Is there such a thing as a bad Sabian?

Well it's a Zildjian by any other name. Remember Armand and Robert are monozygotic twins so at birth Robert got stuck with this Iron mask on his face. So Armand gets to use the Zildjian name and Robert, because he's got that hideous iron mask, has to use Sabian. Yeah it doesn't seem fair. Cause who knows who could be under that iron mask.
The drum magazine didn't take my alien abduction Gretsch silver sealer story-not cause they didn't like it but it's true and it would be irresponsible to let that out. So now I got this story.. Wait! a minute "iron mask" won't due-need bronze mask-my apologies. Gosh that sort of silly mistake and no one would believe my story. Of course the Bronze mask. I've actually never played a Sabian not because I'm not curious but because Robert and Armand had some sort of tiff and I'm taking Armand's side. Robert is such a common name and probably makes swag cymbals. The fake. Yes still picking fights-I'm over my concussion so ready for Round 2. LOL
One day when I'm dead I'm going to ask my three daughters to purge the DW forum threads for all my comedic comments for a book-one that I never actually wrote alive I could finally get done dead. The Preface will be how drummers don't know crap about comic relief-and I don't know crap about the English language (seems fair). I'll go by Art Twain-Mark's English was pretty bad too.
 
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Like most brands .... price has a big determining factor. SBR and B8X are entry level. Certainly "better than nothing" ..... but I will always recommend buying better cymbals USED, than a new pack of beginner/entry level cymbals.

From your "lower line" rating ..... I actually have XSR 14" Monarch hats and an 18" crash. I usually pair them with a 22" AA Apollo ride.

HHX (Xtreme and Xplosion) crashes are my choice.

The AA 18" Sick Hats kill !!!!! So glad I have a set of those.

And recently .... I added the Vanguard series (14" hats, 16", 18", 20", 21", 22" cymbals) to my arsenal. Love these cymbals.

Then, from a whole 'nother planet .... I have almost the whole line (missing the Distortion Hats) of the VFX series. And those ..... are not for everyone.
But they work for me, when I use that sound.

I think Sabian takes more chances ..... than the other cymbal companies.
 
Owned a 16" AA Rock crash once. The worst drum purchase of my entire life.
 
I wonder what the OP went with; he hasn't been on Drummerworld since 2012. :)

I don't know if this was a QC problem or just the nature of them at the time, but my Sabian AA's purchased new in 1991 are/were not weight-balanced; the same side of the cymbal is/was always facing me. I'm still using the medium ride as my gig ride today, and the same 1/8 to 1/6 area of the cymbal is always stick-marked. The 16" medium crash was retired due to two small cracks forming where the same spot was always being hit. (This is the one I mentioned in a separate thread wanting to pair with another 16" cymbal to use as hats.) The 18" crash was traded in on a Zildjian A 18" medium crash less than a year after I bought the Sabians (and it's still in my gig gear- I'm not hard on cymbals), so I don't recall if that one had the same issue.

Edit: I should add that they sound fantastic (hence keeping the 16 and still using the 20). So, I don't know if the out of balance issue would qualify as a QC problem.
 
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I’m glad this old thread is still going because i have something to add. I have the B8’s currently and I’m going to be going to Paiste 900 dark soon and replacing the B8’s. While I’m not a huge fan of the 20” ride and the 16” thin crash, the 14” high hat may be the best sounding B8 in the line. I love that little sucker. Here’s a video comparing the B8 set I have.

 
my Sabian AA's purchased new in 1991 are/were not weight-balanced; the same side of the cymbal is/was always facing me.
Isn't that typical? I thought that's how companies place the logos: see where the center of mass is and place the logo so that you can read it behind the set. At least from my experience, most cymbals align towards that position.
I haven't played many AA's but they were all rather good. The Pro and Pro Sonix Hats I've gotten to play were also alright for the price and they were nicely manufactured, especially when I compare to them to the Scimitars, ZBTs or Planet Z's I've played.
 
I love Sabian best and Paiste second. Both brands have been good for me. Peace and goodwill.
 
Isn't that typical? I thought that's how companies place the logos: see where the center of mass is and place the logo so that you can read it behind the set. At least from my experience, most cymbals align towards that position.

That has not been my experience at all. I don't own a single cymbal (from any manufacturer) that naturally rests with its logo facing me. I even have a couple where the top and bottom logos aren't aligned with each other.
 
Mine don’t face me naturally. I sometimes spin them towards me, but while being played they walk around
 
Isn't that typical? I thought that's how companies place the logos: see where the center of mass is and place the logo so that you can read it behind the set. At least from my experience, most cymbals align towards that position.
I haven't played many AA's but they were all rather good. The Pro and Pro Sonix Hats I've gotten to play were also alright for the price and they were nicely manufactured, especially when I compare to them to the Scimitars, ZBTs or Planet Z's I've played.
I wouldn't know; by the time I noticed it, I'd cleaned them a couple of times, and since they had the brilliant finish, the logos were long gone.
 
I started out with Zildjian in the 60’s and used them up till the late 80’s . I was never really satisfied with them and went to Sabian , after about ten years O sold all my Sabians and went to Paiste and it was like the clouds had parted . Paiste has been my main cymbal ever since . I have owned cymbals from all Paiste’s professional lines but for me the 602s are it . They are the sound I think of when I think of great cymbals . I had dabbled occasionally back to dip my toes in the Zildjian ( Keropes) and Sabian pools but mainly as practice cymbals and not my main set of gigging cymbals .

I currently own a full set of Paiste 602s and a full set of Sabian Artisans/Legacy/HHX . I like the Paiste for the majority of my gigs . I use the Sabian set for rehearsals and Big Band gigs only .
 
P.S. What Zildjians are you playing?

I'd rather not say ;)
ZBTs, first set I ever bought. Was good enough then, not very good now :) I've also got a Wuhan splash and china. Even though Wuhan kit cymbals are rubbish, their splashes are the only ones I've ever heard that actually sound like a splash rather than a small crash, and their chinas are just pure noise, which in my opinion a china should sound like :)

When I got my amazing cymbal deal :D , I got a mixed lot, which included a set of ZBT hats, and I have to say... I could not get on with them at all. Good on ya for toughing it out... You deserve some new hats. :)
Fortunately, GC took mine in on trade, and I got new Evans snare heads instead.
 
denis1410: did you make that graphic?

What about the Vault series? I would rank them up there with the HHX.

8 years later, I have played MANY Sabians over the years, and I have played only a few "bad" pro-level Sabians. I think they have a higher rate of "good" cymbals than even Zildjians. (but, the "good" Zildjians I play on, I like their sound better, overall)
 
Is there such a thing as a bad Sabian? Yes. Ordered a used 19” AA medium thin crash a few weeks ago, had it delivered to the house. It is the worst sounding pro level crash I have ever heard. This thing will not open up; no volume, a really odd tone, lifeless. You would think it’s badly cracked from the way it sounds but there are no cracks to be found. Of course my local GC is closed; gotta figure out how to return this clunker.
 
Yep bought a 19" AAXplosion without hearing it brand new from my local shop and it sounded as dead as a door nail. Exchanged it for a HHX plosion and was over the moon at the time.
I think with Zildjian and Sabian there is always a possibility of a dud or bad sounding cymbal.
 
Owned a 16" AA Rock crash once. The worst drum purchase of my entire life.

I feel your pain!

I bought a 16 inch Virgil Donati Sabian Saturation Crash.

It was the single most awful experience of my life.

I don't know what they were thinking when they manufactured that thing!

Absolutely hideous.
 
Yep bought a 19" AAXplosion without hearing it brand new from my local shop and it sounded as dead as a door nail. Exchanged it for a HHX plosion and was over the moon at the time.
I think with Zildjian and Sabian there is always a possibility of a dud or bad sounding cymbal.
You are right about duds. However, my AAX 19" X-plosion Crash is the best crash I have ever played. Peace and goodwill.
 
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