SWR Review: Workingman's 10 Bass Amp

History:

Purchase: I bought it at Guitar Center in Marietta, GA. I paid about $330 for the amp about three years ago.

What I Like About This SWR Workingman's 10 Bass Amp: I love the sound and the power this light little amp has. It's mighty 80 watts into 8 ohms works great for practice, small club gigs, and as a stage monitor in larger situations. The sound is fabulous, very tight and clear. The EQ section really works great, and I can voice many different basses acurately.

What I Do NOT Like About The SWR Workingman's 10 Bass Amp: I wish this amp had a direct line (low z) output. The latter models do, although they bumped the price about $70. The little fuse on the back of the amp protrudes, and is VERY easy to break or lose. I've lost two of them before finally going over to Radio Shack and buying a flush mouting, screw on fuse cap. This has eliminated the problem of breaking, bumping and/or losing the fuse cap.

SWR Workingman's 10 Bass Amp Quality Rating: Typical tight, solid workmanship throughout. The engineering is superb - very well thought out.

Review Summary: I discovered early on that this amp does double duty as an acoustic guitar amp. These days, that's primarily what I use it for. Of course, now SWR has added the Strawberry Blonde, which is similar and made for guitar, more so than bass. Still, the Workingman's 10 Bass Amp is a formidable acoustic guitar amp. Mine gets used all the time. I split the guitar via a direct box and send the high z signal to the amp. It's great having a separate guitar monitor onstage, rather then having the guitar in the front monitors. The other acoustic musicians I play with appreciate NOT having guitar unless asked for, and I can play at my desired level without "crowding" them. The amp weighs a mere 30 pounds, and is highly portable. I am planning on taking it on tour to Ireland this winter. Quite simply, the best small amp I've ever owned.

Rating of this SWR product: 5

This SWR Workingman's 10 Bass Amp Bass Guitar Amplifiers Review Submitted By: Michael Robbins - The BorderCollies

Review Date: 2001-07-03