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SWR SM-900 amp head -- The Daddy


Rich
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(stock pic)
Not for nothing was this baby the SWR flagship for some years (until its big brother came along!). It's a brilliant amp and I love it, but 900 watts is far more than I need and the weight is getting a bit much for me, and I'm GASsing for a new lightweight thingy. So she's got to go.
There's a bit of road rash, true -- some scrapes here & there, including on the front handles, none of it is my doing however as it's lived in my rack since day 1 -- but operationally it's perfect and boy is it loud..! Unfortunately I do not have the channel-change footswitch though.
It gets quite warm in use, they all do, but contrary to what some people might suggest it has [i]never[/i] overheated while I've been using it.
To fund the GAS I needed nearly £500, so 480 means I'm close to being out of pocket. Shipping will be, well, whatever it costs :) or if you're close to Bristol you are welcome to collect. Or I can arrange to deliver to Swindon, Reading or Birmingham as I go to those places fairly regularly.
UK price for these babies is at least [url="http://www.basscentre.com/bass-amps/swr-sm-900-head.html"]£1500[/url], so mine's a total steal.

From the SWR site: "[i]The SM-900 has been one of the most requested bass amplifiers for concert stages and studios worldwide since its introduction in 1991 - and it continues to be the benchmark by which other bass amplification systems are judged. The 900 combines the sweet, warm SWR tube preamp tone with two power modules for the option of 900 watts in bridged mode (400 per side in stereo). The dual three-band semi-parametric EQs can be can be combined into a single six-band configuration - offering more tonal control than is available in many professional quality studio consoles[/i]."

[i]Tube preamp
Active and passive inputs
Limiter
'Aural Enhancer'
Shelving bass and treble controls
2 switchable 3-band semi-parametric EQs - can be used as 2 channels or combined into a single 6-band EQ
Rack mountable (2U)
Stereo and Mono Effects Loop
Balanced XLR Output with Line or Direct Mode switch, plus ground lift & variable pad

Bridge/Mono Mode:
900 Watts @ 4 Ohms [/i]{EDIT: just noticed, mine says 900W @ 8 ohms. Weird.}[i]

Stereo Mode (per side):
400 watts @ 4 Ohms
240 watts @ 8 Ohms
144 watts @ 16 Ohms
(minimum load = 2 Ohms)

Height: 3.5" (8.9 cm) (2U)
Width: 19" (48.3 cm)
Depth: 13.75" (34.9 cm)
Weight: 35 lbs. (15.9 kg) [/i]
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What a fantastic sounding amp these are.
I've spent many of hours gassing over one of these amps.

A few years ago i would've bitten your hand off for one of these at that price,
but unfortunately i don't do the size of gigs anymore to do this amp the justice it deserves
& that will get the best out of it.
My Swr Sm400s covers my gigs nicely these days.

Good luck with the sale.

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oooohhhh... wanted one of these for ages....and that is a LOT of kit for that price..

Just as I have really gotten to grips with my SM400 as well... well, the sub is pretty well unusable, IMV... and that 'issue' was rectified by the 900..


GAS GAS GAS..

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Hey Rich, Might you be around at BassDay? I'm soo tempted by this.. I have set on getting a lightweight, smaller rig. Although this is definitely smaller than my AH400SMX, I wouldn't imagine it'd be lighter?? My friend/old teacher has one of the very first ones, and I just remember the fat, awesome sound it had, and what a phenomenal pre-section! Hmm.... if you're around at Bass Day...

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I had one of the early SM900 heads (before the chrome front). It was an awesome head, heavy of course, as all of these types of amps are, but a seriously good sounding amp.

The eq and twin channel is a fantastic feature.

Run it bridged into a good cab and bloody hell... :) :rolleyes:

Good luck with the sale.

Dave

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