Reviews
"If the AAX Omni cymbals already convinced with a very dark and warm basic tone, the HHX Omni cymbals sound a little deeper and more earthy. Especially the stick on the profile in the ride function creates an earthy, woody sound in 19" models and offers a few very soft, slightly shimmering overtones. Nevertheless, there is a good definition of the embroidery, and particularly fast figures which can be articulated super cleanly on the unlathed parts of the profile. If you go over to the lathed edge area, there is also a fine, shimmering noise and the attack is no longer quite as dry. But here it definitely needs a play culture, because a somewhat too hearty accent already reveals slight crashes - in the case of the 19" HHX Omni this point can of course be reached a little faster. This sound behavior naturally also moves it a bit in the "jazzy" direction. The highs, on the other hand, present themselves with a crystal-clear sound and a distinctive, focused-light attack. This offers a very good projection without the sounds becoming too prominent. In this respect, you have all imaginable sound options in the ride function. As different as the sounds in the playing areas are, they create a coherent, homogeneous picture of versatile cymbals. If you use the HHX Omni as a crash, they cut a really good figure here too. Interestingly, 19" has a slightly oriental touch up to a certain dynamic level. Basically the 19: sounds a bit lighter, more airy and has a higher sound, but in general the crash accent is also a bit more compact and a bit trashy." - Ralf Mikolajczak
"The Sabian 19" HHX Omni is the instrument that Jojo dubbed "go anywhere, play anything" cymbal. The basic sound character can be described as dark and earthy, whereby the attack on the natural ride area impresses with a special "woody" sound note. The controlled overtones enable a clean articulation of even very quickly played patterns. In the edge area, the attack is no longer quite as dry and there is a slight, shimmering noise added. The pitch is clear, focused attack with good projection. As a crash, the 19" HHX Omni sounds light and airy, with a slightly trashy note in the attack. The dynamic range is quite high, the cymbal responds quickly and delivers good presence when playing hard. The 19" HHX Omni offers very good crash and ride combined in just one cymbal, which can be used in a variety of styles such as jazz, funk and modern pop." - Axel Mikolajczak
"AAX Omni is a bright cymbal, and so I felt the need to have a version of that which caters more to my natural preference. However, because this is such a complex cymbal to produce, we began the R&D process with the AAX Omni, and once we had perfected that, applied the knowledge to the more intricate HHX hammered version. This cymbal really embodies the vision I had all along for a dark Omni. I can see playing it in any setting, from an acoustic jazz gig because it is so controllable, to a loud rock gig because of its stellar crash ride properties." - Jojo Myer
"While playing live, I found myself gliding back and forth between the two zones as the music called for subtle (and not so subtle) timbre changes. When playing on the outer lathed area, the cymbal had a nice wash with subtle dark textures that didn’t overpower lighter passages. When I needed a bit more definition and bite, especially with the larger ensembles, I just moved the stick up 2 inches to the unlathed section and found a sound that had solid stick definition with less wash and fewer undertones. That is a lot of texture change for such a small physical movement. The 19-inch crash textures were very pleasing: quick attack, warm decay, never overpowering the ensemble with bright, harsh tones." - Matt Kern
