Sabian 20″ HHX Manhattan Jazz Crash-Ride Cymbal

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. We recently reviewed the 18″ Manhattan Jazz Crash, and now turn our attention to the 20″, which, although classified as a ride cymbal, I consider it to work well as a crash/ride.

The cymbal has medium sized lathing lines from the bell to the outer edge. Hammering is more clearly seen in the main photo above, and it appears that the hammer strokes are large, and deepest at the middle, while more shallow towards the center and towards the outer edge.

The cymbal crashes easily because of its weight, and the sustain is longer than the 18″ version. As a ride, the sound has a distinct “ping” with a wash that is about the same loudness, and the bell has an excellent, very pleasant ring to it.

The crash spectrum has main peaks at 250 Hz, 300-400 Hz, 460 Hz, 1.6 kHz, and 1.9 kHz-3.9 kHz, before declining to 65 kHz. Compared to the 18″ Manhattan, the 20″ has lower output in the 1 kHz-3 kHz range, giving it a “funkier” sound.

The peak of the crash occurs at 0.05 seconds with a medium-slow speed decay. This is a very fast crash.

Click HERE to listen to an audio sample, which will include crash (when appropriate), ride, and bell sounds (these are 24 bit, 176.4 kHz wav files, so be sure your sound card is capable of handling these high resolution sound files).

If your sound card cannot play the high resolution file, click HERE to listen to an MP3 sound file.

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