Sabian (company)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sabian | |
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada (1981) |
| Headquarters | Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Key people | Robert Zildjian, Neil Peart |
| Website | http://www.sabian.com/ |
Sabian is a Canadian cymbal designer and manufacturer. It is the second largest in the world, behind Zildjian.
The company was founded in 1981 in Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada by Robert Zildjian, son of Avedis Zildjian III, the head of the Zildjian Company. Family tradition had it that the head of the company would only pass its secrets down to the oldest son, but Avedis III gave the information to both his sons, Armand and Robert. This led to a family feud and a legal squabble, resulting in Robert leaving Zildjian to form the rival Sabian company. The companies continue to be rivals, and are both among the world's most popular cymbal brands.
The settlement gave Robert Zildjian the Canadian factory that at that time produced 40% of the production of the Avedis Zildjian Company, and most notably the entire K Zildjian line, all manufacturing in Turkey having ceased by this time. Robert agreed not to use the Zildjian name or to claim that his cymbals were the same. The most notable difference between Zildjian and Sabian is that Zildjian uses a softer, mellower sounding alloy while Sabian uses a more tin-based alloy. The cymbals of the two companies today can be distinguished by sound fairly easily. Sabian are relatively thinner for their advertised weight. Sabian cymbals have longer sustain (with some exceptions) then their Zildjian counterparts, and Zildjian have a faster response (or attack). Sabian cymbals tend to be mellower in sound overall, but all of these differences wholly depend on the individual cymbal model.[1][2]
Robert Zildjian formed the word "Sabian" from the two first letters of the names of his three children Sally, Billy and Andy, and initially released two lines of cymbals, HH and AA, both of them of the traditional bell bronze alloy.
The HH or "hand hammered" line were widely regarded as being K Zildjians in all but name, and there was nothing in the settlement to prevent this being the case, although Sabian was prevented from claiming that it was true. However it was the other line, only slightly cheaper in price, that caused a sensation.
The AA line were machine-made bell-bronze cymbals. They introduced a subtly different sound that appealed to many drummers, and also a level of consistency which was at that time new in a line of bell-bronze cymbals. Sabian's initiative was quickly copied by other manufacturers, but their acceptance as a major force in cymbal manufacture was assured.
