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Scott Whitley SWB-1
- Thread starter Chicago Al
- Start date
I'll be headed there on the Friday and could possibly help out. I can't make it the rest of the weekend, but I'll be there on the 25th.
-The quality of the finish is good, and the overall craftsmanship seems good as well.
-The fretboard edge is rolled to be very comfortable and the fret end tangs were obviously nipped or hidden in some way so that they are not sticking out or even visible.
-Electronics work well, the wiring is tidy and the BTC works well with the ChownyX pickups. I’ll likely try to add another 9v in series for more output.
-It’s well setup straight from the case for intonation and action.
-It’s not a lightweight bass at all, but I suppose that’s for balance purposes and is just something to keep in mind. I was hoping for a lighter one, but I can probably get used to it with time. I’ll try to get an accurate weight to post later on.
-The monorail bridges giving the ability for a more normal string spacing makes a huge difference in comfort to me, I believe. Great call on that.
-The biggest surprise to me is that the string tension is high and feels “right”, even though it’s a short scale.
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I knew about the weight ahead of time thanks to this forum, so not surprised but was just hoping for lighter. I understand that this may be a dumb thing to hope for, in that the bass was likely intended to be around 9.3pounds for balancing purposes. But, regardless of how dumb, I play 100% of the time with DiMarzio Cliplocks and balance has never been an issue with any high end or cheap bass. Just wanted to explain myself here to avoid confusion. Please don’t take this as me being critical of the SWB-1 or Chowny.
Thanks for the info on the extra 9v. For others reference here’s what EMG’s instruction guide for the BTC says about 18v(I assume this recommendation is for when also using EMG pickups):
“If you want to operate your instrument at +18 Volts for more headroom then use 2 batteries wired as below.
Also, if you are using any type of EQ in your instrument (EMG-BT, BQ) or anything that boosts the pickup signal then +18 Volts is recommended.”
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I would imagine that anything under 9 lbs with a body shape like this bass would actually be a problem with the balance.
A great review, thank you and I agree with your findings. After using the bass live for some time, I sometimes find myself losing the top string over the edge of the fretboard, and as I play hard with a pick and my hand is on the move, I also sometimes catch the volume control mid song..... that's more of a sign of my poor technique though.
I also love the increased string tension and I'm still on the original strings, I love the definition, and the brightness of the pickups, which seems to be missing from the videos I've seen of the Pro model....
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Losing the string over the edge... yes, me too. Luckily not on my fretless. I always turn the tone completely off because I think the pickups are too bright (also on my Pro). It's all personal preference.
You guys losing the G off the fretboard: have your tried loosening the neck bolts and shifting the neck over and away from the treble side? Maybe that will help.
Totally - Tone is a completely subjective thing - I love the brightness of the SWB just as I loved the Stingray and my old Peavey Foundation - tame it a little with the amp and it works beautifully for live performance.
chowny
Commercial User
The SWB Pro is wired this way. One word of warning is that it makes the bass super-hot. It'll clip your pedals if you don't tweak the volume.
Yes. Chose heavy woods (Ash / Mahogany) for this very reason. Short horns. ;-)
That said... they do vary a bit in weight from bass to bass (depending on the piece of wood they're made from) so some are definitely lighter than this. Mahogany ones tend to be a little lighter too. All the painted finishes are Ash.
Just FYI in case anybody is looking for one. I've got an Active Ash one with a little chip on the neck pocket that I'm discounting by about 20%. PM if interested.
chowny
Commercial User
I have this wonderfull SWB-1 Pro (see my avatar). I want to replace the pickup-switch with a Blend pot. Anyone know I need the 250k or 25k pot (and where to buy)? Thanks.
I already did this on my passive SWB-1 but I don't know if the pickups on the Pro needs 25k instead of 250k.
I already did this on my passive SWB-1 but I don't know if the pickups on the Pro needs 25k instead of 250k.
I think the neck-pocket is too tight for that. It's a matter of adjusting my technique. After a while it doesn't happen anymore.
Can you post a picture of your passive SWB with the blend instead of 3-way? I’m considering the same. Thanks!
