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Who misses SWR?

#201
TrevorG said:
Redhead had tubes. I should know. I had to replace them.
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It had one tube. The whole professional line has one tube in the preamp. However, in common usage, "tube amp" refers to an amp that has both tube preamp and power amp stages. SWR is more often classified as a hybrid head or solid state (despite the presence of one tube in the signal path). As well, SWR is not known for having a "tube amp" sound. Not a bad thing in my book.
 
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#202
Mismatch.JPG
Spellbinder1.jpg
Super Redhead w/ BagEnd 2X10 ext cab (and an extra fan for the 2 ohm load).
Spellbinder for home and small stuff.
Not a collector... these are my rigs and I'm happy.
 
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#203
ihixulu said:
It had one tube. The whole professional line has one tube in the preamp. However, in common usage, "tube amp" refers to an amp that has both tube preamp and power amp stages. SWR is more often classified as a hybrid head or solid state (despite the presence of one tube in the signal path). As well, SWR is not known for having a "tube amp" sound. Not a bad thing in my book.
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Thank you. I truly did not know that... but I still had to replace the tube... twice! Blew it up eventually trying to get a little more volume out of it by putting a Fodera pre-amp in the chain.
 
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#204
Yeah - I'll pass. I had a California Blonde, a Workingman's 15, and a couple of others. They were great amps for the time, but I can get better tone and greater volume at half the weight now. That Cali Blonde was a fantastic amp, but I practically needed a hand truck to move it, and this is coming from a guy who routinely carried Marshall 4x12 cabinets by himself. I can pick up my current rig and run with it if I need to.
 
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#205
420bassplyr said:
Well? I for one, miss SWR and the presence they made on stage
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Tell me about it. I most definitely miss the presence my SM400 had on stage...

Bought it in 1993, owned it for 23 years and never had any problems with it. Great-sounding amp and definitely the most reliable I've ever owned.

Left it behind in a rehearsal room for the one and only time ever in 2016 and, true to form, it got stolen five days later! To add insult to injury, the thieves only took two amps and even left a v. cool Markbass rig, a really nice Precision and two original Les Pauls behind. It was the only time they'd ever had a break-in there.

Managed to replace it eventually with a TC BH500 which I've grown to like, but I'd still pick up another SWR if I find one.
 
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#207
I really liked the SWR sound. I had a pre Fender WM12 and 12" wedge cab. That was a cool small amp. I found a smoking' deal on an Eden WT500 in the mid 90s when a SM400 or 800 was on my radar. Still have it.
I had and have friends with SM400s and Baby Blue combos. Those were/are killer, too.
 
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#208
In 1993 I was a young 35 year old on a business trip in LA and thought I'd take advantage of my stay there and sought out to find a new bass rig that would make a mark for me on the Memphis music scene. While visiting The Bass Place (I think that's what it was called) I met a super nice local bassist that loved talking gear. He's the one that steered me toward SWR gear. He had a SWR SM-400 with 4x10 and a Triad cabinets. He invited me to hear his band play and when I heard his rig, man I was blown away! The next day he actually took me to the only place he knew that was dealing SWR gear at the time. Well the dealer there knew Steve Rabe, founder of SWR. He called him up and asked what he had on the bench. Well he was finishing up a new design, the Burgundy faced "Basic" 350 head for another customer. My new dealer friend told him I was looking to change the bass gear scene in Memphis. Then I was really surprised when Mr. Rabe invited me to his small factory in Sylmar California that same day. After a nice talk and a tour of the place we went to the "test booth" and his tech was finishing testing the Basic 350 he'd "just" assembled. It was so new that it was only the 10th one ever built! He let me play with it, showed me what everything did, and it sounded like nothing I ever heard before. After unplugging, he picked it up and said, "It's yours! Go and show Memphis what bass gear should sound like!" (he didn't just "give" it to me, I had to pay street price, but that was cheaper than retail!) Anyway, that and a Triad cabinet later gave me the best sounding rig on the Memphis music scene. Still have it too! Soon a few of the big name bass players in Memphis ordered SWR gear. However, it wasn't till Fender bought them out before Strings and Things in Memphis carried SWR in their store. I was sad that the company was sold to Fender, but business is business!
DSC00131.JPG
 
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#209
I was never crazy about their combos but after running a pair of MarkBass cabs which I sold when I wasn't getting enough work to justify them, I got a Goliath Jr 2x10. I like the sound better than the MB's. What I miss is the lighter weight of the MB's.
 
#210
mbacajun said:
In 1993 I was a young 35 year old on a business trip in LA and thought I'd take advantage of my stay there and sought out to find a new bass rig that would make a mark for me on the Memphis music scene. While visiting The Bass Place (I think that's what it was called) I met a super nice local bassist that loved talking gear. He's the one that steered me toward SWR gear. He had a SWR SM-400 with 4x10 and a Triad cabinets. He invited me to hear his band play and when I heard his rig, man I was blown away! The next day he actually took me to the only place he knew that was dealing SWR gear at the time. Well the dealer there knew Steve Rabe, founder of SWR. He called him up and asked what he had on the bench. Well he was finishing up a new design, the Burgundy faced "Basic" 350 head for another customer. My new dealer friend told him I was looking to change the bass gear scene in Memphis. Then I was really surprised when Mr. Rabe invited me to his small factory in Sylmar California that same day. After a nice talk and a tour of the place we went to the "test booth" and his tech was finishing testing the Basic 350 he'd "just" assembled. It was so new that it was only the 10th one ever built! He let me play with it, showed me what everything did, and it sounded like nothing I ever heard before. After unplugging, he picked it up and said, "It's yours! Go and show Memphis what bass gear should sound like!" (he didn't just "give" it to me, I had to pay street price, but that was cheaper than retail!) Anyway, that and a Triad cabinet later gave me the best sounding rig on the Memphis music scene. Still have it too! Soon a few of the big name bass players in Memphis ordered SWR gear. However, it wasn't till Fender bought them out before Strings and Things in Memphis carried SWR in their store. I was sad that the company was sold to Fender, but business is business!View attachment 2897711
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Very cool bass bro story. And you ended up with a unique kick arse sounding rig. I mentioned a few posts back that I played an SWR Workingman's 15 at a show recently and was amazed at the tone and useful power for a moderately sized combo. Matter of fact I'm on the prowl for a Workingman's 12 just for small gigs even though I have a couple great compact Eden cabs.

Amazing how Fender buying out a company is the Kiss of Death for the company. Look at all the good companies they folded under their wing.

EDIT: When I had a chance to try out the L.A. series I was not impressed at all. I wish I knew what someone was thinking when they designed that line. Why did they mess with such a great model line...?
 
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#211
Mine is pretty much perfect for what I need. I can hang with the drummer on volume. Or drown him out if I thought it was necessary. I acquired the extension cabinet last year on Reverb and this let me bring the original combo from 250W to 400W. It’s got a great sound and is very adjustable. And the corners were all fitted to be stackable! These components were manufactured years apart, but the extension is still stackable with the original amp! I love when a manufacturer gets this right. And SWR thoughtfully put a space for a component of your choice (one rack space). I put a Korg Pitchblack tuner in mine. yes,my SWR is very worthwhile.
 

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#213
I have been a fan of SWR cabinets for years. I currently play my GK mb500 through two Golight jr. 2x10 cabs. They are super light and can handle 400w each.
I had a new Fender rumble 500 before and it just wasn't my sound. Not to mention the terrible quality...I had to tighten ALL the screws on that combo. Most of them were stripped anyway and I was missing two screws behind the grille.
That being said, my cabs (though lightweight) are tanks.
 
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#214
I kinda miss my old SWR rig. I ended up replacing it with something lighter (easier on my back!), cleaner and better suited to the music that I play now, but the SWR rig still holds a soft spot in my heart -- as well as the back muscles that I needed to lug it around. :)

For cabinets, I had original models of the Bigfoot (2x12) and the Henry Junior (4x8) and later acquired a second-generation Goliath Junior (2x10). The amp was a well-used and upgraded version of the SM-400 (again, original series plus headphone output) which I was given from a friend. It was occasionally used with a Trace Elliot "V-Type" tube preamp for more grind, and also sometimes with SWR's rare "Mr. Tone" 9-band parametric equalizer that I was very lucky to find.

Long story short - the rig was loud, full of character and midrange punch, and sounded great. The Henry Junior 4x8 didn't have the best fundamental or lower-midrange response, and the Goliath Junior II was great in treble but a bit lacking in depth; but the Bigfoot more than made up for these shortcomings with the warm, full and deep fundamentals that it was able to output. I did worry about using all three of the cabinets with just the SM-400 amp at full volume, but never had any clipping issues in a live situation.

My SWR rig went everywhere with me - until I grew tired of its weight (nearly 300 pounds total) and size (more than 6 feet tall in total) and made the jump to ACME cabinets with Carvin heads. Once I tried those, the SWR rig simply didn't sound as good to me any more. So after I made the switch, I sold the cabinets and amps to various bassists - some were sold locally, through an accommodating local guitar store; and others via eBay. I know that I gave one bassist a great deal on the Bigfoot cabinet, and although I sort of miss it now, I hope it still pumps out the bass like it did for me!
 
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#215
LeftCoast said:
I have been a fan of SWR cabinets for years. I currently play my GK mb500 through two Golight jr. 2x10 cabs. They are super light and can handle 400w each.
I had a new Fender rumble 500 before and it just wasn't my sound. Not to mention the terrible quality...I had to tighten ALL the screws on that combo. Most of them were stripped anyway and I was missing two screws behind the grille.
That being said, my cabs (though lightweight) are tanks.
Click to expand...
There's no substitute for quality. I've looked around and it's hard to find those Golight cabs for sale!
BTW slight derail, what is that bass in your avatar? Nice looking bass.
 
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#216
alaskaleftybass said:
There's no substitute for quality. I've looked around and it's hard to find those Golight cabs for sale!
BTW slight derail, what is that bass in your avatar? Nice looking bass.
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Thanks man! It's a 2005 Warwick Corvette standard. Great tone: I upgraded it a while back with a brass just-a-nut 3 and solid brass bridge for incredible sustain. Not to mention the woods that the company uses are insane. For mine, the body is bubinga with an ovangkol neck and wenge fingerboard.
 
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