Iam thinking about trading my SWR for a Hartke

[gary mitchell]

Ive been busy changing alot stuff lately, Do you guys think this would be a crazy trade, my SWR 700 Workingpro Head for a new Hartke LH1000 Head.

[Count Bassie]

Originally Posted by gary mitchell

Ive been busy changing alot stuff lately, Do you guys think this would be a crazy trade, my SWR 700 Workingpro Head for a new Hartke LH1000 Head.

The LH1000 got a lot of raves at a gathering I was at last summer. Don't know about the Working Pro line, but SWR is great gear.

Are you changing a lot of things all at once? When I switch I like to do it piece at a time, so I always have a finger on some frame of reference- so I can tell what changes I've made and what tweaks I need to do to be where I want to be.

Nothing like swapping everything all at once to get yourself good and lost!

[David1234]

Try playing them both side to side first, ideally at a gig or rehearsal so you can hear them in a band environment.

[will33]

A WorkingPro...I'd be tempted to but wouldn't do it on blind faith. Get the Hartke from someplace that has a 2 week or 30 day return policy. Play them both with identical basses/cabs, etc. on the gig. I like Hartke's idea of a "fenderish" tone stack with ample SS power but I wouldn't trade my SM400S for one sight unseen. Just because this amp is reliable and I'm comfortable with it and it sounds good (with a little correcting eq). I can make this particular SWR sound warm and full and powerful...words some folks don't associate with SWR. Maybe I just got a good one off of a good production run when the right things got ironed out, I don't know but I like it.

We also have a "pre-fender" Workingman's400 here and I can make it sound nice and warm/full/strong. Only thing is with those if you're going to depend on it on a long gig, or if you're going to crank it up for your 45min. set or whatever, you need to get on of those little 3" clip-on fans like a girl in a cubicle that's way too small would have and clip it on the back of the headcase and let it blow on the heatsink.....problem solved. I never understood why they didn't think of that.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by will33

A WorkingPro...I'd be tempted to but wouldn't do it on blind faith. Get the Hartke from someplace that has a 2 week or 30 day return policy. Play them both with identical basses/cabs, etc. on the gig. I like Hartke's idea of a "fenderish" tone stack with ample SS power but I wouldn't trade my SM400S for one sight unseen. Just because this amp is reliable and I'm comfortable with it and it sounds good (with a little correcting eq). I can make this particular SWR sound warm and full and powerful...words some folks don't associate with SWR. Maybe I just got a good one off of a good production run when the right things got ironed out, I don't know but I like it.

it's not THE warmest hybrid head these days, but one of the reasons i bought an swr sm-500 was because i thought swr was making the warmest and tubiest hybrid heads going at one time. bit of a far cry from what's been made available in the last 3 years, but way warmer than people who think it's only good for marcus miller type sounds will ever admit.

but a workingpro for an lh1000? yeah, i'd probably do it.

[bassmasta94]

I have the LH1000 and im using it with the hartke 410 cab. They sound great together. Such a great sound.

[will33]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

it's not THE warmest hybrid head these days, but one of the reasons i bought an swr sm-500 was because i thought swr was making the warmest and tubiest hybrid heads going at one time. bit of a far cry from what's been made available in the last 3 years, but way warmer than people who think it's only good for marcus miller type sounds will ever admit.

but a workingpro for an lh1000? yeah, i'd probably do it.

Likely not the warmest but it's pretty good at what it does. I like this one, doesn't mean I'm going to advise anybody to up and buy whatever SWR they run into, there's a lot of them I don't like.

One of the things I never understood about Steve Rabe is if you look at the frontend controls of these amps with all the midsweeps and adjustments and all that, you really have to have a basic knowledge of sound to operate one and get what can be had from it. Then things like cooling problems and heatsink design and stuff really are drawbacks. That seems like "powerplant" stuff that you'd have figured out first and then put the "sweet stuff" on it....Weird.

Maybe just long-term reliability is higher up on my list of priorities than a lot of folks. Maybe that's another reason why I like tube amps. That's why I like nissan's and honda's over fords and chryslers. That's why my 30+ year old bassman135 (30 years is pretty young for a bassman, desired ones are 40+ years old) is the amp that I know I can always turn on and it'll work and sound good doing it. My backup bass amp (T-max) is about 10 years older than the SWR but that's another one I can always hit the switch with confidence. All this new stuff is great sounding stuff and fits in your pocket, etc. but where will it be 10,20,30+ years from now. It will be interesting to see in 2030-2040 what will be considered to be the "old reliables". Probably still be a bassman or an SVT if they know what's good for 'em.


Back to the OP, I'd probably trade a WorkingPro series for one short term, meaning 1-3 years. I'd still like to have them side by side or at least have the option of returning whatever in your opinion is the lesser of the 2. If you've been gigging your workingpro without the little secretary fan blowing on the heatsink, I'd probably sell it while it still works.

[gary mitchell]

I bought my SWR when I didnt know nothing about Bass equipment, and still dont know much now but more then I did. I was playing a Old SWR 350 PRO head at church thats all it said on the front was 350 Professional. I was playing it tru an old SWR 410 cab and love the sound. I found my 700 WorkingPro on Ebay for 400 bucks like new. I thought this would get me close to the same ball park, Ive even played it on the 410 at church. Still not as good as that 350 but the 350 doesnt have enought power for the outside gigs we do, and the loud drummer and guitar player. The old SWR is sweet.

[Count Bassie]

Originally Posted by gary mitchell

I bought my SWR when I didnt know nothing about Bass equipment, and still dont know much now but more then I did. I was playing a Old SWR 350 PRO head at church thats all it said on the front was 350 Professional. I was playing it tru an old SWR 410 cab and love the sound. I found my 700 WorkingPro on Ebay for 400 bucks like new. I thought this would get me close to the same ball park, Ive even played it on the 410 at church. Still not as good as that 350 but the 350 doesnt have enought power for the outside gigs we do, and the loud drummer and guitar player. The old SWR is sweet.

Go get a poweramp and run the send from the SWR into it. Power. Just a thought...

[Gav4003]

100% swap for me there, I went through a lot of heads in the past 10 years after wearing out an old hartke and deciding that it was time for a change, went back to hartke recently and have never been happier with my sound.

[gary mitchell]

Some guy told me to get rid of the head, buy a power amp and just use a pedal like a Sansamp are something for the preamp. Has anyone tried that.

[Krügmeister]

Hartke makes some great stuff... thier new hydrives are amazing!