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NCD - Avatar SB126

LowendG

LowendG

Jul 30, 2013
1,015
1,911
NorCal
#1
The MB200 looks a little diminutive up there, but this cab (the 4ohm LF version) and that wee head are LOUD. Sounds killer. Super punchy and deep. It sounds, for lack of a better term, old school. Enough volume for anything I would be doing where there isn't backline. It's not the lightest, but it's not that bad at 45lbs.
I also tried it along with my MBP112 200w ext cab coming off the MB200 and they seemed to play nicely together, so I have a 400w 2x12(x6) stack if I ever need it(unlikely). Alone, the MBP112 sounds anemic in comparison to the SB126.
The mid control for the 6" driver is interesting--will need to play with more. Dimed sounds good, not harsh like a tweeter, but backing it off some does change the character of the cab--I ended up finding a different sweet spot on it for the two different basses I had at rehearsal.
 

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#5
LowendG said:
The MB200 looks a little diminutive up there, but this cab (the 4ohm LF version) and that wee head are LOUD. Sounds killer. Super punchy and deep. It sounds, for lack of a better term, old school. Enough volume for anything I would be doing where there isn't backline. It's not the lightest, but it's not that bad at 45lbs.
I also tried it along with my MBP112 200w ext cab coming off the MB200 and they seemed to play nicely together, so I have a 400w 2x12(x6) stack if I ever need it(unlikely). Alone, the MBP112 sounds anemic in comparison to the SB126.
The mid control for the 6" driver is interesting--will need to play with more. Dimed sounds good, not harsh like a tweeter, but backing it off some does change the character of the cab--I ended up finding a different sweet spot on it for the two different basses I had at rehearsal.
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Looks great!! But is that the best they could with the emblem? 😀
 
#8
LowendG said:
Dang! I wonder what that sounds like! Looks.....warm...
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Yes. I agree with you on tweeters, and with what you said about finding the sweet spot with the 6" on the Avatar.

My SB126 replaced an Eden D210XLT, which I always had the tweeter turned all the way down.

The 6" speaker turns out to be everything I'd hoped. It brings the definition up without being harsh.

The other thing I'm excited about is that Avatar uses off the shelf speakers. I'll likely be using mine for the rest of my days.
 
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#9
Bassinthemudd said:
Yes. I agree with you on tweeters, and with what you said about finding the sweet spot with the 6" on the Avatar.

My SB126 replaced an Eden D210XLT, which I always had the tweeter turned all the way down.

The 6" speaker turns out to be everything I'd hoped. It brings the definition up without being harsh.

The other thing I'm excited about is that Avatar uses off the shelf speakers. I'll likely be using mine for the rest of my days.
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The midrange/6" control is interesting for sure. I had a P with rounds and a J with old flats in there, and I liked it in different settings for each. Dimed, I'd say it felt kinda scooped, but then again, it was bass-dependent. Cool feature.
 
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#10
Not many out there, but I far prefer small drivers like this 6" or the 3" as Genzler uses to tweeters. What's become the norm with a large driver + tweeter just seems like a great way to add more hiss than smooth highs in most bass bins. I'm more than happy to settle for smooth upper mids and low highs than sweating to get a bass guitar bin out to 20k (and I've had it explained to me more than once why that's a good idea, but I'll never understand why I need that bandwidth for something that's not generating anything useful way up there, but hey, what do I know?).
 
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#12
J Wilson said:
Not many out there, but I far prefer small drivers like this 6" or the 3" as Genzler uses to tweeters. What's become the norm with a large driver + tweeter just seems like a great way to add more hiss than smooth highs in most bass bins. I'm more than happy to settle for smooth upper mids and low highs than sweating to get a bass guitar bin out to 20k (and I've had it explained to me more than once why that's a good idea, but I'll never understand why I need that bandwidth for something that's not generating anything useful way up there, but hey, what do I know?).
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I hear ya. I've pretty much always turned tweeters off. There's really nothing up there I want to hear from my passive basses with dead old strings!
 
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#13
Kansas said:
Iv'e been using my older Avatar SB112 (8ohms)for many years with a GK 400RB. It's a great sounding cab and built solid.. I never use the tweeter. It's never not enough loud or clean, but sometimes I add my Ampeg SVT112 AV to the stack for big fat sound (dancehall approved).
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If you're a tinkerer, there is a thread somewhere with people discussing their SB112 to SB126 conversions.
 
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#15
Bassinthemudd said:
The other thing I'm excited about is that Avatar uses off the shelf speakers.
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Not according to Dave at Avatar.

Years back Dave said, Avatar bass cabinets were designed by Eminence engineers for the use of Eminence drivers that had been built to Avatar's specifications.

Go to Eminence.com, click on OEM Solutions, you'll find Avatar listed as one of the many manufacturers that has Eminence build drivers to match that company's cabinet design and tuning goals.
 
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#16
shoot-r said:
Not according to Dave at Avatar.

Years back Dave said, Avatar bass cabinets were designed by Eminence engineers for the use of Eminence drivers that had been built to Avatar's specifications.

Go to Eminence.com, click on OEM Solutions, you'll find Avatar listed as one of the many manufacturers that has Eminence build drivers to match that company's cabinet design and tuning goals.
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Thanks for the correction.
 
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#17
Avatar makes great cabs, I've had several over the years and still currently have their TB153 (15", 6", plus horn), which also utilizes the multi-size driver approach for a more natural representation of the frequency spectrum. Wouldn't mind having one of these SB126 cabs myself. Enjoy the awesome new cab! :bassist:
 
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#18
stingray69 said:
Avatar makes great cabs, I've had several over the years and still currently have their TB153 (15", 6", plus horn), which also utilizes the multi-size driver approach for a more natural representation of the frequency spectrum. Wouldn't mind having one of these SB126 cabs myself. Enjoy the awesome new cab! :bassist:
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Thanks! It's quite a deep sounding cab, at least compared to other 1x12"s I've used. There's some real lows coming outta this thing. And it seems quite loud/efficient--even just with the little MB200 not even pushed too too hard, certainly enough to overpower an acoustic drum kit.
 
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#20
Avatar makes great cabs, I've had several over the years and still currently have their TB153 (15", 6", plus horn), which alsoutilizes the multi-size driver approach for a more natural representation of the frequency spectrum. Wouldn't mind having one of these SB126 cabs myself. Enjoy the awesome new cab! :bassist:
LowendG said:
Thanks! It's quite a deep sounding cab, at least compared to other 1x12"s I've used. There's some real lows coming outta this thing. And it seems quite loud/efficient--even just with the little MB200 not even pushed too too hard, certainly enough to overpower an acoustic drum kit.
Click to expand...

Sounds very much like a description of the TB153 cab - that would make sense given their basically the same kind of full range design. :thumbsup:
 
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