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Bridge mode-SWR 400

Discussion in 'Amps and Cabs [BG]' started by barroso, Oct 12, 2001.

  1. Oct 12, 2001 #1
    barroso

    barroso

    Aug 16, 2000
    Italia
    i have a new SWR sm 400s. sunday i'll have the first occasion to use this head. i read the manual and i'm interested in trying it in bridge mode. it seems that in this mode, i'll have the biggest output from this head. i have the SWR banana jack and i have the banana jack speaker output on the rear panel of the head. but how can i connect the banana speaker to the rea/black banana speaker output? i mean, i have never seen or used a jack like this and i'm not able to understand how i have to plug it, can you help me?
    i'd like to know more about this head when used in stereo, biamped or mono bridged. can you tell me more?
    thanks
     
  2. Oct 12, 2001 #2
    mchildree

    mchildree Supporting Member

    Sep 4, 2000
    AL/GA
    Hey Barroso,

    I have the same amp. Love it.

    I'm not entirely sure I understand what you're asking, so forgive me if I don't give you the answer you're looking for. Banana jacks are very simply used, but you do need to pay attention to polarity. If you have banana-type input connectors on your speaker cabinet, as well as a cable that has the male banana connectors on both ends, you're in business. Notice that the banana speaker outputs on the SWR head are red and black...red for positive, black for negative. You should see the same on the speaker cabinet. Just plug the speaker cable into both the head and speaker cab, making sure that red goes to red, black goes to black.


    red <---------------------(cable)--------------------->red
    black<-------------------------------------------------->black

    Does this help?
     
  3. Oct 12, 2001 #3
    barroso

    barroso

    Aug 16, 2000
    Italia
    my real trouble is this: i have the banana plug in the SWR SM 400s kit. i bought this head with all the optionals, such as the banana plug. my problem is that the banana male is bigger than the female. if i turn anticlockwise the red and black part on the back of the head they seem to go out until they block themselves. my question is: how can i plug the banana male in the red and black banana jack speaker output if the banana male is bigger? i'm sure that the cable is right because it was in the closed packaging of the head. this maybe is a silly question...

    going back to the sound of this head, do you use it bridged or stereo? aer you usin with effects or other devisec? i do not have a cab at the moment, i use the head with different rented cabs. when i'll have the money i'll buy a 4x10' and then a 1x18'. i liked a lot the warwick 4x10, the model is called w411 pro with tweeter.

    thanks

    p.s. i love your lakland!
     
  4. Oct 12, 2001 #4
    barroso

    barroso

    Aug 16, 2000
    Italia
    forgot to say that my banana cable has got a banana plug and to the other end it's a normal 1/8 spaeker cable...
     
  5. Oct 12, 2001 #5
    mchildree

    mchildree Supporting Member

    Sep 4, 2000
    AL/GA
    Okay...now I think I'm getting a clearer picture of the situation! First of all, you want to screw the plastic red and black parts on the back of the amp head connector all the way clockwise, until they stop. Those plastic parts are able to be unscrewed in the event you have to use bare wires to make the connection (you can forget about this, since you have a banana connector).

    It's normal for the banana male connector to be a tight fit into the female jacks on the amp head. When they're new, they can be VERY tight and may take a little force to push it in all the way. Don't be afraid to push....just watch to make sure you aren't applying enough force to bend the metal male pins or break the plastic. If it takes that much force, there's something wrong, and I'd take it back to the store to have them make sure you have the correct cable. I'm not sure if maybe the connectors are different for the European versions of SWR gear?

    I use my SM400S with an SWR Goliath Sr. 6x10 cab, which is a 4-ohm cab. This is a mono setup, and the crossover isn't used...I've tried the stereo, bi-amped mode with 2 cabs, and I just don't think it works as well. The 250 watts per side just isn't powerful enough to run a subwoofer in my musical world. You'll just have to experiment with the different modes to find out what you like best.
     
  6. Oct 12, 2001 #6
    barroso

    barroso

    Aug 16, 2000
    Italia
    grrrrrrrrr

    i hope i have enough strenght to do this...but it's not possible, the banana plug istoo much BIGGER!! i think i'll follow the other way you indicated, i'll use bare wires...unsolder the wires from the banana male and do the connection this way.

    thanks a lot, very helpful;)
     
  7. Oct 12, 2001 #7
    mchildree

    mchildree Supporting Member

    Sep 4, 2000
    AL/GA
    I'd definitely have someone take a look at that...it shouldn't be that tight!
     
  8. Oct 12, 2001 #8
    barroso

    barroso

    Aug 16, 2000
    Italia
    the motto "use your intelligence, not your strenght" carries a big truth! i've done it!! inside the positive and negative speaker plug for the banana cable there were two plastic safety things (i do not know how to name these). i remmoved them with a little screwdriver and the banana plug was ready to insert! thanks a lot to you! sunday i'll have my first approach with the swr 400 with the band, bridged i can have the biggest amount of power from this head, hope to enjoy the amp! i'll post my impressions!
    thanks again
     
  9. Oct 15, 2001 #9
    barroso

    barroso

    Aug 16, 2000
    Italia
    i have tried it!! against a super loud drummer and a ultra heavy guitar player equipped with a stunning mesa boogie triple rectifier head, the swr worked great. i used it bridged with a laney 4x10 cab rated at 8 ohm. very loud and great clean sound. really good with my precision both with open or closed tone knob. worked really great with my preamp too for overdriven sound. i'm really happy, now i have to collect money for a good cab... thanks again who helped