I just found a BabyBlue Original 1990. I'm excited!! Now that I ran my Gibby Les paul through it!!! I am a guitar player...Holy S**t..This amp is unbelievable! Here's a sound! Why buy something new?
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SWRBabyBlue
- Thread starter GibbyM
- Start date
thankyou, I appreciate old tech, that said< pretty sure people are still trying to find their own sound.. Rings like a bell and interesting that after i blew the dust off it ...i have tried to get any info on baby Blue and after hearing Baby Blue i am convinced this is a special amp. as i mentioned i am not a bass player but i remember music from the 60's on through early 2000 Lets Make This Country Music Again! ,but if i do ever get good enough to record or run it to digital or through a P.A system, those issues would be corrected.. not feeling very pessimistic at the moment, but also am trying to encourage myself to do different things. Something unusual about this amp is its tone< so far so good! Everything Good!
If I recall correctly, the original was 150 watts with Bag End drivers. When the second version came about in the mi-90s it was slightly more powerful (but only like 10 watts more) and they switched to Celestion drivers…that’s all I remember about the changes from the v1 to v2.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,035
- 5
- 220,950
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
There are 2 different versions, one was made in Sun Valley and the later version was labeled Corona, CA.
Decent, older technology amp/combo that's pretty heavy.
I don't recall the Fender (Corona) version using Celestion drivers, IIRC, they were an OEM Eminence driver once the PAS drivers were no longer available. The BagEnd drivers were also OEM Eminence, though it's possible there were other OEM manufacturers.
Decent, older technology amp/combo that's pretty heavy.
I don't recall the Fender (Corona) version using Celestion drivers, IIRC, they were an OEM Eminence driver once the PAS drivers were no longer available. The BagEnd drivers were also OEM Eminence, though it's possible there were other OEM manufacturers.
I have a Baby Blue II. I love it as well. Great recording amp! It's a nice alternative to a flip-top. Cleaner but still warm and the 8 inch drivers have a way of filtering out the muddy lows and retaining just enough depth- like the b-15 N enclosure. The 5 inch speaker is hard to replace because of it's extremely small frame size.
That said the issue with these old amps that is inevitable is the speakers. The old Bag End and Celestion drivers will wear out and I'm not sure there are good options for reconing kits out there.
I replaced the celestion 8 inch drivers when the surrounds failed and the glue around the dust caps disintegrated.
If you ever see the head-only version of this amp- just buy it.
That said the issue with these old amps that is inevitable is the speakers. The old Bag End and Celestion drivers will wear out and I'm not sure there are good options for reconing kits out there.
I replaced the celestion 8 inch drivers when the surrounds failed and the glue around the dust caps disintegrated.
If you ever see the head-only version of this amp- just buy it.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,035
- 5
- 220,950
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Drivers don’t wear out, they do get abused however, and fail when the owner has unrealistic expectations of the amp’s performance.
Bummer SWR didn't last long enough to make lighter versions of their bass combos and acoustic instrument combos. And as much as Genzler is an awesome company, I'd have liked to see where Genz Benz went in subsequent years. Thanks Fender.
I just discarded a Baby Blue 2, bought new in '94, because it had just started giving me problems and I figured that cost to properly analyze it and repair would exceed the value. Agedhorse and I had many interactions on this site as I tried futile to self-repair the unit. The original Baby blue is 100 watts zig 8 ohms, all speakers (2x8 and 5" tweeter) were BagEnd and are no longer manufactured or available used, unless you get lucky and find a scrapped unit. The BB2 is 120 watts into 8ohm, speakers were Celestion BDG-8s and 5" Bagend tweeter. My speakers were in need of replacement and I had identified Eminence Alpha-8s as a viable replacement, but cancelled the order ($175) when I decided not to go forward with fixing the amp. The BagEnd or Cessation 8s were 16 ohm wired to give 8ohms, the Eminence Alpha's were 8 ohm, so would drop the cab to 4 ohm. Agedhorse felt this would not be an issue, the crossover could handle it. My 5" tweeter was fine but if it needed replacement only BagEnd had a suitable replacement and it was $150. Other tweeters would not fit. Regarding the amp itself, it uses the standard 12AX7A tube in pre-amp but the tube shield is a bitch to get off if you try to change it yourself. I only found a couple shops around her, in my immediate area of L.A., that claimed experience in repairing the amp.
It was a beautiful amp. The aural Enhancer circuit is sublime. I used it for jazz in small venues, and bedroom practice, and it had enough volume for that. Sounded really good at lower volumes. Here is a pic.
It was a beautiful amp. The aural Enhancer circuit is sublime. I used it for jazz in small venues, and bedroom practice, and it had enough volume for that. Sounded really good at lower volumes. Here is a pic.
Attachments
Steve made the originals in Sylmar, CA which is where original SWR factory/shop was located. Not to nit pick. I provided this owner with some info in another post. He made all the BB1s and the BB2s in that shop before he sold to Fender.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,035
- 5
- 220,950
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Sun Valley and Sylmar were essentially the same, pre-Fender version. The documentation package for both say Sun Valley.
I believe that Jack Casady used one back when they came out.
I bought one new shortly after they came out. Heavy (as all were in that day) and sounded very good but not all that loud. I seem to recall a bit of a lack of authority in the extreme lows. When I played out with it I paired it with a home build 110 cab for greater overall volume. It was a clunky setup but worked, I guess.
The 3-band semi parametric EQ was something that I really liked but I suspect was not well understood by many.
Construction was all plated through hole so home repair didn't require any surface mount work (no soldering under a microscope). I seem to remember the owner's manual included a schematic?
As a main gigging amp for bass, I'd be looking for something lighter and louder today.
Fun Story - My new BB had some issues. I believed them to be a poor grounding issue so I called SWR and talked with some guy named Steve (yes, THE Steve). He confirmed my suspicion saying they had some grounding issues with early production models and the fix was to add one ground wire. I asked if I could ship just the head back for repair and he said yes. I asked if I could just add the wire myself and after some chat about my electronic tech experience and abilities he agreed that I could do that mod and it would not void the warranty. Wow.
The 3-band semi parametric EQ was something that I really liked but I suspect was not well understood by many.
Construction was all plated through hole so home repair didn't require any surface mount work (no soldering under a microscope). I seem to remember the owner's manual included a schematic?
As a main gigging amp for bass, I'd be looking for something lighter and louder today.
Fun Story - My new BB had some issues. I believed them to be a poor grounding issue so I called SWR and talked with some guy named Steve (yes, THE Steve). He confirmed my suspicion saying they had some grounding issues with early production models and the fix was to add one ground wire. I asked if I could ship just the head back for repair and he said yes. I asked if I could just add the wire myself and after some chat about my electronic tech experience and abilities he agreed that I could do that mod and it would not void the warranty. Wow.
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My info is pretty close to @BassicJazzy's.
All of the Baby Blue, Baby Blue II, and Electric Blue heads were the same before Fender took over. I don't know if or what changes Fender may have made afterwards. The difference between an original BB and a BB II was they added a grill to the top of the cabinet over the power amp to dissipate heat, changed the 8" speaker brand and changed the wiring to get the 160 watts spec. The original BB had Bag End 8's wired for a 120 watt/8 ohm rating. The Bag Ends had rubber surrounds that, over time, would decay and disintegrate. On the BBII, the majority of the speakers were Celestion BG8-60's. They were wired in parallel to get a 160 watt/4 ohm rating. The 5" tweeter was a PAS. Towards the end of the BB II production, they switched to an Eminence speakers. I have no idea what model the Eminence were. They also switched to chrome grills.
All of the Baby Blue, Baby Blue II, and Electric Blue heads were the same before Fender took over. I don't know if or what changes Fender may have made afterwards. The difference between an original BB and a BB II was they added a grill to the top of the cabinet over the power amp to dissipate heat, changed the 8" speaker brand and changed the wiring to get the 160 watts spec. The original BB had Bag End 8's wired for a 120 watt/8 ohm rating. The Bag Ends had rubber surrounds that, over time, would decay and disintegrate. On the BBII, the majority of the speakers were Celestion BG8-60's. They were wired in parallel to get a 160 watt/4 ohm rating. The 5" tweeter was a PAS. Towards the end of the BB II production, they switched to an Eminence speakers. I have no idea what model the Eminence were. They also switched to chrome grills.
That is interesting. My BB2 always made a slight "pop" whenever I switched on. SWR said that was typical, not to worry. Perhaps the grounding wasn't as good as it should have been?
The speakers were really designed to be PA speakers, not bass woofers, and they were "short throw" to work properly with the cab design. Porting hole was pretty tiny, and I wondered how that would work with Eminence alphas, which stated a port twice the diameter?
My manual did not have a schematic. I did find a schematic online but not sure if I would have trusted it.
The EQ was indeed strange but manual had suggestions for settings depending on what style of music and technique you were playing. I found the suggestions to be pretty accurate.
Yes, I heard that too. Saw one on Reverb that supposedly belonged to McVee, bass player of Fleetwood Mac. It was the later Fender model with 10" single speaker, plus tweeter.
