SWR Mo' Bass Head

SWR Mo'bass. Unknown date of production, but a fairly early serial number.

Features are the same as documented ad nauseum below, to include On-board analog effects like Chorus, Bass Synth, a Tube Overdrive, Chorus, Subharmonizer. Phenom SWR "regular" bass tone.

I play a radiohead meets police 3-piece type of thing, and this amp (for obvious reasons) covers all the bases wonderfully.

All the features flat-out rock: the chorus sounds better than a TC Electronics, so that's $300 bucks saved right there. The OD, when dialed in, has a nice smooth feel to it; Subharmonizer is pretty good...like all pedals like this, it tracks better on the higher registers; Synth Bass basically sounds just like a Mu-Tron.

Only downside to all this: you need the freaking footswitch to apply any of this in a band context. Now that the Mo'bass is made No'more, you have to scrounge one on ebay. Not a pretty picture.

900 Watts. If you can't get something out of this much power, you've got problems. Also very nice is the Mono/Stereo option which allows you to split a clean/effects signal. Awesome!

I play a Music Man Stingray and a Yamaha bb614, and this thing just pumps out a massive tone with both of them. Easy to use. You can go from AMPEG growl if you lean on the MIDS and use a pick, to a nice jazzy thump, no problems. The effects can also alter your tone significantly, but the added features like a post effects EQ, really allow you to shape your tone accordingly, or just plug in and play.

Okay: here's where people get all assed up. Reading some of the below reviews makes you wonder if there are serious problems with this thing. Mine, thank christ, hasn't had any problems yet. Plugging in and blowing up? Sounds like the rookies plugged their head into a wrong ohm cabinet and blew the poweramp up. Smoke coming from the head? If true, that sucks.

Interestingly, after reading these reviews (and before picking up mine used) I did extensive research and couldn't find consistent problems with the head matching their complaints. Apparently, according to the talkbass forums, the big problems were "dead out of the box" issues. I dunno, though.

But this head has a BAD rep (and I note only a REP...i.e., not a proven lack of reliability) for reliability, so I guess we'll see. I've been using mine for several weeks and no problems yet. It does get quite hot, but the MO'Bass manual even notes that this will be the case because of the size of the poweramps and the aluminum casing. I'm not so comfortable with that, so I use an external fan on it, just in case.

Never dealt with SWR. I know the peanut gallery is saying that Fender -- who bought SWR -- stinks, ergo SWR's customer support must stink. Can't say one way or the other, frankly.

I've played a lot of bass amps in my time, to include Ampeg SVTs, Trace Elliots, Edens, etc. etc. and this one has one the best tone hands down. Compare this to Trace, where getting a tone is IMHO fairly difficult, and the toneshaping very sensitive. This, by comparison, was a piece of cake. 2 Minutes to great tone. Adjust your eq accordingly and dial in some effects: BAM, there you go.

Separately, I know the head took a lot of hits from people who didn't care for onboard effects -- or, actually, PAYING for onboard effects -- but this thing truly is a very versatile amp if you can get one used. If cost is what's turning you off: consider buying an SWR head, and then purchasing a good chorus, bassynth, distortion, etc. and you see how it pays off. Mo'Bass was apparently an ambitious project that people didn't warm to for a variety of reasons...maybe because SWR billed this thing as the greatest bass head ever. Bass players are an anal and cynical bunch, so I can see the bastards getting riled up over an expensive head with a bunch of effect built into it. I, however, believe it might be a great vintage secret and a steal if you can get it.

Reliability a concern? Maybe: but I think the guys who posted below might have explored and explained for the rest of us the problems a little more vice just trashing the amp for the whole writeup. Like I said, the problems appear to be "from the factory" issues, but time will tell, no? Even if the poweramp does explode while I'm mid-solo at the local crab shanty, I'd keep it around to run as a preamp in the studio. Phenomenal tone.

Also of note is the power: I run it through a BASSON 210 (BASSON: best bass cabs EVER, btw) which, at first didn't sound that loud...until I knocked some trinkets off the wall in the NEIGHBOR'S house. All massive subs and great mid-projection. Some tweaking to the EQ on the amp can really refine your tone and cause some major bass damage, esp the EQs, which have a profound effect.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely. I guess we'll see if the thing explodes at one of my shows. Worst case, I'd buy an external power amp and run the pre into it. I'm telling you, if you give it a chance, you can have a GREAT bass tone and a head that has a lot of power and some really nice features. How bad is that?

Cheers,
J.

I bought teh Mo'Bass just a couple of months after it was announced. This really is my amp!
Playing various styles as jazz/jazzrock/fusion/pop it just always gives me the sound I need.
Even without using the effects, just straight into the head, the sound is great. After a gig I always get compliments of the sound of the bass.
Off course there are features I never use, like the distortion or synthbass. The power is awesome, I use a SWR Goliath 4 x 10 and an Ampeg 2 x 15. I'm looking for 2 x 4ohm Goliath 4x10, to get even more power.

The basshead is extremely clean and puts out what it gets in. I use two Ibanez bassguitars, Gary Willis fretless & 3005 Prestige, and they just sound great. (Elixer strings do the trick as well)

Never let me down in four years. I had it checked at my local store (very good technicians) just for the fun, checked out fine!

Until now I never had to contact anyone.

If the Mo'Bass ever would get stolen, I wouldn't hesitate buying another one. Preferrably not used!
I have tried many other gear in the past 25 years, but nothing compares to this machine.
Unfortunately (or should I say fortunately) I have no experience with equipment after the takeover by Fender.
For those who put a rating and never owned one I just say: don't know what you're talking about. And by the way, never heard of Michael Manring?? You should hear him play the Mo'Bass!

THIS AMP IS THE WORST THING I HAVE EVER PLUGGED INTO. It has many features, the only problem is, the only way you can hear them, without blowing the stupid thing is if the master is on 1. Anything past that. GOOD LUCK.

MUDDY, CRAPPY, AND HORRIBLE. This amp's distortion sounds like it came out of an old ladies behind. Its Chorus, is just blah, and its clean IS HORRIFIC. ONLY CAUSE YOU BLOW THE F*CKER IN 2 MINUTES OF PLAYING IT. DON'T EVER WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS HUNK OF JUNK.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Please all viewers of this amp. pay very close attention to this. I bought this head. I was very happy (i really was) and my first problem was taking it out of the truck. Already, 2 knobs fell off. I was like "hmmmmmmmm, whatever" so i fixed the little guy in my studio room. Now i was really excited to play with my band mates. "Yeppy" i said when i had it all set up and ready. So i let it warm up for about 10 minutes....... then i start to play with it, first at low volume, just to tune and stuff. I gradually start to get louder, until i reached 7 on the max. Then the rest of my band plays, we usually practice at the volumes that a metal gig would require. None of that jazz stuff... REAL LOUD. So to make my volume equal with everybody, it was raised to 8. I was surprised at first, i was loud, clear, and sounded pretty damn good. Long behold, the inevitable happens...... only 2 minutes into playing that volume, that head has a tone of smoke coming out from the top. We picked up the amp, put it outside the studio room to air out. Laughed as loud as we could (except me of course, cause im the one that has to return the garbage...) THIS HEAD BLOWS, DON'T EVER WASTE YOUR TIME WITH IT. THIS TOTALLY MADE ME BOYCOTT SWR. THEY SUCK!

i bought this amp from guitar center. If THEY DONT TAKE THIS THING BACK, AND GIVE ME A FULL REFUND (TOMORROW) I'M GANNA PUNCH THE DUDE IN THE FACE AND GIVE THIS CATEGORY A NEGATIVE 10.

NEVER, EVER, BUY OR LOOK AT THIS AMP HEAD. IT MAY LOOK COOL, BUT IT CERTAINLY DOESNT PACK A PUNCH. IF I HAD IT MY WAY, THIS AMP, AND ALL OF SWR WOULD BE SENT TO THE SUN, AND BURN! by the way, i know what im talking about, im an "A" class bass player - heres my band. www.myspace.com/cristalix

2001its got all the good stuff.the effects alone will cost a grand.The greatest feature on this head( and I havnt read it on any other reviews) is this.You can put the effects on one side and keep the other-side dry or clean.This is a major event,cause when you use effect the bass or low end drops out on a mono system,here you can mix the two, and get a full sound.I think this is the only head that can pull this off.For that alone this is a great head for bass player who play in a power trio and need to fill in space,you would need two rigs to do want MO does.there is nothing like it.I can get the geddy lee sound when he plays synth and still have big bass going.no other head can do for me what MO does for me.Its price less

this head sounds great,I mainly get one great sound.I play rock and funk some blues with the same settings,turn on eq for solos.I play a euro spector5 with a swr 2x10 jr and swr 2x12 pack.I cant think of another amp that could fit my needs more,maybe the mini mo but thats it. the wet dry option is just way over the top.I love a loud clean sound and i got it here.can add effects and still have solid bass happening at the same time.

I got mine in 2001 i changed the tube 4 times never had a break down this is the only head i have.I play over 200 gigs a year for the last 3 years.I would died from shock if it broke down."Mo dont play that"!!

well i bought this head from the factory,before fender if i had a problem i could drive there and have it fixed in one day.they were great to me.

been playing 30 years,If lost it ,yes i would have to find a new MO bass head right away.had ampeg gk eden alembic amps some pre-amps.the only thing i wish it had is a mute bottom thats all every thing else is great.If mini mo is better then its the best amp on the market.I read all the reviews people who dont like this head are nuts, some say not enough power "dudes check you battery and you brains"I had mine 4 years and i am still learning more about it,this head is all that and more

I believe this amp could be made in 2002-03. I bought it in April of
2003, and it had been at the store for a bit. First, I was attracted
by the onboard analog effects because I like "out there" kinds of
sounds. In fact, I use a 6 stringer, and at times it's like I'm doing
effected guitar parts. I play heavy groove rock with some funkiness
and space-ness thrown in, and this amp fits perfectly, despite it's
problems.
Though it has two channels, I prefer to bridge it and use the full
900 watts in mono. I have not had a need to split clean/dirty channels
as yet. I use this amp in venues ranging from 50 to 400+ capacity. In
combination with my Warwick Thumb neck-thru 6 it overpowers every
place I've played to date. I have yet to have the master volume over
3. I read another reviewer say that this thing had no power and his
little Peavey 100 or 150 watt amp was more powerful. Obviously this
was operator error, for I can rearrange internal organs with this
thing. Note, I do use it with SWR's Megoliath 8x10 cabinet. I think
it's got more than enough beef. As far as tone, I don't find it cold
or sterile at all. Again, perhaps it's the bass, but I don't find this
amp to be devoid of soul, especially with the overdrive on.

I am using a Warwick Thumb bass. Not the bolt on junk, but the real
deal neck thru 6 string monstrosity! For whatever reason, these two
together have formed some kind of kinship, for the sound that comes
out of those 8 10" speakers is more than I bargained for; brash, in
everyone's face, over the top at times. One could say 'ridiculous'.
The distortion is incredible, the best I've played yet. It really
does keep ALL the low end. The Chorus is extra sweet, and I find the
extra Mo' EQ useful for adding punch. The Aural Enhancer is
reminiscent of the BBE Sonic Maximizer I had used pre SWR, and always
loved. The Synth is cool IF I can dial it in. I still have
not mastered that, so I think SWR needs to work on that. When it's on,
it's really on! The real bummer of the effects is the Subwave. It's
too dirty sounding, and it really does not track well. Those who have
criticized it are right. I most often do not use it. I also note that
the amp doesn't seem reall noisy at all, even with almost full tilt
distortion on. Did I mention that thick and sweet chorus? I often
combine the distortion and chorus on a moderate rate, say 3 or 4, and
it's a bone crushing techno wall of sound. COOL! If not for the dirty
Subwave and the difficult synth, it would get a 10.

Several reviews here refer to the amp crapping out and blowing up.
Well, thankfully, that has not happened...yet. Hopefully it won't,
but what I have had is an extremely annoyong problem that started
from day one. Granted, this was a floor model, and maybe people were
hard on the knobs, but SHAME on SWR for these twiddly and unstable
knobs on this unit. SHAME SHAME SHAME! I have had to have it serviced
now THREE times for extreme crackling and popping that is a direct
result of the contacts breaking down because of these not-so-solid
knobs. If it happens again, it's outta here. WHat good is it if it's
not roadworthy? So far it has stranded me three times with no backup.
Bad news for me in a fairly busy band. What I should have done was
bring it back immediately and exchange for another one, but alas, the
shop I bought it from thought it was just dirt or dust in the pots.
Boy, were they wrong. Since I've now moved 1300 miles away from there
I can't do that. All I can do is hope for the best or sell it.
No other heavy failures as yet though...

As stated, the problems with this Mo' Bass have been repaired at no
cost to me. There was, amazingly, and authorized service shop fairly
close by. I'm pretty much in the sticks. I'm also glad this warranty
is two years. Good for them, but they should have made this right in
the first place. As far as SWR the company, I've dealt with their
consumer relations guy by email. He is friendly enough, but useless.
They don't appear to really be standing behind their product. His only
response, with minor additions, has been to take it to an authorized
service center. Thanks alot SWR. I've also told him repeatedly what
the problem is, and he keeps coming back with, "let's get it to a
service center and ascertain what we're dealing with". Someone's NOT
paying atention, and I don't think they really want to help. It better
change real fast, or they will have a really sqeaky wheel do deal
with.

I've been playing bass for almost 20 years, and have always been a
Peavey guy. It's a catch 22, for I don't think the Peavey sounds were
anywhere near as good as this SWR, but the Peavey stuff NEVER broke
down...NEVER. If this SWR were lost, I would try their Mini Mo'
Preamp with a power amp and hope for the best. It kind of bites, for
I had looked at Ampeg and Mesa as well. I thought Mesa's bass gear
was phenominal as well, but the effects I loved on the Mo' Bass. They
sucked me in. The only I wish it had was 1500 watts like my last rig.
This one is LOUD, but 1500 watts...yikes.

Not sure of the year mine was made, assuming 2001-2. 3 Band EQ w/sweepable mid frequency, combined with the post-effects Mo EQ gives decent tonal flexibility. A boatload of effects including limiter, synth, overdrive, sub octave, chorus.

Sounds great, if you can hear it. I liked the clean sound, as well as the effects, but this unit is only loud enough for solo practice, or maybe if you are backing up an acoustic guitar playing folk singer and the guitar isn't miked. And the singer doesn't have a mic. Supposed to be 900 watts, but my 20+ year old 100 watt solid state Peavey amp had easily twice the volume through the same cabs.

I suppose it reliably delivered its whisper quiet sounds for the week I owned it, so it didn't cut out on me like it has for others.

Didnt talk to Fender/SWR, but I have heard horror stories since Fender took over.

If you can get one for under $500, it may be usable as a preamp, it does have a preamp out. It MAY be powerful enough to power a stage monitor for you, but I wouldn't bet on it. Wonder why it was discontinued.

Features, ya it has features as I am sure the other reviewers will tell you. It has all of the analogue effects and they are nice. What is really nice is the backside and all of it's output option. This isvery well done.

I guess we should break this down into two parts the amp/preamp and the effects. This part of the review is very negative, so I would like to point out that I have used SWR products in the past and I do like SWR.

Amp/preamp (7): When I give something a 10 in sound it is because of two things, A: it sounds great and B: it adds something new that no other piece of equipment has come up with before. I rank this a 7 because it just doesn't get warm. The sound reminds me of an early solid state amp. You can warm it up a bit with the overdrive, but that is an effect not really a part of the amp/preamp in my book. Just about any hybrid Eden, Ampeg, SWR or Mesa Boogie has more warmth than this amp.

Effects (3) I know that analogue is back in vogue these days, and the amp is a beautiful piece of eye candy, but these effects just aren't that good. In short, I am keeping my pedals! These effects just don't cut it. Let's go through them.

Compressor, Not much to say here. It works, but it does not have the options of a good compressor. The elbow is also a little square for my tastes. This compresor can't hang with a Carl Martin.

Overdrive, just about everybody has their own personal tastes when it comes to warming/dirtying up their signal. So I wasn't going to be too upset if this effect wasn't tops. But what I did expect (for the price) was something that would be on par with SWR's wonderful Interstellar overdrive...but it was not. The overdrive was a little too muddy and was never tight enough or chuncky enough. It could be used to add some warmth to the amps cold but that is about it. Depending on the OD/Dist. you want I recommend stick anSWR Interstellar overdrive a 70's MXR distortion+.

Subwave, I don't really use this effect much. It is fun to play around with when you are by yourself, but it is pretty useless in a band situation. Someone earlier mentioned that it didn't track well, it seemed fine to me. I have found that either a BOSS OC-2 or OC-3 is better because it has options for multiple octaves instead of just 1 as in the MO BASS.

Chorus, An effect often abused by some bass players :). For an analogue stereo chorus this is pretty good so I have no complaints about it. However, I do prefer a multivoice chorus. Some people may beg to differ with me, but if you are a person who uses chorus sparingly...the Digitech BASS ?multivoice? stereo chorus is much better.

Envelope filter/Synthesizer; If there is one effect I feel I can really speak about it is this. I have owned just about everything when it comes to an envelope filter. This one is just bad. You never get enough tone or a good tone from it. In the manual it talks about how it gets a Moog LPF sound when turned on normally and how it gets a Mutron III sound when you add distortion. I have owned a Moog and I still have my Mutron...I don't know what they were saying when they said they could get these sounds...no way. If you want an envelope filter buy the Mutron.

In summary, the amp sounds ok, but the effects are lacking. If you buy this (for big bucks) you will be back for your effects in no time.

I only heard bad things second hand. I personally don't know of anybody that has had problems.

SWR now Fender...really makes you wait ...days/weeks for a response.

Great piece of eye candy, cool idea, but not woth the bucks. The amp sound is flat and the effects are just not good. This is a big disappointment from a good company....and remember don't throw away your pedals because you will want to get them back.

eveything but the kitchen sink. limiter, overdrive, 2 eqs,chorus,bass synth, sub wave, and the best of all the aural enhancer. Mo control pedal. 900 watts of loudness. This catagorie would have a rating of 13 or 14 if it was possible.

One word Great. 2 eqs at the touch of a foot switch need a rock sound and then a funk sound tap on the mo eq. Switch from a heavy metal riff with a pick click the mo eq for finger funk. All the effects are cool and usefull (I hate chorus in general). The overdrive rocks from a soft fuzz to all out mesa boogie stile fury. with the chorus 10 without it 35 rating.

I've been using this amp just about every day for a year and it hasn't givin me any problems, so I sold my bass 350 witch was my backup. But again no amp is going to get a to in this catagory.

SWR used to rock. But of course now it's Fender owns it so now it sucks. SWR would have an 8 but Fender gets a 2.

Best amp I've ever owned or played through. 14 years and I've found my amp. Its so good every bass player that My band plays with wants to use it. an easy 10

Great, but two things missing: A tone control for the overdrive section and a mute switch for changing the instrument.

I use it with different basses - DeArmond Ashbory, Washburn Acoustic, Ibanez 6-string, Schack 5-string fretless and Alembic 5-string - for different styles from Simon & Garfunkel-Covers to metal and it's the first amp giving me the feeling that I bought the right thing. I tried several other heads (Warwick, Trace, Peavey), but this one kicks ass!

I've been playing it now for a year and just quit taking a backup amp with me - never had the slightest problem. Hope this won't change...

Never needed yet.

OK, it's not cheap. But I would get me a new (used) one asap, if it was stolen or lost. I play it through a pair of 4x10"/1x15" (yes, that's four cabinets!) in stereo, and though I hate the transporting of this monster rig I love the sound! The drummer plays way too loud? No problem, just raise the volume... And believe me, there's plenty of headroom!

The first thing that made me buy this was the classic SWR tone. Forgetting the effects for a moment, 60% of my playing is clean or with a slight chorus or overdrive in a rock setting. It had to have the clean rumble and slight glassy high that has distinguished SWR over the years. It simply does, with the aural enhancer and compressor and that's before you get to the efx. Simply put, the clean sound is incredible. Now for the efx, namely the overdrive, sub (a really good octave feature that tracks significantly lower than the Boss stompbox), the bass synth (which is plenty of fun to play with) the chorus, exf EQ (nice touch). It has a mono and dual mode, and at 900 w @ 4 ohms plenty of power.

I play with a Fender P with Seymour Duncan actives, a Fender Jazz fretless with EMGs, a Music Man Stingray 5 and a Sadowsky Standard. The only odd thing is that the Sadowsky (a $3000 bass) really doesn't seem to come through on the bass synth. Very odd. Everything else sounds great,especially the fretless on the synth. Completely cool. Again, before the tweaking and kerplops, it has to have the classic SWR sound for me. Adding a slight bit of OD, backing off the treble and boosting the low mid on the P bass gives a really creamy 60s sound. For slapping, a touch of chorus and the treble on 6 with the Music Man or Sadowsky gives as good and rich a slapping fundamental as I have heard. The sub is for limited applications, but add 3 or 4 (of 10) to a funky synth envelope and you are pretty close to Moog land. You can get lost in the sounds here, but it gives you a ton of options to be creative.

no problems yet, and I have had it for almost 2 years

A word about Bryan Beller of SWR. He has written extensively in Bass Player and played with Mike Kenneally and Beer for Dolphins. The guy is not only an incredible player (and co-designer of this head) but he's back to me, a non pro weekend warrior, with informative and really helpful emails in 24 hours (he's also cutting a solo album, so go figure where he has the time). Not only is he an incredible artist, but what a resource at SWR. Totally impressive and professional.

I would buy this head again. It is an incredible sounding, versatile head that has tons of sonic possibilities with great power. I play rock and roll mostly, so I don't get too "out there". But I do get to add the synth on some songs and it really chugs. Having it analog is awesome, since the guitar articulation, string attack (bridge, neck or middle) and even guitar EQ all have an effect on how the synth envelope sounds. It is really quite cool. The OD on the P bass can take over the world on "11", but I am an old enough fart to prefer it on 3, and to prefer running through "Come Together" over Korn. In all, a really fine amp - pricey - but I lucked out on ebay, and have become a devotee of SWR stuff ever since.