Private | |
Industry | Musical instruments |
Founded | 1981Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada | in
Headquarters | Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada |
Key people
|
Robert Zildjian (founder) Andy Zildjian (president/CEO) Sally Zildjian-Teague |
Products | Cymbals |
Website | sabian.com |
Sabian is a Canadian cymbal designer and manufacturer. It is one of the "big four" manufacturers of cymbals, along with Zildjian, Meinl and Paiste.
The company was founded in 1981 in Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada, by Robert Zildjian, son of Avedis Zildjian III, the head of the Avedis Zildjian Company. Family tradition had it that the head of the company would pass the company down to the oldest son (Armand). After Avedis Zildjian III died in 1979, Armand (who was president of Zildjian at the time) became chairman of the board. This eventually led to a family feud and a legal dispute between Robert and Armand that resulted in Robert leaving Zildjian to form the rival Sabian company. The companies continue to be rivals, and are both among the world's most popular cymbal brands.
The settlement gave Robert Zildjian the Canadian factory that had been producing the K. Zildjian line. As president of the Zildjian Company, Armand had insisted that the K name remain with his company, while the artisans moved to Robert's company. In the settlement, Robert agreed not to use the Zildjian name or to claim that his cymbals were the same. "We signed off from Zildjian December 4, 1981," said Robert Zildjian in an interview
Robert Zildjian and his wife Willi, on a drive down to Boston, came up with the new name for his cymbal manufacturing company, Sabian by using the first letters of the names of his three children—Sally, Bill and Andy (a nickname for Armand) and "-ian" (indicating Armenian descent)—and initially released two lines of cymbals, HH (Hand Hammered) and AA (Automated Anvil), both of them of the traditional bell bronze alloy. As of 2006, Sabian's president is Andy Zildjian, the youngest in the family.
On January 18, 2017 Andy Zildjian was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History for the company's major contributions to the world of Heavy Metal.