SeriesSabian AA

I bought the cymbal at Music City in St. John's, Nf. for $140. Amazing clarity and decay. Bright, yet warm tone. Really comes through on recordings. Very versatile sound, appropriate for a wide variety of music genres. When I bought it there were some non-removable fingerprints (a fault of the retailer). But for Sabian in general, their clean cream really does do a good job on the cymbal, but it also removes the label from the cymbal! This has happened on every Sabian cymbal I own. The cymbals need to be cleaned often, otherwise you get green stains on it (especially on the underside) I am assuming this is possibly a formation of a copper oxide from any moisture in the environment. The quality and construction is outstanding, as all Sabian cymbals are. This is an excllent cymbal. Worth every penny. You won't be dissappointed. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Got it on E-bay for about 90 bucks used, but still in good shape. I got it because I needed something loud, and boy did I get my money's worth. Man, this ride will cut a hole in the wall.. It sounds crisp with good stick definition, not too much wash, which is what I was lookng for. The bell will leave you asking "Huh?" to many quetions of the day. The bell is "a-ringin", very loud and solid. You will be heard with this bad boy. The only problem really is there is no chance your gonna get any mellow high-pitched sound out of the bell.. Its just gonna be loud, and if you try to play it at a low volume it could be a little "clanky". Go with a flat or heavy ride if you want a higher bell sound because this one is low and deep! The cymbal is made nicely, not too much flashy logo and series names on it like most of the newer Sabians.. Looks great, and i think the only way to dent this thing is to start playing with cement sticks. Great cymbal from the AA line. Very affordable, and if your a drummer that wants to be heard, grab this bad boy. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this particular ride cymbal from C&C Drum and Guitar in Lawrence, Kansas, in the Fall of 1998. I traded a well-used 20" Zildjian Medium Ride for this cymbal, plus about $50.00. First, let me say that I am a die-hard Zildjian Cymbal lover, and have been for all 12 years of my playing. However, there came a day when I grew weary of the heavy wash, and "after taste" (as I like to call it) that my Zildjian 20" Medium Ride was making when I was using it in a funk setting. To me, it just seemed like there was never any decay in the cymbal; it rang on and on through the quietest parts of the music, and basically became a nuisence on stage. Of course, keep in mind that I was only 18 when this was occuring, but I guess you might say that I've always had a strict ear when it came to that "perfect" ride cymbal. At that point within my band, my 20" Medium Ride from the long-loved Zildjian company---just wasn't cutting it. So began "The Search for the Perfect Ride Cymbal." (Modern Drummer, June, 1997) This is why I was so thrilled to write about my findings: The VERY first cymbal I happened upon in my search, is the same cymbal that's on my kit right now. I walked up a flight of stairs in downtown Lawrence, Kansas, (Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk!!) and ended up in the most wonderful sanctum for all things musically retail, and sat down behind a now-defunct Kansas City Drumworks custom drum kit. Behold, the perfect ride cymbal is here. I selected first a pair of brushes, and began doing a simple swing triplet pattern. Heaven began smiling at this point, I think. The beauty of the tones produced by this gorgeous Sabian 21" Dry Ride was enough to take your breath away. It had (and still does) such a light, subtle wash to it, that sits way down in the "low" register. It's almost reminisent of a 20 or 21" Zildjian K Heavy, but brighter--sweeter--more melodious. This continued on for several more minutes, and before long, I reached for a pair of Pro-Mark Hot Rods, and began just some simple 8th notes. What a catch! These tones had a very light, "clicky" sound, with a sort of bell-like undercurrent. You could hit it just once like this and get off on the wash that was left over for almost a full 90 seconds. Next was the stick test. I just used my good 'ole Vic Firth 5B Extremes, and these handled every bit as lusciously. This created a very rounded and blissful "ping," but not like a Ping ride. It had more of a "pang" up front, and on the decay, that's when the ping would start up. Here's my favorite: A pair of vibe mallets on a swell. Sweet! I believe that a swell on this ride sounds even better than a typical crash cymbal swell. Well, anyway, that's my story of how I found what's, in my own humble opinion, "the perfect ride cymbal," the 21" Sabian Dry Ride. I give it 10 stars out of a possible 5!! Ryan Benton Salt Lake City UT gashed@www.com There is absolutely nothing I don't like about this unit. To me, it's perfect. I only wish I had two of them. The construction is whatever Sabian makes their ride cymbals out of. I don't want to speculate. I bought this cymbal used, so it didn't come with any papers that described its construction. The quality is stunning! To all drummers: PLEASE experiment with a 21" Sabian Dry Ride. You have my word; "you won't regret it!" This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Sabian AA Rock Ride 22" is a ride cymbal that's to be used with your full drum kit. The name gives away a good amount here, as this cymbal is definitely best suited for rock drummers since it's got a good amount of crash happening. I'm not primarily a drummer, but recently did a recording session where the drummer was using this cymbal and was really impressed with it's overall sound. I don't know what the cymbal is made from exactly, but it's definitely high quality. All cymbals are different a little bit, so it's probably worth it to check out the one that you're buying if possible. This cymbal comes in a few other sizes other than the 22" cymbal, but this one is as good a size as any, it just depends on what sound you're trying to achieve with it. The session I was working on was for a pretty well known hard rock act and the drummer had a huge drum set that included this cymbal. He had a ton of other cymbals as well, but this was the main ride cymbal that he was using and it really sounded great. It's a really dark and heavy sounding ride cymbal in my opinion, which was great for the style of music being played, but probably not ideal in too many other situations. For this reason I'd strictly recommend this cymbal for those who are playing rock and hitting their ride rather hard. If you're looking for something that can play well on both sides of the spectrum, I'd consider something else that's a bit more versatile. It's expensive as there aren't many cymbals that will be priced too much higher, but for a professional who is after a heavy ride cymbal, it doesn't get much better sounding.

The Sabian AA Splash 8” is a mini cymbal that is designed to be played in the context of a full drum set. I’m not a drummer, but an as an audio engineer I’ve worked with all different types of drum sets and cymbals and have developed a pretty good ear for what sounds good, or at least I’d like to think so. The drummer who I’ve worked most closely with throughout my recording career has one of these cymbals, although he doesn’t always use it on his kit. This isn’t your traditional cymbal as splashes by definition are a lot higher pitched and can almost be a novelty cymbal at times. As the name states, the diameter of this cymbal is 8”, making it quite small when compared to your average crash or ride cymbals. Most drummers won’t have this kind of cymbal in their kit, but it can be nice to have for an extra color to through in every now and again. When we record with this cymbal we generally will either keep it set up and he’ll use it here and there, or we’ll pick and choose where we think it might be appropriate. In other words, it’s not the type of cymbal that you’re going to be hearing in every song. I guess you could, but in my opinion it would get kind of annoying. The Sabian AA Splash 8” in particular is well built and has a crisp tone overall. It doesn’t have a very high price tag, as most splash cymbals won’t. Sabian is one of the best when it comes to getting quality cymbals for reasonable prices, and although I haven’t used all that many other splash cymbals out there, the Sabian AA 8” Splash is definitely one worth considering if you’re in the market for a well priced splash cymbal.

I was first introduced to the Sabian AA raw ride when I was looking through lots of Zildjian k and Sabian hh jazz rides. I always thought that the best jazz sounds come from these higher end lines. I was amazed at how stunning the sound of the raw ride was and was instantly hooked. What is interesting is that I have only ever seen a few of these, either for sale or in action. I own one and it is pretty much my secret weapon. Almost everyone who hears it buys it. This cymbal is dark, dry, and everything that a good jazzy cymbal should be. It has a great washy crash sound, and I crash it or play with the stick shoulder a lot. Sometimes, I even used it in the more progressive rock band I play with as a huge trashy crash. The ride bell is nice and smoky and it can produce great sounds at a low volume. It even looks really good, totally embodying the “what you see is what you get” principle. The biggest fault of this cymbal is probably its clean stick strokes. Sometimes it is difficult to maintain an even level of noise when moving the stick around on different areas. It also has almost no ping (not that it is necessary for that music), so if ping is desirable this is not the right cymbal. These gripes are seriously minor, it was difficult to even come up with any. This AA raw ride is fantastic in sound, appearance, and especially value. More than any cymbal I have ever played, these are an extremely affordable jazz cymbal that beats out others almost double its list price. If anything in this review sounds interesting, I strongly suggest giving this a shot right away.

The Sabian AA China 18'' is a unique sounding cymbal brought to you by the fine makers of cymbals over at Sabian, one of the world's leaders in cymbal making. For those of you who don't know exactly what a china cymbal sounds like, I would definitely recommend checking one out as they offer a really cool sound that is unlike most other cymbals out there. While I am not a drummer, I use have used the Sabian AA China 18'' for recording and I have to say that it is one of the better sounding china cymbals that I have heard. I have used it in a variety of situations for recording and it always seems to cut through the mix really well and end up sounding great. It is suitable for most styles of music including rock, pop, and jazz, but I have mostly used it for rock. I have used the cymbal with a few difference combinations of overhead mics including Neumann KM 184s and Rode NT5s, and while I could hear the difference between the mics, they both did a great job of picking up this cymbal. The drummer that I have used this cymbal with always raves about how much he loves using this cymbal and that it is better than any china cymbal he has used. While a china cymbal of course isn't a necessity for a drum kit, it can add some flair to your overall sound and offers a new type of cymbal to throw in the mix. When used sparingly and in the right situations, the china cymbal is a great cymbal for any drummer's collection of cymbals. The price of the Sabian AA China 18'' is pretty reasonable although I would probably only suggest picking one up if you are committed to it as it isn't all that cheap. While I haven't used all that many china cymbals, the Sabian AA China 18'' is definitely good sounding and is one of the best that I have heard.

I've been using the Sabian AA Bright Crash cymbal for about two years for recording and while it is a good sounding crash cymbal, I have used better ones that I would use over this one any day. The cymbal is 16" around and has a nice bright sound to it that is good sounding, but somewhat limited in its use. I would really only recommend using it for rock music, as I don't think it has enough sparkle to it to be used for jazz or pop. Don't get me wrong, the Sabian AA Bright Crash cymbal has a nice sound to it that is great for beginners and intermediate level drummers, but I wouldn't recommend this to professionals because I don't think the sound quality is on the professional level. Sabian certainly makes professional grade cymbals, I just don't think that the AA Bright Crash is one of them. I have only used this cymbal for recording, but I would say that it is probably best suited for live shows and gigging. I say this because it isn't too expensive and can take a bit of wear and tear that it would gather playing shows. I also don't think it sounds good enough to do recording with and would look to some of the other cymbals Sabian makes and that Zildjian makes for recording. Since the price of the Sabian AA Bright Crash cymbal is reasonable, it makes it perfect for the drummer who want a nice sounding crash cymbal without the price. This cymbal is certainly on the lighter end of the spectrum when it comes to the tone of it, and for this reason I would recommend trying it out to see if it suits your style. Like with all cymbals, each is unique and needs to be tried out by the user first to see if it will fit their sound. Overall, a nice option for intermediate drummers looking to get a fairly priced crash cymbal.

These were my very first Sabian cymbals to ever have gone in my set up, and they will probably be the last. I have used many Zildjian and Paiste’s before trying this model, and they weren’t the worst cymbals ever, but they rang too much. I used them for about 5 months and that’s about the time I decided to sell them. I practice 3 hours a day, and these were pretty well aged, as I got them used with no damage at all, and they gave a very penetrating chick and closed sound, but the result of an open hit could make your ears bleed. I lay them with my Gretsch Catalina Maple set and the hats would dull out all of the grooves and beats. Due to the heaviness of both the top and bottom cymbals, the cymbals had a tinny sound, which wasn’t resolved by closing them a little. The closed sound is phenomenal, and in short bursts the open sound is alright , but once you leave slightly open and hit them for a measure the overtones begin to mix and sound like garbage. Putting the sound aside, these cymbals look really good. They have a nice traditional finish to them, keeping the natural cymbal look. They are also very durable due to their thickness., you could bang on these for hours and they probably wouldn’t wear out. These strengths, however, also are the place of fault in these cymbals. They are clingy and are just too heavy overall, much like the Dynobeats by Zildjian. For the price, I would go with some of the Zildjian New Beats or Mastersounds, or if you’re a Sabian fan, the AAX or HHX cymbals, as they are much better, of course I may have just gotten a bad set. I would still choose a different set of hats for almost any player.