SWR Basic Black question

[Bodeanly]

GF cleaned out her storage unit and gave me an old SWR Basic Black. I cleaned it up and plugged it in. It sounds like crap and I'm assuming it's got a bad tube.

Two questions:

What does a bad tube sound like?

Which screws do I remove to check/ replace the tube?

I didn't do a TB search. I didn't do a google search. Thanks.

 

[Bass_Pounder]

Before opening it up, does that head have an FX loop ?

If so, insert a patch cable between the send/return.

If that fixes it, you need to clean the jacks (common place for corrosion problems).

 

[Bodeanly]

Before opening it up, does that head have an FX loop ?

If so, insert a patch cable between the send/return.

If that fixes it, you need to clean the jacks (common place for corrosion problems).

Thanks, but no dice.

In the process of uploading a video of the problem.

 

[Bodeanly]

Here is what I'm getting:

 

[Omega Monkey]

If you don't know what a bad tube sounds like, why do you assume it's a bad tube?

Anyway, to me that sounds way more broken than a bad preamp tube, BUT 12AX7s are cheap and ubiquitous, so it couldn't hurt to try.

But I would do these 2 things first because they are free and a lot easier than opening the thing up.

Assuming you have another (working) amp and both have effects loops, run the preamp of the other amp into the power amp (fx return) of the SWR. if that solves you're problem, now you've narrowed it down to the preamp section of the SWR (could then be the tube or something else).

If that doesn't solve your problem, the next step is to do basically the same test, but instead of a different preamp, use a different speaker. This requires the combo to have both a defeatable interal speaker, as well as an external speaker jack (unless you rig it up). If the SWR electronics sound great through another speaker cab, but not its own, you have your realm of malfunctioned narrowed down there.

If THAT doesn't solve your problem, you can do the same as test #1, but flipped around, so SWR pre into another power amp. If possible to use the SWR internal speaker that would be ideal.

What I'm getting at is you isolate each major component of the SWR by taking it out of the system and see if the problem goes away until you figure out where the problem is coming from. If those 3 tests don't bring forth an answer, you may need to do another round using just one system of the SWR at a time (pre, power, and speaker).

 

[BassmanPaul]

It's faulty - take it to a competent tech.

 

[Bodeanly]

If you don't know what a bad tube sounds like, why do you assume it's a bad tube?

Anyway, to me that sounds way more broken than a bad preamp tube, BUT 12AX7s are cheap and ubiquitous, so it couldn't hurt to try.

But I would do these 2 things first because they are free and a lot easier than opening the thing up.

Assuming you have another (working) amp and both have effects loops, run the preamp of the other amp into the power amp (fx return) of the SWR. if that solves you're problem, now you've narrowed it down to the preamp section of the SWR (could then be the tube or something else).

If that doesn't solve your problem, the next step is to do basically the same test, but instead of a different preamp, use a different speaker. This requires the combo to have both a defeatable interal speaker, as well as an external speaker jack (unless you rig it up). If the SWR electronics sound great through another speaker cab, but not its own, you have your realm of malfunctioned narrowed down there.

If THAT doesn't solve your problem, you can do the same as test #1, but flipped around, so SWR pre into another power amp. If possible to use the SWR internal speaker that would be ideal.

What I'm getting at is you isolate each major component of the SWR by taking it out of the system and see if the problem goes away until you figure out where the problem is coming from. If those 3 tests don't bring forth an answer, you may need to do another round using just one system of the SWR at a time (pre, power, and speaker).

I will try these. Thanks.

It's faulty - take it to a competent tech.

I don't care enough about it to take it to a tech. I'm just gonna fiddle with it.

 

[chadds]

I will try these. Thanks.


I don't care enough about it to take it to a tech. I'm just gonna fiddle with it.

It's quite a nice piece not some budget practice amp. Send it to me. Or I bet it's $150., tops, bench charge. Caps could be bad. Anyway. You can't buy anything like that for under $300. and it looks cosmetically nice.

 

[Bodeanly]

It's quite a nice piece not some budget practice amp. Send it to me. Or I bet it's $150., tops, bench charge. Caps could be bad. Anyway. You can't buy anything like that for under $300. and it looks cosmetically nice.

I may wait until Spring to fuss with it. Until then, it makes a nifty little stool to sit on in the music room. Thanks.

 

[BassmanPaul]

I don't care enough about it to take it to a tech. I'm just gonna fiddle with it.

Make sure you don't make the amp irreparable whilst you are fiddling.

One thing you could try is to link the Effects Loop, if it has one, with a short signal cable and see if it helps.

 

[Bodeanly]

Make sure you don't make the amp irreparable whilst you are fiddling.

One thing you could try is to link the Effects Loop, if it has one, with a short signal cable and see if it helps.

I tried this. I'm going to use some Deoxit on all of the inputs/ outputs, then try this again. It's been sitting in storage since '99, so Midwestern weather has had its way with it, many times over.

 

[bobcruz]

With that much time in storage, I think the DeoxIT may be all it needs...good luck, those are great combos. I recall they won an award for best combo under $1000 in the 90's.

 

[Bodeanly]

With that much time in storage, I think the DeoxIT may be all it needs...good luck, those are great combos. I recall they won an award for best combo under $1000 in the 90's.

I really don't need another amp to trip over, but the price was right. Thanks, man!

 

[telecopy]

I had one of these way back in the early '90s. Thanks hadn't thought about that for a while..

 

[fffreddy]

I had one of these back in the day. Loved it. (Lent to my daughter. Stolen from the music room at her school.) Worth trying to get it to work properly.

 

[Wasnex]

Here is what I'm getting:

120 HZ? That sounds like a power supply problem or a bad output device to me. Could be as simple as a cold solder joint. I suspect a careful visual inspection will reveal a place where the magic smoke has escaped. Good luck with the fiddling; be safe.

Personally I thought the Basic Black was one of the worst sounding SWR amps ever made. The three I have played were under-powered, too scooped in the low mids, and produced loose and undefined lows. I was far more impressed with the 1st generation Baby Blue that had two 8" woofers and a 5" midrange.

 

[Count Bassie]

I've got a Basic Black mated to a Basic 2-Way extension cab. Real nice mini-stack for club gigs. Easy cartage, easy and quick setup, the pair throws impressively for a 180-watt combo. Played some blues gigs in VFW halls with the Basic Black solo, did just fine.
You like it or you don't, but it's a quality piece. Someone will shell out bread for it if it's not your bird dog...

 

[arbiterusa]

Personally I thought the Basic Black was one of the worst sounding SWR amps ever made. The three I have played were under-powered, too scooped in the low mids, and produced loose and undefined lows. I was far more impressed with the 1st generation Baby Blue that had two 8" woofers and a 5" midrange.

Come on. Be reasonable. The Basic Black is not a bad amp, far better than its competition at the price point. The first gen Baby Blue is an amp I would sell my own mother for. You're comparing a Kia to a Lamborghini here.

 

[MrLenny1]

It's worth fixing.
That was a quality combo in its heyday.

 

[Wasnex]

Come on. Be reasonable. The Basic Black is not a bad amp, far better than its competition at the price point. The first gen Baby Blue is an amp I would sell my own mother for. You're comparing a Kia to a Lamborghini here.

I used a Basic Black regularly for rehearsals and jazz combo gigs for about four years, and had intermittent access to a borrowed Baby Blue for about 20 gigs. Basic Black: I say , you say drool. There is room for both of us to be right as beauty/value is in the eye of the beholder.

Kia to Lamborghini is a bit of an exaggeration. Baby Blue was approximately 2x the cost of a Basic Black but it didn't have superior performance across the board. IMHO the Baby Blue was an easy carry and sounded really nice, but was barely loud enough for jazz trio. The Baby Blue did not tolerate abuse very well. The Basic Black was loud enough for a socially minded pop group, but also bulky, heavy, and scooped/woolly sounding in comparison. I wouldn't pay to repair either given what is available today. YMMV!