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SWR. Hate 'em? Love 'em?

#41
SWR: for me the way they are scooped allows me to reproduce very warm mids with no nasalness. The low end is there but not from an anemic bass.
SWR: use a great bass, play them flat, turn down that tweeter, learn how to use the pre then the master, match ohms. (I've seen folk plug one side of an SM-400 into an SVT cab then say it wasn't loud enough. Of course it wasn't that's 160 SS watts into a non vented cab that's looking for 300 Tube Watts.) And haven't we learned that some cabs respond better with SS heads and others better with Tube heads?
SWR:the one amp that I don't have to look around at a gig and say, "what's happening?" I don't look at it or them until it's time to pack up. This is all subjective. Your fingers do little things to get your tone and so different amps for different strokes.
Beware the "here comes the new stuff so the old must be bad and let's rag on it." The new kid on the block will stand on it's merits. The old stuff was great a year ago. Now that S******** and B*** have new forms of old ideas that doesn't mean that last years stuff sucks.
It's about playing music. Maybe not. Maybe we pay high prices to equipment companies to be surrogate equipment evaluators. That's cool but aren't we supposed to get paid for our time?:)
 
#43
I've had examples of all three. The Is and IIs had a definite tone that sounded good solo. The IIIs seem to project the sound out and are more "hifi". The projection is due in part to the forward facing ports. My band noticed the difference.
SWRs sound good in the mix!
People are cautiously defending Trace that it's still ok after being bought by Peavey. Well if it didn't happen the line might be gone. Jaguar actually got better under Ford. That quirky nitch thing wasn't really working. We will see about Pre CBS Fender, I mean post Fender SWR.
I have two Bass 750s that I bought before they put the effects in. They sound huge. The Baby Blue II is one of the finest bass amps ever made. It's only con? It's not a stadium rig.
 
#44
My first SWR is my WM210C. What others scoff at as sterile or hi-fi (isn't hi-fi what we want?) means clear and bright to me. Liked the sound so much that I bought a 350X and a GIII.
I run my EQs reverse smiley. Glass like highs and well defined punch.

Stingrays and SWRs go so well together.:hyper:
 
#45
i really dig SWR, i have a peavy 410tx which is basically a SWR goliathII, it was just cheaper:p...ive been tempted in getting a 350x or possibly one of the new workingpro heads once i get to try one and make a decision, but i think the best head ive tried is the workingmans 8004 TOP head, that thing was a pure beast, i loved it, sucks they didnt produce it for long....oh and to compare them to mesa boogie, i wouldnt buy a mesa boogie if they were 50% off,i really dont like mesa
 
#46
This is becoming a funny thread. Me, I am happy when people go nuts for SWR. More power to ya. Well, not too much power, or you'll blow the cabs. :p Different strokes and all that. But is SWR as good now as it was pre-takeover? Or are the fans here rating it on the merits of the old gear? Sure, the old stuff is as good as it was in days gone by. In days gone by I didn't like it very much either, so it's not like some new kid has stolen my heart. There could be merit in the argument that the earliest stuff was killer - I haven't tried the earliest stuff. If it's true, then SWR is like Boogie for me at least. It would mean both companies are putting out products that look good on paper but aren't anything special in reality, but back in the old days they had some cool stuff.

My "new kid" amp that has swayed me with its hype was made in 1974. When folks profess their loyalty for SWR I don't get upset or whatever. It's actually better for me.
 
#48
played a 350 x in a store. i liked it, but the price wasn't for me.

i payed half of the 900 dollar price tag on my WorkingPro 400. and they're both made in Mexico, so its all good.

one nice thing about the Fender buyout is the increase in Warranty (5 years) which is long compared to some companies, as well as an abundance of repair places/etc to go for if you have trouble. however, from wut i've seen, i don't think i'll ever need t outilize that warranty.
 
#54
I remember when SWR was the best amps you could buy, but there wasn't the kind of competition then that there is now.

Right now, older Pro-series stuff is an incredible value on the ebay/used market. You can get Bass 350 heads for less than a dollar a watt all the time. That's a hand-wired amp with premium components. You can get Studio 220's for less than 3 bills---it's one of the best hi-fi tube-preamps out there, with parametric EQ, variable limiter, crossover, plus a 220 watt power section for small gigs, practice, or when your power amp dies! It's like always having a spare amp with you.

The IOD is a unique peice of gear that requires some finess to use. I have one, but don't use it that much. If I were in a rock band, I'd use it all the time.

The Stereo 800 is one of the best power amps ever made, period. It's kinda low-powered by todays standards, but it's still insanely loud and super-accurate.

Basically, SWR hasn't really come up with anything new in 10 years or more, so it's certainly not state-of-the-art.

But the used stuff represents a good value that allows people access to high quality gear for a very low price.
 
#55
My old blackface SM900 is working very well. IMO it sounds very neutral, is buildt like a tank, and has the power I need. I`ve seen some claim that mono amps like the Ashdown EVO II and EBS TD650 actually is louder than the 900. Not true! I tested both against the 900 with a EBS 410 cab(4oHm), and the SM900 was much louder. I liked the TD650 though, and it was very loud in 2oHms.

I also owned several SWR cabs, but I like the EBS cabs better.

A friend of mine have an old Baby Blue, and that little combo rocks!
 
#56
I have to go along with Soulfinger on this.

I absolutely love my SWR rig. But it's all older design stuff. I am not nearly as impressed with their more recent stuff.

So buy their stuff used on the 'bay. You'll get good gear for low prices. Buy the new Fender stuff and there is no telling.
 
#57
Well I've had several SWR heads (both pre and post Fender) in the past and not-so-distant past. I kept going back mainly because of some killer deals I got but kept selling because the tone was just not there for me. They are what I consider hi-fi and I've yet to play one that I would call warm. I keep going back to the warmer heads. Not slamming SWR stuff, just not my cup-o-tea...
 
#58
RiseOfTheWooten said:
Where are the WorkingPros made?

Also, what's AFAIK?
Click to expand...


working pros are mexico.

and according to what swr told me, so are the x series, the difference is the tube pre and the added effects like mo bass and the swr version of ashdowns sub harmonizer.

i love my swr. jus wanted to c wut other ppl think. i know there aren't many amps i've played i like better, definitely for the price, and the fact that its brand new. used stuff is fun, til it breaks.
 

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