Disappointed by reviews?

[RAM]

I was just curious if you've ever bought something, particularly related to bass / amplification / etc, based on reviews that seemed stellar, only to find out you were disappointed when you received it?

If so, chime in with your experiences, and before the mods chime in, I'll remind you to please follow forum rules and be specific without needless bashing...

[JTE]

Nah, not that easily lead. I'll check something out based on reviews, but I don't buy stuff unless I've decided it's got something for me.

Well, at least that's my first answer. But I have bought a few things based on extensive reviews. I just got an Avatar 1x12. Never played one nor heard one before I bought it, but I've seen enough stuff around about the quaility of the cabs and drivers to take a chance. Plus I've loved 12" speakers, and I figured it'd be like making one myself except with better woodworking skills.

I did buy a Harkte 3500 head when they first came out, partially based on the reviews (by Jeff Andrews and Havey Scwartz) I'd seen. But that was also based on hands-on experience with prototypes at NAMM. Let's just say the production models didn't work quite the same as the pre-production prototypes.

But everything else I've bought has been after personal experience with it, often at gigs before I bought. However, those days are gone. I can't imagine any store doing what we used to do- let gigging musicians take gear to a real world gig before they bought it. You wind up with a bunch of used gear that you haven't made any money on and can't sell as new.

John

[zac2944]

I love to check out all the hyped gear, and I'm usually not let down.

TB reviews lead me to buy (trade for) a Sadowsky without ever playing one. Although I just let my second Sad go, I love 'em and will probably have another one some day. Great basses.

I also bought a Schroeder 1212R without ever playing one based on all the crazy hype here on TB. Again, great purchase. I eventually tired of the low-mid humped tone, but great cab none the less. Just amazing how that cab can cut through a mix. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out (reverse engineer) the physics behind how and why that cab works. It was worth it for that alone.

Disappointed? I bought an Avatar 210 with huge KappaPro 10s and it was a total let down. Folks were raving about what a bang for the buck these cabs were, but I had nothing but bad luck. My drivers developed a "buzz" sound, Avatar replaced them, then it happened again with the replacements. The guys at Avatar figured I was wrecking the drivers and wouldn't do anymore to fix the cab. I was certain that I didn't wreck the drivers and that they were faulty (I'm an engineer, design and build cabs, and have NEVER in 20 years blown a driver), so it turned into a finger pointing contest. It $ucked. I ended up paying for a new set of neo drivers and selling it to cut my losses. That experience was a total let down. I'm sure a lot of people had good experiences with Avatar, but I'm the exception. FWIW, I think the neo replacement drivers worked well without any issues.

[NoTalentHack]

TASCAM bass trainer. As I stated on another thread. It either didn't do what I thought the advert said it would or I wasn't smart enough to figure out how to use it (CD version).

I couldn't get it to pull the bass line out of the music so I could hear it more clearly. I even read the maual!

[stflbn]

In some form or fashion i've been let down by every pedal i've bought based solely on reviews or comments from others. I try to buy anything that I can used and buy it at a price that I can resell it at the same amount or slightly less.

[LiquidMidnight]

I also was let down by an Avatar cab. After playing bass for almost 10 years through combo amps, I finally was in a position to start building a rig. Being the po' college student that I was, Avatar was definitely high on my option list, especially if they were as good as everyone said. I bought a Neo 4x10 it worked well for the first couple of months I had it. I wasn't in love with its sound, but it was my first cab. The cab wasn't constructed well. The block of wood dividing the port was always crooked. The carpet started to come unglued around the port and edges of the cab. The box started to develop a rattle whenever I'd play any note lower than the 3rd fret G on the E string. Luckily, we almost always use full FOH support, so the audience wasn't hearing the rattle; but it was very apparently, especially when playing on the B string. I eventually sold it to a sound engineer that we work with for a hundred bucks with me stating there was some rattle when you played with any type of volume. The next time we hired that engineer, I asked him about it, and he deduced that it was due to shoddy joints.

At the time, I needed a new cab and didn't want to skimp. That's when Musician's Friend was blowing out the Aguilar S series at ridiculous prices. I bought a S410, used it on the gig the week it arrived and was blown away. I decided to get another S410 to match before stock ran out. I've been using those Aguilars for over four years and will be using one for three gigs this weekend.

I have friends who have Avatar cabs and they seem pretty good. I don't doubt that I got a lemon. That in itself wouldn't have soured me, especially because those new vinyl cabs with vintage grills look sweet. However, I'm blown away when people here try to compare them to high dollar Edens and such. The sound quality isn't close, IMO. Switching from the Avatar to the Aguilar was night and day. The Avatar had a loose bottom-end and a honky mid-range. The highs were sterile. The Aguilars have a tight bottom, a smooth mid-range bump, and a very natural yet present high-range. Though to be fair, I had one of the Avatars back when their horn/x-overs sucked, so I always had it turned off. To my ears, drivers just can't faithfully reproduce those highs the same way a high-freq. driver or horn can; that may account for some of my lukewarm attitude towards the cab's sound.