I've just bought an SWR SM400S and so far I like it a lot. Can anyone tell me the best tube to use in this model. It presently has a Groove Tube 12AX7.(if its a 7A, then the A's not on it) Dont know how old it is. The User manual says to use a 12AX7A. I believe the ECC803s (longer plate) has excellent tone for bass amps. I'm interested to know what amp settings you use to get a good 60's/70's fat rock sound, (sort of like Ampeg SVT tone) but with more clarity. I'm using it with a Warwick 411Pro 4x10 8ohm and a JBL K140 8 ohm in a well tuned cabinet. Not sure whether to use the JBL or not. I would welcome your comments.
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SWR SM400S Amp
- Thread starter SoopaPoppa
- Start date
Read the manual for setting ideas. When I had mine, I set the Master between 12o'clock and 3 o'clock and set the gain as needed for volume. You have to really spend some time with the EQ. Your tone won't be the same as anybodyelses.
Pre til it flashes back off a hair. Master to taste. Eq flat. Aural enhancer off or no more than 11:00, tone suck live, cool for practice. Try this first and hear your bass accurately.
I'm with Greg. If you spend some time with the eq on these amps, they'll reward you. They sound great, and you will sound like you, not someone else.
I gave up on mine. Didn't seem to have enough umph to it, and the eq flat was too scooped sounding - and trying to figure out how to adjust that out with the parametrics was overwhelming. (I'd get it ok, then change rooms/volumes and be back to square one.)
Don't think the single preamp tube really did much to shape the tone (ie changing from one tube to another probably won't do any more noticeable difference than bumping one of the eq sliders 1 db).
Did like the built in crossover function. Never really gave my amp enough time before I sold it - I'm sure with some work/time, I could have been much happier with it.
Don't think the single preamp tube really did much to shape the tone (ie changing from one tube to another probably won't do any more noticeable difference than bumping one of the eq sliders 1 db).
Did like the built in crossover function. Never really gave my amp enough time before I sold it - I'm sure with some work/time, I could have been much happier with it.
I had one of those amps many years ago ... I put a NOS Slyvania tube in it and got some really good tone out of it ... the 12ax7 has two sides to it and i believe the signial is routed through both sides .... like a previous poster said ... set the preamp till it just clips .. and spend a huge amount of time fiddling with the tone controls ... it's a good amp ... there were 2 versions of that amp one with-out a fan ( the case will get really warm ... as it is the heat sink ) and the one with the fan ... the only issue I had with mine ... had a componet on the board change value when it heated up and the amp went to crap ... had it repaired and it was good as new ... it is a known issue ... but a realitively cheap fix ... cost me about 60.00 ( ten years ago )
An SM400S has been my primary amp since 1995. Like jastacey I have a NOS Sylvania 12ax7 in mine. When all the controls are set flat, the amp sounds mid-scooped. My only gripe about this amp is that the sliders on the EQ don't really have a noticeable boost/cut until the last 1/4" of travel which makes it difficult to set. Other than that the amp sounds great!
I set mine as follows (L-R):
I turn the gain up until it clips then back it off a bit, this loads the front end of the amp and makes full use of the tube. Some call it "tube saturation".
Limiter: 10:00 o'clock
Aural Enhancer: 10:00 (set to your liking, but I've found it's a tone sponge past 12:00 o'clock)
Bass: I run between 12:00 and 2:00 depending on the room.
EQ Section: #1. 11:00 (boost or cut depending on the room)
#2. 11:00 (I generally boost this band pretty heavily)
#3. 7:00 (at this setting it overlaps the #2 setting, I boost this one as well, I dig having a bump @250Hz)
#4. 10:00 (I generally cut this one a bit)
Treble: 11:00
Transparency: Between 12:00 and 3:00 (depending the instrument)
It is a very vesatile amp, you just have to spend some time tinkering with the EQ to get what you want. The users manual also has a lot of useful information, it is available on the SWR website.
As far as your cab options, I'd go with just the 4-10 in bridge mode. If I were going to use both cabs, I'd try bi-amping with a cross-over point between 60-80 Hz. With the lows going to the 15.
I set mine as follows (L-R):
I turn the gain up until it clips then back it off a bit, this loads the front end of the amp and makes full use of the tube. Some call it "tube saturation".
Limiter: 10:00 o'clock
Aural Enhancer: 10:00 (set to your liking, but I've found it's a tone sponge past 12:00 o'clock)
Bass: I run between 12:00 and 2:00 depending on the room.
EQ Section: #1. 11:00 (boost or cut depending on the room)
#2. 11:00 (I generally boost this band pretty heavily)
#3. 7:00 (at this setting it overlaps the #2 setting, I boost this one as well, I dig having a bump @250Hz)
#4. 10:00 (I generally cut this one a bit)
Treble: 11:00
Transparency: Between 12:00 and 3:00 (depending the instrument)
It is a very vesatile amp, you just have to spend some time tinkering with the EQ to get what you want. The users manual also has a lot of useful information, it is available on the SWR website.
As far as your cab options, I'd go with just the 4-10 in bridge mode. If I were going to use both cabs, I'd try bi-amping with a cross-over point between 60-80 Hz. With the lows going to the 15.
Thanks Guys,
That's been a great help. I got to use it at practice yesterday and it went well. I'm very happy with it. I tried various settings and tried both cabs seperately and together and think it was best with both cabs together although there was good sounds seperately I will try the stereo setup this week and hear how that sounds. I'll also try a different tube or two to hear a possible difference.
Thanks.
That's been a great help. I got to use it at practice yesterday and it went well. I'm very happy with it. I tried various settings and tried both cabs seperately and together and think it was best with both cabs together although there was good sounds seperately I will try the stereo setup this week and hear how that sounds. I'll also try a different tube or two to hear a possible difference.
Thanks.
NOS Phillips JAN 12AX7 for a nice cream tone. Recommend bridged mono into a quality 4 ohm cab. CHADDS is correct re settings. Set flat, than use the faders to notch out offensive room frequencies. Enjoy!
I've played every gig with mine since the mid 90's.
Most reliable amp I've ever owned. I use it with two
SWR Goliath Jr. cabs.
I recently put an NOS RCA tube in but any good quality
12AX7 would be fine. I've heard JJ's tube are consistent
and easy to find.
As for EQ settings. Read up on articles for Mix Engineers online.
Learn how to use a Parametric or Semi-Parametric EQ once and
you'll have it for life. EQ settings are very personal and depend
heavily on:
What bass your using
How hard or soft you play
What kind of strings you use
What kind of music
The Venue, ( lots of hard surfaces or tons of carpet?)
I could go on and on.
I set the Enhancer at 1 oclock. This setting was also hardwired into
their LA series stuff and will produce a very modern sound.
It will be somewhat scooped in the mids which isn't everyone's
thing.
Good luck with your new amp.
Trust me, they don't make em' like that anymore.
RT
Most reliable amp I've ever owned. I use it with two
SWR Goliath Jr. cabs.
I recently put an NOS RCA tube in but any good quality
12AX7 would be fine. I've heard JJ's tube are consistent
and easy to find.
As for EQ settings. Read up on articles for Mix Engineers online.
Learn how to use a Parametric or Semi-Parametric EQ once and
you'll have it for life. EQ settings are very personal and depend
heavily on:
What bass your using
How hard or soft you play
What kind of strings you use
What kind of music
The Venue, ( lots of hard surfaces or tons of carpet?)
I could go on and on.
I set the Enhancer at 1 oclock. This setting was also hardwired into
their LA series stuff and will produce a very modern sound.
It will be somewhat scooped in the mids which isn't everyone's
thing.
Good luck with your new amp.
Trust me, they don't make em' like that anymore.
RT
I've been using mine for every no-backline-provided gig for 11 years. I've dropped it off of trucks, cartwheeled it down my driveway, etc., etc., and it keeps on tickin'. With a Bergie 410, I've just entered a whole new phase of SM400s goodness.
IME, tubes can make a difference, but the tone-shaping power of the amp trumps all that. The flexibility of all the options can drive you mad, but once you get 'em, they're your best friends. My advice would be to put in a tube that matches the durability of the amp itself and just learn all the sound controls.
John
IME, tubes can make a difference, but the tone-shaping power of the amp trumps all that. The flexibility of all the options can drive you mad, but once you get 'em, they're your best friends. My advice would be to put in a tube that matches the durability of the amp itself and just learn all the sound controls.
John
I really liked the sound of a Tung Sol 12ax7 in my SM-500. It really warmed the amp up in the mids and gave me a bit more gain. The JJ/Tesla tubes are great too. Neither is very expensive and both are well worth it IMO.
Very rugged and reliable
Plenty of power for me when bridged
Early models had a problem with a compnent in the power supply in order to get a California UL listing; Steve would send out the part for free back then (think it was the rectifier)
They also added transparency to mine for free
I find if you boost heavily with the parametric the Q of the filter rings like a fire alarm IMO
If you don't need to boost parametric EQ (cutting is fine) the EQ is decent and they are nice amps; not real tubey although I never experimented much with the tube; doubt if it changes the tone much in the big picture though
Never cared for using too much transparency
Also, be cautious as the amps are really full range and can put out some very low frequencies
Plenty of power for me when bridged
Early models had a problem with a compnent in the power supply in order to get a California UL listing; Steve would send out the part for free back then (think it was the rectifier)
They also added transparency to mine for free
I find if you boost heavily with the parametric the Q of the filter rings like a fire alarm IMO
If you don't need to boost parametric EQ (cutting is fine) the EQ is decent and they are nice amps; not real tubey although I never experimented much with the tube; doubt if it changes the tone much in the big picture though
Never cared for using too much transparency
Also, be cautious as the amps are really full range and can put out some very low frequencies
Thanks for the EQ settings I've been trying to even out the 250Hz bump.
I love my SWR Studio 220 I can hear my instrument not my amp could do with a little more power tho, maybe one day I'll pick up a SM400.
Recently installed an old Mullard 12ax7 which has better tone (IMO) than some of the NOS tubes I tried.
Am also using an unusual EQ in that the bass knob is set at only 2 clicks from off (like 8:00); I then add bass at approx 100 Hz with the parametric
IME, the bass knob will add some sub harmonics which cause extremely low frequency excursion, adds mud, and robs amp power.
Would be interested to hear if this EQ works for any of you guys
Am also using an unusual EQ in that the bass knob is set at only 2 clicks from off (like 8:00); I then add bass at approx 100 Hz with the parametric
IME, the bass knob will add some sub harmonics which cause extremely low frequency excursion, adds mud, and robs amp power.
Would be interested to hear if this EQ works for any of you guys
+1.
For rock, or anything that involves a P-bass, I use the first para to take out the way low 30-40hz stuff. Or you can do like Jim C says and use the bass shelving knob to take the bottom out, then put it back in where you want it with the first para.
Then I use the second para and put a little boost at 200-300 hz, it only takes a little. This takes away the SWR "scooped" sound and puts some good lowmid thump in it.
Keep the aural enhancer set low as said but on mine, having it completely off seems to take away power/volume so I keep it just a notch or 2 above off.
Mine had a JAN phillips pre tube in it that was warm and fat. I pulled it to use in another amp and put a regular groovetube in it like you have now. It did lose a little bit of the sweet tone but not enough to make a difference in a live setting. Your eq settings will affect it way more than a different tube.
The transparency knob is a treble knob set up around 5k. The knob labelled treble is more of a low treble knob set around 2.5 or 3k.
I used an SM-400 (no "S") from 1989 until 2004. When I bought it new it came with a Groove Tubes 7025. A year or two later when it was time to replace the tube I couldn't find any 7025's so I used a Groove Tubes 12AX7, and I swear it never sounded quite as fat or punchy after that!
I've got one of the originals too. Changed out the tube to a GT ECC83(yeah, I know, they are the same thing, right?). Tone was fatter, warmer, a little more clear. This isn't to restart any tubes debate. It's just let you know the tube can make a bit of a difference.
