Hot _Grits
Buttery Toneologist
Hi all,
My amp importer friend has just taken on Swart, mostly due to badgering by yours truly. And seeing as he had borrowed my Victoria for a few days, he dropped over a Space Tone 6V6SE, an Atomic Space Tone and an atomic boost pedal. Here's the amps next to my Victoria (apologies for the posed 'Gear Page' shot):
-and let me tell you, these things are KILLER.
The ST6V6SE is sort of a tweed/blackface champ/princeton hybrid. 5W single ended into a Weber 8in speaker. I'd say it sounds like a tweed champ with more definition. Compared to the champs I've used, this little guy is that shade cleaner and more open, and it holds tonal integrity really well when cranked. There's a negative feedback in-out switch, which is good for a tamer or more raw feel. I haven't hooked it up to a 12in speaker yet, but I'm really interested in hearing the results, as the natural tone of this amp is beautifully pure and balanced. Swart makes a 1x12 version with reverb, and I imagine that rocks.
The Atomic Space tone is 18-22w, with a mojotone 12, so it's tweed deluxe territory with a Brit voiced speaker. Again, a very natural, pure tone, somewhere in the middle zone between tweed and blackface. It has grid bias trem that sounds fantastic, and a reverb that reminds me of a friend's 60s Ampeg reverberocket.
After a couple of days around this amp, I can tell you right now that if I didn't gig, this would be my main amp. The slight movement away from tweed character opens up the midrange on this amp compared to my Vic Double Deluxe, which has more midrange content, along with more gain and a more 'freaked out' cranked tone. The Swart is politer, but takes a variety of thicker toned guitars better, which makes for more versatility, along with trem and reverb. There is a hint of blackface compression to the tone, which the Vic avoids, but that's a difference' rather than a 'negative'.
Suffice to say, these amps sounds so good that I've spent barely any time with the pedal, which is a rangemaster derivative.
I'm incredibly keen to try the Super Space tone, which is a 30w (6V6x4) or 35w (EL34x2) head version with the controls on the front. There's lots more playtime left, particularly involving different speaker configurations, but judging by what I've heard sofar, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the big Swart replaces the Vic in future...
www.swartamps.com
My amp importer friend has just taken on Swart, mostly due to badgering by yours truly. And seeing as he had borrowed my Victoria for a few days, he dropped over a Space Tone 6V6SE, an Atomic Space Tone and an atomic boost pedal. Here's the amps next to my Victoria (apologies for the posed 'Gear Page' shot):
-and let me tell you, these things are KILLER.
The ST6V6SE is sort of a tweed/blackface champ/princeton hybrid. 5W single ended into a Weber 8in speaker. I'd say it sounds like a tweed champ with more definition. Compared to the champs I've used, this little guy is that shade cleaner and more open, and it holds tonal integrity really well when cranked. There's a negative feedback in-out switch, which is good for a tamer or more raw feel. I haven't hooked it up to a 12in speaker yet, but I'm really interested in hearing the results, as the natural tone of this amp is beautifully pure and balanced. Swart makes a 1x12 version with reverb, and I imagine that rocks.
The Atomic Space tone is 18-22w, with a mojotone 12, so it's tweed deluxe territory with a Brit voiced speaker. Again, a very natural, pure tone, somewhere in the middle zone between tweed and blackface. It has grid bias trem that sounds fantastic, and a reverb that reminds me of a friend's 60s Ampeg reverberocket.
After a couple of days around this amp, I can tell you right now that if I didn't gig, this would be my main amp. The slight movement away from tweed character opens up the midrange on this amp compared to my Vic Double Deluxe, which has more midrange content, along with more gain and a more 'freaked out' cranked tone. The Swart is politer, but takes a variety of thicker toned guitars better, which makes for more versatility, along with trem and reverb. There is a hint of blackface compression to the tone, which the Vic avoids, but that's a difference' rather than a 'negative'.
Suffice to say, these amps sounds so good that I've spent barely any time with the pedal, which is a rangemaster derivative.
I'm incredibly keen to try the Super Space tone, which is a 30w (6V6x4) or 35w (EL34x2) head version with the controls on the front. There's lots more playtime left, particularly involving different speaker configurations, but judging by what I've heard sofar, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the big Swart replaces the Vic in future...
www.swartamps.com
Last edited:
