GT Electronics (Groove Tubes) Bass preamp (old SWR)

If you like the SWR sound, then you'll like this pre. Quality was very good. IIRC, the SWR SM-400 used this pre.

 

i loved the pre on the sm-400. i believe phil lesh used this same pre for a long time before switching to eden. i might be wrong.

 

I had one in the early 90s. Paired it with a Carver PM 1.5. At the time I thought it sounded great. My tone goals did a 180 and I got rid of all the rack stuff for a vintage SVT.
Probably should have hung on to that pre, I pretty much gave it away.

 

That's going a long way back, late 80s IIRC - At the time I was going for a hi-fi sort of thing; 6 string bass, big clean rack power amps, pair of Hartke 4x10s. I went from a Yamaha PB-1 preamp to the GT and really liked it. Still very clean, but definitely a warmer tone than the PB-1/Carver combo.

Eventually I started playing more roots/blues/R+B/pop/rock and less jazz/fusion. Some time around 1999 I was weedling away on the high C and had my epiphany - I wasn't digging the hi-fi sounds and I didn't care for the high C string anymore either. I wanted everything different. Bought a '64 Precision and a '76 SVT/8x10 and have been chasing vintage basses and tube amps ever since. I love the sound of an old B-15 or the dirt of a V4-B or SVT just as it's starting to overload a little (or sometimes a lot...)
A GT through a rack amp was just too clean for me. A different power amp might have been better, but I was headed to tubeland

Does that help?

 

Pablo, there were a couple of older threads discussing the GT preamp, did you see those?

I, too, had a GT back in the day when they were still in production. I coupled it with a QSC 1400 power amp.

I bought mine because of an interview with Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revival that appeared in Guitar Player back in the late 80's. Stu was really into the sound he got with the GT.

I would agree that the preamp was very clean and tight sounding, with a bit of tube warmth. It's not SVTish at all. It was pretty much the forerunner of the later SWR heads with the same panel and control layout, and to me, the sound was almost identical to the SWR SM-220, SM-400 and SM-500 heads, if that helps.

I would love to have another one. I don't need one, but I do miss the one I sold. I sold mine to get an F-1X, with one rack space size and a better tube tone, not to mention simpler controls. But I'd still love to have another GT.

Hey, if you are getting back into rack setups, Pablo, this is a really nice preamp. You will dig it. If you don't, you will be able to sell it here on Talkbass. In fact, keep me in mind for the #1 slot.

 

Good pre, clean quiet sound. Nothing wrong with that 90's pieces of a dream and bet onjazz tone. =)

 

If this is the same pre that is in my SM-400, you'll dig it. And if you don't like it at first, DO NOT flip it without trying different tubes first!

I'll always have my SM-400 just for the pre.

Still after all these years!

 

Would it be difficult to get more modern sound out of the Groove Tube preamp? I'm watching the one on Ebay and was just wondering.

 

I had one as well as a swr stuio 220 which is the same preamp with a power section. Modern is the word. very clean, easy to get a scooped sound with the enhance knob, just a bit of dirt from the tube. imo it was best for slap.