SWR is Fender is SWR is Fender????

[Nightsynth]

Hey, I usually post over at the Keyboard room, but I'm also a bassist. I heard recently that Fender bought SWR. I was talking to a bass player about his 1x15 Son Of Bertha cabinet to see how he liked it as opposed to the 4x10. He said it was great until recently when he had it reconed at the factory and the new cone doesn't sound as good. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

I'm curious because I'm going to be buying an SWR rig this year sometime. I'm going to buy used, but I wanted to find out if and when this buyout happened and if it really isn't as good as it used to be.

 

FYI, I want to get a 550x head and a 4x10 Goliath III. I might also want to add a 1x15 at some point. Why do some cabs have 2 neutrix connectors and some only have 1? I've been playing through a Peavey combo amp for many many years now and it's always worked fine, but I thought it would be cool to get into the 21st century and get a real rig. I used an older 350 (red) head and a Goliath III cab at a gig a while back and since then have lusted for this setup. I've always just spent too much of my money on keyboard/recording gear so I haven't ever upgraded. I don't play out alot either. But I really want to get this setup.

 

Any thoughts on the Fender SWR topic?

[PrestiaRules]

if certainly did happen.

 

I think Fender is using some of the SWR ideas in their new Fender PRO line of bass gear.

 

Sadly they discontinued the (IMHO) best item in the Working Mans Line the 8008 Head

[Nightsynth]

http://www.samedaymusic.com/product--SWR4456200010

 

Have you seen these? Is this a new "Working Man's" model? Do the new Goliath III cabs have different components in them now that Fender owns them?

[badmuthaplucka]

Okay here the deal,

 

Most people assume there are two "eras" of SWR, pre-fender and post fender. And that anything "pre-fender" was the "real" SWR. This is not so!

 

The one era that no one seems to talk about is SWR ENGINEERING. It was during this era that I bleive SWR was at it's peak. After the founder, Steve Rabe left the company, SWR Engineering changed it's name to SWR SOUND. This is the point where things slowly started going down hill. And this was well before the Fender buyout.

 

That being said I would look for an SWR Engineering Amp and I look for a pre fender cabnet.

 

Hope this helps.

[Nightsynth]

Thanks for the info....

[sunburstbasser]

Thing is, even brand-new SWR stuff sounds FANTASTIC!

 

I don't think Fender is going all CBS or Gibson on the companies they assimilate. Not yet. They just integrate them into the Fender product line, kinda.

 

Hey PR, did you hear that Rocco has got a deal with Eden now?

[fintucfin]

Was David Eden the other "half" of SWR?

[NeonVomit]

Yup, David Eden left SWR before Rabe did, I think.

[Paul Buerk]

 

He said it was great until recently when he had it reconed at the factory and the new cone doesn't sound as good.

 

 

Give it a chance to break in first, then evaluate it.

[NeonVomit]

True, cones apparently need a 'breaking in' period, sorta like strings I imagine. I've heard a good way to do this is to play music through the amp, covers lots of frequencies.

[sunburstbasser]

Since our beginning as a custom builder for professional artists and manufacturers in 1976, Eden Electronics has had one goal in mind: To build the highest quality bass amplification equipment possible.

 

In June of 1984, when SWR first opened its garage door, our goal was to make the finest sounding and most reliable bass equipment we could, geared to the professional market.

 

I think Steve Rabe left Eden. These were taken from www.eden-electronics.com and www.swrsound.com, respectively.

[el_duderino676]

ok, I know that Fender does own SWR, but has anybody tried the California Blonde amps? Only reason that I ask is because I was thinking about getting one as soon as I get a new acoustic.

[Markee]

Dude, those CB's are a real nice little amp for light bass work and acoustic. My son's bass player uses one when they do their duet Woodrushmusic.com In fact, Jim Castinetta the bass player used it at a gig in a small pub they did last Sat. night in full 3SG force. 3sgspot.com Jimmy played his Guild Pilot and an experimental carbon fiber bass thru it. It did fine with both! Not ideal but in a pinch......

 

I wonder when Fender bought out SWR if they closed the factory where SWR's were made and fired all the worker bee's.

 

Another thing I wonder is, is it that active basses sound sterile thru swr amps because I have a Fender Jazz GL that sounds exceptional thru my WM 4004 Avatar 1x15 set-up...? Just curious....