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Pre Fender SWR's

#61
Eric Swaim said:
View attachment 644033


I have been playing SWR amplifiers since my friend Mark Childers sold me one back in 1993 (SM400). The SWR amps have always been great up until Fender bought the company and took the quality out of the amps. So here is my question: Do the local guys in your area still use the older SWR or have they moved on to the smaller and mostly imported amps??
I have owned many different amp from SWR and other companies, but I always come back to SWR.
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As much as I loved my pre-Fender Redhead (and all the other SWR amps I had), I just couldn't handle the weight anymore. I first bought a Genz-Benz, and then an Aguilar, and they were both amazing.

I personally think the country a product is made in is irrelevant, but that said I thought it worth pointing out that both those amps I bought were made in USA, so it isn't like you have to go outside of North American to find small, lightweight, great sounding amps (Traynor would be another one that fits into that category).
 
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#62
tonemachine said:
The manual didn't say they were pioneers, that was my apparently ignorant word. Manual only explained why one shouldn't be alarmed by the heat and that aluminum wasnt common in amps. By the way, I read it only two months ago after owning it used for 22 years so, rest assured, no ad copy trickery worked on me. Who's Rabe? Nevermind.
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I take it you found out Rabe is Steven W Rabe? ;)
 
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#63
I'm a throwback, I guess. I use early SWR Grand Prix Preamps (2 - for stereo). I have an early SWR Stereo 800 power amp, but I currently use an older Stewart 1.2 power amp for my bass and ERB rig. I have a selection of other Class B & Class H power amps from respected manufacturers for my club PA. I used to own Genz-Benz ShuttleMax 12.0 Class D heads. Nice and light for sure and sound good, too. IMSO (S=subjective), they seemed functionally fragile and interestingly, with the same EQ, input levels, effects, speakers, etc. seemed to have a slightly higher noise floor than my current rig. Also, placed on top of some speakers and cranked, the GB is so light, the vibration transfer moves it around. Less so with a foam pad under it. Also, though I no longer have it (and regret selling it) the early Celestion-equipped Henry 8x8s are just fantastic cabs. I played the newer Henry and it just didn't have the pizazz of the Celestion-equipped version.
 
#64
I have what I believe to be barely Pre-Fender Goliath III and Son of Bertha cabs (Both made in Sun Valley, CA), The 4x10 has the PAS drivers, the SOB now has an Eminence Kappa Pro 15 to replace the original that needed replacement. Used to have an older Bass 750 head but now I use a 750x which I love just the same. I have decided though that if I had to retire my SWR rig I would get a MarkBass rig with a Minimark Tube 800 head.
 
#67
TheBear said:
Back in the day I was rocking an SWR Studio 220 through an PA power amp into a pre-Fender SWR Megoliath. It was a pretty good tone for that time and though it was admittedly fairly neutral it let the sound of my bass cone through accurately. However I sold them off once I started playing exclusively at churches (where I was DI'ed in no matter what) and now that I've left the church gigs behind I'm all about the all-tube sound. Great amps for that time in my playing career but I wouldn't go back to them now as my tastes have changed.
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Peoples taste do change over time and that was the main point to this thread. Who is still using the older SWR in your area. I have used GK, Peavey, Trace Elliot, Fender, Sunn, Ampeg, Seymour Duncan, Eden, Carvin, Genz Benz, Hartke, and several others through the years. But I always come back to SWR. Even though They made changes through the years. Goliath I, II, III, IV all sound different when played through the same bass head. I get all that, I was just curious who was still using the older SWR's in your area.

One of the reasons, (but not the only reason) I like SWR is they never made any noise when turned on and volumed up. I can't stand the "hiss" like every GK I ever played through from 1990 until now. I also like the durability and options their older "pro line" offers.
 
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#68
The Regulator said:
Invalid Link Removed

GOLIATH III

Speaker Complement: (4) 10" P.A.S Drivers, (1) Foster Horn

P.A.S. 10" SPEAKER SPECIFICATIONS
Free Air Resonance: 47 Hz Individual Impedance: 8 Ohms (each) Power Rating: 175 Watts RMS (each)

Goliath™ Series IV

Speaker Complement: (4) Custom Designed 10" SWR Drivers, (1) Custom Designed Tweeter
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I think this may have been the case for the original G3s, but I was heavily into their speakers back in the day and I am almost certain that they dropped the pas speakers well before Fender took over. I can remember being advised of the change, although I never thought it was a big deal. Can't remember the reason given why, although it might have been something to do with Eden using the same drivers??? I certainly had a pair of earlier non Fender G3s that did not have pas drivers. No biggie either way IMO.
 
#71
mark roberts said:
I'm a throwback, I guess. I use early SWR Grand Prix Preamps (2 - for stereo). I have an early SWR Stereo 800 power amp, but I currently use an older Stewart 1.2 power amp for my bass and ERB rig. I have a selection of other Class B & Class H power amps from respected manufacturers for my club PA. I used to own Genz-Benz ShuttleMax 12.0 Class D heads. Nice and light for sure and sound good, too. IMSO (S=subjective), they seemed functionally fragile and interestingly, with the same EQ, input levels, effects, speakers, etc. seemed to have a slightly higher noise floor than my current rig. Also, placed on top of some speakers and cranked, the GB is so light, the vibration transfer moves it around. Less so with a foam pad under it. Also, though I no longer have it (and regret selling it) the early Celestion-equipped Henry 8x8s are just fantastic cabs. I played the newer Henry and it just didn't have the pizazz of the Celestion-equipped version.
Click to expand...

I've heard from a couple of folks who've blown a speaker or four on a Fender era Henry the 8x8. My 8x8 is an early production proper SWR, and it's never complained about any amp I've used it with. It gets very loud with my wee GK 200rb. (Anyone remember those?) I throw my Buster 200 on it and It'll carry a medium size club with ease. Bombproof.

I also had an original Redhead and hated it. Hi-Fi in a wrong sort of way. Underpowered too. My Mesa M3 1x12 has the same wattage but killed the SWR.

I think the speaker quality is the biggest change. The Fender ones don't sound as good and are more fragile. The original ones are extremely tough. My buddy's been playing in a LOUD metal band for 15 years with an original Big Bertha under a 400+. Still going - no repairs, and sounds like new.
 
#72
I used SWR exclusively years ago. I owned a lot of their gear 410's, 810's, 15's, 18's, 350's, 500's, 750's. @Dave Hill still kills gigs with his SWR stuff 750 or SM900 Golialths or Megoliath, I love it when he brings that stuff over and I get to hear that tone again. Workhorse quality too. But damn that carpet gets dirty.

Would love to own a 4 ohm 410.
 
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#73
I used to sell SWR in the Pre Fender days, and their line up was hit and miss, so they had some work to do to move forward long before Fender came along and that never happened.

The Baby Blue, 220 and Redhead sounded great but not a lot of power. The 400 was decent and the Goliath cabinets are still the gold standard in my book, but the Working Man series stuff was a step in the wrong direction.
 
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#74
This thread is making me wish I still had my pre-Fender Goliath Sr.
Still use this rig :

mm.jpg
 
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#75
Workingman's 15 from 2003 is the only amp I have found that I will always keep. It is my first gigging bass amp and it is perfect for so many different situations. I always use it for big band gigs with double bass. Built like a tank, always sounds good, it even sounds good with a mic'ed double bass with correct eq.
 
#76
aprod said:
According to my band mates the SWR sounds "dated". They prefer the sound of my Genz Benz ShuttleMax 12.2.
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obviously the guys in your band are not bass players. The only sound that sounds dated is 1960-early 70's sound engineers turning the treble and high mids down on the recordings, and or the use of the "chorus pedal" being over used on the bass in the 1980's. Other than that how do you "date the sound of the bass rig"????? Just playing devils advocate, I have heard people say that about other peoples gear.
 
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#77
I use my Studio 220 from the early 90s as my practice amp, 20 years and still rock solid (does get hot after a couple hours of use). I do prefer the sound and weight of my genz shuttle 6.0, but I have had to send it in for warranty work 3 times. Never an issue with the old SWR
 
#78
I have a Super Redhead and Spellbinder Blue (never a problem with either one: both are great amps)
and have become accustomed to the extra resonance of the aural enhancer for my sound.
Some of the complaints about SWR's sound not cutting it in the mix are very easy to fix with a bump around 200hz.
IMHO, the pre-Fender Super Redhead and the Class D Spellbinder have a very similar sound to one another.
 
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#79
I run into them in backlines a bit. The local major sound company used the cab I sold them twenty years ago and turned up in Chaka Khan's bassist Melvin Davis's rig here on a couple months ago, he killed!!! p.s. my SWR cab was made by Eden when they were still making cabs for SWR.
 
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#80
22yo bassist playing a 350 with a triad currently, not loud enough to justify its weight, but it sounds great for the price. Just playing small bars so it works well. Sounds very raw I think and doesn't color the basses natural sound too much.
 

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