SWR Redhead Day. A forgotten Classic?

Crabby · #1 10-18-2010, 08:51 PM

I traded my LMIII straight across today for a pre Fender 1996 SWR Super Redhead 210 combo in very good shape. The owner had advertised on CL that he wanted an LMIII specifically and was not concerned over the discrepancy in value.

Up here in Canada a new Redhead will set you back almost $2000 once taxes are included. A new LMIII is about $700 plus taxes. Funny thing is, SWR is no longer a "must have" brand and large heavy bass combo amps are not very appealing to many when there are so many light weight alternatives.

I figure given these factors, I still came out ahead as the Redhead is pre Fender, in fantastic condition and was clearly well taken care of. I brought her home and have her a quick cleaning, vacuumed the rat fur and installed a fresh JJ tube.

I have to say, this amp is a joy to play!. Its so bright, clear and "modern" sounding and contrasts very well to my Mesa bass gear. Playing a Stingray 5 through the Redhead this afternoon was sheer bliss. Punchy and crisp with bell like clarity and lots of glassy low end.

I can see why people have blown the speakers in these combos in the past. The amp is too powerful for the speakers if the amp is set up to have a scooped mids tone and the volume cranked. The Aural Enhancer is dangerous if not used moderately. I am a total "mids" player .

I used to have a red faced Bass350 so the layout of the Redhead is familiar and very pleasing if set up right. These amps don't have endless power but because they are designed to have so much extreme low end available if desired, you can eat up your headroom pretty quick and damage speakers.

But setting her up with a bump in the mids and no enhancer circuit, I was peeling the paint off the walls today with no protest at all from the built in drivers. I was thinking I would make the trade simply to trade the SWR off for something else in the future, but I could see this amp being a real keeper. lets hear from some Redhead fans!

SteveC · #2 10-18-2010, 08:59 PM

I used to have one of these. I really liked it - except that it always "farted out" when I used my B string. Other than that - and the weight - it's a great amp.

bass_lord_mutha · #3 10-18-2010, 09:10 PM

Mmmm, redhead porn

Don't own one but I've played through them enough to know that they are the real deal.

JimmyM · #4 10-18-2010, 09:13 PM

never had one of them but i used to have an sm-500 head and a buddy of mine has a super redhead. great combo...swr got a bad rap for their scooped tone but i used to like it once i eq'd some more mids into it.

Crabby · #5 10-18-2010, 09:13 PM

I am really impressed with this amp. She looks pretty neat too!

skb5string · #6 10-18-2010, 09:15 PM

Great Score, congrats!

danomite64 · #7 10-18-2010, 09:34 PM

I had a '93 Redhead that I used for a few years. Great recording amp, but the speakers weren't my thing, and as mentioned, it's HEAVY. My brother loved it, so I sold it to him and got myself a Portabass.

MonkeyBass · #8 10-18-2010, 09:38 PM

I LOVE the Red Head. Great score man! I'm pretty jealous.

nysbob · #9 10-18-2010, 09:44 PM

That is one of very few SS amps I kind of enjoy playing through. It packs a certain punch.

agreatheight · #10 10-18-2010, 09:51 PM

I like a lot of the much maligned SWR gear, including the Redhead, lol. While SWR gear does have a mid scoop when left flat, and more scoop if you turn up the enhancer, you have plenty eq to work with on these amps. It is indeed HEAVY, lol, but I don't mind a few lbs, and it can really do the job live with an extension cab.

GemJam · #11 10-18-2010, 10:12 PM

I also have a 96 Super Redhead, great amp! The speakers are under powered to get the full potential out of it. I swapped the speakers for Eminence Kapa Pro 10s, and wow what a difference. More than enough speaker and nice warm throaty tone. I did boost the weight by at least 5 lbs, but it does have casters

Run mine with a Son of Bertha 15 for even more warmth and have a dbx 163 compressor and dbx 463 gate in the one space slot. With just a little comp and the the effects blend at 50% this combo rocks. Also have an original redhead in a head only custom cabinet and it is great with my Avatar SB112 (delta LF 4 ohm). The redhead was one of their best preamps, the design was used in a lot of SWR heads including the Bass 750. I also have a SM400, Studio 220, and Baby Blue II. But the Super Redhead with SOB is the main rig. You got yourself a keeper.

Crabby · #12 10-18-2010, 10:12 PM

I briefly plugged in my two Mesa PH115 cabs and was rewarded with insanely good tone instantly! Lots of volume and power when using other cabs. I have always heard that the SWR 210 cabs were great sounding but could fart out easily. I don't think you can expect any 210 to keep up with a loud band but as mentioned, keeping the low end in check and boosting some mids really makes this amp come alive.

Crabby · #13 10-18-2010, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GemJam

I also have a 96 Super Redhead, great amp! The speakers are under powered to get the full potential out of it. I swapped the speakers for Eminence Kapa Pro 10s, and wow what a difference. More than enough speaker and nice warm throaty tone. I did boost the weight by at least 5 lbs, but it does have casters

Run mine with a Son of Bertha 15 for even more warmth and have a dbx 163 compressor and dbx 463 gate in the one space slot. With just a little comp and the the effects blend at 50% this combo rocks. Also have an original redhead in a head only custom cabinet and it is great with my Avatar SB112 (delta LF 4 ohm). The redhead was one of their best preamps, the design was used in a lot of SWR heads including the Bass 750. I also have a SM400, Studio 220, and Baby Blue II. But the Super Redhead with SOB is the main rig. You got yourself a keeper.

That's great to hear. If they make a 4 ohm SOB, that would be the cab for me to add to this rig. Did the new drivers cost you a lot? That sounds intriguing for sure!

Gizmot · #14 10-18-2010, 10:28 PM

I like the speed and transients of SWR. Although not perfect, they're damned good!

jnprather · #15 10-18-2010, 11:24 PM

My second amp, after a Workingman's 12. I soon found the Workingman's 12 was not enough to play with a drummer, and "splurged" on the Super Redhead. I then found it was still not enough, by itself, until I got a 4x10 Goliath III to put under it. I ended up deciding I didn't really need the combo if I was always going to be using a 4x10 cabinet with it, so I ended up selling it.

Great little amp though, sounds wonderful and has a bunch of great input/output options, and the spare rack space is a great idea. Killer design, really, definitely a great little combo to have around.

choad42 · #16 10-19-2010, 03:32 AM

Definitely one of my all time fav bass combos. Yeah it's a little heavy, but the tone is worth it for the shimmering highs and huge lows that combo produces.

Throw a 4x10 under it and you'll be extremely impressed with the results. While SWR may not be the flavor of the month anymore, a lot of their gear is still top shelf and very effective.

Obviously, vintage SWR gear like your particular Redhead combo is even more desirable for obtaining that once loved by many "SWR" sound.

A j-bass through the Redhead is just pure aural bliss, well, if you dig the Marcus vibe of course, which I sure as heck do, I mean, doesn't everybody????

At any rate, congrats on acquiring a classic amp for sure.

Cheers,
Paul

http://www.myspace.com/paultheriault

KJung · #17 10-19-2010, 04:20 AM

+1 to the above comments. Great sounding combo at low to moderate volumes if you dig that classic 'SWR sizzle' and brightness. The cab was always a bit overwhelmed by the head IMO and IME, but if you don't push it, and don't care about the weight compared to current combo's, it is darn nice sounding for the 'stainless steel roundwound' player.

That was a very cool design back in the day... the front cover that serves as a tilt back, and the 'air head' type design with a standard single height rack space built in for a tuner or EQ or effects or whatever. Pretty cutting edge in its day, and still sounds darn good, especially with another 4ohm Jr. underneath.

However, 95 pounds for a moderately powered 210 combo... not so much!

Crabby · #18 10-19-2010, 11:33 AM

She is heavy but actually weighs in at about 80 pounds so not too unreasonable. And it fits in my car easily but another cab would be essential for any higher volume playing. i am hoping to find a 4 ohm Golliath II Jr to go with her at some point.

KJung · #19 10-19-2010, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crabby

She is heavy but actually weighs in at about 80 pounds so not too unreasonable. And it fits in my car easily but another cab would be essential for any higher volume playing. i am hoping to find a 4 ohm Golliath II Jr to go with her at some point.

I think the 95 pounds was when they changed to Eminence drivers, if I'm remembering right.

Anyway, cool sounding combo... enjoy!

**Chef** · #20 10-19-2010, 01:47 PM

Great score!
I used one of these for a long time, and it works really well for DB too!

They're not terribly loud, but, if you put another swr 210, 15 or 18 under it (they are 2 ohm capable) you up the power and cone area and that works out really well.

Heavy lil unit though.

I had a Basic 350 (redface) for a long time, and that, with the Henry 8x8 was really nice too!