What happened to SWR?

[lee650]

I used SWR stuff for years and it was THE rig to use for while. I absolutely loved it all,even the early workingman stuff was great. It amazes me how cheap you can pick this stuff up for now,when I think about how much money I spent 😅
IIRC when fender first bought the brand,they released a new line of bass rigs,which was very similar to the SWR! They then ran the brand into the ground 😕

[peteb]

[quote name='BassBod' timestamp='1468426879' post='3090867']
Lovely cab, but it's a heavy bugger...
[/quote]
I had two of those in my rig for many years. Not as efficient as some modern cabs but sounded great.
[quote name='JPJ' timestamp='1468435228' post='3090951']


You think that's heavy?
[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/IMG_0864_zps17e5864c.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/IMG_0864_zps17e5864c.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[/quote]
I also had one of those! One of the best cabs I've ever owned.

[Kiwi]

SWR were the brand that left Trace Elliot behind in the late 80's. Very coloured, scooped tone marketed as the 'LA Sound' at the time which was complete opposite of Trace's focussed, bright sound. I found my Basic 350 made scoopy basses like Smiths hard to hear on stage, the amps made bright sounding basses like Modulus or Alembic sound great. In terms of connectivity, the SM400 was a swiss army knife.

[Rich]

I had an SM900 for a while. Glorious sounding thing, utterly lovely, but oh the weight.

[paul_5]

There's a really easy fix for the 'mid scoop' on the SWR heads - I did it to mine and have got a pretty much linear response across the preamp - makes it much louder too! If I need a 'mid scoop' I can just dial one in using the massively flexible EQ.

Winner.

[Roland Rock]

Isn't the Oral Exciter control effectively a mid scoop?

[BassBod]

It also adds some additional preamp valve gain early on, if I remember correctly?

[BassBod]

It also adds some additional preamp valve gain early on, if I remember correctly?

[JTUK]

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1468929568' post='3094373']
Isn't the Oral Exciter control effectively a mid scoop?
[/quote]

Who have you been playing with

Aural Enhancer predates what Markbass and Thunderfunk use, IMO... which a rotary preset type control.
The 550-B is a modern day take...not so modern as it happens, on the SM400... without the valve pre stage.
They do use a valve simulation tho..

Edited July 19, 2016 by JTUK

[Treb]

I've read that Steve W. Rabe is retired. So no more SWR gear to be expected from him, he probably may not be allowed to even use the SWR brand name anymore.

I have a 1996 SWR Workingmans 12, still sounds great! I did modify it a bit. Replaced all the TL072 opamps with TLE2072's and replaced the two 4700uF PSU caps with 6800uF ones. Speaker-wise it's equiped with a Celestion K12T-200.

[paul_5]

[quote name='Treb' timestamp='1468963386' post='3094796']
I've read that Steve W. Rabe is retired. So no more SWR gear to be expected from him, he probably may not be allowed to even use the SWR brand name anymore.

I have a 1996 SWR Workingmans 12, still sounds great! I did modify it a bit. Replaced all the TL072 opamps with TLE2072's and replaced the two 4700uF PSU caps with 6800uF ones. Speaker-wise it's equiped with a Celestion K12T-200.
[/quote]

Ooh, I'd not thought of replacing the opamps; I've got a glut of Burr Brown OPA2134s in a drawer waiting for something special...

[Treb]

It will not make it sound like a different amplifier. Mine still sounds like an SWR FWIW, only a bit nicer. Thanks for mounting the opamps in sockets SWR! WRT SWR's running hot, that's by design! In my WM12 there's a pair of 5W resistors sharing a load between them, they can't be touched with a bare finger when it's running. I've wondered what would happen sound quality-wise if I would replace all its beige body 5% resistors with 1% metalfilm resistors. Probably not worth the hassle...

Edited July 19, 2016 by Treb

[paul_5]

yeah, I'm kind of obsessed with getting the cleanest DI signal I can from any bit of kit.
I spend a lot of time recording through various setups, and can't be doing with noise.

[Treb]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1468969349' post='3094846']
yeah, I'm kind of obsessed with getting the cleanest DI signal I can from any bit of kit.
I spend a lot of time recording through various setups, and can't be doing with noise.
[/quote]

Why not invest in a half decent DI? I've made my own, details here: [url="http://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=36569.0"]http://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=36569.0[/url]

This is mine:

[chris_b]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1468969349' post='3094846']
yeah, I'm kind of obsessed with getting the cleanest DI signal I can from any bit of kit.
[/quote]

The REDDI DI seems to get a lot of praise.

[alexclaber]

I really liked my SWR Grand Prix. I changed the 12AX7 for a NOS 5751 which made it cleaner and fatter. I did some measurements of it and found the aural enhancer just added gain for the first half of its travel and then boosted the highs and lows and cut the mids. I also found that with the EQ/shape knobs at zero the response had a big dip which could be flattened by boosting the lows mids at 250Hz by 8dB. It sounded much louder and fatter like that - but not so much like an SWR!

[EBS_freak]

From what I've read, it looks like the SWR aural enhancer doesn't operate like a traditional aural exciter (which I thought it may have been) but more like a preshape?

[Treb]

There's a lenghty thread on TalkBass discussing the aural enhancer: [url="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/swr-aural-enhancer-bypass.643201/"]https://www.talkbass.com/threads/swr-aural-enhancer-bypass.643201/[/url]

[Bolo]

The 750x is still my main amp, faultless after six years or so. WorkingPro 700 is my backup, never needed it!

[ChunkyMunky]

[URL=http://s173.photobucket.com/user/mrmatt_photo/media/SWR/Bass%20350/DCP_6198.jpg.html][IMG]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w50/mrmatt_photo/SWR/Bass%20350/DCP_6198.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[paulo m]

The SWR design was not without its faults or problems'
i personally have always thought they produce a very accurate HI-FI sound that defined a certain sonic period.

For myself' the SWR head is the SM 400... with all of its inherent problems' if you dont expect it to be all things...
it supplys their Classic tone...
Keep in mind that Rabe designed One Circuit....& that they work best with their cabinets...( Horns turned way down)
The Engineering Stuff remains the higher quality gear for myself..& ive owned more than seven pieces of it...
Now Obsolete' they are are worth little on the second hand market..& bargains are to be had.... as they are just no longer regarded as the brand to have.

[Treb]

[quote name='paulo m' timestamp='1473923975' post='3134089']
they are just no longer regarded as the brand to have.
[/quote]

Sooner or later this applies to every brand...

[DangerDan]

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1468923015' post='3094281']
I had an SM900 for a while. Glorious sounding thing, utterly lovely, but oh the weight.
[/quote]

Hey Rich! That would be the sm 900 i bought off you! Its still going strong by the way! Thanks again!

[ahpook]

I've got an SWR Baby Baby Blue and an SWR 2x12, both great.

I can see the Baby Baby Blue being the one last amp I hang on to.

[funkgod]

[quote name='Treb' timestamp='1469009781' post='3095007']
There's a lenghty thread on TalkBass discussing the aural enhancer: [url="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/swr-aural-enhancer-bypass.643201/"]https://www.talkbass...-bypass.643201/[/url]
[/quote]

That was really interesting, cheers


[quote name='Westenra' timestamp='1468408500' post='3090703']
Does the super redhead deserve all the praise it gets?
[/quote]

And more,
its without doubt one of, if not the best 2x10 combo ever made, and for very good reason,
as a tight well compact, awsome sounding, more features unit it still is for me the best ever made,
but there is another huge reason why it is so desirable !!

I know guys that have spent loads on studio pre amp's, and one of the best bass preamps to record with
is right there in the swr super redhead, Preamp out into the desk is killer,

Dont forget the whole concept for the redhead was to design the ultimate studio bass tool, and have that same quality at a small gig, alot of thought went into that preamp.
If interested here is the PDF manual that may explain it better..
[url="http://support.swramps.com/manuals/pdfs/superredhead_om.PDF"]http://support.swram...rredhead_om.PDF[/url]


if you want that marcus miller tone and tightness, if you want valve preamp warmth, or even if you want sub dub DEEEEP bass
its right there built in with some very usable filters that you wont get on ANYTHING to help,
like the "Aural Enhancer" that will get your low end to smooth out and sit or punch where you want it in the mix, what i get on a G&L L2000 is not what i get on a jazz using that, i think this really depends what pickups you are using ??
Also another cheeky little under used asset is the "Transparency", pull the treble pot out and
it seems to take away alot of the harsh clickyness at the extreme hi end on the G&L, not quite the same as tuning the treble down,

i have two red heads 1 is in the studio and has not moved from there, another i use for small to med gigs,
and for outdoor gigs i use a sm500 pro and the golly 6x10,

have been using them for alot of years and have no intension of replacing them with anything in the future,

Would like them to make a come back, a shame as you say they seem to be dying off,

If anyone is going to the NW bass bash on the 12th of feb ( see events) i will be taking some swr gear for yall to try.
it may convert you..... forrreeeeverrrrrr.... ( or you just might think its crap )

Edited November 28, 2016 by funkgod