Sims Sabian Day Featuring The Redesigned AAX!

Our Sneak Peek...

So we were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of some of the new AAX cymbals thanks to Rick Murray bringing some to the store before NAMM. As I walked up, he was playing the 15" Medium Hi-Hats. Now, I don't often hear cymbals and stop in my tracks and just listen, but I quite literally did just that. These hats are PUNCHY, they're CRISP and the overall tone is so well balanced. That was my first introduction to the new AAX and after hearing them all, each new cymbal lived up to the bar set by the 15" Medium Hats. 

After Rick left, Justin, Luis, and I talked about which ones we like best. Here are our picks:

Ian's Pick - 15" Medium Hi-Hats

You already know how I feel about the hats so let's talk some specs. First, they are made from a centuries-old recipe of copper, tin, and silver — also known as B20 bronze. This extremely musical metal allows Sabian to be very creative so on the entire AAX line, they started using larger-peen hammering to achieve even more complex and dark tones. The bell is also a bit smaller than before to give these hats a more pure tone.

Justin's Pick - 17" Freq Crash

That's enough of my rambling on the hats, let's talk about a cymbal that is the epitome of form AND function. The 17" Freq Crash is also made from the naturally dark B20 alloy but has very unique dual-lathing that makes this cymbal smoothly cut through a mix like no other. 

Prior to the release of the new AAX cymbals, the Freq crash was only available in an 18" crash and 14" hats. Fortunately, with help from our very own Justin Sims who is on the Sabian Advisory Board, they decided to start making a full line of AAX Freq cymbals including:

• 14" AAX Freq Hats
• 15" AAX Freq Hats
• 16" AAX Freq Crash
• 17" AAX Freq Crash
• 18" AAX Freq Crash
• 19" AAX Freq Crash
• 21" AAX Freq Ride

Luis' Pick - 22" Thin Ride

The big boy. 21-inches is the most popular size ride in our store, but after hearing the chunky, smooth wash from this 22-inch beast, that might change. Preceding the wash is an almost woody attack with a smooth smokey transition to wash. The bell is a bit smaller than before as well to punctuate the attack and allow all 22-inches to sing unimpeded. This ride is undoubtedly Sabian with all of the opportunities for unique but extremely versatile tones from the bell, through the bow, to the edge. 

Your Chance To See For Yourself...

All in all the new AAX cymbals exceeded any and all expectations we had at Sims. Luckily, you can experience them in all their glory any day, but especially March 20th when our friend Rick Murray from Sabian will be here in store from 12:00 until 6:00 demoing all of these new cymbals and more as well as answering any questions you may have. This is a great opportunity so don't miss out!