In perhaps the craziest, but coolest and most insightful stunt the drum industry has seen in a few years Sabian has finally unearthed the 100 custom-sized, 21" Artisan Medium rides that were buried eight months ago!
According to Sabian Vice President Peter Stairs the cymbals were buried because "the company receives hundreds of queries annually regarding the aging of cymbals by burying them in the ground.”
The specialists in the Sabian Vault buried cymbals in an undisclosed spot near the cymbal factory in eastern Canada, in a project entitled ‘One of 100'.
The cymbal of choice for ‘One of 100´ was no accident, said Stairs. “The Artisan Ride exemplifies Sabian cymbal making artistry in that it is hand hammered traditional-style, and its tone is darker and dirtier… quite earthy. It´s the ideal choice.”
Now the cymbals are back above ground and have been tested, have the Sabian specialist discovered any discernible difference in sound? “Definitely” says SABIAN´s master product specialist Mark Love. “While it does vary somewhat from cymbal to cymbal, the common denominator seems to be that the high and low frequencies are less noticeable, while the mid range is more dominant now. They are also drier and have less overall roar.”
The cymbals in the collection were available to the first 100 eligible buyers who submitted a purchase submission form on the Sabian website. The cymbals were numbered 1 through to 100, and allocated in the order the submissions were received. The cymbals will be individually packaged in a deluxe wood box, complete with official documentation of authenticity signed by Mark Love.
Owners of the cymbals have also been invited to visit the Sabian factory next year to meet the founders of Sabian and tour the factory, and have access to an exclusive ‘One of 100´ online forum which includes direct access to Sabian product specialists.
The unearthing of the cymbals was also charted on Sabian's Twitter account. You can follow them atwww.twitter.com/Sabian_Vault.
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