Is SWR going out of Business ?

[Jim C]

Hey Hapa; sorry to hear that things may not be so great at FMIC.

As far as any bad public feelings toward FMIC and the possible restructure/changes regarding SWR, Hammer, etc. I would think it is purely business related for a publicly traded company.

Doesn't much matter to investors regarding quality, innovation, historical importance, etc.. it's all about return on investment which is pretty normal and sometimes discouraging.

[will33]

Originally Posted by Hapa

I started my account before i started working for Fender and participate in threads not related to FMIC. I was getting too many pm for my personal life relating to work. So i didnt want to waive that flag so high. That is the only reason.

Understood. Hope I didn't cause you any headaches.

[The Nameless]

SWR, imho, as a life long user and fan of the "swr tone", went outta business when Steve Rabe left. His designs, forward thinkin and ideas of tone were HUGE in developin what we now call "modern" tone. If Leo Fender is reason we can all play a bass, Steve much of the reason we can hear it. The "new" swr is a ghost of itself. I'll continue ta buy older, Sylmar mnf'd stuff. My main rigs are an 89 Redhead anna 92 SM-900. Seem ta be bulletproof, sound better than anythin i've put it up against yet. Their old cabs are the BEST in tone an value. Heavy? Yeah. But sound far more important, imo. I've been missin swr since way back. Fender should not make amps. Steve Rabe should be.

[Fred312b]

Originally Posted by bobcruz

I'm still seeing them in stock for sale here and there but no blowout pricing yet.

There's a few things on evil bay right now from authorized dealers that are cheap, new and sealed- I saw a golight 1x12, 1x15 and 750x, from what I remember from my daily ebay search...

[T. Alan Smith]

Originally Posted by The Nameless

SWR, imho, as a life long user and fan of the "swr tone", went outta business when Steve Rabe left. His designs, forward thinkin and ideas of tone were HUGE in developin what we now call "modern" tone. If Leo Fender is reason we can all play a bass, Steve much of the reason we can hear it. The "new" swr is a ghost of itself. I'll continue ta buy older, Sylmar mnf'd stuff. My main rigs are an 89 Redhead anna 92 SM-900. Seem ta be bulletproof, sound better than anythin i've put it up against yet. Their old cabs are the BEST in tone an value. Heavy? Yeah. But sound far more important, imo. I've been missin swr since way back. Fender should not make amps. Steve Rabe should be.

Aren't these new SWRs basically Steve's designs(or very much so based on them)? If so, what's not to like(CS aside)?

[BassmanPaul]

In the economic situation that we have "enjoyed" for the last few years, many,many companies have or are restructuring. That this is happening in the musical equipment industry should not come as a surprise to anyone. Hopefully, if politicians in countries around the world, can learn to cooperate with each other for the betterment of their citizens lives, things might start to improve for everyone.

[Flabass]

Originally Posted by bryan gibson

According o my brother the guitard/Hamer fanatic, FMIC is shutting down the Hamer brand. Custom shop and US versions are totally done, and 90% certainty on the cheapo imports as well. What does this have to do with SWR? I'm not sure, other than maybe pieces of a trend.

Well, Hamer is done for sure. They announced in Dec, 2012, that they were shutting down. SWR products can still be found.

[Blue_Whistle88]

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

In the economic situation that we have "enjoyed" for the last few years, many,many companies have or are restructuring. That this is happening in the musical equipment industry should not come as a surprise to anyone. Hopefully, if politicians in countries around the world, can learn to cooperate with each other for the betterment of their citizens lives, things might start to improve for everyone.

All the national recessions that characterised the "new economic climate" ended years ago, with a few exceptions due to more fundamental economic issues that don't have anything to do with the US housing crisis (e.g. Greece being econonically partnered with Germany). That means that, realistically, "The Recession" is history, in the same way that the stock market crash of the late 80's is.

Smaller companies being bought out by bigger companies? That's been happening ever since there were small and big companies. Good products being discontinued due to business decisons? Been happening for donkey's years. Music industry/musicians "suffering"? Pfft. Music is the sound of struggle, it's supposed to be challenging, and as long as there are musicians living in mansions earning millions of dollars, I think the "music industry" is doing ok.

Computers gave people the ability to steal our work with ease and security, and the "Recession", via the media, has kept people living in fear (i.e. less likely to go out). Those are the hurdles we've been given to jump over; once we do, we'll be given more hurdles. That's life.

Funnily enough, I remember reading in Michael Jackson's biography that there was a record sales crisis in the 80's, which one of his albums (Thriller I think?) helped defeat with its success. That was before downloads. I also read that the Charles Manson murders in 1969 caused people on the East Coast to stay in their homes a lot more out of fear, which had a big impact on the live music scene for months. That affected Led Zeppelin because they were touring the states at the time.

So, keep your chins up fellas!

[ihixulu]

Frankly, the MI market is over-saturated with options. It's not becasue of politics. Businesses can manufacture to volume cheaply and develop new "groundbreaking" amps quickly. The thing is, there are still only so many bass players to buy the stuff.

Taking into account the incredible vibrancy of the used market, it's amazing that any company would choose to produce bass amps right now. Supply and demand.

[The Nameless]

What's the difference in tone/reliability 'tween SWR an Fender's SWR? It a BIG difference to me. Maybe not to all. Their is a richness to the tone of my amps I can't get in the newer ones. This shows in recording especially. Lower noise floor. More output. These are subtle things. I can get a great sound wit any generation of SWR gear. But I simply don't have to do as MUCH wit my older heads. The op-amps, optocouplers an many other parts are not as hi end, now. The heads aren't the main issue. It's the cabs. The original cabs have a tone that the new ones simply do not have. Could be that the power handlin of cabs increased beyond the output capabilities of the amps, it could be I jus favor the old tone. But I'm not the only SWR fan in my circle, an we all seem ta have same opinion.

[bryan gibson]

Originally Posted by The Nameless

What's the difference in tone/reliability 'tween SWR an Fender's SWR? It a BIG difference to me. Maybe not to all. Their is a richness to the tone of my amps I can't get in the newer ones. This shows in recording especially. Lower noise floor. More output. These are subtle things. I can get a great sound wit any generation of SWR gear. But I simply don't have to do as MUCH wit my older heads. The op-amps, optocouplers an many other parts are not as hi end, now. The heads aren't the main issue. It's the cabs. The original cabs have a tone that the new ones simply do not have. Could be that the power handlin of cabs increased beyond the output capabilities of the amps, it could be I jus favor the old tone. But I'm not the only SWR fan in my circle, an we all seem ta have same opinion.

Is it just me, or do the new Fender Rumble 410 boxes bear a very striking resemblance to the SWR WM 410 box?

[bwoodman]

I was at NAMM today - went up to Fender's "booth" upstairs - a large banquet room - no Genz or SWR - so, I ask a Fender guy - "Where's SWR?" And he just repeats the question asking me the same thing, then finally says "oh, there's nothing new to show, so we didn't bring the line, blah blah." It has been mentioned before - SWR was out of business when it was sold - Steve was the guy behind the success. IMO, they're going down the same road as Sunn....

[60bass]

Originally Posted by bwoodman

I was at NAMM today - went up to Fender's "booth" upstairs - a large banquet room - no Genz or SWR - so, I ask a Fender guy - "Where's SWR?" And he just repeats the question asking me the same thing, then finally says "oh, there's nothing new to show, so we didn't bring the line, blah blah." It has been mentioned before - SWR was out of business when it was sold - Steve was the guy behind the success. IMO, they're going down the same road as Sunn....

"nothing new to show, so we didn't bring the line"

That's pretty much the same line that Eric Molinari at Fender posted in the "All Genz Benz products on "standby" by Fender ??" thread about why Genz Benz was a no-show at NAMM this year.

All Genz Benz products on "standby" by Fender ??

That must be their standard reply when they're getting ready to kill off another company. Yep going down the SUNN road again.

Keep Low

[BrentSimons]

Guys any news on this? I wonder if Marcus Miller will start using something different? Back to EBS maybe?
Brent

[St_G]

Shame. While the SWR sound isn't something that has been useful to me lately, there was certainly a time when it was THE sound for me, and remains a sound I'm pretty fond of. When I think of agressive, modern bass, that's the sound that comes to mind.

[AdamR]

Musicians friends shows very little for SWR gear now.

[BrentSimons]

Yeah I saw that too. Looks like they're not carrying the 750x or the Amplite.
Brent

[DiabolusInMusic]

Originally Posted by Flabass

Well, Hamer is done for sure. They announced in Dec, 2012, that they were shutting down. SWR products can still be found.

Shut the front door!

I am sure this old news to many but I am floored!

I always wanted a 12 string Hamer...

[Christian Waiau]

After the last weekend at namm..

I know for a fact that they have been scrapped by Fender. I can't name people but I know former swr artist that have confirmed and are in the process of pursing other companies.

[plankspanker13]

SWR has not had much cachet or relevancy, for years, but it is still sad to see them go. This is why so many Genz fans are engaging in the concerned speculative dialogue that rages in the threads that have been linked, above. Is GB next? The outlook is not good.