aging the cymbals by burying them in soil actually helps shape their sound.”

The “bodies” are said to be custom-sized 21-inch Artisan Medium Ride models in Natural Finish, and they should endure about eight months of dry, wet, hot and cold soil including the freezing temperatures of the Canadian winter.

Once dug up, Sabian hopes the cymbals will sound better: They say they will be sonically approved, then individually packaged in a deluxe wood box, complete with official documentation of authenticity .

Available starting 9:00 a.m. A.S.T. on Thursday, March 5th, the cymbals in the 'One of 100' collection will be available to the first 100 eligible buyers who submit a purchase submission form on the Sabian Web site. The cymbals will be numbered 1 through 100 and will be allocated in the order the submissions are received.

For more information, visit www.sabian.com.