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Avatar Owners Club Pt. 2

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For those of you with a Shuttle 6.0 that are thinking of moving to a Shuttle 9.0 (essentially a higher-powered 6.0), have you considered adding a power amp and using the Shuttle as a pre? That's what I do. Not saying it's the best solution, but it works for me. Additionally, a nice power ampis cheaper than a 9.0. You do lose the effects loop on the Shuttle, however, when using an external power amp (<--- that's how I have it hooked up) You could also use the DI out to feed your poweramp, and keep the effect loop, in which case you lose the ability to DI out. Just some negatives to my approach.
 
I'm hearing great things about the Avatar cabs and I'm considering ordering one.

The only negative that I've heard is that the horn is not the best quality. Has anyone had any problems out of the horn on the 2x10, 2x12, or 1x12? Any thoughts on this?

Thanks. :)
 
Avatar used to have a problem with the crossover burning out b/c the crossover was really cheap. For at least a year now (maybe more) they've stepped up to a real crossover, not just a high pass for the horn. The horn is actually decent quality and used by other manuf's as well. I HAVE read here at TB that if you turn the level control for the horn all the way down that you'll smoke the crossover. I cannot verify that...and don't want to try, either. I keep my level control set at about 33%...works for me. I don't play much past the 9th fret anyway and don't slap at all so sizzly, whizzy highs aren't my thing.

ps
I own a B212 Neo and love it. I will be getting a B210 in the next few months.
 
I'm hearing great things about the Avatar cabs and I'm considering ordering one.

The only negative that I've heard is that the horn is not the best quality. Has anyone had any problems out of the horn on the 2x10, 2x12, or 1x12? Any thoughts on this?

Thanks. :)

Its the same horn in SWR and others have been using for years for thier cabs...its a matter of sonic tastes...the crossover is like a 3 way....but its only used in a 2 way.....some don't like the notched out result ...for others it is fine they way it is...it depends on your style as well....do you like a lot of high end or not?..like most gear that you buy for listening.... should listen to it first....

:hiding:
 
Avatar used to have a problem with the crossover burning out b/c the crossover was really cheap. For at least a year now (maybe more) they've stepped up to a real crossover, not just a high pass for the horn. The horn is actually decent quality and used by other manuf's as well. I HAVE read here at TB that if you turn the level control for the horn all the way down that you'll smoke the crossover. I cannot verify that...and don't want to try, either. I keep my level control set at about 33%...works for me. I don't play much past the 9th fret anyway and don't slap at all so sizzly, whizzy highs aren't my thing.

ps
I own a B212 Neo and love it. I will be getting a B210 in the next few months.

I definitely wouldn't be turning the horn all the way off. I need some highs - I like to slappadabass mon!

Its the same horn in SWR and others have been using for years for thier cabs

Very interesting! So it's the same exact horn used by SWR? Do you know who manufactures it?

otis_thick said:
like most gear that you buy for listening.... should listen to it first....

:hiding:

Well.... if I could listen to it first, I would. Since I have to order directly from the company, that's not an option.

Does the company offer some sort of trial period like Carvin does?
 
I don't know if this will help. A while ago I did the math to find out the surface area of various speaker combos. Math is not my best subject so hopefully my calculations are correct. Of course this only addresses the more speaker area is louder question, but it might be helpful for someone wanting to pair 2 cabs with different speakers but similar speaker area. These are in square inches

112 - 113.09
210 - 157.08
115 - 176.71
212 - 226.19
410 - 314.16
215 - 353.42


210+112 - 270.17
210+210 - 314.16
210+212 - 383.27
212+212 - 452.38
210+410 - 471.24
212+410 - 540.35
410+410 - 628.32
410+215 - 667.58
215+215 - 706.84

I hope this is of some use to someone.

That's pretty good...

I asked a few people here what head they used and the 6.0 came often and I don't regret switching.
The tube pre-amp is really a good feature, the tone shape switches as well and the 4 knob EQ is good enough.
The Tour 700 is a big heavy beast and has a lot of options to sound big and fat, I guess for a metal pick player it would be a great option, but Genz Benz makes better amps than the solid state Peavey Tours.
They also sound a lot better through the Avatar cabs, IMHO.

That was one reason why I bought my Avatar cab ... It is an 8 ohm cab as opposed to my 4 ohm Schro ... and I would use my 6.0 mainly at home and on gigs when our band would play out.. That was all good but I wanted to get a cab to leave at my church so that when I played there I could just bring my head.. I wanted to get more use out of the 6.0 so I could really see what it could do and I am not sorry I did that. I really like the B212N that I play through.. and I can get it where I want it just using the eQ.

I also hear that Avatar may be coming out with a 12/6 or a 15/6 design... ;)
 
Well, I'll just save folks the trip.

Here's Avatars return policy as taken from their site (the all caps is theirs):

******************************************
AVATAR SPEAKER SYSTEMS

ALL ITEMS WE SELL ARE NOT SOLD ON A TRIAL BASIS AND ARE NOT RETURNABLE. THE REASON WE DON'T ACCEPT RETURNS IS THAT SOME GUYS WOULD LOVE TO TRY EVERY ITEM WE HAVE AND RETURN IT TO EXPERIMENT WITH SOMETHING ELSE....AND WE WOULD END UP WITH A WAREHOUSE FULL OF USED MERCHANDISE. THIS ALSO ENSURES THAT EVERYONE ONLY GETS NEW PERFECT VIRGIN MERCHANDISE. (OBVIOUSLY, THIS DOESN'T APPLY TO ITEMS PURCHASED IN THE SCRATCH AND DENT SECTION OF THE WEBSITE.)

*******************************************
 
Speaking from my own experience:

Because of Avatar's No Return Policy, I was hesitant to buy from them at first. It is very understandable to want to steer way clear of any company that won't take a return on a brand-new-in-the-box product. I even covered all my bases by contacting Dave and asking him about the return policy when it came to goods damaged in shipping. Cabs are heavy and easily damaged when dropped/thrown. Dave relayed that he had never gotten a cab returned due to being damaged in shipping. I absolutely did not believe this, but due to the hundreds of positive comments here on TB, I got the cab anyway.

When the cab arrived I absolutely believed Dave's claim about never having a cab returned due to shipping damage. I had never seen anything packed that well in my life. Even brand-new $20K servers (I'm an IT guy) are not packed that well. There was literally 20 pounds of heavy cardboard fashioned into corner protectors, grill protectors, etc. Even the control plate had a little piece of cardboard taped over it. There was so much cardboard stuffed everywhere around the cab that the whole box felt like one solid rock. The cab didn't move at all inside the box. You would literally have to throw the whole thing down a flight of stairs to even dent it. I've bought two cabs from Avatar, about a year apart and they were both packed identically.

Both cabs worked perfectly right out of the box and two years later I've had zero issues with either cab. I wholeheartedly recommend buying an Avatar cab.

Now, one thing that you're not covered for is "But I just don't like how the cab sounds!" In that case, you're stuck with the cab. Me being new to bass (playing about a year now) I had no other personal experiences with other bass cabs to draw from. The general consensus here on TB (hundreds of people own these cabs) is that they are a great value for the money. They sound "90% as good" as cabs costing 3x as much. They are not finished as well as a $1,200 cab b/c they are not a $1,200 cab. I find the construction itself very solid, the Eminence drivers are top-notch, reliable and sound great. Avatar cabs are a steal at their current prices.

IME, IMO, YMMV, 2.2% financing only available to pre-qualified, post-screened buyers during the first quarter of the 9th month of every other leap year. Etc. :D
 
I don't know if this will help. A while ago I did the math to find out the surface area of various speaker combos. Math is not my best subject so hopefully my calculations are correct. Of course this only addresses the more speaker area is louder question, but it might be helpful for someone wanting to pair 2 cabs with different speakers but similar speaker area. These are in square inches
I hope this is of some use to someone.

I did the same study about a year ago, it really makes you think about surface area air push. Must be the engineer in me to get excited about analyizing spec... I went from 10" to 18" and all combos, should have been practicing:hmm:
 
yeah, I have to agree-Dave's crew does an excellent job of packing their speaker cabs. I think the only way you could have shipping damage is if the big brown truck chained it to the back bumper and drug it to your location!

As for the Shuttle 9.0 being the same amp as the 6.0, that's not entirely true. The 9.0 is voiced slightly different in it's pre and EQ sections. It gives a slightly warmer, more old school tone than the 6. The 6 is more hi-fi. I own the 9, and have tried out the 6 on several occasions, and I did notice this difference in person as well as what has been mentioned in threads about it.
 
@stjohn1299: I didn't know that about the Shuttle 9.0. I honestly thought it was just a 6.0 on steriods. That's not a knock on GB at all; I LOVE my 6.0, though I know that some folks want/need more juice...figured GB was answering that need. Thanks for the info. :) On a related note, it sounds like I might like the 9.0 better than the 6.0 as I like warmer/more old school tones. I wonder if anyone would trade a 9.0 for my 6.0+cash? /off to FS/FT
 
Hey Mike, there was a good discussion on it in the shuttle 9 thread, with the techies who worked on the amp chiming in...lots of good info. I too like the warmer old school tones, and to me, this amp delivers. plus, 900 watts at 4 ohms and 4 lbs!
 
I just became the proud owner of an Avatar 410 neo courtesy of Ralphdaddy, $300 and a 4 hour drive! This is a huge upgrade for me since as soon as I played through it I was floored(im upgrading from a sonic 610 which I wouldn't fault you for never having heard of). I didn't know how much a difference a cab makes in tone til now but im glad I took the leap.
 
I just became the proud owner of an Avatar 410 neo ... This is a huge upgrade for me since as soon as I played through it I was floored(im upgrading from a sonic 610 which I wouldn't fault you for never having heard of). ....

In general, I love Sonic cabinets...how does the Sonic 6x10 differ in tone from the Avatar 410 Neo? It is a sealed 6x10 (with two Foster horns)... Anyway, your thoughts would be appreciated because these two cabinets are on a short list of one's I'm interested in.
 
In general, I love Sonic cabinets...how does the Sonic 6x10 differ in tone from the Avatar 410 Neo? It is a sealed 6x10 (with two Foster horns)... Anyway, your thoughts would be appreciated because these two cabinets are on a short list of one's I'm interested in.

The sonic is a bit sterile to me now compared to the avatar. I hadta boost my mids to get the bite I like outta my lakland, when I hooked my amp up to the avatar I hadta turn them down, the avatar also has a lot more bass to it, its got a much deeper tone. I would say the sonic is almost flat to a fault whereas the avatar has a bit of a deeper bassy tone compared to the sonic if that makes any sense. Plus I cut down on weight by about 65lbs which was the big selling point for me.
 
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