SWR 550x Head

The 550x is a simple, yet solid choice for the discriminating bassist. It has very basic controls, a parallel effects loop with a blend level, and a suboctave feature. I does not have any overdrive or graphic eq. but I dont really need that stuff anyway. Most onboard bass overdrives are lacking, unless the amp is a full bore tube amp, which this is not. Plus, this head takes pedals very well, so I use any number of overdrive/distortion pedals as the need arrises. I give this head a solid 8 because it has all of the features I require, and I like to keep it simple.

I play in a variety of situations from Metal to different types of Rock and Jam band material. The 550x has the specific sound I was looking for. At the time of purchase, I was after an SWR amp only. My first "real" bass amp years ago was an SWR Working Man's head, back when they were built in the USA and built like tanks. (now the working man series is built elsewhere by Fender, but still a great value amp).

When I needed a serious gigging amp, I bought a beautiful Ampeg Classic series SVT-1000 head and matching SVT-410HLF cab. Since I could not affort the full tube version of the Classic Series SVT with the 8x10 cab, that is what I got. It was a solid state version with 1000 watts of power. The amp sounded beautiful when playing by myself, however, as soon as I got into any kind of full volume rehearsal or gig, the SVT would not cut through the mix. It got lost in a big way. I originally thought it was the single 4 ohm SVT 4x10, so I bought a full stack of Avatar cabs that would handle more wattage and put out more sound. But that didnt help at all. Then I played a small gig, so instead of lugging out my huge SVT head and the full stack, I just took one of the Avatar 4x10s and my old beater 160 watt SWR working man head. I was shocked at the beautiful sound and the way it cut right through the mix. Shortly after, I went looking for a bigger SWR head. I played them all, and picked the 550x. They all sounded amazing. This decision was based on the middle of the road price point, and the power rating. I wish it was biamped, but I guess that will have to wait for my next amp head purchase. I get all the sounds I need, from my rig. I still use Avatar cabs. They are the best value in speakers. I have compared them to speakers costing several times more, and the avatars hold up. I use a 4x10 and a 2x12 now. The 2x12 is an outstanding configuration. It gives all the lows of the 15, but sound tight like a 10. Great cab. when I play a small gig now, I use the 2x12 instead of a single 4x10. Great cab. Sounds awesome with the 550x head. With any speaker config, the 550x has power to spare, super fat lows, crisp mids and highs. As mentioned in another review, the SWR has a signature sound. It is not a transparent amp by any means. Either you like that SWR sound, or you dont. And apparently I do, as I bought somthing else and went back to SWR.

I often time uses effects pedals. I have a pedal board that I plug directly into the front input, not the effects loop. I like to have my effect go into the signal chain before the preamp. That is the sound I like. I have used the effects loop with blend many times, and it works well. Especially with delay and compression. But when I use a full pedal board with overdrives and modulation effect, I like to go into the front. This amp is very suitable for using pedals out in front. The way the preamp is configured, you can drive the front pretty hard and push the tube, and the power amp is still protected by the limiter and the clipping protection circuit. This gives me lots of options for getting a hard driving Metal sound. When I need to go clean and phat for a Rock or Jam band sound, I get that too. Excellent Amp.

I have been gigging with this amp for about 2 years without any issues. It is built like a tank. I keep it in a small rack case to protect it from harm during transport. Like most all SWR amps, it has those handles on the front to protect the knobs from harm as well. Like my first SWR head, this one is built like a Mack truck. I love it.

Any time I have contacted SWR, I have gotten quick responses. Unlike many other amps, the SWR has a great user manual, and a very helpful website. If you are on the road and need to look something up, the website has the manuals online. I am not one of those Fender bashers. I think Fender has done a lot to maintain the independence of the SWR brand, and has kept the quality very high. I hope it continues to be that way moving forward.

I give the SWR 550x a 10 overall as it does the job I need it to do, sounds awesome, and is built solidly. I have come to call the SWR Sound my own. It cuts through the mix very well. It has a simple user interface that lets me get the sound options I require. I would buy another one.

Amp was made in 04'. I bought it new in 9/05, but it was a heavily used floor model. Warranted like new though, so I was happy with the price break. I play funk and jazz for the most part. I've been playing for about 10 years. The 550x is a one channel amp with a 12AX7 tube preamp driven by a solid state power amp. The amp includes SWR's subwave effect, 1/4'' and speakon speaker connections, a blendable effects loop, a headphone jack, and a balanced XLR out with adjustable output to a house PA. My biggest complaint about the head is that it doesn't come with a graphic EQ. The amp is rated at 550 watts at 4 ohms which is the minimum load for this amp. So a quick little lesson for folks who aren't familiar with how this works...When running a single 4 ohm cab, the amp runs the full 550 watts. When running a single 8 ohm can, the amp runs at 275 watts. When running 2 8 ohm cabs, the amp is running at 550 watts, delivering 275 watts to each speaker. All of these mentioned are the ideal set ups for this head. I run two 8 ohm cabs. A 4x10 and a 1x15. The amp has enough power for small to medium sized venues when run in these configurations.

I use a Hamer Cruise which is a jazz bass copy. The body is rock maple. I had this bass modified with a 3-band EQ and adjustable mid frequency by way of EMG's BQS controller. The pickups are both EMG active as well. The bridge has an EMG 40DC and the neck has an EMG 40J. Both are full range pickups. I play mostly funk and jazz. I wish I grew up in the 70's. The amp is very quiet, but my bass is one of the quietest I've ever heard. The clean, glassy tones out of this amp are amazing. Very smooth lows, well pronounced highs. This amp is very sound biased. What I mean by that is that it's default sound, even with the EQ flat is very "mid-cut". Getting a smooth "Jaco-Style" sound of this amp has proven to be a challenge thus far. But getting any Marcus Miller, Geddy Lee, Victor Wooten, or any other glassy tones are a breeze. It's not the most versatile amp on the market, but what it does, sounds excellent. The sub-wave thing is okay. It does a pretty good job of tracking the root. I'm such a dork that I even matched it up with my tuner and did a good job. A blendable effects loop is also a nice feature, especially when using envelope or synth-type effects. Not necessary for gain, flanger, compression, reverb, or most basic effects. I use a Digitech BNX, but only for compression and some light EQ.

I've only had the amp for 5 days. I'll write another review down the road. It seams sturdy despite being made of aluminum as opposed to steel. It's alot lighter than most amps in it's price range. Aluminum also does a better job of dispersing heat than steel.

I emailed SWR a week ago to try to get a foot-switch. I have yet to hear back from them.

I've been playing for about 10 years. The Hamer is the only bass I own. I use the Digitech BNX3, but not that heavily. As dumb as this sounds, I use the tuner more than anything else. I loved my Peavey T-Max which I've used very heavily and heartily for the past 8 years. I love the way that amp sounds. It was on a packing crate that was dropped by a fork-lift and hasn't been reliable since. It works for now, but is in the shop on a regular basis. I wouldn't have bought a new head if it still worked consistently. I played this next to several Ampegs, GK's, Trace, Carvin, and a couple of Yorkies. All of these mentioned have great qualities, but my personal preference between power, price, and tone led me to choose the SWR. I think I made the right choice. I'll write more after I've logged in some more hours on the 550x.

This amp was made in 2003.
The amp has basic features, bass, middle and treble controls, and an aural enhancer and subwave effect. The band I am in mainly plays rock with an ambient feel and by this I mean the guitar parts have a lot of riffs played with little or no overdrive.
Essentially I bought this amp for its sound (see below) and simplicity. I am a type of player who isn't into a lot of knob switching - just want to plug in and play so it suits me fine.
I was looking to buy the 350x with a triad cabinet but opted for the 550x with a Goliath III and a Son of Bertha for extra power and extra low sound while keeping the crystal clear sound overall.

My instrument is an American Series Jazz Bass. Being originally a guitarist I actually use a pick all the time.

I find that this combination produces a very trebly sound especially if the treble and the tweeter volume at the back of the cabinets referred to above are turned up. Needless to say this is not a sound I like or my ears can handle well for any length of time. I find that reducing the treble on the head and cabinets to about 1/3 gives a very solid full and rich sound.

The head is not overtly noisy though if you play at very low volumes you should be able to hear the cooling fan. I haven't gigged with it yet but have cranked up in rehearsal and in that setting the sound is even better compared with low or moderate volume.

The sounds generated from this head suit my playing and band situation. My band is a 3 piece, I therefore was looking for equipment that essentially produced good bottom end to fill all the "space" as well clear mids and highs to complement the guitar. I think the equipment I have now is capable of meeting this need.

I have had this equipment for about a month so I can't really comment on reliability at this point in time. I will write another review at the end of 2004.

My reason for posting one so soon after purchase is that I don't believe there is a review on the net on this head, or at least I haven't been able to find one.

Haven't contacted them as yet.

I have been playing guitar for about 15 years and bass for about 5 to 6 years. I still consider myself to be a guitarist more than a bassist but have come to love playing bass of late - and of course buying this gear just adds to the enjoyment.

Until recently I had been playing an Ibanez Expressionist through a Yorkville 200 combo. Late last year I replaced it with a Fender Jazz Bass and SWR 550X, Goliath III 4x10 and Son of Bertha 1x15. The difference is amazing and well worth the money even though this equipment is fairly pricey where I live in Melbourne Australia.

If this equipment was stolen I would probably buy it again. As I said above the strongest points are that it is easy to operate and produces a beautiful clean sound. Before buying I did play the Eden 550 and Ampeg SVT III Pro and B2R as well as Mesa Pulse 600 heads. The Eden also impressed me though it produced a warmer sound. The Ampeg heads I thought were solid and the Mesa is a very punchy and lively head which would be good for a punk band. I think ultimately I chose the SWR due to the clean sound. In so far as I am concerned the other heads produced varying degrees of almost muffled or muddied sound which was not what I was looking for. I think sound is a very personal thing and ultimately you have to chose what you like.