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SWR help needed

d_whitlock

d_whitlock

Jul 13, 2009
87
0
#1
So I have been playing my SWR bass 350 head through my SWR Goliath 3 4ohm for about 5 years now. I bought the head when I was first getting my rig set up and really didnt know too much about it. All that being said....

its time for me to purchase a new head. I am wanting to get a very warm tube-y sound. Anyone have any suggestions as to what would be a good pair with my goliath 3?

I am looking to keep it under $1000 so i have plenty of options in that department.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated
 
#3
Your cab should work great with most any amp. For that tone I'd suggest you haul your cab/bass down to a music store and try out a Mesa Walkabout head and all the Ampeg's they have in stock. You really should also tryout every head you can find cause you might find something else you prefer.

Hey I played a SWR Bass 350 (and Bass 750) heads with a pair of Goliath-II cabs for 12 years but eventually wanted a warmer tone too. Here's what I did:

First I just bought/used a Sansamp RBI into my SWR 350 front Input but ended up preferring connecting to the SWR's Effects return jack where it completely bypassed the SWR preamp section. This was much closer to my goal but still not quite there.
(I'd suggest you try a Sansamp VT pedal instead, and also consider switching out to flatwound strings)

Then I got a Mesa 400+. At first I loved it but soon found I wanted an even thicker/warmer tone for some of my bands.

Now a days I've ended up usually preferring my early-70's Ampeg V4 or my tube powered 300 watt SVT for louder gigs.

I've still got my Mesa 400+ (and a few other amps) that I prefer/use over my Ampeg's for some bands I play with.

But I'm not you, you'll never truly know what you like best until you try it on several different stages with your band.
 
#5
I have to ask: Why is it "Time" to get a new amp head? Not enough power? Don't like the tone?

FWIW: I got rid of my SWR rig about... 11 years ago and moved to what I have now. Back then, I had an SM900 and two Triad cabs. It did the job, but it always seemed to be under powered - advertised at 900 watts, it seemed pretty thin.

To replace it, I got an Ashdown ABM 500 and a Epifani NYC 4x10 (I've since moved to two Epi NYC 2x10"s). Much better tone, more headroom, Nice warmth with eh Ashdown head.

The cab you have is a fine cab - so I'd suggest looking at an Ashdown head. Lots of headroom and warmth.
 
#6
I love the Bass 350. I've had a few (old red-face), but they can be a bit "cold" sounding. Bypassing the Aural Enhancer warms them up a LOT. I use a toggle switch, but I've also seen people rewire the pot so that it completely bypasses in the "off" position. In my experience, though, sometimes I really want that "SWR Sound" with certain basses.

Another thing that I found helped a lot is to run the bass control up at about 3-O'clock or so. My main amp is an Epifani UL502 and the lows of the Bass 350 start to sound/feel similar to the 502 when the bass control is turned up a bit. You can also add some low-mids with the mid control, but the best way to warm it up is to bypass the AE and then add a touch of treble to open up the top.

I have also run a VT Bass and other preamps into the effects return, with the effects blend turned all the way up (or at least 50% if I want to run another bass into the Bass 350 preamp). The VT Bass is a great little preamp combination to run with the Bass 350, regardless of where you put it.

The biggest issue I've had with the Bass 350 is that it is underpowered for my particular needs. I run 2 Epifani UL112 cabs and the Bass 350 can push them fine, but gets almost too hot to touch after a while. It's never shut down, though.
 

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