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Should I upgrade from Avatar?

J. Crawford

J. Crawford

Feb 15, 2008
14,147
2,875
FL
#1
I have a question for you guys, as I trust most of you on TB. I planned on getting another Avatar to go with mine in orange tolex, as I love the color of mine. But... I here that people can tell huge differences when they upgrade to a higher name brand.

As some of you know, I have joined a very serious band who is getting record deals, and I need a reliable rig with a funky sound.

Will a full Avatar rig be good enough? Or should I sell my 210, and get two other cabs? I will have the money, sub-$800/$900.

Im up for any opinions, just tell me. And no offense is meant towards Avatar users, or Dave at Avatar, Im just inquiring.
 
#3
Cyber Soda said:
To the best of my knowledge, Avatar is quite reliable. That I know of, you should be okay sticking with them. The other guys have more experience then me though... wait around for them.
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I have lots o' time, Soda! :D

Its not that I dont rely on them, because I trust them very much and customer service/Dave is awesome. I just keep reading about people switching to Ampeg/Ashdown/GK/Berg and getting huge improvements in tone.
 
#6
I don't think you're going to get anything in your price range that will be able to compare to Avatar overall. They've got the light weight, good sound, great reliability, standup company behind them, and they're priced so well.

I think if you were wanting to split hairs in terms of tone, you might start looking into Berg cabs, but then, those are a lot more expensive. For now, you're young, and the Avatars will do the job and do it pretty damn well.

There are plenty of years ahead of you to indulge your GAS with spendy cabs, but for now I think you'll be happier getting a rig that does the job and focusing on the music :cool::bassist:
 
#7
Jordasch said:
Honestly, I havent even played through any other cabs then some Goldlines at GC.

Good point Woody. And its not that I dont like the tone, its that people are saying they have noticed a big difference when changing. Thats all.
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People like to talk. They especially like to talk if it helps them justify big purchases...

No offense intended toward owners or fans of expensive cabs, if they make you happy, more power to you - me, I'm happy with Avatar :)
 
#8
I used to use an Avatar 410 Neo, which I sold to buy a Bergantino AE410. The Berg was $1200, the Av was $400.

I wish I had been able to do an A-B comparison before I pulled the trigger. The Berg is a better cab than the Av for sure, but definitely not 3x better, and I wonder if the way it is better is measurable or useful in a club environment, where I play 95% of my gigs. Had I been able to hear both side by side, I might have stuck with the Av.
 
#9
Many people say anything they're currently playing is a huge improvement in tone over what they used to play. It's called 'justifying their purchase decision'.

If you only have 1 Avatar 210, I'd suggest adding a 410 or 212 along with it. And your increase in tone from doing so will also be huge.


.
 
#10
superfunk47 said:
I don't think you're going to get anything in your price range that will be able to compare to Avatar overall. They've got the light weight, good sound, great reliability, standup company behind them, and they're priced so well.

I think if you were wanting to split hairs in terms of tone, you might start looking into Berg cabs, but then, those are a lot more expensive. For now, you're young, and the Avatars will do the job and do it pretty damn well.

There are plenty of years ahead of you to indulge your GAS with spendy cabs, but for now I think you'll be happier getting a rig that does the job and focusing on the music :cool::bassist:
Click to expand...

Okay dad.. :D

superfunk47 said:
People like to talk. They especially like to talk if it helps them justify big purchases...

No offense intended toward owners or fans of expensive cabs, if they make you happy, more power to you - me, I'm happy with Avatar :)
Click to expand...

And in my book, what Funk says goes.

I was just inquisitive. Off to paint my @$$ off some more to buy my 212!

Yum, an all orange Avatar rig to be paired with your old bass, which is becoming the bass known as "F:unkist"

orangeP3.png


Oh yeah! :bassist:
 
#11
Maybe high end new is over the op's budget but used opens up a whole lot of options. I had Avatar cab's (210 & 212) very briefly and they weren't for me so I sold them and got an Epi PS410 4 ohm cab (which even new is within the op's budget). I've been playing with that cab for about 6 months now and I'm still digging it. I also have an SVT810, if you're not worried about size and weight those can be had on the cheap if you buy used locally.
 
#12
BassScum said:
Maybe high end new is over the op's budget but used opens up a whole lot of options. I had Avatar cab's (210 & 212) very briefly and they weren't for me so I sold them and got an Epi PS410 4 ohm cab (which even new is within the op's budget). I've been playing with that cab for about 6 months now and I'm still digging it. I also have an SVT810, if you're not worried about size and weight those can be had on the cheap if you buy used locally.
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I would love an 810... but its not going to happen. Pops would call serious "OVERKILL"! But I can dream.. :D

I just cant justify getting on Epi cab for the price of getting 2 Avatars, at my age and low income as a teenager. :atoz:
 
#13
Honestly - I run an old Avatar 410 for loud shows, and although it sounds quite good it doesn't really matter since I have a DL out of my bass head anyways. So..... I use my EB AudioPhile 210 at home for a bit "better" tone, but for the majority of gigs I'm going into the PA through my head regardless of the cab.

Save your money IMO.
 
#15
Jordasch said:
I would love an 810... but its not going to happen. Pops would call serious "OVERKILL"! But I can dream.. :D

I just cant justify getting on Epi cab for the price of getting 2 Avatars, at my age and low income as a teenager. :atoz:
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The total size difference and "Overkill" between a stacked Avatar 210 with a 410 or 212 and a Fridge is not as great as one might think.

Also, you stated you have sub $800-900 to spend. Quite a few options for that other then Avatar.
 
#16
BassScum said:
The total size difference and "Overkill" between a stacked Avatar 210 with a 410 or 212 and a Fridge is not as great as one might think.

Also, you stated you have sub $800-900 to spend. Quite a few options for that other then Avatar.
Click to expand...

I believe that, but the weight difference is immense... and I could split the cabs up for smaller shows, something a fridge cant do.

And I would look into other things, but Im very color coordinated. My one cab is orange... so my other must be either orange, or white.
 
#17
Jordasch said:
I believe that, but the weight difference is immense... and I could split the cabs up for smaller shows, something a fridge cant do.

And I would look into other things, but Im very color coordinated. My one cab is orange... so my other must be either orange, or white.
Click to expand...

One last suggestion. You could use the sub $800-900 to get what you want used then sell the orange Avatar (more money left over). That way color isn't an issue. Otherwise you're options are very limited if the cab has to be orange or white and it sounds like you've already decided you have to go with Avatar.
 
#19
I recently owned both the Avatar B212 and the B210 and thought they were nice cabs for the price. I really never "loved" the B210 because the upper mids were kind of rough and honkey sounding, they just never sounded natural IMO.

The real test was when I A/B'ed the B212 with my Genz Benz Uber 212. The Avatar quickly went up for sale after that test. The Uber 212 was MUCH louder than the Avatar B212 and there was much more definition coming through with the Uber. I probably could make the Uber sound like the Avatar by putting a blanket over the cab, it was honestly that big of a difference.

I'm not at all knocking the Avatar cabs because they are great for the price and Dave was super easy to work with all three times I dealt with him. You have to also keep in mind the Uber 212 is roughly 3x the price of the B212. Obviously, tone goals and price points vary from person to person.
 

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