Sabian AAX 17-inch X-Treme Chinese cymbal

General

Sabian is one of the most famous cymbal manufacturers in the world. The company was founded in 1981 by Robert Zildjian, when his older brother became the head of the Zildjian company. Armed with a lifetime of knowledge and experience, he started over and created a company named after his three children, Sally, Bill and Andy (SaBiAn). Over time, Sabian grew into the respected company it is today, and now belongs to what has been dubbed 'the big four', along with Zildjian, Paiste and Meinl.

Sabian AAX series

Today, Sabian is known for their innovative cymbals, and the AAX line is what started it all. Like the AA-series, it consists of machine-made B20 bronze cymbals. The AAX series, however, receives very different hammering and lathing treatments, which results in a very different sound. It also has the exclusive Auto-Focus Response feature. Where other cymbals have a 'response threshold', meaning they sound best once they reach a certain volume, AAX cymbals respond with total accuracy at all dynamic levels, from low to high volumes.

Sabian AAX 17-inch X-Treme Chinese

While the 17-inch AAX X-Treme Chinese is most certainly a china cymbal, it is not a china cymbal like any other, however. This is an extremely fast cymbal, with a unique, raw sound and copious amounts of power. This punchy china is very loud, making it excellently suited for harder styles such as rock and metal – though, of course, when played with enough finesse it will perform just as admirably in jazz or pop.