Sabian's New Logo

L

Lennytoons

Senior Member
Somebody go tell Sabian the story of New Coke. This looks like a huge marketing mistake to me.

SABIAN ANNOUNCES NEW BRAND AT NAMM 2019
4 DAYS AGO
WHAT’S WITH THE NEW SABIAN LOGO?
Things are changing around here. We announced a new brand direction at the NAMM show this January. We have a new logo, a new look, and an attitude adjustment.

SABIAN logo

We’ve zeroed in on why every hammer stroke matters, and why creating new sounds are so important to us. It is because we are a company of drummers that are never satisfied. We are always on the search for the next sound because we know, as a drummer, you are not interested in following the masses - we know that you're focused on your sound, your own unique style, and ultimately, your love of drumming.

As drummers, we see ourselves as different than other musicians: we will accept nothing less than authenticity; we have an emotional connection to our gear, and our playing - let’s face it - at times we can be a bit unhinged. At SABIAN we celebrate this and while other brands are stuck in their tradition and legacy as a company - we are focused on your future as a drummer.

So what does all this mean?
It’s not just a new logo: it’s us tapping into the unbound, ‘don’t-care-what-others-think’ philosophy drummers live by. It means we will never compromise or ask permission, that we will continue to make cymbals that are unique, and we will always be looking for the next sound. It means we treat our cymbals as living metal, allowing them to age and mature. It means we celebrate independence and dissonance. Most of all, it means we know you, the drummer makes the music, and that is why we exist.
 
That new logo looks like it went through the blender. I can see them coming up with a new "trash" line that would justify a "scary" looking logo, but otherwise I think it's a huge mistake. Some people already found the half cymbal bad enough. The new logo looks like it reads Sabiano!

If they wanted a new logo, I would have thought just dropping the half cymbal would give it a nice, clean, streamlined look. I hope they stick that logo on whatever new line they create and leave it at that. Can't imaging that thing on their HHX or Vault line as an example. That would totally ruin their look.
 
I'm on the fence about it. On one hand, you can't hear a logo, which is why I was never very concerned when the logos came off of my AAX Stage brilliant finished cymbals. I know what they are, they sound good, and that's enough for me.

On the other hand, I have an early 20" Sabian AA Rock Ride from around 1983/84 where the logo is just the simple "Sabian" name in the traditional lettering we all know - it doesn't have the half-cymbal on it - and I think I prefer that to what eventually became the standard Sabian logo. I make a point on the rare occasion that I do try to clean that cymbal to steer clear of the logo in order to preserve it. (This cymbal doesn't even specifically say "AA Rock Ride" - it just has "Rock Ride" stenciled on the under side in hollow lettering, which indicates it's an AA because according to what they told me about it, at the time they only had two lines - AA and HH, and you could tell one from the other by the lettering - AA were hollow letters, HH were solid letters.)

I suppose I can deal with the logo, but I hope they ditch the "unbound" underneath it. That just looks awkward IMO.
 
The Sabian wordmark has been around for so long and (despite the half circle) is actually quite classy and timeless... I do not understand why they would 1. change it up and 2. to something soooooo hacky and cheesy. I thought that whole "EXTREME!" trend in sports/music/marketing was over in the early 2000s with rap metal and 7-string guitars. Yes, it's true that you can't hear a logo, but branding tends to be an indicator of marketing attitude as well.
 
I'd like to think we buy for sound, tone, build...etc.
Did anybody ever stop buying because of a logo change? I doubt it.
 
I wouldn't stop buying for a logo change, but I probably would scour off a logo I thought was in poor taste.

It looks as if the designer first googled "concentric circle clip art", and then "80s skateboard magazine font", and voila.

Now with 500% more extreme. I give it a year, tops.
 
I was going to say there's too much focus on the logo, but after looking at the site, I'm not sure:

".... We have a new logo, a new look, and an attitude adjustment...."
https://sabian.com/en/article/sabian-announces-new-brand-at-namm-2019

Is it just the logo?
They say "New Brand", but I can't find anything about a new line of cymbals,
a new production method, or anything else that I would consider of note.

Maybe they're just referring to product branding, which the logo would be part of?
If they just have a new logo, then maybe there isn't too much focus on it.
 
opentune said:
I'd like to think we buy for sound, tone, build...etc.
Did anybody ever stop buying because of a logo change? I doubt it.
Click to expand...

Though if someone likes Cymbal A and Cymbal B fairly equally sound wise, they probably will go with the one they like the looks of better.

Anyway there was lots of discussion about this on the NAMM thread. A lot of people were against the new logo. Some were against the new "attitude" they seem to be putting forth as well.
 
I don't prefer the logo, but it doesn't change my love for the cymbals, and won't affect my relationship with the company or its people. I don't make my product choices based on artwork, colors, or marketing campaigns. I choose cymbals, drums and heads based on how they sound, sticks and pedals based on how they feel, and other hardware based on how well it interacts with everything else. I understand that marketing is important, I'm just not affected much by it. At best, an enticing ad might generate some interest in my exploring something new, but in the end, my choices still come down to sound, feel, and function since they pertain to the tools of my trade.

Bermuda
 
bermuda said:
I don't prefer the logo, but it doesn't change my love for the cymbals, and won't affect my relationship with the company or its people. I don't make my product choices based on artwork, colors, or marketing campaigns. I choose cymbals, drums and heads based on how they sound, sticks and pedals based on how they feel, and other hardware based on how well it interacts with everything else. I understand that marketing is important, I'm just not affected much by it. At best, an enticing ad might generate some interest in my exploring something new, but in the end, my choices still come down to sound, feel, and function since they pertain to the tools of my trade.

Bermuda
Click to expand...

I agree to some extent, but...

Remember the marketing for the APX line? All snarling faces and shattered glass? Cymbals so effing loud they'll blow out your eardrums AND rip your face off?

Great cymbals, terrible marketing. And it tanked the line.

So I respectfully disagree that a bad ad campaign doesn't have an effect on those that it isn't aimed at. Sabian's already shown that if a line doesn't hit sales expectations they don't change course on the marketing, they just kill the models/lines/sizes that are under-performing. Now that they're linking the entire company to a terrible choice of branding it makes me wonder how this is going to play out.

Will the number of folks that buy into (or try to ignore) this ad campaign outnumber the number that are turned off by it?
 
And let's be real, much of the buying public probably doesn't have the same uber-objective "you can't hear a logo" standpoint that enthusiasts who post on message boards might. They will be swayed by how it looks. This is why Sabian made the change, because some marketing guru thought it would increase sales by x percent.
 
Winston_Wolf said:
Will the number of folks that buy into (or try to ignore) this ad campaign outnumber the number that are turned off by it?
Click to expand...

Well everything I've seen has ranged from , "That logo is ugly but I don't care about logos" to "That logo is hideous," so far I haven't seen anyone buy into the logo. I guess we will see.
 
We may buy for sound, but removing hideous logos defeats their marketing campaigns. Without logos, they could be Zildjian, Meinl or any other competitor. Branding matters way more than just the sound in the long run. If it didn't PDP wouldn't read PDP by DW and RAM wouldn't try so hard to separate itself from Dodge by removing any references to Dodge! I still don't get either of the two?!?!
 
wildbill said:
I was going to say there's too much focus on the logo, but after looking at the site, I'm not sure:

".... We have a new logo, a new look, and an attitude adjustment...."
https://sabian.com/en/article/sabian-announces-new-brand-at-namm-2019

Is it just the logo?
They say "New Brand", but I can't find anything about a new line of cymbals,
a new production method, or anything else that I would consider of note.

Maybe they're just referring to product branding, which the logo would be part of?
If they just have a new logo, then maybe there isn't too much focus on it.
Click to expand...

There's new AAX models with new hammering and such. They revamped the AAX lineup by getting rid of the studio, stage, etc models and replacing them with thin, medium, heavy. There's talk about doing something similar with the HHX also, but I guess they're going to see how these work out this year. I'm happy with the new models and that they've kept the X-Plosion crashes and rides but the new logo is a little off-putting. As I've mentioned before elsewhere, the new logo clashes with the series/model designation (FRX or whatever) because it's thin lettering vs the thick bold letters of the series/model. I can live with the AAX logo being moved to the side but the new logo together with that doesn't look good.
 
Winston_Wolf said:
Remember the marketing for the APX line? All snarling faces and shattered glass? Cymbals so effing loud they'll blow out your eardrums AND rip your face off?

Great cymbals, terrible marketing. And it tanked the line.
Click to expand...

I recall the guillotine ad, but not that. However I loved and toured with the APX for a few years. I stopped only because they were too aggressive for smaller venues (theaters.)

I assumed they went away because drummers who wanted a Paiste sound continued to use Paiste. It's hard to tap into a segment of users who are so loyal to another brand.

Bermuda
 
The new logo is lame.
And the whole marketing campaign to go with it.

Of course, I still have and play and love the cymbals.
 
BertTheDrummer said:
Well everything I've seen has ranged from , "That logo is ugly but I don't care about logos" to "That logo is hideous," so far I haven't seen anyone buy into the logo. I guess we will see.
Click to expand...

(Raises hand) Me! Me! I like the new Sabian logo.

That was, until I noticed that the "Unbound" lettering is a part of the new logo text? Surely not. You just don't include a (hopefully) temporary marketing slogan on your company logo. Can you imagine, emblazoned on the side of a car:

TESLA MODEL 3
Government Subsidized!

Logo aside, I don't like the corny text that accompanies the new campaign. It's downright embarrassing, and has all the earmarks of an outsourced effort composed by marketing people who asked a barely-sufficient number of questions to get a tenuous hold on what a cymbal is, then cooked up this disaster. Shameful.

But the new logo (minus the "Unbound" corniness) -- yep, I like it.

GeeDeeEmm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top