Great review, as always. I like your channel. I've been playing a 16,17,18, 21 FRX setup for about 6 months (still use my 14" HH dark hihats since they are already so quiet). They are fantastic! I play venues and festivals for crowds of 400-3,000 and use these. Sound engineers love them and love how much control they have over their volume with the overheads. My 3 singers love how clearly they can hear their vocals now. No frequencies competing with their monitor and/or in-ear mixes. These really help keep the overall stage volume down because other players do not have to turn up to hear their playing. If you have multiple singers with multiple mics, your engineer will love you for having these. I've used them at a bunch of weddings, too. We have not been asked by that grumpy old lady (you know the one) to turn down one time since I bought the FRX. I agree with their assessment on the 16". It's pretty much a splash. It does warm it as it gets played. I am about to buy the newly released 19" and go 17, 18, 19, 21. I'll use the 16" as a splash. I also still utilize my 18" HHX O-zone in my setup and it blends really well with the FRX. One last thought....on wedding/private/corporate gigs where we run our own sound, we mic the kick, snare and an overhead (I play a 6-piece kit with 2 toms up and 2 toms down)...that's it. These cymbals blend perfectly well with the toms just using one overhead mic...i'm talking about they blend well tone-wise and volume-wise. Great invention, Sabian. Much needed. Kudos for making them sound good (they resemble the HH line).
There the greatest innovation in drums since the drum pedal. They saved my band. Singers and guitarists love them. Congratulations, you just got the gig 👍🏻
I bought the 20" ride and 16" crash. They sound much better in person than this video demonstration. In person they're about half as loud as my other Sabian cymbals (mostly AA, or AAX)
Another really detailed review. Before I buy anything, I first see if you Guys have already checked it out! I'll know then for sure what to buy! Thanks a lot DR!
I've been playing a set of these on my small-venue kit for almost a year now, and I can say that they do sound better in real life than in the video, the 16" crash in particular. In the video, it sounds very much like a splash, but live it's much fuller and solid. If I were choosing cymbals for larger venues or recording, I would not choose these, but in the environment I use them in, they really perform well. I'm very, very pleased with them, and hope to see many years of use!
These are genuinely amazing. I've seen lots of this kind of thing over the years and they've mostly been obvious gimmicks, but these sound... great. They sound just great.
I've been using these cymbals for a little over a year now, and really like them for their ability to balance with my kit volume level. I play primarily in wine bars and the band that I'm in (Hootenanny!) covers 60's to 80's pop and rock on acoustic guitars. Since switching from splash cymbals (Wuhan 12" was the largest employed to try to keep the sound levels down), I've enjoyed the freedom of being able to rock out (ATTITUDE!) without the feeling of having to pull back my dynamics. And the audience notices a huge difference in the way the music feels to them. A meek and apprehensive drummer means the music will feel stifled. These cymbals will liberate most drummers from that feeling, and will allow the drummer to play with full on attitude without getting dirty looks from the rest of the band. I'm not a basher. I tend to play pocket grooves with some embellishments to add some excitement to the music--I serve the music. These cymbals allow for that. And we've been gigging about 4 to 6 times a month these days. We cover Beatles, Eagles, Queen, Pink Floyd, Journey, ELO--pretty much the good stuff from the golden era of cassette mixtapes. And these cymbals can do it all. The venues love us, we get called back for additional gigs, etc.--because we are playing rock music (which folks dig) but not overwhelming the ears of the patrons. And I can rock out without holding back. Having said that, what this reviewer says is true. They are expensive. And the 16" is a tad splashy. But for what I do, it's fine. I will probably take the plunge and get the 15" hats and the 19" crash over the next few days. maybe that will help with the overall sound. I currently mix up the 14" hats, 16" crash, 17" crash, 18" crash, and 20" and 21" ride. I do wish they made splash cymbals in this line too, but I suppose they would be too quiet...? Anyways... if you are in a gigging band that plays pop and rock and would like to play more paying gigs (wine bars pay pretty well), you might want to consider the FRX line.
"Nolly is detailed, accurate, and takes a drummer for a picturesque journey as to what the product entails.... He could review a pat of butter and give us a new perspective. The drums are always finely tuned and nothing is over-processed with the sounds.... cymbals being no different. Thanks guys!"
The ride cymbals were nice, especially the 20-incher, nice character to it; all the other cymbals were decent to me, although the 16-incher sounded a bit off.. Nice review!
Great review DR didn't care for the crash cymbals . As the other comment said 20 inch ride nice for jazz. Hi hat was good sound . But it's good knowing their different sounds available.
I rented a set once for a wedding gig in a small venue (you can rent those at Long & McQuade in Canada)... brought them back the next day and played the gig with my K Custom Darks and a lighter touch. Then I learned that the FRX box set is about 400$ MORE than I paid for my K Custom box set. Ridiculous. It's a hard pass for me. The 18" crash was the only piece I liked, it sounds like a thin dark crash as it should. But again, I much prefer my CHEAPER Zildjian K Custom Dark, which only gets louder if you hit it hard on purpose. Brilliant concept, failed execution IMHO. Maybe if they made a cheaper version it could be useful sometimes. But these are pricey!
It makes sense why they're pricey, for all the new machinery and extra processes you need to go through. Like a CNC machine, somone to program it, and someone to operate it
I personally think these are Sabians answer to worship leaders/bands looking for cymbals for lower volume settings. A lot of questions were brought up at the Winter NAMM show in 2016. The hats were nice but a set of HHX would work. I liked the 17" and the 21" ride.
I'm not the biggest Sabian fan, I do enjoy the HH and HHX series. With the FRX it's a bit hit or miss. The 18 crash, rides and the hi hat closed sounded nice. Crashing the 20" ride, open hi hats, and 16" crash were not so good. The 16" crash sounded weak and more of an efx crash. While the ride sounded in-between a efx crash and a crashing ride. The 17" crash was in-between the efx crash and a crash. Not trashy enough to be an efx and not full enough to be a crash. They are a little overpriced. Considering what they are. If you get the benefit out of them then price does not matter. It's a great idea and Sabian have done a good job. Shame the sound of the smaller cymbals change into an efx crash sound rather than a reduced frequency crash sound like the 18".
+Drummer's Review Nolly & Nick, thank you for another informative & excellent review. 👍 But Meh! Unfortunately, none of these cymbals really WOW'd me, and most of them sound like a really low-end no-name budget set to my ears. :/ Though I agree that the 20" Ride had some nice qualities, and the Hi-Hats were "okay", but not anything that I couldn't find from existing makes & models. Ultimately, I don't think I would ever find myself paying a premium for ANY of the cymbals in this current FRX lineup. I also think that the concept is somewhat of a gimmick. IMO, a good drummer learns to control the Tone and Dynamics of their cymbals with his/her technique and touch, along with selecting a pleasing group of complimentary cymbals from the get go. Choosing different sticks can make a huge difference in the sound as well. Don't get me wrong, I really like variety, but there are now so so many different individual lines from ALL of the multitudes of cymbal makers that it gets completely overwhelming to try and find or select a few really good cymbals! It's like finding a needle in a haystack in a 100 acre pasture!
I have a hh 14 and a 18' crash and they sound very well (like HH..). on your video they sound like S.... Sincerely I wouldn' thave buy them just by listen to your video and it would I have be a mistake... please buy some good microphone or pay a good sound engineer.....
I fear the majority of the commenters totally miss the ball as to where the FRX are aimed for. They're not supposed to sonically compete with AA/AAX/HH/HHX/Paragon/Artisan.
first everyone starts buying jeans with the holes already in them, and now cymbals. personally I don't like these big black letters on cymbals making them ugly. just Sabian is enough, the FRX just ads ugliness. why can't cymbal companies do something tasteful with there name and logos. and I didn't really think they sounded special either
I am a bit of a Sabian fanboy, but I think these are a total miss. Sabian have taken normal cymbals, taken the character out of them and then made it so you can't hear them to hide the fact.
Great review, as always. I like your channel.
I've been playing a 16,17,18, 21 FRX setup for about 6 months (still use my 14" HH dark hihats since they are already so quiet). They are fantastic! I play venues and festivals for crowds of 400-3,000 and use these. Sound engineers love them and love how much control they have over their volume with the overheads.
My 3 singers love how clearly they can hear their vocals now. No frequencies competing with their monitor and/or in-ear mixes. These really help keep the overall stage volume down because other players do not have to turn up to hear their playing. If you have multiple singers with multiple mics, your engineer will love you for having these.
I've used them at a bunch of weddings, too. We have not been asked by that grumpy old lady (you know the one) to turn down one time since I bought the FRX.
I agree with their assessment on the 16". It's pretty much a splash. It does warm it as it gets played. I am about to buy the newly released 19" and go 17, 18, 19, 21. I'll use the 16" as a splash. I also still utilize my 18" HHX O-zone in my setup and it blends really well with the FRX.
One last thought....on wedding/private/corporate gigs where we run our own sound, we mic the kick, snare and an overhead (I play a 6-piece kit with 2 toms up and 2 toms down)...that's it. These cymbals blend perfectly well with the toms just using one overhead mic...i'm talking about they blend well tone-wise and volume-wise.
Great invention, Sabian. Much needed. Kudos for making them sound good (they resemble the HH line).
There the greatest innovation in drums since the drum pedal. They saved my band. Singers and guitarists love them. Congratulations, you just got the gig 👍🏻
I bought the 20" ride and 16" crash. They sound much better in person than this video demonstration. In person they're about half as loud as my other Sabian cymbals (mostly AA, or AAX)
Another really detailed review. Before I buy anything, I first see if you Guys have already checked it out! I'll know then for sure what to buy! Thanks a lot DR!
Remote Drums many thanks for your comments and for watching. Best wishes, DR
These worked great in our pit orchestra for a high school musical, “Cinderella”. Blended well with the small pit orchestra and the vocalists on stage.
I've been playing a set of these on my small-venue kit for almost a year now, and I can say that they do sound better in real life than in the video, the 16" crash in particular. In the video, it sounds very much like a splash, but live it's much fuller and solid. If I were choosing cymbals for larger venues or recording, I would not choose these, but in the environment I use them in, they really perform well. I'm very, very pleased with them, and hope to see many years of use!
These are genuinely amazing. I've seen lots of this kind of thing over the years and they've mostly been obvious gimmicks, but these sound... great. They sound just great.
I've been using these cymbals for a little over a year now, and really like them for their ability to balance with my kit volume level. I play primarily in wine bars and the band that I'm in (Hootenanny!) covers 60's to 80's pop and rock on acoustic guitars. Since switching from splash cymbals (Wuhan 12" was the largest employed to try to keep the sound levels down), I've enjoyed the freedom of being able to rock out (ATTITUDE!) without the feeling of having to pull back my dynamics. And the audience notices a huge difference in the way the music feels to them. A meek and apprehensive drummer means the music will feel stifled. These cymbals will liberate most drummers from that feeling, and will allow the drummer to play with full on attitude without getting dirty looks from the rest of the band. I'm not a basher. I tend to play pocket grooves with some embellishments to add some excitement to the music--I serve the music. These cymbals allow for that. And we've been gigging about 4 to 6 times a month these days. We cover Beatles, Eagles, Queen, Pink Floyd, Journey, ELO--pretty much the good stuff from the golden era of cassette mixtapes. And these cymbals can do it all. The venues love us, we get called back for additional gigs, etc.--because we are playing rock music (which folks dig) but not overwhelming the ears of the patrons. And I can rock out without holding back.
Having said that, what this reviewer says is true. They are expensive. And the 16" is a tad splashy. But for what I do, it's fine. I will probably take the plunge and get the 15" hats and the 19" crash over the next few days. maybe that will help with the overall sound. I currently mix up the 14" hats, 16" crash, 17" crash, 18" crash, and 20" and 21" ride. I do wish they made splash cymbals in this line too, but I suppose they would be too quiet...? Anyways... if you are in a gigging band that plays pop and rock and would like to play more paying gigs (wine bars pay pretty well), you might want to consider the FRX line.
That 20 inch for jazz is perfection
That 16' crash sounds more like a 13" splash
"Nolly is detailed, accurate, and takes a drummer for a picturesque journey as to what the product entails.... He could review a pat of butter and give us a new perspective. The drums are always finely tuned and nothing is over-processed with the sounds.... cymbals being no different. Thanks guys!"
The ride cymbals were nice, especially the 20-incher, nice character to it; all the other cymbals were decent to me, although the 16-incher sounded a bit off.. Nice review!
Great review DR didn't care for the crash cymbals . As the other comment said 20 inch ride nice for jazz. Hi hat was good sound . But it's good knowing their different sounds available.
I rented a set once for a wedding gig in a small venue (you can rent those at Long & McQuade in Canada)... brought them back the next day and played the gig with my K Custom Darks and a lighter touch. Then I learned that the FRX box set is about 400$ MORE than I paid for my K Custom box set. Ridiculous. It's a hard pass for me. The 18" crash was the only piece I liked, it sounds like a thin dark crash as it should. But again, I much prefer my CHEAPER Zildjian K Custom Dark, which only gets louder if you hit it hard on purpose.
Brilliant concept, failed execution IMHO. Maybe if they made a cheaper version it could be useful sometimes. But these are pricey!
It makes sense why they're pricey, for all the new machinery and extra processes you need to go through. Like a CNC machine, somone to program it, and someone to operate it
I personally think these are Sabians answer to worship leaders/bands looking for cymbals for lower volume settings. A lot of questions were brought up at the Winter NAMM show in 2016. The hats were nice but a set of HHX would work. I liked the 17" and the 21" ride.
Nolly, you're the best man. Lovin the videos.
I'm not the biggest Sabian fan, I do enjoy the HH and HHX series. With the FRX it's a bit hit or miss. The 18 crash, rides and the hi hat closed sounded nice. Crashing the 20" ride, open hi hats, and 16" crash were not so good. The 16" crash sounded weak and more of an efx crash. While the ride sounded in-between a efx crash and a crashing ride. The 17" crash was in-between the efx crash and a crash. Not trashy enough to be an efx and not full enough to be a crash. They are a little overpriced. Considering what they are. If you get the benefit out of them then price does not matter. It's a great idea and Sabian have done a good job. Shame the sound of the smaller cymbals change into an efx crash sound rather than a reduced frequency crash sound like the 18".
the drummer in these videos is pretty good, nice feel and flow, but i do have a feeling that rock isn't his most comfortable genre to play
yeah, I missed some punch
+Drummer's Review
Nolly & Nick, thank you for another informative & excellent review. 👍
But Meh! Unfortunately, none of these cymbals really WOW'd me, and most of them sound like a really low-end no-name budget set to my ears. :/ Though I agree that the 20" Ride had some nice qualities, and the Hi-Hats were "okay", but not anything that I couldn't find from existing makes & models.
Ultimately, I don't think I would ever find myself paying a premium for ANY of the cymbals in this current FRX lineup.
I also think that the concept is somewhat of a gimmick. IMO, a good drummer learns to control the Tone and Dynamics of their cymbals with his/her technique and touch, along with selecting a pleasing group of complimentary cymbals from the get go. Choosing different sticks can make a huge difference in the sound as well.
Don't get me wrong, I really like variety, but there are now so so many different individual lines from ALL of the multitudes of cymbal makers that it gets completely overwhelming to try and find or select a few really good cymbals! It's like finding a needle in a haystack in a 100 acre pasture!
I'm not convinces about these cymbals at all yet...I need to play them for myself
Personally I prefer something like the Sabian Apollo 22" or the Istanbul Agop 22" SE Fusion for low volume settings. These, to me, sound artificial.
I have a hh 14 and a 18' crash and they sound very well (like HH..). on your video they sound like S.... Sincerely I wouldn' thave buy them just by listen to your video and it would I have be a mistake... please buy some good microphone or pay a good sound engineer.....
I fear the majority of the commenters totally miss the ball as to where the FRX are aimed for. They're not supposed to sonically compete with AA/AAX/HH/HHX/Paragon/Artisan.
Compare them with Zildjian L80 and other low volume or manipulated frequencies cymbals and the FRX blows them out of the competition.
@@theDeathJoy Zildjian L80s are true low volume cymbals for practice, not performance or recording. These Sabians are in a league of their own.
Like that 17" Crash. Everything else not so much...
They sound like breaking glass.
Never been a Sabian fan.
Great review... lame cymbals. No subtle sounds or anything. Just quieter. For that price might as well go for HHX jazz variants.
Anyone looking for a cheaper alternative that sound better, Agean hush hush series.
Sabian prices are stupid.
Or your view of how they got to those prices are shallow
first everyone starts buying jeans with the holes already in them, and now cymbals. personally I don't like these big black letters on cymbals making them ugly. just Sabian is enough, the FRX just ads ugliness. why can't cymbal companies do something tasteful with there name and logos. and I didn't really think they sounded special either
I am a bit of a Sabian fanboy, but I think these are a total miss. Sabian have taken normal cymbals, taken the character out of them and then made it so you can't hear them to hide the fact.
Zildjian and paiste cymbals are the best quality for your buck in my opinion but sabian just dont cut it they suck
I agree, I think Sabian have fallen behind it's competitors. Look at how many other companies have cropped up the last decade.
I am not impressed !
Sorry sabian but the frx cymbals are shit in sound not worth the money