schroeder / swr / avatar pros-cons ?

[Black Sheep]

Based on your hint of sarcasm, and smiley...I think you'll be happy with the Avatar.
Yesterday 05:08 PM

????

Anyway, it looks like there are many satisfied Avatar users, but I'm trying to gauge if I'll be happier with say, a Schroeder 410L. I can probably swing the cost, if I wait a bit, but I just wanted to check with those with experience. Thanks to those with helpful posts.

 

[Black Sheep]

We're having this conversation on Avatar cabs, you may wanna check it out.

Excellent, thanks.

 

[Lincoln]

A lot of people have Avatars and love them.
They are not a "great" cab - they are an average cab at a great price.
.

Tell me why, I'm really curious I have a thread on the cons of Avatars going on right now and I can't get anyone to tell me there are any...( good for Avatar could be good for me!)

But I have heard this remark a few times without any substantial backing of why...

 

[neurotictim]

Tell me why, I'm really curious I have a thread on the cons of Avatars going on right now and I can't get anyone to tell me there are any...( good for Avatar could be good for me!)

But I have heard this remark a few times without any substantial backing of why...

I hate to say this, because we all know that bass players the highest caliber of musicians, who wouldn't dare judge something on the name...

But it was mentioned somewhere that the direct-to-consumer strategy and lack of major marketing means less name recognition than some of the other cab manufacturers out there...

Which, if we weren't such an stand-up, upright (pun intended) group, could theoretically lead to people assuming they're merely average on the basis of a lower price tag and less name recognition...



Seriously, I played through a TON of cabs while searching for replacements for my SWR WorkingPro setup. The only thing I honestly liked the sound of better was the Berg NV610, and I could easily buy 3 Neo 410s from Avatar for the price of that NV610, with extra $$$ to throw around, and they're considerably easier for me to move around... In fact, I toyed with the idea of buying a 210 from them and doing an A/B.

:shrug: YMMV and all that.

 

[Lincoln]

I hate to say this, because we all know that bass players the highest caliber of musicians, who wouldn't dare judge something on the name...

But it was mentioned somewhere that the direct-to-consumer strategy and lack of major marketing means less name recognition than some of the other cab manufacturers out there...

Which, if we weren't such an stand-up, upright (pun intended) group, could theoretically lead to people assuming they're merely average on the basis of a lower price tag and less name recognition...



Seriously, I played through a TON of cabs while searching for replacements for my SWR WorkingPro setup. The only thing I honestly liked the sound of better was the Berg NV610, and I could easily buy 3 Neo 410s from Avatar for the price of that NV610, with extra $$$ to throw around, and they're considerably easier for me to move around... In fact, I toyed with the idea of buying a 210 from them and doing an A/B.

:shrug: YMMV and all that.

kinda like he difference in price between a Carvin and a Sadowsky - or might that be heresy...

 

[kesslari]

Tell me why, I'm really curious I have a thread on the cons of Avatars going on right now and I can't get anyone to tell me there are any...( good for Avatar could be good for me!)

But I have heard this remark a few times without any substantial backing of why...

Since I posted the remark, I'll explain it. And I mean no denigration by the term "average".

Avatar cabs, from what I've read, are very conventional designs, well built, and offered at an extremely good price.

Certain higher end cabs offer more innovative design - Accugroove comes to mind, possibly Genz-Benz, Schroeder, etc. Bill Fitzmaurice and fEarful designs are also on this list. Whether you like the sound of those designs is a personal choice.

So read "average" not as "of poor quality" (which it doesn't mean) but of conventional design. If you took 100 210 cabs, chances are that a large number of them would be built to similar specs as, the Avatar.

Their market differentiation isn't "we build something wholly unlike and better than what other people do", but is "we build something quite similar to other popular cabinets, but we produce it at high quality at a lower price point".

 

[neurotictim]

Since I posted the remark, I'll explain it. And I mean no denigration by the term "average".

Avatar cabs, from what I've read, are very conventional designs, well built, and offered at an extremely good price.

<snip>

So read "average" not as "of poor quality" (which it doesn't mean) but of conventional design. If you took 100 210 cabs, chances are that a large number of them would be built to similar specs as, the Avatar.

That's fair. +1

 

[Black Sheep]

If the Avatar and Schroeder 410L were the same price I wonder how this discussion would go. If I could tell by way of experienced advice (because I can't try out a Schroeder...) that the Avatar is better suited for ..x.. and the Schroeder would be better for ..y.. that would be ideal. I realize these things are quite subjective so this would be tough to nail down.

 

[Bluesbob]

The Schroeder has a cabinet that uses an unconventional design, maximized for projection. The Avatar is a 4X10 box, very much like most of the other 4X10 boxes.
What you get with the Schroeder (aside from low weight) is volume, projected by the horn-loading of the slanted baffle. What you give up is low bass. I love it, 56 lbs. and loud enough to keep up with any situation. My Goliath III (pre-Fender gray-grill) couldn't do that.

 

[Black Sheep]

apples to oranges... slanted baffle

This is helpful. I wonder if this will actually help my situation over a regular box 410. In the hall that I normally play, I've been told the bass is boomy. I don't really need more volume over my old 410 box, but if the Schroeder design will aid in clarity and projection, that may be good.

 

[Vakmere]

Are we ever really happy with anything we buy? Oh the GAS ...................

 

[MyMusic]

Black Sheep,if you are considering a 4x10,then why not the Carvin BRX10.4NEO? It's supposed to be a perfect match.

 

[Black Sheep]

I actually tried the Carvin cab and did not really like it so much. The only remaining concerns I have about the Schroeder at this point are the comment about losing some low bass by Bluesbob, and the possibility that it may not be the best cab at lower volume levels, but that concern may not be justified. If I could be re-assured about those things, I could probably go for it.

 

[RockFistMusic]

Chiming in...I have owned Avatars, nice cabs. Big boxes, I had some break up at higher SPL they use Eminence drivers. For sure I'd get them over say GK, Fender, Ampeg, Hartke etc. There is NOOOO comparison to a Schroeder or even a Laney. The only cabs I can say that compare to Schroeder are Accugroove (expensive as !!), Bag End (extremely heavy), and maybe one other that's IT. Had SWR, Eden, Basson (245 lbs!) been there done that.

DO NOT look at the slanted design, IMHO, the newer BMF front firing series NEO cabs are amazing. Custom made Celestion neo cast frame drivers, VERY light and portable, very articulate and punchy, nice low extensions.
I have a 412BMF and a 610, a few more on the way so these are up for grabs.

One other suggestion, Laney (hand made in U.K.) are making great bass gear and WAY undervalued. I have a few NX410 cabs up for grabs, neo-kevlar Celestion "green label" drivers with cast alum frames. This is a slightly lower quality lower priced alternative to a Schroeder but puts many "big" names to shame. Big bang for the buck.

 

[Black Sheep]

Thanks, Amcatx. I really was looking at the slanted design, esp since I've found a good deal on one... How significant would the difference be?