SWR Bass Studio 220

2 inputs, Tube preamp, 220 watts @ 4ohms, EQ, plus more....
I find this amp very versatile. I use it in many different bands from playing quiet jazz with an upright to loud rock with electric bass.
This amp has enough power for me. People say SWR amps are underpowered and i agree but i've never needed too much power anyway, if i play a large stage i'm DI'd into the PA.
I use 2 8ohm Trace Elliot cabs a 2X10 and 1X15, this gives me plenty of power and air movment. For smaller gigs i just play through the 210 cab.

I play a P bass with Duncan SPB-1 vintage pickup. The thing i love about this amp is how clean it sounds. Alot of other amps have a signature sound (Ampeg,Trace,Hartke etc...) with this amp you will not loose the sound of your bass through amp colouration.
No fan = quiet.
Effects sound great, i played though a Sans Amp Driver and had instant Ampeg overdrive.
My favorite pedal is the MXR M-80, with the colour swith engaged the amp is tranformed into sleek modern sounding beast.

Tube died about 2 years ago and replaced it with a Ruby, i found the amp sounded a bit thin. Recently replaced it with a JJ now the amps sounds fat and full.
Apart from that no problem what so ever.

No

Been playing this amp for 7 years, i love this amp, i can't let it go. I would like to replace it one day with a SM400s.
I resently had the oppertunity to play through a Trace Elliot SMX 250watt head, I did like the exrta headroom but probably will never need it. The Trace amp had too much colouration for me i like my amp clean and add tonal colours with effects and amp simulation.

I bought my Studio 220 in 1987, used for about $450. Versatile enough for everything. Two channel-Active/Passive. Tube preamp/solid state power amp. Great hybrid. The best of both worlds.

I play two custom made six strings. Fretted/Fretless. Mostly a Jazz/blues player. Never noisy. Always have it dialed into a mid eighties kinda tone. Big buttery lows,soft highs and scooped mids. It is VERY clean sounding. I couldn't overdrive it if I wanted to unless I wanted to damage it.

Never use without a backup although I have in the past. I have learned my lesson. I had a drummer smoke it on me one night. I asked him to set it up for me at a gig that I was going to be late getting to. He plugged the speaker outs into the inputs....and turned it on.
He wondered about the magic smoke??? IDIOT! I got it repaired.

Never had a warranty

This amp has sweetened with age. I switched to a SM-900 for awhile b/c I thought I needed more gas. When I plugged back into my 220, I couldn't believe my ears. It sounds like BUTTER. The sweetest lows on the planet!!!!!! Nice glistening highs and scooped mids. I have had it retubed once since I have owned it. Would never part with it....EVER!

This baby is 1991 model. Features: Balanced direct out(with ground lift and DI volume control), Effect loop, 1/4" speaker connectors, active and passive instrument inputs, 4 Parametric controls to suit everyones taste + separate bass & treble, Transparency control to add hifi and intonation, Aural enhancer for ROCK, when you turn this knob at the first time you'll never play without it enymore, 12AX7 preamp or some kind of tone heater. Best amp I have ever... though it lacks that last kick of power(220W@4ohms) to cut through on stage volumes(quitars).

This is the best part. I've tried various amps, but the reason I bought this baby is the sound... and the fact that it is quite light to carry around. I use custom made 5 string mahogany/maple bass with custom made jazz type pickups - as passive as I'm, with loads of low end. Style varies from slap to rock to ballads and it doesn't matter my SWR copes EVERYTHING - it stays solid as rock from my bedroom to the stage volumes and always produces that dynamic and very focused sound from honky midrange rock mounrnig to midrange cut slap bloom. Compressor would have been nice though.

If u would've seen the shape of it when I bought it... and yet it's nothing but perfect.

Device was accepting US 110v and I had to have transformer(240v) with me. I didn't want to carry that extra weight around so I asked SWR-customer support how to re-wire my amp to accept 240v, and few days later I recieved shematics how to do it. That's what you can call support - 11 years old device.

I've been playing almost my hole life and this is the amp that I've been looking for. I'll play with it as long as I have it, but as it is quite old - if somebody stoles it I'd buy this new mo'bass thing becourse of those sound tweaking features.

This is an SWR Studio 220 bass amp.... I got this off ebay and its pretty good for a used amp. It has a tube preamp and solid state power amp. Controls for each. active/passive channels

I play an ibanez edb500 through this amp and it sounds nice and loud, it runs into a peavey 4X10 cabinet... There is some hum when turned up really loud and it has a tendancy to feedback.. You can go from a thick bass sound to a twangy bass sound with the EQ

Its lasted thorugh band practices, drunken people and shows so i think it will last.

For the price i paid its a very nice amp, i was looking for something about this size(ampeg b2r, GK 400rb, etc) when i ran across this... It works well for local concerts but its not something youd take on a stadium tour.