BassBod

Job lot of “bass player” CD’s?

Find the connector block that links the preamp to power amp - give the pins a clean with contact cleaner. Other than that it’s safety check time?

Not got the Mesa, but my Ashdown Retroglide is about the same. Most companies seem to use cheap/noisey fans, on the basis that in performance environments it will be masked by ambient noise. The Aguilar TH500 was similar, although it was temp controlled, so only came on about half an hour later. I’ve been told that quieter fans are made, but not got around to sorting it out. What puzzles me is that neither of my amps ever got warm, yet alone hot to the touch. Even driving a pair of cabs they remain cold. I guess the power amp module suppliers recommend that fans are necessary.

I sense another shoot out...neutral amp contest....it never ends! More seriously, I might bring some smaller SWR's like the Studio 220 or Basic 350 (noisy fan alert!)

Don’t think so, as long as the bass and treble aren’t boosted. Thanks for the contribution Tech21 - very interesting to read. I always used mine in front of SWR’s to warm them up a bit - never thought of using the uneffected output for the amp 😳. After 20 years I’ve retired my original Bass Driver due to scratchy pots (most of them!) Is it possible to “re-pot” a Sansamp and get it back into service?

I know when I got my first Sansamp, early 90's I guess, it took me about a year to work out how to use it. Then it was forever with me...and still is. One thing that confused me was the original instructions, which just showed the blend at full effect for pretty much everything - that never worked for me. Far too much. Once I'd got through that bit it was all good. I'm still not sure which I like most, the original flavour Bass Driver or the newer VT but they still get used on most of my work.

Hello Tyler - welcome to the dark(er) side of life! I agree, that preshape button is the wrong way round for me too. My current Ashdown (Retro 800) is nothing like the ABM in character, so it gets thoroughly Sansamped most of the time. Nice little amp for run around gigs. Let me know if you want to try an old Trace Elliot for fun...its probably older than you, but still sounds great if you ignore the reshape switch. (Duncan)

Contact Jon Godsland at Orchid Electronics in Exeter - just his sort of thing.

One more thought. SWR used the same 10” drivers for the Goliath series cabs, so a search will also provide info on replacements and people’s experiences. The PAS drivers haven’t been available for a good few years, so there will be some suggestions. I have an early Eden built Redhead, and the speakers look different to later ones (black cones, not grey) so SWR did vary things through production runs. They sound slightly deeper to me, but it’s subtle.

If it helps, I changed speakers in a Baby Blue 2x8” combo a few years ago. Originals were Bag End/Eminence, changed to modern Eminence Beta’s. Only compromise was its now 4ohm into internal speakers, so can’t really add extra cab. The sound is pretty much the same, maybe a touch more upper mids but essentially it’s the same amp, but the speakers work.

Never done it, but probably- although the difference could be subtle. Something like the Eminence Legend BP102 is often suggested as the best current production option. Someone with more tech knowledge could give more detailed advice, but there are a few things to consider. SWR were a mainstream company so didn’t use exotic speakers - modern replacements will be “better” as they will generally handle more power. SWR didn’t limit the low end of their amps, so the speakers are a bit vulnerable if there is a lot of boost in the low eq. Also, I think the amp used a 4ohm internal load, although it could also drive an 8ohm ext cab down to 2ohms. If you are likely to use an extra cab, think about making the internal load 8ohms so the amp doesn’t run really hot!

Originals were called PAS, but they don’t exist. Eminence make a few good replacements, look up on Talkbass and you’ll see lots of info. I wouldn’t worry about trying to reduce the weight much - the cab and amp already weigh enough 😳

Please do 😜

Arnapol cabs are always interesting 😎

Yes, would've done it. Jon's older Di box design (I think the same thing in a different box) had a line input jack, and it worked with the SWR fine, until I got a bit heavy handed one night - the clipped signal took out the power for the PA and lights for about ten seconds....oops...

Jon built an A/B DI with mute and tuner output, and level control for each input for me several years ago. It was great (if slightly rustic) The only time I’ve had an issue with any of the Orchid DI boxes is running a line out put from an SWR amp - just not enough headroom on the DI input. But that really was user error, it was a hot line level signal.