John E. Johnson, Jr.

Sabian's HHX series is specified as "Modern Dark . . . drier, dirtier, funkier". The word "Dark" translates to lots of low frequency undertones, and I think, after having analyzed quite a few cymbals, "dirtier" means more midrange wash . . . more "SHHHHH" to the sound. The current review is of their 18" HHX Manhattan Jazz, which is classified as crash cymbal. Its medium thin weight delivers a bright, but not too bright, sound. It is suited for riding the body as well as the bell.

Cymbal makers are always looking for new ways to give their customers more sound options. The "Hybrid" refers to the body of the cymbal being treated differently at the inner region vs. the outer region. In this case, the Zildjian 19" K Custom Hybrid Crash Cymbal is hammered near the bell, and hammered as well as lathed at the perimeter. Besides producing a crash sound that is unique, riding the two regions gives two very different sounds, one that has plenty of wash (the outer region), and one that has a dry sound with a strong ping (near the bell).

Supernatural Cymbals is one of several small companies that have emerged during the past few years, who are based in Turkey, and who still make cymbals the way they have been made for centuries (except for the electric motor that turns the lathing machine). The cymbals start out as cast bronze discs, which are heated, rolled, cut into the desired diameter for the cymbal, hand hammered, and hand lathed. There is no machining at all. The results are quite distinguishable from machine hammered and lathed cymbals. It is not that one way is better than the other, but rather, you now have several additional choices in sound, and some of them are due to the old world ways of producing them. Here, we review the Supernatural 22" Universal Ride. It has a clear ping that always stays above the wash, but also, the wash is intense with a long sustain, typical of hand hammered cymbals.

Dream Cymbals is one of the new companies whose products are manufactured in China. From what we are told, the cymbals are totally hammered and lathed by hand, directly from the cast bronze disc, rather than put through rollers to flatten them before hammering. If that is accurate, I don't think I would want to get into a fight with any of the cymbal smiths, because it must take enormous strength and endurance to perform this task from the raw cast ingot. However, the sound is very revealing, and suggests that it is so. The cymbals have a very strong wash that sustains. Dream has a Bliss 20" Thin Ride and a Bliss 20" Ride, so this cymbal, the Bliss 20" Crash/Ride is a medium thin weight in between the other two. The sound quality is exceptional for a cymbal with a street price of only $144. This represents tremendous value. I expect more good things to come from this new company.