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Anyone else dislike SWR?
- Thread starter Jazzkuma
- Start date
- Oct 8, 2007
- 970
- 60
- Disclosures
- Former Part-Time, Non-Commission Employee MOOG Audio
I did play p basses through my SM500, a '75 ash body and an ash boner bass with lace sensors. When the sm500 was stolen my love for those two basses quickly diminished and I sold them rather quickly... I do have to agree that the SWR sound is great with p basses.
The SWR combos were great too a baby baby blue or a super redhead won't let you down. my 2 cents
The SWR combos were great too a baby baby blue or a super redhead won't let you down. my 2 cents
I have owned, and sold, quite a few SWR amps. I am not a big fan of them either. I found that the amps sounded better on an active bass than a passive bass. On a passive bass they just sounded too sterile. I sold the amps and cabs to pick up better sounding (my opinion) and lighter GK gear.
Yes , "sterile" is exacty my impression of them, I just could never get a sound I liked out of SWR's. I did however like their cabs although i havent played SWR in many years.
At the musuc school where I work, there's a Workingman Pro serie amp.
Sound good (but not great) with my Schecter Elite 5 and sound bad with my Jazz. But I didn't spend much time dialing the EQ.
Sound good (but not great) with my Schecter Elite 5 and sound bad with my Jazz. But I didn't spend much time dialing the EQ.
I have an SWR Rig and have never been happier with my sound, even after trying ampeg, orange, fender, hartke, peavey, GK.
Its a 4003 through a EHX black finger, digitech BP200, Sansamp BDDI and then workingpro 400 + workingpro 1x15+ workingpro 4x10.
Beautiful clear sound, easy to variate if I want to modify my sound and very perceptive of small tweakings from stomp boxes or the bass itself.
When playing with my P-bass, it's just a motown possession!! really good sound.
Maybe it's just me but I love my swr rig!
Its a 4003 through a EHX black finger, digitech BP200, Sansamp BDDI and then workingpro 400 + workingpro 1x15+ workingpro 4x10.
Beautiful clear sound, easy to variate if I want to modify my sound and very perceptive of small tweakings from stomp boxes or the bass itself.
When playing with my P-bass, it's just a motown possession!! really good sound.
Maybe it's just me but I love my swr rig!
Played through my first SWR cab about a month ago and fell in love instantly. It captured my definition of 'punch' and delivered it to a T!
Dunno, I am a newbie bass player. I played bass in my first band about 20 years ago or so, was using an Ibanez SR400 into a GK 800RB into a Peavey 1820 cabinet. I played guitar since then, and recently started playing bass in a band again about a year and a half ago. My new rig is an SWR WorkingPro400 into an SWR WorkingPro 4x10 cab. I am playing an active early nineties Fender Jazz Plus 5 string into it. My bandmates are blown away by the tone of this rig, I am extremely satisified as well, I am really enjoying the warm organic tone this setup produces. I am liking the cleaner tones, and am not real fond of dirt at this point. I definitely agree that it is clean and bright, and that does not work for many people. Seems like many people use these amps early on, then move onto other gear. Maybe I will be one of those people at some point as well. For now, I couldnt be happier. or am I just a newb? lol
I have an SM500 that I use with Goliath III and Goliath III Jr 4 ohm cabinets.
The tone suites me fine, I like the look and sound of the cabinets, but in the past nine years, the amp overheated and quit working during gigs.
Both times I was running the Goliath III cabinet when it went out. I was running in 500 Watt mono mode.
It sounded great while it worked, but I learned that maybe that amp isn't designed to run a 4 ohm load in mono bridged mode. Sometimes I need that extra power and can get it by running both cabinets using amp A and amp B and skipping the mono mode. I like to keep my load in/out minimal.
The bottom line is that I can't have my amp quitting on me during the middle of a gig. That's really important to me. Now I have a Genz Benz Shuttle Max 12.2 amp that doesn't have an overheating problem.
For now I'll hang onto my SM500 just in case the Genz Benz quits working for me!
Bob
The tone suites me fine, I like the look and sound of the cabinets, but in the past nine years, the amp overheated and quit working during gigs.
Both times I was running the Goliath III cabinet when it went out. I was running in 500 Watt mono mode.
It sounded great while it worked, but I learned that maybe that amp isn't designed to run a 4 ohm load in mono bridged mode. Sometimes I need that extra power and can get it by running both cabinets using amp A and amp B and skipping the mono mode. I like to keep my load in/out minimal.
The bottom line is that I can't have my amp quitting on me during the middle of a gig. That's really important to me. Now I have a Genz Benz Shuttle Max 12.2 amp that doesn't have an overheating problem.
For now I'll hang onto my SM500 just in case the Genz Benz quits working for me!
Bob
I could alway get a great tone out of an SWR. My pre Fender Red Head is one of the best amps I've ever played through.
While I have liked some of the heads, I have always loved the cabinets. I did not like the Bass 750. Could not get a good sound.
Loved the Bass 350, the SM-400s, and have liked sounds I have heard from others.
I have not ever played an SWR cab I did not like.
Loved the Bass 350, the SM-400s, and have liked sounds I have heard from others.
I have not ever played an SWR cab I did not like.
- Mar 11, 2005
- 2,541
- 7
- 41
- Disclosures
- Employee - Basscentre Melbourne
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
I can always get 'my sound' out of an SWR amp/cab combo, though I have come to prefer Eden heads with SWR cabs. I can get by with other amps, but SWR always seems to provide a platform that I can work with across the board. Been using them for close to 13 years now with no complaints. Additionally, the cabs are bulletproof. I have a 22 year-old Goliath I cab that is still kicking and sounds great.
Ex WorkingPro 400 owner here and I hated every minute with it. Not even half the volume of my old Hartke 3500 (at twice the price) and brittle, cold tone that even my SansAmp couldn't warm up.
I donated it and took the tax writeoff cause I couldn't in good conscience ask anyone to give me their money for that piece of crap. Lesson learned, never again.
I donated it and took the tax writeoff cause I couldn't in good conscience ask anyone to give me their money for that piece of crap. Lesson learned, never again.
I've never played a WorkingPro 400. But I do bring my Eden to our rehearsal room to avoid using their Hartke 3500. 
One man's gold is another man's piece of crap.
One man's gold is another man's piece of crap.Weird, just goes to show why there are so many different amps out there. I guess I would want to question you as to what your full rig looked like, guitar ,cab etc... cold and sterile is NOT even remotely what my rig sounds like. I get non-stop compliments on my bass tone nightly, from bass players/musicians and non-musicians alike. It is a very distinct tone, and if that is not your tone, I get it.
