A Unique Collaboration
Ankh cymbals are the brainchild of two recognizable names in the drum world - Ramy Antoun from A&F Drum Company and SABIAN's legendary Mark Love. The first offering in the ANKH Instrument Series is a limited series of Brass (14”&16”) and Bronze (16”) Hi Hat creations that are different from anything we’ve experienced before.
The Brass
The first ever of their kind, Ankh brass hats have exceptionally large bells, are tempered, formed, circled to size, and hand hammered to shape at the sabian factory in Meductic, Canada. What makes these hats particularly interesting is the fact that brass is usually considered the bottom of the barrel as cymbal material. However the artisans at Sabian produced these Ankh Brass Hats, the sonic result is anything but typical.
Both the 14 and 16 inch sizes produce crisp complex crunchiness at the edges with a smooth finish. The foot chick is exceptionally penetrating, and easily slices through the mix. The bell adds a completely new dimension to the hi-hat experience, encouraging you to play in new, creative ways. The higher frequencies present in the 14’s lend themselves to more specialty applications, while the buttery crunch of the 16’s could find a home in many genres.
The Bronze
The (slightly) more traditional 16” Bronze hats use SABIAN’s high end B20 alloy. They also sport a huge bell that delivers a great ping when played open. The playing surface yields a dark, washy sound that is a bit muddled, but smooth as silk. These hats would be right at home in a smoky jazz lounge.
The Verdict
A&F Drum Company has proven to be a polarizing brand because of their unique approach to drums. They don’t adhere to the status quo when it comes to the manufacturing process, and that can be quite off-putting to many people. The introduction to their new cymbal venture is no different, and that makes us happy. With so many similar drum and cymbal brands out there, we find it refreshing that there are still innovators like A&F and SABIAN pushing the envelope. Change is good. Choice is better. We proudly carry these very limited edition Ankh Hats at the Drum Center of Portsmouth, as well as a huge selection of A&F drum sets and A&F snare drums.