Sabian AA Metal X Cymbals Review

Good Points
Tough, loud and articulate

Bad Points
The unlathe bell is a little hard to get a good "ping" of the ride - you've really got to hit it.

General Comments
I bought the Sabian AA Metal X Cymbals because I wanted cymbals that would cut through the mix at shows and during practice. These do that very well! In fact, a little too well; sometimes the sound man has to cut my overheads completely off because they pick up the AA metal X's and drown out the rest of my kit, but since that is what I wanted, they do their job well, but it seems that overly aggressive cymbals are not always a good thing. The unlathed bell on the ride is a real pain to get the ping from when riding it during a guitar solo and such. I normally only break drum sticks riding the bell of the ride, because it is unresponsive, or rather its frequency is low and does not cut through, but the ride itself is sweet.



The 16 inch crash is really good too, with a quick response and loud, but if hit gently it will be warm and still sustain; the same with the 18 inch crash. The hi hats are awesome! They are so bright, yet warm. Closed or open, these things really make tempo keeping a pleasure, and yes they are loud as well. The splash that came with the "package" I bought broke in about 8 months, but that was my fault, as I was hitting it way too hard, with hard, quick accents, possibly because it was not very loud to begin with, but it was very warm and washy; the way a splash should be. I replaced it with a Wuhan 12 inch China, which is much better. Good cymbals for metal and hardcore.



To deal with the over volume I simply increased the cymbal angles so that I don't put as much force on them. This seems to have help with the issue.