Sabian AA 10-inch splash cymbal

General

In 1981, after his older brother Armand became head of the Zildjian company, Robert Zildjian decided to leave his family's company and start anew. Then, armed with years of experience and a great knowledge of the trade, he founded his own cymbal manufacturing company, Sabian, which he named after his three children, Sally, Bill and Andy (SaBiAn). Since then, Sabian has grown into a well-respected manufacturer of cymbals and counts itself as one of the 'Big Four', along with Zildjian, Paiste and Meinl.

Sabian AA series

Sabian classifies the AA series as 'Vintage Bright', indicating that these cymbals aim for a more classic sound and tone, while also achieving a bright sound that matches well with virtually any music style. The AA stands for 'automated anvil', referencing the fact that these are machine-made cymbals – though those machines are still operated by the master craftsmen at Sabian, of course. This partly automated process allows Sabian to create a line of cymbals that have a specific sound that does not vary much from cymbal to cymbal, whereas no two hand-hammered cymbals are exactly the same.

Sabian AA 10-inch splash cymbal

Sabian's 10-inch AA splash is a versatile splash cymbal with crisp, rapid action. It has the familiar vintage, bright AA sound and delivers a glassy splash sound with an almost instant decay. This makes it perfect for quick, cutting accents that don't overstay their welcome. While all AA splashes share the same basic characteristics, this 10-inch model is the largest, which means that it has the lowest pitch and a bit more presence.