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SWR. Hate 'em? Love 'em?

#161
Yup, always better to wait.
I've been playing shows for over 30 years, and with a handful of exceptions, I've always remembered to do that. The point is, the SWR was the only amp I've ever had that emitted such a heinous shriek when I'd forget. Not very forgiving...
 
#162
I have an SWR sound SM 900 which I play through one or two Goliath 3s. I bought it a year ago, but at half price as "old stock" through the Fender importers. It is SWR sound, so must have been manufactured just prior to the Fender take over, I suppose. Prior to that I had an SM 400 as a backup for many years, never missed a beat, ran extrememly hot(no fan), but I agree with Doug about its "bland sound". The 900 almost immediately started making a weird noise that grew louder at random times; I tried a new valve with no improvement although I found that tapping on the top of the case fixed it. I recalled a Talkbasser having mentioned that the top of the chassis could sometimes touch the transformer but this was not the problem. Despite being under warranty I broke my own advice to others and had a look myself. Long story short, the problem is fixed as long as I don't force the valve too hard into its seat - don't ask me why but all has been fine since. I also find the SWR is extremely well suited to a Sansamp which really warms it up and can get very close to a classic all tube sound if you wish - there are times one I do prefer the classic SWR sound though. Personally I find the 900 to be a great improvement over the 400(as was always intended), and mine does not run particularly hot, even when cranked and despite being in a tight 3 unit travel case. Having said that, my first choice amp is always my Mesa 400+, you just can't beat all those glowing tubes but the SWR is always there as a more than able backup.
 
#163
I recognize I'm late to the party, but I have lots of experience with SWR gear so I'll air my views.

I don't think the Workingman's combos are good values. The WM 15 sounds okay in a store, but I've never been impressed with them at gigs. I think the WM 12 is blown away by others in that price range, like the Roland Cube 100.

When I tested Workingman's heads a few years ago, I liked the warm tone, but hated the anemic output for the power ratings. I bought G-K. I've recently been using some of the heads at a rehearsal studio, and I still like the tone, but the muscle just isn't there.

I've had a Goliath III cabinet for almost three years. Other than the 89 lb. weight, I think it's great, and a very good match for my G-K heads. When I bought it, I didn't know much about the vintage/modern tone divide; I just bought what I could afford at Sam Ash (:confused: see how little I knew :confused: ?), and thought the G3 had the most clarity by far. Were I to start over, I'd probably go with a 2x12, but the G3 has never let me down. I wish it had a fatter yet more solid low end, but the tight sound always works, and it does reveal the distinctive characteristics of my instruments. Rolling off the tweeter gets it much closer to vintageville, so I keep it almost all the way off these days.

I've also used a Bigfoot 2x12, which I think is an awesome rock cab. It has serious bark and punch, and got me thinking about twelves. If you're thinking about a 2x12 and see one used for a good price, snatch it up.
 
#170
ihixulu said:
Isn't everything when purchased new?
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no.
but i've owned alot of swr gear, starting years ago before the eden split,
and the quality was definitely better then.
i tried 400 and 900 heads, 4x10, 2x10, 1x18 cabs
they also used to use bag end speakers in their 18" cabs.
they are enemic as far as power goes.
so, imo, they're overpriced compared to other brands available.
 
#171
ihixulu said:
Isn't everything when purchased new?
Click to expand...

IMHO SWR is really overpriced when bought new. For example the SM-500 costs $1200 new, more than the Eden WT-550, and around the same as the Thunderfunk. I haven't checked out the new WorkingPro heads yet, but the old WorkingMan's line was blown away by other options in the same price range.

Used however, you can get great deals on SWR gear because of the extreme depreciation in value recently. You can even get the old SWR Engineering stuff dirt cheap if you look hard enough. ;)
 
#172
I don't think the Workingman's combos are good values. The WM 15 sounds okay in a store, but I've never been impressed with them at gigs. I think the WM 12 is blown away by others in that price range, like the Roland Cube 100.
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I've seen comments like this a few times in this thread, and I can understand when it comes to the WM 12 & WM 15, as they're not terribly powerful. But I'll stump up for the WM 2x10C. It's got 260W and 400 with a cab. Perhaps I'm not playing enough stadium gigs, but 400 watts is enough power in my book. I have nothing to complain about with this combo, I find the EQ plenty effective, the enhancer is dandy when you don't crank it all the way up (moderation in all things, except maybe 30Hz! :D ), and the tone is far from sterile in my opinion. Tone is quite subjective, but the 2x10C seems to be a very-well built amp, and it's got the nuts to play any clubs I'll wind up gigging at.

As far as value goes, I stole mine for $499 since they discontinued the WM series in favor for the WorkingPro (much less sexist, IMO). At the original $800 it was pretty pricey, but probably not out of line with equivalent stuff.

I'm still giving my +1 for SWR!
 
#173
Before you sell your gear or get gas because of these negative opinions do a search of wrist watch forums and you will see the same talk about watches and service etc. that you see here. Yet we succumb because we don't want to be taken advantage of by some company that was last year's hero, or the big or, are we afraid if we have the wrong equipment we might not get that big break and be a successful and/or famous musician?
 
#174
chadds said:
Before you sell your gear or get gas because of these negative opinions do a search of wrist watch forums and you will see the same talk about watches and service etc. that you see here. Yet we succumb because we don't want to be taken advantage of by some company that was last year's hero, or the big or, are we afraid if we have the wrong equipment we might not get that big break and be a successful and/or famous musician?
Click to expand...

ive already decided, since day one, i have no drive to be a famous musician. hell, successful to me is having a steady band and a gig every month or so. that'd be fine. i live to play, as a hobby. i realize many people on here are professional, but for me, i know it will not become my career. i just don't have that passion for music, or the inate multi-talent involving instruments and song writing.

i live to play when i get home from work/school, and my swr suits the job. :)
 
#176
McGryff said:
I've seen comments like this a few times in this thread, and I can understand when it comes to the WM 12 & WM 15, as they're not terribly powerful. But I'll stump up for the WM 2x10C. It's got 260W and 400 with a cab.
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That's a valid point. I've never tried one, and I didn't intend my comments to apply to it. It does look like a nice combo, and you got a fantastic deal. I may have jumped on that myself if I were in the market for a combo.

As for the weight of the Goliath III, it seemed light for a 4x10" when I bought it, because I was comparing it to Ampeg and the like. And while it's deep, it has fairly compact dimensions otherwise for a 4x10. But with all the advances in lightweight cabinets recently, it doesn't seem so svelte anymore. It's still darned efficient though -- which is a huge plus and one reason it will probably be my big cabinet for years to come.
 
#178
Nedmundo said:
That's a valid point. I've never tried one, and I didn't intend my comments to apply to it. It does look like a nice combo, and you got a fantastic deal. I may have jumped on that myself if I were in the market for a combo.

As for the weight of the Goliath III, it seemed light for a 4x10" when I bought it, because I was comparing it to Ampeg and the like. And while it's deep, it has fairly compact dimensions otherwise for a 4x10. But with all the advances in lightweight cabinets recently, it doesn't seem so svelte anymore. It's still darned efficient though -- which is a huge plus and one reason it will probably be my big cabinet for years to come.
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Thanks, although I will concede that I haven't had the combo very long, and I haven't gigged with it yet at all. I've played it at some band rehearsals, which got a little loud & the 2x10C didn't even break a sweat. And it gets deep in the low frequencies too... the response goes down to 20Hz. It's a very well-designed cabinet, I think.

About the SWR cabs though, I've been thinking about going with an Avatar anyway, when I finally do buy one. I guess I wasn't necessarily planning on grabbing an SWR cab to go with the combo.
 
#179
I think the Workingman's 12 is an excellent combo. It's not my preferred amp for a loud rock band, but for low volume gigs, it really shines.

I've seen many bassists use these with great results at coffeehouse gigs, acoustic-rock and jazz performances, etc.

Every amp has a purpose, and limits. Most people wouldn't bring a 500 + watt amp/stack to the gigs mentioned above. It'd be way overkill. Same theory applies to a small combo...know it's limits.

Obviously there are exceptions to this with all of the new light weight amps, modular setups out there. i.e. I would bring a 600 watt AI focus + 1x12 cab to the above gigs.
 
#180
McGryff said:
About the SWR cabs though, I've been thinking about going with an Avatar anyway, when I finally do buy one.
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You'll find the efficency/sensitivity of Avatar vs. SWR is a huge difference. SWR is a heck of lot more efficent than the Avatars. By about 10dB almost.
Of course, I'm not sure what's up with the WMs, but SWR's pro line would be a tad louder then the Avatar is you're running them at the same power level, etc.

I've owned both seperately and together in the same setup and the SWR is just plain louder. By quite a bit too.
 

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