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Avatar SB112 or B210? help me decide!

E

elGuti

Guest
Nov 23, 2011
14
0
Miami, Florida
www.mytrailmusic.com
#1
After much TB reading and consideration I've decided to take a leap of faith with Avatar. I'm building a my first rig after playing on and off for 20 years so this one is special. I'll start with the first cab and then i'll pair it up with a matching cab later when gigs get larger. The main use will be for rehearsal and small gigs. The drummer is quite loud but I'm more interested in tone than volume.

Both cabs would be 8 ohms with ceramic drivers
I'm looking for the best overall rocking tone that can range between aggressive and defined-bottom heavy (don't know if this helps :))
I'm pairing the cab up with an active bass and the tone hammer 350.

What do u all think? Thanks to all in TB.
 
#8
You may also want to look at the new Genz Benz Focus series. They're inexpensive, light and ceramic. Great customer service.

So you know I play Avatar B210 neo cabs that I love, but if I were buying now I'd certainly entertain the idea of the getting the new GB cabs.
 
#11
I'm new to TalkBass and Avatar, and have not had the opportunity to compare 10's with 12's or NEO's with ceramic drivers, so I'll let the more experienced TB'ers handle that. But I figured I'd comment on your "leap of faith" because I just recently took the same leap. In fact, I actually felt like I was doing something "wrong" when I decided to buy Avatar without ever hearing them first. But, the reviews here on TalkBass were so positive that I decided to "take the leap".

I'm SO glad I did, I'm 1000% satisfied. I got two matching B210 cabinets (8ohms each) with the ceramic drivers and they absolutely rock. First of all, the customer service at Avatar is great, I sent several emails before my purchase and called by phone to place my order. In every case, it was the owner, Dave, who emailed me back and spoke to me on the phone. He is very knowledgable and takes time to address your questions. Second, the cabinets are very well made, very solid and also very professional looking. Yes, they are inexpensive compared to other brands but make no mistake they are NOT "cheap".

For me, the pair of 210's sound great and they seem to have the best of both worlds. I'm driving them with an Ampeg PF-500. They cut through in the mix and the tone is well defined and clear but at the same time, surprisingly deep with a lot of low end for such small cabinets and speakers. I use to play through 15's and I'll never go back. The 10's have plenty of low end for me.

In my experience the positive reviews and great reputation that Avatar has here on the TalkBass forums is well deserved.
 
#12
I have an Avatar SB112 NEO in Blue Tolex and it’s a great rehearsal cab. Takes the power from my Ampeg PF-350 without breaking a sweat. My gain and master are set at 2:00 so I pushing the cab pretty hard to keep up with the band. I can, if I want, makes the other band members complain about my volume, which is cool for a single 12” cab. A friend of mine has the B210 and it’s capable of more, clean volume but that’s to be expected. I wouldn’t hesitate to go with a pair of SB112’s for gigging however. You’ll likely never need more in club situations, with a good head of course.
 
#13
I'm gigging with two Avatar (Neo) 210 cabinets that I stack as a vertical 410 powered by either a Ampeg PF-500 head or a G.K. MB-500 head.

I'm happier with the Avatars than I've been with any other cabinets that I've owned to date...(Sun*, Amp*g, Pea*y, Ed*n.)
 
#14
First, +1 to Avatar and to taking the "leap of faith." You won't regret it.

Second, I recommend going "all in," and taking full advantage of the remarkably low cost of Avatars to get a pair of 2x10s -- especially if you expect to expand at some point in the future anyway. One of the best ideas I've gotten from TB over the years is that of stacking a pair of 2x10's vertically (i.e., to create an array of four speakers in a single column). You might thinks this sounds like too much for small gigs and rehearsals, and you might worry that everyone will complain that you're too loud, but (ironically) the reality is exactly the opposite: Standing in front of a pair of vertically stacked 2x10s, you can hear yourself SO MUCH BETTER than you can with a single 2x10 blasting at the back of your legs (in which case everyone else in the room can hear the bass much better than you do). My own experience with this arrangement is that the rest of the band is asking me to turn UP far more often than asking me to turn it down. (IMO, there are no happier words than "please turn up!")
 
#17
The difference is that they sound slightly different, and the 2x10 will get a little louder. And the 2x10 weighs maybe 5lbs more.

The 2x10 is slightly more aggressive sounding and the 1x12 is a little bit fatter. Think rock vs funk. Kinda exaggerated but that was my first impression years ago when I had both cabs.
 
#18
elGuti said:
thanks again to all. the 2x10 seems like it will deliver what i'm looking for.
I'm curious, what would be the adequate use for the 12" driver?
Click to expand...

This is one of those eternal and hotly contested questions to which hundreds of TB threads have been devoted. Jazz or precision? Fingers or pick? Tal Wilkenfeld or Julie Slick? Not sure you wanna go there, except for how they compare specifically among the Avatars. In all those other threads, every generalization that is offered about the difference between 10's and 12's winds up getting shot down in favor of "it all depends on the particular brand and particular drivers."
 
#20
thudfromafar said:
The difference is that they sound slightly different, and the 2x10 will get a little louder. And the 2x10 weighs maybe 5lbs more.

The 2x10 is slightly more aggressive sounding and the 1x12 is a little bit fatter. Think rock vs funk. Kinda exaggerated but that was my first impression years ago when I had both cabs.
Click to expand...

That’s exactly why I like 12” cabs whether standalone or doubled up (versatile). There’s also a benefit to using a pair of 12” cabs as compared to say, a single 212 cab. More punch and definition. Another advantage is if one fails you can still play. Not quite as round and warm as 15” cabs and not quite as snappy as 10” cabs, but warm enough and snappy enough. If you can do a rehearsal and/or small gig with a single 12” cab, nothing beats the sound, IMO.
 

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