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Are Avatar cabs actually good?

#41
Handyman said:
OK. So you think Avatars are great, except for the the highs, mids, and lows? :confused:
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...when compared to a Berg 322 or an Accugroove El Whappo, yeah. But now you're into cabs that cost near 3x as much as an Avatar. I'd HOPE that you get better sound out of something that costs that much more.

Avatars are by far the best at their price point, probably comparable to things at 2x their price point (depending on your tone goals), but there are some things that are just too good. (Like the 322 or El Whappo).
 
#43
Gearhead43 said:
I have two Avatar 2-10 neos that I stack vertically and they are great. I play upright bass (loud) thru a chrome face SWR 350 and love the sound I get with these cabs. Plenty of punch.
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+1, except I play BG into an SWR WorkingPro 700. But I too love the sound of my twin B210s, and was recently loud enough with this rig for an outdoor gig. Vertical stacking ftw.


Waspinators said:
When I woke up this morning, the image of an Avatar 212 popped into my head
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My cabs came to me one morning, too. Pretty much in a dream. Perhaps what Avatars most have going for them is their ability to <manson> get into your head, man! </manson>


--Bomb :bassist:
 
#44
Waspinators said:
--I have to wonder, are these cabs popular around TB only because they're really cheap? They seem to be well made and are nice looking cabs, but what do you Avatar users think about the sound? Would it be more worth it to save longer and splurge for a more expensive cab?

BTW, if I were to buy one in the future, I'd probably buy a LMII with it... if that adds anything to the topic.
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First off, you have my vote on the LMII to power whatever you're going to get. Second, I think the Avatars are popular because lots of TB'ers use them and love them. The same could be said for Dr. Bass. Great value cabs from what I've read. There was no question that these two brands were high on my list when I was looking for a new rig back in the spring and I spent hours reading all the posts here on TB on both products. Bottom line....I did not choose the Avatar cabs because I could not try them out. I didn't choose the Dr. Bass cabs for the same reason.

But that's just me.

I need to play and hear the product before I buy regardless of the price, and since I considered my new rig to be a long term investment, I didn't mind spending more to know exactly what I was getting. So, if you're NOT like me, then order the Avatar. Best case scenario, you'll love it. Worst case....you won't and sell it. I just didn't feel like going through the buy/sell excersize if I wasn't satisfied.
 
#48
I have a B210 and B212 (both 8ohm) powered by an LMII. It is stupid loud and sounds great. Of course, I don't have a lot of experience with other cabs so take that for what it's worth.

I got my 210 new and picked up a used tolex covered 212 right here on TB. While the 212 was a little "weathered" it still sounds great, especially when paired with the 210. I'm sure I will try different cabs in the future but these are inexpensive enough that I don't see having to sell them ever. In other words, they're worth more to me than the current market price for used Avatar cabs.



P.S. Wear ear plugs with this combo! :ninja:
 
#50
Avatars are good solid cabs, especially for the price. However, they are not on the same level as Eden, Epifani, Aguilar, ect. as a lot of the hype on here would have you believe.

Whether spending the extra bling on an Eden is worthwhile is only something that you can decide. Personally, I'd pay a few more dollars for a used Eden. When I bought my first Aguilar, my Avatar Neo got sold very quickly to fund another Ag - and I'm not one who sells off gear in haste. YMMV
 
#51
Handyman said:
OK. So you think Avatars are great, except for the the highs, mids, and lows? :confused:
Click to expand...


I've owned 3 Avatar cab's - I still own one. If I thought they sucked - I wouldn't have bought the second...

Still - be real - a $400 list 2x12 does not compare in the lows, nor the mids, nor the hi's with an HT-322. It isn't even close. Frankly it would be completely unrealistic to expect it to.

The Berg goes deeper and it's tighter / punchier in the deeps. It has mid range clarity that is way out in front of what the Avatar can do. You could easily run a couple of 322's as PA if you had enough power AND you wanted to move 100 lb per cab mains. They are that clear. Actually they would blow away most of what I hear for PA mains these days ... The B212, not so much...

The more mid-fi approach of the Avatar works fine for me. The looser bass works with the extreme punch of my GK and warms things up a bit particularly at low volume. I sure don't run a lot of hi's in my tone. I aim at the classic round and punchy traditional blues & country sound. I dig the cab. It's not for sale - but I'm not kidding myself in thinking that it compares with something like the 322... it wasn't meant to.
 
#52
I think they sound great. I see you already ordered, but look at the Scratch n' Dent page. I'm super happy with my S&D, and it came with the Line-X coating for the price of the regular shipped.

I wouldn't have known how great the Line-X really is unless I'd gotten the S&D.

Also, DHL was rough on mine, so tighten the speakers and horn once it arrives. My horn started buzzing after 3-4 sesssions. I had a thread on here freaking out, but it was just loose :cool:


:bassist:
 
#54
used to run all avatar cabs, 410 neo / 212 neo / 210 neo, all good cabs

then i read the threads here about the Carvin LS1503's three way cabs

bought a pair of the LS315's & immediately dumped ALL the avatars

the avatars cannot even remotely compete with the LS1503's IMO, ( & i had at least a hundred gigs with the avatars )

but, they are a good inexpensive cab nonetheless :cool:
 
#55
I tried the Aguilar DB210-Awesome cab! I tried the Bergantino IP112-did not get the sound I expected. I tried the Carvin BR15-It actually sounded better than the Berg. I bought an Avatar Neo 210 and that did it for me. Every piece of gear will affect the sound in some way, but the Avatar was the all around best sound for me, and I'm very happy to put in a good word for them. You will not be disappointed by the Avatar imho.
 
#56
I suppose Avatar's website answers this question, but, how come Avatar cabs are only popular on bass forums? According to the source, "we don't advertise because our customers advertise for us." Is that why one couldn't simply waltz into a guitar store and try em out (read, "is that why they're not in stores)?

Is that why you can grab a avatar neo 212 for $339??

Is it kind of like a Ampeg/Hartke type thing, where people find it hard to give the latter a chance (at least, as far as the 1980's goes)? Are the majority of ::non forum:: bassists just into the big names?

It just seems hard to grab an Avatar rig over a trusted one (even though everyone here WHO HAS ONE will say they're awesome and trust-worthy) like GK or another non-backline company.

Everyone will say, "price does not = sound quality". But let's be real: the exceptions to the rule "price does = sound quality" are few and far between. Consider Markbass. They were bought out by an italian company and Guitar center has rights to them. That's why when you roll into GC they try to sell you that stuff. It costs so much because it's manufact. in europe and the dollar is weak right now. This is an exception to the of "price does always = sound quality". I just don't think they're are many exceptions. Who knows..
 
#59
sir718 said:
and back to the price issue real fast...arent the cabs cheaper because they are factory direct and there is no middle man? I'm sure if there was a distributor in the middle the cabs would be more expensive.
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We now have a distributor for Avatar here in Australia and you better believe they are more expensive.

I'm almost gonna cry saying this... a B410 costs AUD $1050... and that's without shipping :bawl:
 
#60
I haven't played any of the Avatar cabs made in about the last 4 years [or even a bit longer than that].

However, the 1X15 & 2X10 that i owned and the 2X12 that I still own sound great. The 2X12 being the best of the 3, IMO. I used to play bigger venues without PA support.

However, as soon as I moved to Chicago my needs changed drastically. My 2X12 + rack are sitting in my Mom's basement back in Indiana. Instead, I'm playing through an SWR WM12 and am eyeing an AI Focus into an Epifani 1X10. I'm shooting for less than 30 pounds total for the rig. VERY different from when I had a 40 pound power amp, let alone the cabs/rest of the rack.

If Avatar made a 1X10 neo bass cab or a lighter 1X12 neo bass cab-I would check one out in a heart beat. I enjoyed playing Avatar cabs just that much.

If i was contacted about doing a tour in the next week where I could use a large rig-I would highly consider using Avatar cabs. They're easy to service/fix in the field, parts are readily available, and are inexpensive enough where [space permitting] I could bring a spare or two.
 

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