SWR Baby Blue - Versatile?

chaosMK · #1 08-12-2011, 07:12 AM

I have been looking at an SWR Baby Blue on the local market and was curious what the consensus was on it. I could use a not-rock/metal head since I am branching into other areas these days. I'd probably be using it with either an SWR SoB or Aguilar GS12.

The controls on it look pretty simple. I'll probably spend some time trying it out today.

My alternative is to figure out how to get jazzier hip hop sounds out of a Mesa Bass 400... which might work too.

tombowlus · #2 08-12-2011, 07:19 AM

The older Baby/Electric Blue heads/combos are some of my favorite SWR products. I do believe that they are reasonably versatile, but for gigging purposes, do note that this would be what I would call a small-venue head.

brianrost · #3 08-12-2011, 07:25 AM

Just the head? Typical SWR, clean with flexible EQ. The lone tube in the preamp doesn't do much as far as I'm concerned.

To me the real attraction is the combo, particularly like the way the cabinet is voiced plus it's small and is pretty light.

CrackBass · #4 08-12-2011, 07:56 AM

Awesome sounding combo, but limited volume for gigs. The head might work for lower volume gigs if you bring a lot of speaker. 2 SOB's would probably bring it up to moderate stage volume levels.

spufman · #5 08-12-2011, 08:44 AM

I have the combo (bought early this year) and I love it. It's usable volume is higher than I thought it would be, but it would struggle with a loud band or in a large room. But in medium-small settings it sounds sweet and can be tailored for room acoustics and tonal preference with the 3-band semi parametric eq. I think the tube actually does offer a lot - the preamp definitely behaves differently, gets really warm if you hit it with a hot signal (manual says tube stage is not monitored by the clip light for this reason). And it has a really nice DI for recording. For $200, a Baby Blue head is an excellent deal in my opinion.

bassteban · #6 08-12-2011, 08:51 AM

The SWR heads I've played(red-faced 350 & early 750)both had the *SWR sound*- scooped, clean(as well as a bit underpowered, IMO). Not my cup of tea, and not what I'd call versatile(NOT knocking the quality, just stating my experiences/opinions relating to the OP). $200 for the combo would be a very good deal, for the head, also pretty good- if you like SWR.

chaosMK · #7 08-12-2011, 08:52 AM

Thanks for the tips. I'd read reviews of the Baby Blue over the years but didn't consider that the combo version added so much to it. I'm not too worried about volume with it since I'd be using it for smaller gigs.

MuthaFunk · #8 08-12-2011, 10:54 AM

I find it a very versatile head/combo for both studio and live. It features are designed with studio use in mind that many other heads don't have. i.e. Fully bypassable eq, fx loop blend + bypass, plus the sweetest DI I've used. (I have used perhaps 10 different di's including amp DI's. I've used my combo in conjunction with my Big Ben for countless practices with loud drummers with no problem at all. Put a VT bass pedal in front of it, bypass the EQ, turn the Aural Enhancer all the way down and you have a very good copy of a vintage Ampeg. Turn the pedal off and you have a sweet modern SWR tone. It's very versatile.

P.s. I have the Baby Baby Blue 110 Combo.

Ric Vice · #9 08-12-2011, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chaosMK

I have been looking at an SWR Baby Blue on the local market (~200) and was curious what the consensus was on it.

The controls on it look pretty simple. I'll probably spend some time trying it out today.

My alternative is to figure out how to get jazzier hip hop sounds out of a Mesa Bass 400... which might work too.

CMK,
I owned the original Baby Blue 2x8 Combo and even purchased a 2x8 extension cabinet. I think it would work fine in low volume small group settings, but it will get buried if you're playing even a moderately loud gig. The EQ on the head is fairly straight forward. It's a nice little amp.

Ric

p.s.

The 2x8 sounded much better with it's original pair of Bag End Speakers (16 ohm). I got all excited when they switched over to (8 ohm ) Celestion's, but the Bag End's sounded so much better. This only applies to the 2x8 version. There is also a later amp Baby Blue II and one with 110 and a separate head called the Electric Blue. Originally it came in a lot of different flavors but SWR bailed on pretty fast .

ahc · #10 08-12-2011, 11:29 AM

I gigged for years with the "Electric Blue" head. Love(d) it. I used it to drive a Hartke XL115 and 2-10 Transporter cab mashup and it sounded great. It worked fine for small to medium venues in a typical 4 - 6 piece rock, blues, and R&B band setting. At one outdoor (no FOH PA) gig I got several complements on the bass sound. Go figure. Matter of fact, I'm using it tonight for rehearsal thru a 70's B-15 cab.

MuthaFunk · #11 08-12-2011, 11:35 AM

Oh, and because of its full range it also makes a great powered P.A. Monitor via the fx return and the blend knob or use the tube pre regular input with the eq bypassed as a keyboard amp. The headphone amp is equally a treat to use. Send in a track from a mp3 player to play along to in the FX return and blend it in to your bass to make practice a breeze.

Is it versatile you ask? I think it's one of the most versatile combos out there. And can typically be found at a great price given SWR's deteriorating market share. Take advantage of the used prices while the decent SWR gear is still around.

EduardoK · #12 08-12-2011, 12:22 PM

It totally escapes me why would you try to compare the Baby Blue to a Mesa 400....

I would not use my Baby Blue combo for rehearsal with a medium loud rock band, let alone a gig, no matter how many extra cabs I bring.
It still has a 120-180W solid state power amp, enough for an acoustic or jazzy small intimate venue, and very far from a rock monster like a full tube Mesa 400 !!!!!!.
I use mine only for practice or recording.
That said, the Baby Blue II is really sweet.
At $200

I'd by me a pair just for it's warm sounding preamp.

chaosMK · #13 08-12-2011, 12:29 PM

I spent a good 30 min testing it out on various cabs. I used a Peavey Grind that turned out to have old strings and a poorly setup entry-level Ibanez (should have looked at the price). In general sounded great, was quite impressed.

All in all, I found this head pretty pleasing and it seems like the list of features goes on and on. I ran the Aural Enhancer and Gain fairly high (12:00) and liked the particular "SWR" character of it more than I have on other SWR gear (in old times it sounded too sterile to me). I bet with my Cirrus it would sound fantastic and work out great for my non-metal studio stuff.

GK 1x15 Neo: Drove it fine. Compared to the other cabs I tested, this one was the worst sounding. I'd been curious about this cab because it's cheap and looks cool. The tweater on this particular one (used, but in good condition) was out of control when I first plugged it in at the +2db setting.

Aguilar GS 1x12: This is a nice sounding cab under any circumstance. Nice mid definition, not super loud.

Mesa PH 1x15: Sounded bigger that the previous two, nice clarity on the higher frequencies.

Mesa PH 4x10: This is my favorite cab in general. Considerably louder than the other cabs with a great room filling sound and nice mids, full but not harsh highs, lows, etc, etc. I could see myself gigging with this setup and the right cab pairing might make all the difference for this head.

Thanks again for the tips, I defintely dug the head (not being the biggest SWR fan in the past) it's hard to pass up.

blindrabbit · #14 08-12-2011, 03:45 PM

Great price if you can get it for $200. I think it is a fantastic sounding amp/combo, but I can't see it standing up to even some smaller gigs - just doesn't have the juice. Different story though if you can get some PA support.

wave rider · #15 08-12-2011, 03:54 PM

I ran the head of a BBII through a couple of Bag Ends, a S15LX-D and S12-D, sounded pretty loud to me, the Bag Ends are pretty efficient. Didn't sound as good running the internal speakers along with the Bag End pair though...

If you get the head, you might like this thread:
SWR Aural Enhancer Bypass

If I only had the head and not the combo, I'd be looking into BFM cabinets; they are very efficient too.

=wr=

mindwell · #16 08-12-2011, 08:39 PM

I own the Electric Blue head in rack case, and I will *never* part with it. Had the combo, too; long gone (sniff!) For $200, you can't possibly go wrong. I love the voicing on the EQ--much better than the SM-900. I actually used the Electric Blue as the front end for a 1600 watt stage rig (Stewart 1.6 + SVT 810), and it performed flawlessly for years in smoky clubs. Lots of tone shaping possibilities, adjustable DI, and a great basic sound. I actually think the head is rated very conservatively for power; I used to see the bass player for Pete Droge in Seattle run just the head into a 4 ohm SVT 810 cab and get more than enough stage volume. Best SWR design ever, and a preamp for the ages.