JPJ Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 So I've been thinking....(dangerous I know). I own the rather splendid SWR SM-1500, and this for me is the ultimate bass amp, but she has one big downside - weight. She is so heavy that any gig with stairs or a long load in is a no no and to be fair she is a bit overkill for a gig down the Dog and Duck. I remain on a constant hunt for her smaller sibling the SM-900, but so far I have been unsuccessful. It got me thinking about what makes the SWR tone that I (and others such as John Paul Jones) like so much, and I've concluded its the magic sparkle behind the Aural Enhancer knob. As SWR are now sadly no longer with us, I was wondering how hard it would be to recreate the SWR Aural Enhancer circuit but in pedal form? Would this even be possible? Is there something similar out there already (I've tried the Aphex 1402 and its not even close). Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz39 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 This is just crying out for a boutique pedal idea! C'mon clever technical peeps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted May 25, 2018 Author Share Posted May 25, 2018 There are circuit diagrams out there on the web but I wouldn't trust myself to even attempt to put one together, especially when I saw a voltage of 250v! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz39 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Where's the 'Ouch' emoticon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 (edited) Could be done quite easily. It's just a filter network... Diagram from SWR IOD preamp, but the circuit is identical to other SWR amps. Would need to be adapted slightly to function from 9v battery/pedal PSU, but in the grand scheme of things it would be easy Edited May 25, 2018 by Bigwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 3 hours ago, JPJ said: There are circuit diagrams out there on the web but I wouldn't trust myself to even attempt to put one together, especially when I saw a voltage of 250v! 250v may be for the preamp valve, but the aural enhancer runs off +/-15v DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Or just set an EQ pedal to this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saved Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Eden wtdi,enhance knob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 1 hour ago, Saved said: Eden wtdi,enhance knob That'll be pretty close. Assuming you were using a psu you could do this in a Mooer/1590A sized pedal though. Smaller if you wanted it always on. You could mount it in a bass's control cavity... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted May 25, 2018 Author Share Posted May 25, 2018 11 minutes ago, Bigwan said: That'll be pretty close. Assuming you were using a psu you could do this in a Mooer/1590A sized pedal though. Smaller if you wanted it always on. You could mount it in a bass's control cavity... In a small form factor pedal would be perfect. Now I just need to find a pedal builder😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 I’d combine the enhancer with a FET preamp, for a bit of clean boost. I seem to remember the first part of the enhancer knob’s travel gives the valve a bit more gain..and the eq kicks in after around 9 o’clock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulo m Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 May i say that i dont want to disagree or contradict with what has been stated here but for myself the Aural Enhancer is not what defines the SWR tone... it merely sucks all the middle out of basic tone the more you enhance it....& ive tryed this in all settings' for the first quarter of its travel..you will find more preamp' but after that its that dreaded mid scoop which cause's the bass to be lost in the band mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 10 minutes ago, paulo m said: May i say that i dont want to disagree or contradict with what has been stated here but for myself the Aural Enhancer is not what defines the SWR tone... it merely sucks all the middle out of basic tone the more you enhance it....& ive tryed this in all settings' for the first quarter of its travel..you will find more preamp' but after that its that dreaded mid scoop which cause's the bass to be lost in the band mix. I pretty much agree - most of the time, for me, it’s on about 25%. Sometimes I might nudge up to 40% for some mid scoop, but never any higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 On 29/05/2018 at 11:51, paulo m said: May i say that i dont want to disagree or contradict with what has been stated here but for myself the Aural Enhancer is not what defines the SWR tone... it merely sucks all the middle out of basic tone the more you enhance it....& ive tryed this in all settings' for the first quarter of its travel..you will find more preamp' but after that its that dreaded mid scoop which cause's the bass to be lost in the band mix. Fair point, and something I hadn’t considered. Maybe I just need to search for that other rare beast the Grand Prix preamp. I used to own one and stupidly sold it in a moment of financial weakness 😤 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Don’t forget, any of the smaller heads can be used as preamps into a power amp. I often use a Studio 220 or Bass 350 with a Stereo 800 power amp. I sold my Grand Prix because it didn’t do anything the other heads couldn’t, and had an annoyingly earth hum when racked in the same case as the Stereo 800 (it was designed to work with!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulo m Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Yes I have owned this very same head The Basic 350 ( No Limiter) & it has a Smooth' Rich' Tone to it.. but I found it to be under-powered So' using the Stereo 800 would make perfect sense ( Even tho when I look at this picture my lower back says Forget It' for that is seriously heavy' right there) even the settings you have are very similar to what I favoured... But I moved it on for a SM900' which in turn I moved on also...because of the weight & when you start fiddling around with six bands of parametric' well need I say more? Overkill. I settled with an SM400 which I use bridged... for myself it is the SWR AMP' with all its faults it delivers that sound which we all love... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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