Sabian - Because Sound Matters

Allie Cougle - Master Lather

Cutting the raw, dark surface away from a cymbal to reveal the bright bronze beneath is one of the great arts of cymbal making. It takes experience, focus and a deft touch to cut grooves into a spinning cymbal. And to cut the metal to the correct thickness takes great skill. But Ali Cougle is a master of the art.

Joining SABIAN in 1987, he worked the ovens - heating and rolling castings into blanks - before lathing. Proud of his work in the development of cymbals for Dave Weckl and Neil Peart, Ali is the only SABIAN team member to have participated in every SABIAN Vault Tour date, where he did hand hammering and lathing. 

"I've done 57 cities across the USA and Canada," he notes. "The tour up the west coast of the USA, starting in Arizona and finishing in Seattle, Washington was a real highlight. Bentley's in Fresno was so busy that Dana Bentley locked the doors, letting only 3 people at a time into the store. They sold 187 cymbals in just 4 hours, which is amazing." 

Any other highlights? "After doing prototypes for Dave Weckl in 2001, I now lathe almost all the HHX Evolution crashes." Did we miss anything? "Well, I used to keep race horses... ." So if you attend a Vault Tour, say hello to Allie. He'll be there, lathe in hand, doing what he does best.