Sabian AAX crashes: My experience

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16" AAX recording crash: a beautiful medium pitched crash. Pretty thin and a very dampened raw bell. Blends very nicely with my Wuhan splashes. Has a nice long sustain.

18" AAX xplosion crash: Very loud and takes very little effort to open up. High pitched bell, and is the perfect match with the recording crash. Not too much of a contrast in pitch. As most of you know I had an issue with the warranty of this cymbal. Long story short, I got the 16" Xplosion for free.

16" AAX Xplosion crash: claaaang! I don't really hear the cymbal open up. At least not as easy as the recording crash or the 18" Xplosion. Pretty big difference in pitch from th 18". A pretty thick crash that's loud, but just doesn't have that crash characteristic I like. It doesn't really blend well with the rest of my cymbals.

Overall the AAX are great for rock. Bright, but not too bright. The brilliant finish is beautiful when clean. I wipe any smudges off with a soft microfibre cloth. I'm considering selling the 16" Xplosion and getting a pair of either Paragon hats, or AAX stage hats.

Thanks for the review!!

i bought a set of the AAX Stage Hats when the series just came out. They sounded really good compared to the other sets I was testing.

I have the 16" AAX recording crash and is very good. I play different types of rock and also used it for R&B.

I prefer crashes that open easily / crash at low volumes. It seems as though the OP does too. Peace and goodwill.

I love the look of those cymbals.
Thanks for the review.

I'm surprised by your 16" thoughts. Is it a different thickness than the 18"? Like AAX Rock vs Med/Thin or something?

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Originally Posted by SpazApproved

I love the look of those cymbals.
Thanks for the review.

I'm surprised by your 16" thoughts. Is it a different thickness than the 18"? Like AAX Rock vs Med/Thin or something?

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It has sort of grown on me since this review. But not by much. It crashes, but there’s this weird overtone that just doesn’t mix. And yes it feels a little thicker. I definitely wouldn’t use just the 16 and 18 xplosion. The recording crash is just in between in pitch. It’s also the cymbal that gets the dirtiest in a couple of days. Gets really ugly.

At church I play AAX 15", 19", and 17" Xplosion Crashes. They all open at low volumes and get as loud as I want. They blend well too. Peace and goodwill.

The fast crash versions sound better to me. I use an 18" Xplosion fast crash and 18" HHX Evolution crash. They mix well together.

Is the 'recording crash' the same as the 'studio crash'? I owned a 16" AAX Studio crash for years I loved it. It had a medium pitch and it was medium-thin thickness. Worked well with everything.

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Originally Posted by FlyByNight

...there’s this weird overtone that just doesn’t mix.

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I know that "weird overtone" that you describe, as I hear it every time I play on one in the store. I'd describe it more as an "undertone," as it appears as a frequency lower than the primary frequency of the cymbal. And it's annoying - to me.

Just as a note for future reference: you used the term "dampening" to describe the sound of the bell on one of your cymbals. The actual term is "damping."

Damping: " a decreasing of the amplitude of an electrical or mechanical wave."
Dampening: "to make slightly wet."

GeeDeeEmm

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Originally Posted by gdmoore28

I know that "weird overtone" that you describe, as I hear it every time I play on one in the store. I'd describe it more as an "undertone," as it appears as a frequency lower than the primary frequency of the cymbal. And it's annoying - to me.

Just as a note for future reference: you used the term "dampening" to describe the sound of the bell on one of your cymbals. The actual term is "damping."

Damping: " a decreasing of the amplitude of an electrical or mechanical wave."
Dampening: "to make slightly wet."

GeeDeeEmm

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I think I mixed damping & dampening up in another thread too. Oops.

About that undertone, it’s hard to explain but yes it does sound lower than the actual crash pitch.

Another thing is that it gets orange a lot faster than my 18” xplosion and 16” recording. I find those two cymbals compliment each other beautifully. The 16” and 18” xplosion don’t mix well IMO. pitches are too far apart.

Sorry to be a Word Nazi, but I see this all the time - especially on speaker forums - so it just kind of sticks out for me.

"How do I dampen my speaker?"
"Throw water on it, of course!"

GeeDeeEmm

I like the 17" AAX X-plosion Crash I use at church so much that I bought one for myself. Peace and goodwill.

Great review Mike! Thanks for taking the time to post it up.

I am so close to making the switch from Zildjian to these Sabian AAX's, I wish I could get the cymbal pack with The Stage Hats, fast xplosion crashes and 21" Raw bell ride in it but it is either one or the other and I really do not like the 14" Accelerator hats or the 20" stage ride.

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Originally Posted by MDK

I am so close to making the switch from Zildjian to these Sabian AAX's, I wish I could get the cymbal pack....I really do not like the 14" Accelerator hats or the 20" stage ride.

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I have the AAX 20" stage ride and it sits in the cymbal vault most of time. In my opinion, the bell is weak and the roar from the wash is one dimensional and has no dynamics.

https://i845.photobucket.com/albums/...sabianride.jpg

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Originally Posted by MDK

I am so close to making the switch from Zildjian to these Sabian AAX's, I wish I could get the cymbal pack with The Stage Hats, fast xplosion crashes and 21" Raw bell ride in it but it is either one or the other and I really do not like the 14" Accelerator hats or the 20" stage ride.

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I’m using the 16” aax recording crash with the 18” aax xplosion. The recording sits in between the pitches of the 16 & 18 xplosions. I use the 21” hh raw bell dry ride and they mix great. Not a crashable ride at all though (something I don’t don’t do anyway). They offer it in AA, AAX, HH and HHX and I like the sound of all of them.