Understanding SABIAN - Their History and Cymbals Explained
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
- Robert Zildjian had planted the seeds for the Sabian cymbals either, on purpose, or inadvertently, years before he started the company. In this video we go thru the history of the company and describe Robert's approach to setting up the cymbal company and introduce some of the key players in the story. We will also highlight some of the major series of cymbals and list most of their collaborations and cymbal models in chronological order.
By the mid 80s, Sabian had become a a major competitor to both the cymbal making giants at the time; Zildjian and Paiste. Since then so many new cymbal makers have come in t the market: Meinl, Bosphorus, Agop Istanbul, Mehmet Instanbul, Dream, Turkish, and Wuhan, just to name a few, but thru innovation Sabian has managed to set itself apart and remain as one of the best selling brands on the market.
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Time Codes:
00:00 - Intro
00:42 - Sabian early history
00:57 - Sabian artist: Blake Pauslon
01:23 - Sabian history Continued
06:18 - Product lines
09:56 - List of models and release dates
10:53 - Final comments and the future
#Drum history; #Sabian; #Sabian cymbals; #Zildjian; Zildjian cymbals - Hudba
I'm a truck driver from Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada, one province over from New Brunswick. I have made several deliveries and pick ups at the Sabian factory. I have had a tour, visited their museum, and talked to some of the cymbal makers there. I'm a Rush fan, and even talked to one of the guys who made some of Neil's cymbals. Great people, and willing to talk to anyone who has questions. I have several pics on my phone that I wish I could share here.
That’s a very cool personal story. I spoke to Randy Ross when I was making this video and he was very open and available. It was telling about the culture at the company. I’d love to see this pics if possible?
I could email them to you if I have your email address.
Does your name happen to be Ray Lafleur?
@@thealphaomega Nope
Branding is an incredibly powerful thing. I was working in a drum shop in the early eighties, and had a customer come in who wanted a Zildjian cymbal. I explained that Sabian was owned by the Zildjian family, etc…….I had him turn around while I demoed a Zildjian ride and a Sabian. He agreed that the Sabian sounded better, and left after having purchased the Zildjian.
That’s a telling story for sure. I was a young drummer in the early 80s and remember the allure of the Zildjian brand. I give you credit for caring enough to take the time to make that blind comparison. I’m sure your weren’t surprised by the final decision.
I rather play Sabians because I can actually pronounce the word 😂
Ziljidijdian?!?
@@lowlink534 it sure is a lot easier to spell! 😁
It amazes me how rich the Zildjian's history is and how a family tradition of cymbal making branches out into 3 major cymbal makers. Zildjian, Sabian and Istanbul cymbals
Absolutely! It’s truly a fascinating history.
My drum teacher had a 20" HH medium ride that I loved when I was a kid. That and the fact Chad smith was my favorite drummer as a kid and he always played Sabian I was always partial to Sabian. Because of that I got XS20 Hi hats and ride, then added some AA cymbals. Now I have a mixed lineup of AAX, HH, and a holy china. I will add a few HHX in the future. I think Zildjian cymbals sounds good, but to my ear Sabian just sounds like a slightly more refined cymbal. That might be rooted in the history.
The HHX line is great. You’re going to love them.
Nice to see our little gem in the woods get some love!
Thanks Rick. I’ve wanted to make this one for a while now.
Think I bought my 1st Sabian in 84. Never knew the story / three initials of his children. Crazy
Yeah the name was real barrier for them early on. Most people didn’t know they were made by the Zildjian family. I know that I didn’t back in the 80s.
I pratice on my 3005 Sonor with 14 cymbals, 10 are Sabians AAX and sometimes I join a garage band were they have a Ludwig complete set but I always take my AAX cymbals because they sound great to all the band members and I couldn't agree any better,
Ps: wish I could purchase a AAX 20" ride
Thank you Sabian for making the best cymbals!!
thank you i needed this for a school project.
Just watched the Zildjian video and this one back to back, and I feel like I finally got to read the ending of a great story someone started telling me 40 years ago and never finished! If that makes any sense. Thank you for doing these.
Thanks for checking out the vids! Yeah I get it. I’ve known parts of the history for years and but never had a full and clear understanding of it all myself. After researching it in more detail, I felt that it would be good info to put out there. I appreciate you taking the time to drop me your comments!
There should be a movie about their history. The sound track should have music with cymbals too
Sabian is my favorite cymbal brand
Great cymbals for sure!
Sabian its my choice and love
Buy a Legacy Ride 22" and its heavenly sound ❤
Best cymbals ever
Zildjian,Paiste and Sabian are my main options for cymbals for me
I love history in every form. Being a drummer since the 60's, I especially appreciate the details you've provided. Cymbals, like drums, hardware, heads, sticks or anything else, can vary from model to model and within price ranges. No one brand or model is the best and this information really helps!
My drum kit is like a patchwork quilt of different brands, models, sizes and years in a unique "soup recipe" that works best for me.
Thank you ! We live at a great time for choices in cymbals, and in drums. And I really enjoy playing a variety myself.
Never a big fan of Sabian but their history has always been soooo cool to me!
Im a sucker for brands w a fascinating history. I love going down the rabbit hole. I don’t have many Sabian cymbals myself, (although I love the HHX series) but I have a huge respect for Robert Zildjian.
They definitely have their own tone but don't hesitate to give the HHX line a chance ... I have a bunch of them and they sound/record great together!
Great video, thanks. I personally don't stick to one cymbal brand, I have Bosphorus, Murat Diril, Dream, Zildjian, Red and Meinl. However, in two days time, I should receive my new 14" HHX evolution hi-hats, which I'm really looking forward to. Look forward to new posts.
Thank you. I get it. As drummers these days we are lucky to have so many great options to choose from. Congrats on your new HHX hats!
Those are GREAT freaking hats, hope you're enjoying them
@@UndercoverNormie Oh, yeah! I love them. Cheers.
B8 and sbr are underrated only for beginners
Sabian? Oh yeah! Their AA line is my favorite. I would love to visit their vault someday & bring home something unique.
Yeah that vault would be fun place to spend an afternoon.
@@eddieavakianDo they let you buy things there?
@@Crabbadabba I don’t know for sure but I doubt it.
I have a Ride cymbal I want them to design. I own 22 Sabians. 11 HHX and the rest are AAX. My hihats are sound edge Paiste
I have an early '80s, pawn shop purchased, Sabian 10" splash that is just perfect!!
Cool find!
Well done man. You covered a lot in this video and cleared up some information for me. Thanks for taking the time to make this. ✌️
Thanks for checking it out for your positive feedback. I appreciate it so much!
Been calling them Sally Billy Andys for years lol Great video!
😁. When I was a kid and they first came out I thought it was just another Armenian brand. There is an interview out there with Robert where he commented that the Zildjian attorneys were a little annoyed with the name because it ended w “Ian”.
Very interesting information, at 15 years old my first Cymbals were Zilco I purchased them at Drummers Paradise on Church Street in Toronto. I couldn’t afford Zildjian and the owner told me they were actually a lower line made by Zildjian. Eventually I did end up with totally Zildjian and upgraded to a Slingerland drum set.
I played drums into my late 20’s , then gave it up. I started playing again in my mid 40’s and the salesman recommended Sabian to me and I really wasn’t that familiar with the brand, I ended up with AAX and have been very happy with them. In fact I just started drumming again at 65 years old and again purchased AXX series of cymbals again. I found this video very interesting and informative.
That's a great story! I have never played the Zilcos but the few that I have heard online sound pretty good. Do you still have them? Congrats on getting back on the drums and great choice of cymbals. FYI - I took my 20s-30s off playing drums myself.
@@eddieavakian , what’s really interesting is that on the Beatles documentary Get Back the one on Disney, I actually spotted Azco or Zilco cymbals in a package perhaps sitting on a table or the piano, it freaked me out. In the studio with Ringo.
I got rid of them perhaps a year later, when I upgraded my Japanese department store drums to a brand name kit.
The truth is they were much better then the garbage can cymbals that came with the first crappy kit. But they were not anything like a real Zildjian. But they were affordable at that time.
I was a beginner back then so didn’t know anything about picking out the sounds. Perhaps mine were very thick, and they would ring for ever. They were loud and that’s the style of music back then, but now that I know more, I prefer thinner crashes with a faster decay. Of course it all depends on if you playing live in a big venue or in your basement. These days I’m crashes are AXX Explosion 16” and quite thin.
These days at almost 69 years old after a ton of major health issues, I’m just in the basement and do videos for fun on utube, The tired Dummer. If you check me out, read my bio in the About section I’m a mediocre drummer just trying to have fun. I see kids 7 years old that are 1000x better then me 😁 . I play a mix of older material. youtube.com/@kenambrose1289
I just subscribed to your page, my first time seeing it.
@@The-Tired-Drummer Is your name Ken? Sorry to read about your health issues. I hope things are improving for you in that regard. Playing drums is definitely something that I believe helps stimulate your mind and challenges your body and coordination. I’ll check out some of your vids. Keep drumming!
@@eddieavakian thanks 🙏 I’m still alive that’s what counts. I actually think I had a seizure a couple of days ago, while sleeping. I guess the way to describe it like a concussion feeling with headaches, I’ve beer resting and feeling a bit better, hopefully I drum again In a couple days?
Although o have always bought old zildjian A and a few K:s, and Paiste 505, and 404 ,the best hands down,crashed or ridden were Sabian 19 fierce crash, andn 22 anthology huge amazing ,shimmering,wobbling and singing at any volume.some UFIP c ymbals are works of art also,just rare in America.
LOVE this format. Very great information representation. Thanks youtube for suggestion, thank you for the vids. Keep on doing it!!
Thank you Roman! I appreciate your positive vibes!
Great info. Thanks for making this video. 👏👏
Thanks for checking it out and for the positive comment.
superb video! Thanks for the info :)
Thank you so much!
Just wanted to say I just love my Artisan cymbals, they sound brilliant and all compliment each other
Thank you for weighing in Varden!
Excellent video and thank you!
Thanks for checking it out!
Totally love your channel, keep up the good work!
Thank you so much! 🙏
Your video is great. Thanks.
Thank you! Glad you found it and liked it.
Paragon freak here (plus an HHX groove ride)! Great vid!
Nice man! I love the groove ride but never played anything in the Paragon series. Thanks for the positive comment on the vid. I appreciate it!
I started with a B8 pack. After that, I went through a Zildjian phase. My first nice cymbals were K Custom Darks. Now I'm playing a mix of Sabian and Paiste. I'm partial to HHX, especially the Evolution and Extreme lines.
As drummers we are lucky to have so many great options today. I’m partial to dark cymbals myself.
Awesome video! Very informative.
Thank you Dustin!
Very informative. Make a video about Keller Shells.
That’s an interesting one for sure. There is definitely some some good stuff in there. Thanks for the suggestion!
Hey Sandy...I did this one per your request! Hope you like it.czcams.com/video/LKS9kVClRHE/video.html
Eddie well done sir. I really enjoyed your video. Well executed. Thank you
Much appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to post some kind words.
Another great video, Eddie! I've had a Sabian on my kit since 1984. An AA flat chinese , 20 inch.
Thanks Jeff. Great to hear from you!
@@eddieavakian you're welcome! 😎🥁
Great insight!
Thank you!
This is awesome!
Thank you Max!
Totally dig this! Im a Paiste player for 30 years but ive always wanted to try a Sabian and see what it would give me. This video will help
Glad to hear it James. Yeah the Sabian catalog is so large that it’s easy to get lost w all the sound options they have. Hopefully this video is a good entry point to start exploring.
@Eddie Avakian definetly helped me...thanks man!
I'll be playing my Holger Mueller Ride (20" HH Sound Control) with my polka band this weekend. My first jump into Sabian cymbals along with a 12" Splash and 17" Crash also of the HH Sound Control. Love the feeling as a drummer that you're compelled to smile after you hit a cymbal or drum.
Cymbals have to feel as good to play as they sound for sure.
Very nice video!
Thank you Alessandro. I appreciate it!
I play sbr 16” crash, B8 14” thin crash, Xs20 10” splash and a Xs20 16” thin medium crash and a Tama and Meinl variation.🤘
Thank you. Good info. Shalom.
Thank you John!
Great watch, always been a Sabian guy, nice to know why!
Thank you for checking out the Vid! Interesting history and great cymbals for sure!
Good job man, I needed this history, I’ve been a fan WAY too long lololol
I get it. For most of my drumming life I didn’t know as much as I should have.
I love the new logo & Sabian cymbals & splashes too AAX & HHX that’s what I use 💯🎼🥁😍✌️
They make top shelf instruments for sure! ✌️. Thank you for checking out the video Mark!
Man love this thank you
Thanks for checking it out Christopher! I appreciate you being here.
I love the AAX so good.
I'm a Paiste guy most of the time ,with the odd Meinl china here and there....but the Sabian AAX 19" heavy crash is sooooo delicious. One day, it WILL be mine 😁
After my reentry intio drumming, i search new cymbals over two years. At least i found the sabians. They have a special character i never found in other cymbal brands.
I play Artisans, HHX Extreme , Anthology, and the HH Remsstered. Love them all
Nice! If you ever get around to posting a video Id love to hear them! Thank you for taking some time to share your story and opinion. I appreciate it!
I got my first Sabian 16 years ago--a HH 18" thin--and now that's all I play. Mostly HH across a couple of kits.
Great stuff for sure!
Just subscribed this is going to be a great channel.
Thank you. If there is any topics that you would like to see please let me know. ✌️✌️
I bought my Sabians in 1987. Still sound great.
Love it!
Love Sabian for the variety, always been a fan of HHX, not a bright guy, wait that sounded bad.
I think their high end lines used to be a bit cheaper than other brands but these days, they are all expensive . Great video!
Haha. That’s funny. I guess I’m not a bright guy myself and prefer the HHX lines, the complex being my favorite. Thanks for watching Omar!
Great video Eddie! I’m a fan of the earliest 80s Sabian cymbals and I wish I knew more about the early years. My 80s HHs were very much like the Canadian Ks, but over time HH line changed. One historical area I’d love to understand is the AAX vs the A Custom line. Especially the lathing, which was very similar and my question is which line came first … I have a few beautiful AAX studio crashes! Keep up the great videos!
Thanks Earl! I believe that both the AAX and the A Custom came out a year apart w the A Custom coming out first. I could be wrong tho. And while this seems like a dubious coincidence, I know that it takes a long time to prefect a series so they both had to be working on them simultaneously. While it’s certainly possible that they had eyes into each others product development, it’s also possible they were both responding to the same requests by drummers who were wanting that particular sound. Good question tho. Sorry I don’t have a real answer for you on this. Keep up the great videos yourself!
@@eddieavakian thanks for what you do! 😁😁👍
@@earldrum you too brother!!
I traded in my ZIldjians for Sabian! I’ve got the AAX Omni ride in 22 and 18 and a combo hi hat that has the AAX accelerator bottom and the AAX freq top. Wow! I love em! Cool for so many genres…i did that after I picked up the HHX Complex set! Best sound EVER! Love my Sabian cymbals and never going back!
Awesome set up JP! I’ve never played the Omni line myself but i do have and love some HHX complex cymbals.
I have a question . Why is there nothing on the old sabian pro? Line . (Not the sonix line) . These cymbals were great .
I don’t know much about them but the Sabian catalog is enormous and impossible to cover in one short video. I don’t think Mark Love mentioned them in his timeline either. I believe they came out early 90s and are supposed to be really good especially for the price. Any input you have about them would be more than welcomed!
@@eddieavakian i have a full set . Absolutely amazing sound . I cant find any cymbals like them ive tried lots. I particuarly love the 14 and 16 studio crashes and the 18 china is dark but such a nice sound . . Really.they are amazing . Im guessing if i do find any cymbals sounding like then . They will be around top tier
Wasn't there a sonix and pro sonix line? Or something along those lines around the b8 and b8 pro times?
They did have that line. I don’t know much about them other than they was were also a B8 bronze and likely unirolled. If you have any information on them please share. I don’t think they made them past the late 1990s.
If I wasn't such a Sabian truther, I'd be in on Meinl right now. Their marketing, and demos are so much better, and more in touch than Sabian's. If a young, aspiring drummer looking to take their sound to the next level from beginner gear were to ask me what cymbals to go with, I'd probably tell them to go with Meinl..
Meinl makes great cymbals and they’ve certainly deserve their earned market share. These days I use mostly Agop cymbals but have more Meinl cymbals than any other brand.
Please do Paiste next!!!
On the list!
2023- Todd Sucherman Signature Ride
I love my Sabians. I play them exclusively. I still have my HH medium ride that I bought around 1989. They are by far the most musical cymbals of anything on the market.
I have great admiration for Robert Zildjian and Sabian. They never stop innovating and trying new things. It also says alot about a company’s culture when employees spend their entire working lives there.
@@eddieavakian Agreed. My only criticism is that the expense of that innovation is that they tend to drop really great cymbals from production after maybe only one or two years. Then they become extremely rare, if you can find them at all.
@@terrydrums they do create more lines than any other cymbal maker that I have looked into and can see why they can’t continue producing all of them. I named the video what i did partially because their entire catalog was overwhelming and I wasn’t as familiar with the brand as I wanted to be.
Very insightful video. Been a sabian fan for ever 👌🏽
@@Jojoakl21 thank you Josh!
Could you do one on meinl??? I think they are one of the biggest companies on the market today and have a interesting variety of cymbals!!
I’m a big fan of the Byzance line and have quite a few of their cymbals myself. I appreciate you making this as a suggestion and will serious consider putting something together. Thank you!
Id love an in depth look at the major players like meinl, zildjian and paiste
@@idiotburns thanks! I did do one on Zildjian. It was more about the history than the product lines tho. I’ll eventually get into Meinl and Paiste.
Meinl? 😂
@@kellyb0279 I’ll get to doing something on them. I love their cymbals.
What’s the Rush tune at 00:36?
Hey Josh. That would be “Subdivisions”. It’s on the “Signals” album.
Love Sabian, used them for 23 years. HATE, HATE *HATE* THAT NEW LOGO
I’ve been getting that a lot, especially from their long time customers/players. I regret not asking them questions about the logo change when making this video.
I'm lucky enough to have a set of 70's Canadian made Zildjians, acquired from a retiring drummer, and I'd love to find a source to identify them better. Its an apparently matched set of ride, 18" and 16" crashes with only a A. Zildian Co. stamp mark. Lathed but not hammered. They remain in perfect condition...
Nice! that’s super cool! For a source I’d say either Steve Maxwell, or Sabian themselves. Randy Ross at Sabian would be someone who could help. He’s really cool and would probably love to see those things.
@@eddieavakian thanks for the response! I’ll look them up and send them some pics
Has anyone played the Stratus series? What's their "thing "?
I want a Holy Rocktagon made🤔💪❤💯
I wouldn’t be surprised if they have one in their vault.
Isn't Chad Smith a PAISTE artist?
Yeah he is now. He was w Sabian for 35 years or so.
New logo brings me so much rage idk why
I’ve gotten that from a few other people on this post. I honestly never thought too much about it but I do remember some rumblings when it first came out.
@@eddieavakian not to sound snobby but it especially gets me because the og one was so on point
Its better for them that their customers speak out. I regret that I didn’t ask them about it or have more insight as to why they changed it and how they choose the new one.
Chad smith plays paiste now for some reason
Yeah I know. Not sue what happened there
They make the most unbelievable crash cymbals. Everyone else is still trying to
Copy the old zildjian Ks for a ride cymbals
Instanbul agop are getting close
Agreed. The interesting part of the Ks is that supposedly most of them weren’t very good but they choose the best ones and have them to the master players and those become the sound that everyone has been chasing. I posted a video on Agop. If you get a chance please check it out. Great ride cymbals for sure.
4:18 The “Big and Ugly” series has no such thing as “crash” cymbals or “ride” cymbals. They were literally designed for the player to use them as multipurpose cymbals. So it’s just simply “AA Apollo” or “HH King.” They don’t even have the words “ride” or “crash” on them.
Same thing with the Omni.
It's truly stupid: I always felt ashamed to mainly have Sabian cymbals at my local music store. I always dreamt about being able to afford a Zildjian so I could sound "pro". Little did I realize that that was just perception, and that my Sabian cymbals would sound terrific if I played them right and took notice of their characteristics. Gear snobbery sucks.
You probably didn’t know back then that your Sabian cymbals were actually another line of Zildjian’s and made with the same exact alloy and made by people who made Zildjian’s. The interesting part is that they while they start out the same they end up sounding very different.
Zildjian doesn’t even hand hammer their stuff anymore. Going sabian was a good route
...AUSGEZEICHNET!!!!
Danke
Chad Smith with Paiste now
Yeah I saw he switched last year. I didn’t include him in this video but Staton Moore recently switched from Crescent (purchased by Sabian) to Zildjian. That was weird since he was one of the founders of Crescent. Thanks for watching the video Mario.
I'm a cymbal whore, and whenever I go to a drum shop, I always tap everything they have. Other than the "artisan" cymbal companies, I still think that the original Zildjian's are my favorite, and some of the Sabian's are intriguing! But the odd modifications (big holes, chunks, rivets, jingles, etc.) sort of turn me off (but that's even by other companies) As an OLD Neil Peart fan, I honestly can say that I DON'T like most of the Paragon's. I don't think they had the "depth" of some of his older cymbals, but hey, he liked, them, and played them, so it was his thing.
So many great choices and cymbal companies now compared to when I was growing up. I remember when it was only Zildjian and Paiste. Because they’re Constantly having to come up w new and innovative formulas. Sabian comes up w all kinds of models for specific artists that don’t always have a wide appeal. But they make great stuff.
Yeah...cool...but I think I will stick to my beloved Paiste cymbals....thank you....(I would love a full set of brilliant Paragons though..RIP Mr Peart.)
Thanks for weighing in
I Don’t Understand Why People Are Getting Bent Out Of Shape Over The New and Current Logo
Sabian is STILL Sabian
Yeah you obviously read thru the comments. I don’t have an opinion on the design myself but companies spend a lot of time designing and testing logos so I imagine it must matter to enough people. Change is usually met with mixed opinions and this no exception. But they make Great cymbals and have a interesting company history. And that’s enough for me.
Would love that! Eddie.avakian@gmail.com. Thank you so much!
I love Sabian Cymbals, have played nothing but since 1995, HOWEVER, that new Sabian logo is the ugliest thing I have ever seen in my life, what a mistake THAT was!!!
I’ve gotten that in the comments from someone else just today. I never got into a conversation w anyone over there on how they came up with the final design so I cant add any info on it.
Huge mistake. That old logo was where it's at. It's almost as if the cymbals sounded better back then because of it lol
@@timothysmalls1945 😂
Explain the garbage new logo.
Their logo change never came up when I spoke to them so I have no insight other than what is available online. I recall when it came out there was some opposition to it, but change can sometimes be that way.
I take the logos off of all my cymbals anyways, so I don't care too much.
Done by a pink haired weirdo
At first i thought it was crappy, but kinda get used to it
@@eddieavakian I only know one logo, rings of a lathed cymbal in a half moon shape
Chad smith great music band but terrible drummer solo lol
Ha, well I recently watched an episode of Drumeo with Chad Smith and I was blown away by his groove. Plus he's super funny to watch. If you get a chance check out that Drumeo segment.
Just smack them cymbals. Making it look stupid.
The new logo is HORRIBLE !!!
I’m getting that a lot on this post! I had no idea so many people hate it as much as they do.
i don’t like sabian
What cymbals do you like? Today we have a lot of good options to choose from.
HI ,,, I LOVE THE SWEET . AWESOME FANTASTIC . .BADASSSSS. FILL TONE SOUND " OF THE ( SABIAN ) CYMBALS 😊🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 THAX'S . EXPESS THE. 16 " THIN HI - HAT"S
I don't like the sound of their cymbals. Too unpredictable and unbalanced
What cymbals do you play ?