SWR 350x Head

I've been using the 350x for nearly 6 years now (studio and live). It has all the features I need in a Pro amp. The only feature I'd like to have is a standby switch.

This amp is clean as they get (had it on a test bench recently). With the Aural enhancer and the tone controls I'm able to get a variety of sounds. I use a Tech21 SansAmp DI with it as well. I'm playing a 75 Pbass, Jbass and an MTD KZ with active pickups. I've played these basses through Ampeg and GK amps and I still go back to the SWR350x for it's punchy, precise and warm/ballsy tone.

100% up time. I haven't had an issue with this amp in the 6 years I've owned it.

Haven't dealt with CS yet.

I've been playing for neary 3 decades (on and off). I would certainly look at SWR again, should my 350x get lost or stolen.

This is Pro gear and has proven itself over the years.

Excellent product line.

SWR 350x head. I bought it used. So far I am very pleased with the overall performance. It has all the features that I would look into having in a Bass amp,and more. Great for recording.

I am using it with both active and passive Basses. They are 5 and 6 string, and it can take the low B really well(this may have more to do with the cabs) Very quiet, Nice warm sound due to the fact that the preamp stage is tube. You do need to dial in the corrct amount of input to the preamp gain but it is very easy acomplished.

I did open it up,just to see the inside, and I was impressed with the quality construction of the interior parts.I did use it at a small music festival, and despite being pushed pretty hard,it maintained tone and output. It seems to be very well build.

I did contact SWR for some missing parts and Jeff at SWR was very helpful with my needs. I am quite certain that I would not have received the same degree of service from some of the other manufactures. I will give it a 10.

There are a lot of other amps that can be had for less, but if you really do your reserch, you will come to the conclusion that you are better off with getting something like the SWR350x. I have purchased lees costly gear but ended up losing out due to failure of the product
and practically non exsistant costomer service. I have learned that equiptment purchase should also be considered an investment, so that if you deside to sell, you should be able to get most of it back. In this case you are getting a fantastic Bass amp and also a great investment.

USA Made in 2001. Hybrid head.. I think the guys below had explained really well.

This thing is all I ever wanted in an amp. Cool looks, Good professional sound, everything. I use an Ampeg 4x10 classic series cab and this amp shines with it! Clear/clean sound. I play every style out there (cover band top 40, Latin, Jazz standard/modern, Fusion, and metal/progressive) and I use it in all my gigs. I run effects (boss stomp boxes, delay, flanger, Overdrive, Digitech Wahmmy, Morley wah, Morley volume expression, reverb..) depending on the gig and they sound amazing in this head.

It's been very reliable. I have an ampeg all tube backup head but I never need it. Just the regular tube servicing. That's all

Never needed ;)

I've been playing for over 15 years and I used most of brand name equipment. I'm very pleased with the SWR quality. If lost or stolen I'll buy another SWR in a heartbeat. I still have an Ampeg V4BH but I might sell it soon due to the lack of use.

I recommend SWR products to everybody:) :)

Doesn't really have anything AMAZING to offer. The equalizer works.

I do like the SubWave option. Can't see why it would be necessary to have a footswitch for it, though.

Although the Subwave thing is pretty cool, (it goes an octave lower), the sound doesn't shimmer. Provides the low end all right, though.

It clips a lot when it needs to be loud.

I don't want it anymore. I wouldn't really recommend the SWR "x" series to anybody.

Don't fall for the shiney-ness. Spend your money on something more worth it.

I bought this used. It was made in 2002-2003. It has lots of features such as Aural Enhancer (nice), Subwave (don't like this, sounds hokey), effects blend that allows you to blend the regular signal with the effects loop (nice feature), master volume, gain, 2 inputs (active/passive), audio out for recording or mixing, output for tuner, effects loop, tube preamp/solid state output, limiter with Defeat switch, foot switch jack for the Subwave (foot switch included), solid steel cabinet with handles on the front, Internal fan with switch overide, 2 speakon connectors, 2 quarter inch speaker jacks, Bass, treble and Mid (with fully adjustable frequency cut.

I use a Fender Deluxe Zone bass and an Avatar B115H cab with this amp.
This is a very quiet good sounding amp. It has great clarity and lots of punch.

This amp should be very reliable due to the high quality components within such as: Wima Capacitors, Mercury Magnetics Transformer, Heavy duty socket with tube holder that really holds onto the 12AX7 preamp tube. The workmanship on this amp is incredibly good. Impecable wiring, soldering, and heavy duty circuit board. The chips are in sockets for easy repair. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened this amp up to change the 12AX7 tube. As I said, I bought this amp used..initially it had a buzz coming from the Avatars Horn Tweeter that was very anoying. The problem was easily remidied with a Groove Tubes 12AX7R preamp tube. The old one was noisy. Amp is now very quiet.

Never used the support so I can not say anything about it.

This is easily one of the best made amps on the market.
It has a decent amount of features, however..one thing it could use is a graphics equalizer in my opinion so for that I cannot give it a 10..but it is very close!

I bought this amp in January of 2004. I waited to do a review so I could see how things held up and so I could sort out my sound and the sounds this amp is capable of. I have put a LOT of hours on this amp and I feel that I know it pretty well. Right now I only have it hooked up to an SWR Son of Bertha at 8 ohms. It pumps out 240 watts here. If anyone doesn't already know, 8 ohms + 8 ohms = 4 ohms. I would recommend another cab for this so you can get the full 350 watts out of it. Also if you get another cab and set it on top of your other one, there is an automatic 6dB increase in volume. This is a mono amp (one channel) and the SubWave effect is tied in directly with the preamp. It has an effects loop with an effects blend knob on the front panel. It also has a nice number of recording, mixing, and PA options on the back panel. Strangely enough though, there is no headphone jack, but you can use the Effects Send for headphones. The SubWave effect will knock you off your feet. I especially like the sound of the A string. The SubWave has a footswitch and a switch on the front panel. It's a pretty nifty feature. What it does is add a low octave to whatever note you are playing. Sometimes I turn on a Boss Overdrive pedal with the SubWave to get a pretty cool sound. I also like the Aural Enhancer. This is a lot like the "Shape" knob on many other amps. This one goes from boosting bass, low mid, and treble to cutting mid and boosting bass and treble for that truly awesome slap tone. You also get 2 knob mid EQ section. Knob 2 lets you set what frequency you want to cut or boost and knob 1 does the cutting and boosting. Very helpful in looking for your own sound. This amp has enough power for what I am using it for which is practicing and jamming at friends' houses. This is a hybrid amp. It has one 12AX7A vacuum tube in the preamp section. No other tubes. It also has a fan to keep everything nice and cool. A graphic EQ would be nice, but hey, this is an entry-level tube amp. This is the website for the 350x: http://www.swrsound.com/products/proseries/350x.html

Right now I am plugging into a Spector NS2000 Q4 with EMG HZ split-coil humbucking pickups. This amp does very well with EMGs and we all know that EMGs are full range pickups. With this amp I am able to get all the tone out of those EMGs and I soon hope to install an Aguilar OBP-1 preamp inside my bass. With that extra feature, the 350x could fill a room with sound. I use Blue Steel strings and have never heard such an awesome sound come out of this amp. This amp is no Mesa/Boogie 400+ but it can hold it's own. With all the right accessories this amp can fulfill your every need. I play anything from Led Zeppelin to Buddy Guy to Red Hot Chili Peppers and this amp does it all and sounds great for only one tube. This amp is not noisy at all. Not the slightest bit. Once you turn it on and the tube heats up, the only way you could tell that it's on is by the lighted power switch. I always keep the limiter on and it does a very good job. I still get all the tone out of this amp at very high volumes. The bass knob on this amp add a LOT of punch once you get past 3/4 of the way up. Also, you should realize that this amp is a little bit sound biased. Its default sound is "a little mid cut." This amp does NOT sound anything like an Ampeg if you were checking those out too. Ampeg is mid heavy in its sound bias. One more thing. In another review on this amp someone complained about a "pop" when the amp is powered on. This is not harmful to any speaker componets and is normal for all SWR amps. It has to do with the quality with which the amp is built that SWR chose not to eliminate this sound. Here is what SWR had to say in their FAQ section. It is the fourth question. http://www.swrsound.com/products/faq.html#amps

This amp is bulletproof. It can really take a beating. It's almost like a Gallien Krueger amp. This amp uses a Toroid transformer which is the best made. I have also had reliable SWR amps in the past. They all hold up well against the elements and whatever else you can throw at them. The only thing I'm not sure about though, is how the tube socket is positioned. I haven't yet had to change the tube. On some amps the pot is connected directly to the circuit board which, when replacing a tube, can cause stress on the circuit board. Knowing SWR though, chances are they have probably put them separate from the circuit board. If theres one thing you can rely on its the awesome sound that will keep you surprising you every time you turn it on.

I have not yet had to deal with any SWR customer support and I don't think I will have to.

I have been playing for three years although I've had people tell me they thought I had been playing for about 9 years. I currently own an SWR 350x (of course), an SWR Son of Bertha (1x15 and handles 350 watts), Ibanez gsr200, Spector NS2000 Q4 (4 string), Boss Bass Overdrive, DOD Envelope Filter (autowah)-by the way you should try a wah pedal on this amp because it sounds killer- a pair of Sennheiser HD535 headphones (these sound exceptionally good on the 350x)and Blue Steel strings gauges .45-.105. Also if you buy this amp at Guitar Center make sure to bring a price match. I got mine for $660 down from the $800 Guitar Center price. If you have any questions feel free to contact me. I am also a member of the Tabcrawler community forums and my nick is "screwball". Just go to www.tabcrawler.com/. They have everything from lyrics to tabs for a variety of instruments. Everybody in the bass forum is really nice and they answer your questions from experience. To go straight to the forums just type in forums.tabcrawler.com This amp is a fantastic value. You get all the SWR tone and reliability in one pretty cool, shiny, aluminum and steel box. This thing will turn heads. It looks like a shiny metal meteor that fell from the heavens.

First off, I want to say that I've used the SWR SM-400 for years, and just recently had some troubles. I figured it was time to consider an upgrade and purchased the 350x, since I was so pleased with the SM-400s performance. The 350x has similar features to the other new SWR amps, with the inclusion of the "SubWave" octave effect (taken from the MoBass system). The preamp and amp both have some limited EQ functions (less EQ than the SM-400 had). I would say the features are fair, but nothing to get very excited about. The "SubWave" effect wasn't as consistent as I'd hoped for. The amp has inputs for both active and passive basses. I use the amp in small to medium venues, and typically want to mic my SWR BigFoot 2x12 cabinet as well as use the direct out. Both methods were proving a bit "noisy", when compared to the SM-400. I had a steady "hiss" coming off both choices, regardless of whether anything instruments were plugged in or not. As far as volume, this amp was had to get any volume out of it. I had been used to running the SM-400 at around 1/4 or 1/3, and now I have to run the 350x at 1/2 or 2/3. I know there is a bit less power, but I didn't expect that big a difference. Also, the direct out volume was VERY low, and I couldn't get much out of it even when turned up full blast. Much lower volume that the SM-400 had. Also, expect a bit of a "pop" whenever turning the unit on or off, if your cabinet is already connected. I've also heard an interesting "squeal" sound through a PA, when turning off the amp while the direct out is connected. This problem has been mentioned in other reviews, and doesn't appear to have been a concern to SWR.

I'm using a Pedulla Thunderbass with Bartolini pickups. I've got "monster" cables, and play mostly acoustic pop/folk music. The SWR SM-400 was wonderful with this equipment. The 350x has a nice clean sound, but I found it had to be turned up louder than I expected. The "SubWave" feature is nice, when sticking to anything above the A string.

The unit is built well. Very sturdy steel case, and plenty of reinforcement.

Very poor. I've rarely had good success getting responses out of SWR, or now Fender.

Overall, I'd say there are better options for $750. I've picked up a Hartke 3500 for $450, and am getting way more power and tone out of the Hartke. If you've got $750 to blow and don't want huge volume or tone flexibility, go with the SWR. I won't be replacing this, when or if it dies.

2 inputs, a passive and an active. no matter which bass a im using a se the passive inptu, jsut has more puch and life then the active.
it has an XLR Dirent input in the back which i LOVE! i fouind that when playing shows the DI boxes provided changed my tone drasticly by andding treble and cutting out some of the mids.it has a n effects loop, and a tuner out. teh subwave is cool at low levels but gets muddy as in the lower frequncies.

my rig consists of my ibanez SR 480s (a 5 and a 4) the SWR 350x, a korg rack tuner, through the FX loop a run an ibanez DE7 delay, a boss bass chorus, and a guitar WH4 whammy pedal, then from the passive imput is a bass crbaby and a USA made big muff. the signal is then output threw an SWR 4x12 rock box. let me tell you this amp has variety!! it took about 2 and a half hours of tweeking but i came up wiith 6 differnt settings to fit for all bass situations i need. i play in about 5 bands. the 2 main ones are a jazz trio and a tool cover band. for jazz can scoop the mids buit crank the freq. its such a distinct punchy sound. and with the 350x i can achieve perfect justin tone. with this amp i can also achieve les claypool(primus) and dirk lance(incubus) tone. aswell as some original slap tones. my only complant is that in the rock band situation the amp has to be crank to be herd. maybe ill upgrade to the 750x? but it still gets a 10

so far so good im to cheap to make a back up of anything in my rig althouhg i probably should. the rack case keeps this sucka sparkling clean

overall id take an SWR over ampeg eden mesa anything
ive tried tehm all and SWR is it
its a shame fender boguht them out, hoepfully the product wont change. if it were stolen or lost id probably get the 750x jsut becuz its louder

It was made in USA 2002. I play for any kind of music, from beatles until Linkin Park, and this amp can support my sound ... It have two channel, one for active and another for passive/active. And of course it have effect loop (mono).

This thing have an aural enhancer, it will gain your passive bass a lot like an active thing ... great thing from SWR.

In this type adding a subwave ... your sound will be like use a harmonist (Boss Stomp Box) ... great and clear sound produce ...

I'm using this amp at my home ... I'm using Marshall VB412 cabinet 4 ohm 400 watt, 350X output 4 ohm 350 watt, enough for kixx your cabinet

I'm using Fender "1966" Jazz Bass with original pick up, Cort Artisan Series with Bartolini MK-1 pick up, and Epiphone Viola ...

This is the great Amp with great produce sound ... No noise from this amp ...

This time, I really depend with this thing ...

Never deal with CS

I've been playing Bass for 18 years, using with any kind amp from combo til head cabinet, from peavey, T-Max, T-Raxx, Trace Elliot, Gallien Krugger ands now SWR 350X, this is the best ....