I love the Sabian SR2 concept. What's been your experience?

newlin

Member
Literally all my cymbals (except the hats) are the refinished Sabian SR2s you can find at some drum shops and often online. It takes a while to find a cymbal you like, but I've got some really rad cymbals for dirt cheap.

What do ya'll think? Have you bought them? Noticed anything quirky about them?
 
Literally all my cymbals (except the hats) are the refinished Sabian SR2s you can find at some drum shops and often online. It takes a while to find a cymbal you like, but I've got some really rad cymbals for dirt cheap.

What do ya'll think? Have you bought them? Noticed anything quirky about them?

My local shop carried a few, and while I didn't pick any of them up, I like the concept -- a radically cheaper pro cymbal that's been reworked in a kind of grab bag.

Our local blues jam organizer bought a 20" SR2 ride (not sure what it was in its previous life) and the wash is okay. It's got a piercing, annoying bell though, and so I dial it way back when shanking it. Most other guys at the jam don't, and it makes my teeth rattle in my head with every hit.

Definitely a "try before you buy" sort of cymbal, but you could end up with a gem!
 
In some ways, I feel like Sabian is missing an opportunity by giving you very little clue as to what the cymbal was designated as prior to its refinishing and badging.

The series (i.e. AA, AAX, HH, HHX, etc.) is somewhat easy to deduce, but the model is often not. I know Sabian's marketing is trying to push that as part of the fun of sorting through SR2s at your local shop, but obviously, the refinishing and somewhat generic classifications are to protect the sales of their main lines.

In my experience, the rough finish they apply to the SR2s make them a little more prone to breakage (especially with thin and medium crashes), and it's a bummer when you fall in love with an SR2 cymbal you were using, and you want to replace it with something similar. It took me a while, but I figured out that a 19" Thin SR2 I was completely smitten with was actually a 19" HHX Fierce Crash originally. It took me a lot of time and work to figure it out, but I'm glad I did.

Unfortunately, the real-deal HHX Fierce Crashes are over double what I paid for my SR2, but now I've been treating it with much more care, knowing that. Ha!
 
I just recently got a 15" heavy hi hat bottom with 8 rivets and fusion venting in the bell. It pairs amazingly with my 15" thin HH crash cymbal as a top. You can not get this type of cymbal in Sabian's regular line up in ANY line.

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I really like the concept, but I have yet to try one that sounds any good. I'm sure there are good ones out there, but every one I've tried locally is heavy, clangy, and made me walk away thinking, "I know why THAT one was sent back!."
 
I really like the concept, but I have yet to try one that sounds any good. I'm sure there are good ones out there, but every one I've tried locally is heavy, clangy, and made me walk away thinking, "I know why THAT one was sent back!."

I bought a 22" ride locally that I knew was amazing from the first stroke. But I lucked out on that one. The others I've bought from Memphis Drum Shop online by listening to their recordings.
 
In some ways, I feel like Sabian is missing an opportunity by giving you very little clue as to what the cymbal was designated as prior to its refinishing and badging.

The series (i.e. AA, AAX, HH, HHX, etc.) is somewhat easy to deduce, but the model is often not. I know Sabian's marketing is trying to push that as part of the fun of sorting through SR2s at your local shop, but obviously, the refinishing and somewhat generic classifications are to protect the sales of their main lines.

In my experience, the rough finish they apply to the SR2s make them a little more prone to breakage (especially with thin and medium crashes), and it's a bummer when you fall in love with an SR2 cymbal you were using, and you want to replace it with something similar. It took me a while, but I figured out that a 19" Thin SR2 I was completely smitten with was actually a 19" HHX Fierce Crash originally. It took me a lot of time and work to figure it out, but I'm glad I did.

Unfortunately, the real-deal HHX Fierce Crashes are over double what I paid for my SR2, but now I've been treating it with much more care, knowing that. Ha!

I've spent hours trying to figure out what mine used to be. I'm convinced one of the 20" thins I bought isn't a product they ever marketed. There's just nothing with even the same profile or bell. The other I know used to be somewhere in the HHX series, but yeah, impossible to pinpoint the exact model. It's fun to try though.
 
I had a Heavy Ride and I hated it but I got it for cheap for my practice kit so I couldn't really complain, I traded it for a 20" Paiste 2002 Medium Crash and I love that cymbal!

The thing I've noticed with the SR2s is that they're hit or miss and I wouldn't buy one online, but i'd consider buying one in store or craigslist where I can test it out before I buy it.
 
I just recently got a 15" heavy hi hat bottom with 8 rivets and fusion venting in the bell. It pairs amazingly with my 15" thin HH crash cymbal as a top. You can not get this type of cymbal in Sabian's regular line up in ANY line.

All of the Sizzle Hats bottoms have the extra vents in the bell. I have a 15" pair myself.
 
Literally all my cymbals (except the hats) are the refinished Sabian SR2s you can find at some drum shops and often online. It takes a while to find a cymbal you like, but I've got some really rad cymbals for dirt cheap.

What do ya'll think? Have you bought them? Noticed anything quirky about them?

Played many of them in various music stores and never played one that was remotely worth my time to hit it with a stick.
 
All of the Sizzle Hats bottoms have the extra vents in the bell. I have a 15" pair myself.

Hmm, I never knew they made Sizzle hats. They aren't in their current inventory anymore, but it looks like they were a thing in the past. They are probably special order now.

My SR2 bottom has HH style hammering on top and bottom and has what appears to be HHX style hammering on at least the outside (top). So mine was either a Prototype or an Artisan in its former life. That's my guess.
 
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Played many of them in various music stores and never played one that was remotely worth my time to hit it with a stick.

Why do you think that is? You figure it's something about the processing, or do they just come from the inferior Sabian stock that get returned, etc?
 
I've spent hours trying to figure out what mine used to be. I'm convinced one of the 20" thins I bought isn't a product they ever marketed. There's just nothing with even the same profile or bell. The other I know used to be somewhere in the HHX series, but yeah, impossible to pinpoint the exact model. It's fun to try though.

Agreed, I've got 18" and 19" SR2 Mediums that definitely have HHX hammering, but the profile is steeper and the bells are larger/heavier than any HHX crash I've ever owned or played before. I've long been under the impression that they were both HHX Power Crashes (a part of the original HHX lineup, but long discontinued). I chanced upon a used 18" HHX Power Crash at a shop and it sounded nothing like the 18" and 19" SR2s I've got... so I'm starting to think that these are possibly HHX prototypes of some sort. Weird!
 
I bought an SR2 splash. I have tried others out in stores that sounded quite good. To me Sabian rocks, and SR2 is one of the reasons why. Peace and goodwill.
 
I've got an SR2 18" Thin that obviously was an HH. It sounds exactly like a Canadian K crash and has the profile of one too. Perhaps it was an early issue HH (which of course would be similar to Can Ks), but I don't know.

If you can find the right one, the value can not be beat. Like other posters have suggested, Memphis Drum Shop's videos will let you hear them.
 
I know this an old thread. I am bringing it back because I now have three more SR2 cymbals. My hats sound great, and they are a 14 inch Medium on top and a Heavy on the bottom. Both of those have large hammer marks. My SR2 18 inch Thin was bought as a crash, but I found out later that it is a good crash-ride cymbal, better than my old El Sabor. My 15 inch Thin is a good crash that does not sound splashy at all. I am quite happy with all of my Sabian SR2 cymbals. Peace and goodwill.
 
I have few SR2's and I really like them. I have a 20" that I know was a HHX Legacy ride, because I can still faintly see the "hollow" HHX logo on the top side! I also have a 20" Thin (Probably an AA) and an 18" Thin that was probably an HHX X-Treme Crash. All very nice sounding. A few years ago, I was at Columbus Percussion and they had a few SR2's with extensive hammering and hammered bells. I compared them to "official' Artisan Rides that they had in stock. They were identical in every way, except the SR2's were a bit drier.

Overall, I like them, but I haven't seen as many floating around. Is Sabian still offering them? I am not a huge fan of the way they re-lathe them with that rough surface (do they use a coarse wire brush)? I think it tends to dry them out too much and shortens the sustain a little, which is not always what you are going to want. Some of the models, particularly crashes, can be a little too controlled for my tastes.
 
I'm glad people are finding good ones. It's a great idea. I just haven't found any locally that I've liked. Most of the time, I think to myself, "Oh, I know why they returned THAT one!"

But then, I have only tried 8-10 of them in various sizes.
 
I personally haven't played any but I do think it's a great idea and I would have no issue buying some... If I were able to find any locally to tap on of course. I wouldn't buy one of these 'blind'.
 
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