Reviews
"The AAX Raw Bell Dry Ride is focused, they are equals in weight and horsepower, but of different character in comparison to HHX RBDR. The AAX is brighter, cleaner, and higher in pitch. The HHX is the muscular sound of the blacksmith's hammer at the forge, while the AAX is the glassy, titanium sound of sonar ringing inside a nuclear submarine. In plain English, the AAX Raw Bell Dry Ride is high-pitched, very bright, and very clean. It has a classic, finely lathed surface that gleams. Its raw bell is rough to the touch, but not marked by hammer strikes. Both the AAX and HHX have stunning clarity of attack, with rounded but muscular ping sounds. Small sticks sounded astoundingly accurate, but large sticks, between 2B and 2S, also kept up both articulate ping and impressive power, making these rides for heavy rocking. These cymbals will not be overrun by stick size, and that includes the cymbal bells. And those raw bells sound as cool as they look. The AAX bell has the bright majesty of a ship's bell but does not sound cartoon-ish. It was loud played with the stick's tip, and really loud played with stick’s shoulder. It had great cutting ability, achieved without any annoying overtones. The bell of the AAX has an integrated tone, meaning the bell sounds like an amplified version of the cymbal's ping. A move from cymbal face to bell produces a sound that remains within the original personality. Bells have enough power for any rock situation. The power is focused in the ping. There's scant wash, no hopes of crashing, and plenty of extra weight to lug around in the cymbal bag. But man oh man, that sweetly focused attack. If ping is your thing, check these out." - Team
"Playing the four Raw BellI Dry rides side by side, I could really appreciate the subtle distinctions of each, which were mostly found in their pitch and their bells. The HH and HHX models had lower fundamental pitches than the AA or AAX model. The HHX was the darkest and funkiest of all the Raw Bell Dry rides, and the AA was most similar to the other cymbals in its line. I found the HH to be the most versatile, which explains why it has been so popular among drum- ners of many types. The AA and AAX models would be appropriate in a loud rock or pop situation, where everything is amplified and you want your ride to come through with clarity and not as a wall of sound. They'd function better, for example, in Neal Peart's setup with Rush than in Brad Wilk's kit with Rage Against The Machine, as Wilk often bashes his ride for a washy wave. Each of Sabian's Raw Bell Dry rides served its intended purpose well. Don't expect them to open up and scream, but do expect them to project your bow and bell sticking patterns to the last seat in the house, with a slightly different color from each series. If you favor the AA line of crashes and hi-hats, you'll probably like the AA Raw Bell Dry ride best. If you're an HHX drummer, you'll most likely prefer that one, and so on. This speaks volumes about Sabian's ability to create cohesive families of cymbals while still allowing each model to have its own voice." - Ben Meyer
