Any thoughts on a Swart STR Tremlo amp?

[911dean]

I'd like to upgrade my practice amp and find these to be really cool. I'm only interested in playing blues and rockabilly for the most part. Also I only play at home right now and will purchase another amp once I start doing open mike nights.

Was wondering if any one had one of these Swart Amps or have any opinions on them.

Thanks

Dean

[Cajundaddy]

I've never played through one but it looks like a nice 5w boutique amp. It is about 4X the price of a Fender Blues Jr. Would a typical player find it significantly better than the Fender? Maybe, maybe not. Take your guitar and play through it for a while. If you like it, buy it.

Caveat: I am not really a boutique amp guy but I do like small amps and this looks like a nice one. I have been a gigging guitarist in SoCal for 40 years. To me amps are simply tools for making music and I believe most of the magic guitar tone is in the fingers not the gear. I own 4 amps and my most expensive one is a second hand Mesa that I got for $650. I hate spending too much gig money on gear but if I had a pile of money I needed to get rid of I might consider one of these.

[911dean]

Cajundaddy
Thanks for the reply. I'm unable to play one, because no one has one in my area. I can't imagine I wouldn't like it though. Another consideration is the Victoria 5112. 5 tube watts is plenty for me, I just think a 12" speaker and cabinet would be very nice.

Yes, boutique amps are costly, but I really like funky cool things. This amp just seems perfect for what I'm looking for.

Anyways, still looking for more replys.

Dean

[Rick V]

I have a real johns for this. Fender Super Champ X2 Head | Sweetwater.com

[scottmandue]

VOX makes a cool little tube amp that I am lusting after... may be worth checking into...

YMMV

[ramonesfreak]

as for small boutique amps, swart is one of the best. i recently checked out one of these in a shop in manhattan and was blown away

im not really into adjusting crunch with my guitar volume so i dont have one but i am tempted

love all the swart amp models. worth every penny. can not go wrong if that is the sound your looking for.....vintage fender tweed breakup

[ramonesfreak]

you might also want to check out the Morgan DAG 15....different than the swart but it might be what your looking for and has more cleans if needed and more vox than fender style. i love all of Morgan's designs. I also like the Victoria you mentioned. Cant go wrong with any of them....but i love boutique amps alot. You might try going to the Gear Pages dot net's amp section and asking about stuff

[ramonesfreak]

also check out the carr rambler. the store in NYC that had the swart also had these and i looked em over close. very nice

Rambler « Carr Amplifiers

also check out the tone king falcon

Tone King Amplifier Company Website

the build time might be a bit long but these might be the best of all the small watt tweed sounding boutique amps...but i havent checked em out in person...they are made in UK...20 watt is smallest i think

Lazy J Projects, Lazy J 20, Lazy J 40, Lazy J 80, Lazy J Cruiser, boutique amps and pedals

[ramonesfreak]

lastly, 3 monkeys makes some cool low watt combos

3 Monkeys Amps | The New Shape of Tone

good luck

[911dean]

Ramonesfreak

Thanks alot for adding another one to the list.

That 3 monkeys sock monkey looks killer.

That aside the Swart str tremlo will probably be the one I key in on. Being a relatively new player I think that will give me lots to play with.

My guitar teacher thinks a deluxe reverb would be right up my alley, but nice vintage blackfaces are really expensive. Not to mention alot more wattage than I need for in home use and I'd rather buy a new boutique amp anyways.

I've been checking craigslist for a deal on a Vicky 5112 though. I live less than 20 miles from where they are built, so you never know what could pop up.

Untill I decide my '68 Champ will be just fine.

Thanks

Dean

[ramonesfreak]

i have a deluxe reverb. it would have alot more clean headroom than the swart and they are pretty loud.

the swart and any of those low watt tweed type amps are basically dirty amps. there is not much clean headroom at all. you basically crank the amp and then roll back the volume knob on your guitar to get a cleaner tone then turn knob up when you want more crunch. you have to be aware of that. they are not very versatile. think neil young's crazy horse tone....

[911dean]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

i have a deluxe reverb. it would have alot more clean headroom than the swart and they are pretty loud.

the swart and any of those low watt tweed type amps are basically dirty amps. there is not much clean headroom at all. you basically crank the amp and then roll back the volume knob on your guitar to get a cleaner tone then turn knob up when you want more crunch. you have to be aware of that. they are not very versatile. think neil young's crazy horse tone....

This is exactly how I use my silver face champ. I even use a boost pedal at times. The champ provides enough clean hedroom for my use at home. I prefer the sound of the tweeds though. I'd never sell the drip edge silver face. It's a really nice one I bought from the original owner. He never really used it because he found it wasn't enough for jam sessions.

Point taken on the deluxe reverb, I couldn't imagine using it as a bedroom amp. This is why I want a nice low wattage amp. The swart is really attractive with reverb and tremlo. That sock monkey is awfully cool too.

I'm not in a super big hurry to buy an amp but it's definetly my next purchase.

Dean

[ramonesfreak]

I like tone king a lot too and it has a nice attenuator

The construction of the swart is amazing. It's fit and finish is perfect and if you want that tweed breakup, it does it perfect. They sound much bigger than they are too.

The deluxe is fine for bedroom if you want clean. It gets quite loud at the break up point. I hate the blackface distorted sound so that's not what I use it for.

[911dean]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

I like tone king a lot too and it has a nice attenuator

The construction of the swart is amazing. It's fit and finish is perfect and if you want that tweed breakup, it does it perfect. They sound much bigger than they are too.

The deluxe is fine for bedroom if you want clean. It gets quite loud at the break up point. I hate the blackface distorted sound so that's not what I use it for.

I don't mind the breakup sound of the blackface as I'm mostly playing blues. My problem with the deluxe, is the volume at breakup. I already have hearing loss if you ask my wife.

The tone kings are very nice. I really like the imperial, but it's more than I want to spend and more wattage than I want. Aesthetically they are not my favorite either. The swart is the leader, but also it's at the top of my budget. Originally the Vicky 5112 was what I was going to buy and then that Swart started calling my name. Good thing I don't need to make a decision today.

Dean

[ramonesfreak]

I like the Imperial too. Mark Knopfler uses one. im not crazy about the PCB construction though and probably wouldnt pay that much for a PCB amp

The Swart STR is probably exactly what you want.....I didnt realize they are available with a hot/clean switch. I wonder how clean it can get at only 5 watts. I really love that they are Cathode Biased so no need to mess around with bias settings

If you get it, let me know how you like it. I dont need it but I want one too, except i want the atomic space tone model as I am hooked on amps in the 15 to 30 watt range.

The best advice I can give you is to set a high budget, like $2,000 and save as long as it takes and in the mean time, research as much as you can so that when your ready...the decision will be easy and painless. The nice thing about amps like Swart is that you can easily flip them without loosing much if it turns out you dont like something about it. You can not do that with your typical guitar center amps......It took me 2 years to unload a Twin Reverb Reissue recently and I was only asking $700 for it and it was mint

[ramonesfreak]

Another low watt to consider, since you are not in a rush
Dr Z Maz 8
Dr. Z Amplification | MAZ 8

[ramonesfreak]

btw, i do play blues but I mostly play rockabilly like you noted.

My style is more similar to the Cramps than 50's rockabilly though. I am using mostly the new Vox AC-15HW. It is the best sounding non-boutique amp I have owned. However, I upgraded the speaker to a Scumnico and retubed it and I think Im into it for a bit more than $1,600.....it has an amazing range of sounds and has good tone at bed room levels or with a drummer. Takes my pedal board very well....does rockabilly very well and my gretsch sounds awsome through it and while being quite large, its nice and light to carry! of course it does not have reverb or trem but I have that covered with my pedal board

[911dean]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

btw, i do play blues but I mostly play rockabilly like you noted.

My style is more similar to the Cramps than 50's rockabilly though. I am using mostly the new Vox AC-15HW. It is the best sounding non-boutique amp I have owned. However, I upgraded the speaker to a Scumnico and retubed it and I think Im into it for a bit more than $1,600.....it has an amazing range of sounds and has good tone at bed room levels or with a drummer. Takes my pedal board very well....does rockabilly very well and my gretsch sounds awsome through it and while being quite large, its nice and light to carry! of course it does not have reverb or trem but I have that covered with my pedal board

Thanks for another great recommendation with the Maz. I now have some solid avenues for low wattage amps.

I'm just a beginner guitar player and now at the point I know I'm sticking with it. In matter of fact it's starting to eclipse the car hobby. At this point I want to get an amp with a larger speaker and just don't see the need for anything in the 15+ watt range. When and if I get to that point I'll just add another amp to my collection.

As for styles I'm focusing on blues as I've been a hard core blues fan since high school. I also have seen 100s of shows as I live in the Chicago area. Over the past couple of years I've been really getting into the rockabilly scene. Chicago's got a pretty good scene for this as well. So naturally I'm going to want to play rockabilly also.

Could you recommend a Cramps alblum to listen to? I believe they are from the
80s. I've been listening to The Blasters, some of the classic stuff and some of the Chicago bands associated with Jimmy Sutton and Joel Patterson. Please feel free to give more rockabilly suggestions.

Anyways time for a little practice.
Dean

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by 911dean

Could you recommend a Cramps alblum to listen to? I believe they are from the
80s. I've been listening to The Blasters, some of the classic stuff and some of the Chicago bands associated with Jimmy Sutton and Joel Patterson. Please feel free to give more rockabilly suggestions.

Anyways time for a little practice.
Dean

They started in the 70s and came out of the same CBGB scene as my favorite band, the ramones. Bad Music for Bad People is a good place to start. dont expect the classic pure rockabilly sound though....to me its 50's flavored punk rock. the small bio on amazon sums them up pretty well...."The Cramps are usually credited as the inventors of psychobilly, an amalgam of rockabilly, surf rock and punk that takes a tongue-in-cheek focus on themes of B-movie horror and sleaze."

Other suggestions? I just picked up stray cats live at montreux 1981 DVD...pretty good to watch for inspiration

I like the newer stuff like Rev. Horton Heat but really I prefer eddie cochran, gene vincent, charlie feathers, etc.....with a lot of bo diddley thrown it

Your gonna need a good delay for slapback...i recommend the boss DD3 for rockabilly.

[911dean]

Just giving an update. I ended up buying a 5e3 clone loaded with nos tubes and a reconed Jensen C12-Q. I'm really digging it.

Dean