Sabian Cymbal Vault Tour

[FW]

Hey Guys!

Today after school I went to pick up a pair of sticks at my local drum store and the Sabian Cymbal Vault tour was there. They had some of the coolest cymbals I've heard, and when I checked out this one duo hhx cymbal prototype I liked and asked if they had it in other sizes, they made one for me onsite! I used to think my 17" remix ride was the ideal cocktail cymbal, but you should hear this 14" with 3" of lathing around the perimeter. It has a killer bell, a great ride sound, and lots of nice spread on the crash sound with quick decay so you can hear the stick sound again almost immediately after. Plus, the cymbals were half off, so I got a cymbal made to my specifications by one of Sabian's top cymbal craftsman right in front of me for $135. If you can find the tour near you, definitely check it out.

Will

[ricky]

They made one for you?...Cool ,what did they do or have on site to make one for you there ? Thats just to sweet ,give us the details....

[FW]

Basically, Sabian has a huge chunk of their Canadian staff on tour showing off new cymbals, some really cool experimental models, and some prototypes. There was a ride cymbal there I'm still dreaming about--tons and tons of wobble--it sounded like art blakey's ride on A Night in Tunisia--same crash sound and everything. Anyway, I was checking out an 18" crash that was only lathed around the edge so it had this china-ish crash sound that decayed right away with a ride sound that was pretty focused and dry. It had a nice bell, too. I asked if they had any other sizes because I didn't exactly have any money with me and wasn't prepared for a major cymbal purchase, and the rep said no but that they were getting ready for a cymbal making demonstration on a 14" blank and they could make one for me. I was hesitant because I didn't want to get stuck with a cymbal I didn't want (I'm not a huge 14" cymbal fan by nature), but they said if I didn't like it, I wouldn't have to buy it. So Allie Cougle, one of their master cymbal makers who helped create the Vault series was there hammering blanks and turning cymbals on a portable lathe, and he hammered it for me and lathed about 2" off both sides. It takes about ten minutes for the hot cymbal to cool and get its tone, and after waiting a bit, we decided the ride sound was nice but it needed more spread. So he lathed about another three inches in and made the cymbal super versatile--it has a really clean, low crash sound with lots of spread, a nice dry ride sound with good articulation and some spread, and the belliest bell I've ever heard on a 14" cymbal. Plus, the cymbals were all half off, so I only had to pay $135 for a hand hammered custom cymbal made for me and signed and dated by Allie Cougle. I talked to Sabian's sales rep who was one of the original product testers in '82 (he remembered testing an early 80's Harvey Mason flat ride I have), and he said their goal is to get feedback from players and bring everyone the factory tour experience. They did that in spades. It's crazy--I have a recurring dream that I'm at some store and they just happen to be selling all these beautiful handmade Turkish cymbals for cheap, and then I wake up and the cymbals I've bought are gone. This time, it was like the dream came true--tons of gorgeous handmade cymbals in a parking lot in Lansing...wow.

[palacki808]

A few years ago I remember reading in modern drummer magazine about a man who tuned his cymbals himself by hammering and then lathing them. I always found cymbal making to be a very interesting subject. Anyway, on to the subject at hand.

Did you notice anyone there having their cymbals "matched" by a craftsman? I recieved an advertisement for the vault tour stopping at Drum World in Castle Shannon. Unfortunately I could not go, but the advertisement said you could bring your cymbals in to have them "matched". I'm not certain of what this really means, did anyone there mention or explain the process to you?

-Joe

[fw]

I didn't read anything about "matching" on the ad I picked up after the demo (for some reason, Marshall didn't send anything out on their mailing list). I think matching probably means they would help you find a cymbal to complement your other cymbals--some of the guys were pretty heavy-handed in trying to move the prototypes and new models, even though I think most of the cymbals sold themselves. Everything was top-shelf stuff, stuff most stores can't get. Anyway, the ironic thing if that's what they meant by matching is that I was talking with Sabain's sales director, and he was telling me when I mentioned I wasn't sure how a wobbly ride cymbal I loved would match my other cymbals, he said basically that matching is a goofy concept and that if you like the cymbal, it will work. I think he thought I was talking about making sure all my cymbals were Zildjian A's or Sabian HHX's or something--all one line. He said when he used to demo cymbals, he put one cymbal from every line on his kit to show people it's okay to cross lines. I told him what I meant by matching was that I didn't want any one cymbal to occupy the same sonic space as another, so if I picked a ride that had a beautiful tone and spread but hit the same fundamental note values, it wouldn't really add to the set. He basically agreed.

I read that article about the cymbal shaver in MD, too. My hunch is that Allie Cougle wouldn't put an already made cymbal on the lathe--too much risk of creating a structurally unsound cymbal. A lot of drummers seemed to be interested in the option of having their cymbals, crashes especially, re-lathed for more spread.