Sabian AA 18" El Sabor
Group: Crashes
Type: El Sabor
Size: 18 Inch
Series: AA
Weight: 1398g, 1416g, 1452g, 1538g
Median Weight: 1434g (n=4)
Years of production: 1992* - ?
Sound file: AA 18" El Sabor
AA 18" El Sabor
Sabian's Description: <<< - >>>
Review: "Sabian's El Sabor cymbal is a unique instrument. With its thin profile and 18" diameter, it works as a crash cymbal; with its big, unfinished bell, it could be a great Latin cymbal; and with its somewhat dry yet ping-y ride sound, it could work in that context. "So many great characteristics in one cymbal," you might exclaim. "Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?" Well, even though Sabian does have something interesting and useful here, you can never get somethin' for nothin'. In El Sabor's case, though its crash sound is explosive and quite pleasing in tone, it also tends to decay fairly quickly. That's not necessarily a problem, and, in fact, the cymbal was designed that way— as evidenced by its slightly flanged edge. Considering the cymbal's Latin name, one could easily deduce that this characteristic was built in to provide that splashy crash sound that timbaleros prefer. In fact, Sabian mentions in its accompanying literature that conga players could crash on El Sabor with their hands, as they are wont to do. El Sabor's unfinished bell is a nice, big target, and provides a good clang without being too obnoxious. The cymbal's ride sound, however, might not lend itself to every drummer's taste. Though the sound itself was pleasant—noticeable yet controllable overtones and decent stick ping— the volume and power were a little weak. This, of course, could be attributed to the 18" diameter, and in a miked situation, the cymbal might sound just fine. The nice thing about having a cymbal like this in your setup is that, since it's so versatile, even if you don't particularly enjoy one of its potential uses, you might still have a couple others to take advantage of. I found it great when positioned to the right of and above my primary ride cymbal, where it could be crashed on yet easily reached for an alternate bell sound. El Sabor comes in a standard model and in a Brilliant version, which had a slightly mellower sound and a more controlled bell than its counterpart."
Review written by Adam Budofsky ("Product Close-Up - New Sabian Products", Modern Drummer, Dec. 1992, p. 44)
Artist/song where it can be heard:
Source:
(*) "New And Notable" (Modern Drummer, August 1992, p.124)
