SWR Workingman's 10

I would guess that my amp is about 3 years old. I was looking for something to replace my Fender BXR 25. Those of you who are familiar with the BXR 25 under its various guises know that it's capable of big-amp tones, but runs out of volume with anything more than a very gentle drummer.

Anyway, after trying a bunch of the current crop of affordable small amps (Line 6 Studio 110, SWR LA10 and LA12, G-K Backline series, Eden Nemesis Silver Series, etc.), I was getting kind of depressed. Most of them didn't sound as "nice" as my Fender, and some of them didn't even play much louder! I was starting to think I was going to have to go with something heavier and more spendy, when I came across a used WM10 at a local store.

Bingo! Decent punch and clarity, flexible 3-band EQ, additional tone shaping through the tweeter defeat switch and enhancer circuit, headphone out for quiet practice, modular expansion via an extension cabinet or slaving another powered rig, tuner output, light weight, etc.

Although the amp doesn't have a dedicated Aux input for use as a boombox for practice, I discovered this afternoon that I can use the parallel Effects return for exactly that purpose.

No chorus or other gimmicks, just good, solid, pro-quality bass tone, and the features you need for typical rehearsals, practice and small gigs.

I'm using this amp with two neck-through basses, a homemade maple/bubinga 5-string, and a Peavey Grind NTB 6-string. Both basses are loaded with active EMG soapbar pickups, running at 18 volts. I play folk, blues, pop, and the odd bit of jazz.

I like the WM10 because it has the clarity that I've come to associate with higher-end amps from SWR, Euphonic Audio, etc. Whatever it lacks in terms of the swampy warmth of an older tube amp, it makes up for with a punchy, detailed tone that lets each note and percussive impact speak out quickly and accurately.

Like my old SWR Studio 220 head, it's voiced with the characteristic SWR upper midrange emphasis. With the tone controls set flat, it has a terrific bite and punch, but it amplifies fret and finger noise in a way that's a little annoying. Interestingly, although the WM10 has a solid-state preamp, the tone is amazingly close to my old amp, which had a tube front end.

I can dial most of that preemphasis out with the onboard EQ, but if I'm really serious about gettin a smooth, warm sound, I can always bypass the internal pre. Using an Art tube mic pre into the parallel effects return, nets me an extremely smooth, warm hi-fi sound.

The EQ is flexible enough to give a broad range of tones. If you're looking for grit, though, you need a Sansamp or other external box to get it. There's no gain control on the WM10, and even with the unusually hot output from my EMG-equipped basses, the speaker starts to fart out long before the amp gives up any natural distortion.

I've only had the amp a short while, but it lead a busy life as a rental unit before I bought it, and it's never had a repair. This is consistent with my experience with other pre-Fender takeover SWR products- they're built like tanks.

SWR have been helpful in the past. I haven't dealt with them since the Fender takeover, though, so who knows how things go these days?

This is "it", when it comes to a gig-ready practice amp. To have a better-sounding small amp than this, I'd have had to venture up into a much higher price range, and with the possible exception of an Acoustic Image Clarus, go up in size and weight to boot.

This one is a keeper for me. I already have a good 1*10 extension speaker (Flite 103W), and a Bose L1 system for louder gigs.

The WM10 makes a perfect complement to my other gear. I love the small size, "big rig" clarity, and flexible I/O. I might replace the stock speaker with one of the heavier the cast-frame drivers at some point, just to gain a little extra clarity and headroom, but other than that, I couldn't ask for more in such an inexpensive amp.

I think it's a shame that SWR discontinued this amp. The LA series don't cut it on tone or volume, and the new Working Pro series are not as satisfactory in terms of portability, etc.

80 watts, 10" speaker, into 8 ohms, combo. Small black box cab. Inputs and controls on the top/back, output for extention speaker.

I use it with a matching SWR passive 10" Workingmans extention speaker which drops to impedance to 4 ohms and increases the power to 100 watts. Makes a great small stack for bass. With extention speaker the detail is excellent, the low bass is puchy. Of course there is a limit to what two tens can do. BUT then I could us this to drive my Avatar 112 or 210 cab as the second cab that would kick up the output and make everything louder

It's been super so far. I use it mostly as a rehersal amp for my power trio. We don't play real loud but we are very critical about the sound quality. Never had any problems.

SWR? I own other SWR gear going on over 15 years now I don't think any of it has ever needed service.

I got a great deal on this little amp when a on-line company was blowing them out. One of my guitar friends had one which he played his six string Jazz guitar through. Yes it is clean enough if you want a super Jazz guitar amp. I love the simple controls, the small size to fit in the back seat of my Honda civic to go to a gig. I also love the extention speaker out jack to drive a second cab with it becuase it does NOT cut off the internal speaker it drives BOTH. Use only additional 8 ohm cab and your safe. At it's original list price it's expensive but at the price I payed it's a GREAT Value.

Other reviewers have covered the features. Purchased mine in 2002. This amp fills a niche and fills it well. Well built, semi-pro quality bass amp suitable for practice and light-duty gigging. I think the features it has are acceptable for the purpose (and price) it was designed. You have to have realistic expectations from a little black box with one 10" speaker in it!

I play a Fender P w/P,J pickups (passive) and it sounds great through this amp. I have no problem getting volume out of it with passive pickups. I use it for rock, alt-country, blues-rock... nothing too heavy. I've been gigging in a 3-piece, playing medium sized venues (75-150 people) and had been borrowing a friend's 100W 1-15 combo. One day I brought the Workingman 10, put it on a stool right behind me and turned it up to about 3/4 and it kept up fine with one guitarist and the drummer. Granted our gigs are pretty low volume but later in the eve our drummer doesn't hold back at times and the WM-10 kept up. Both band mates commented on how nice it sounds and that they could hear it just fine. The only thing I miss is the sheer volume of sound/air moved by a 15" speaker. If you have two guitarists, keys, horns or play at full-volume rock/blues levels, you'll definitely need something bigger and more powerful.

I've gigged without a backup amp and it has never failed me (fingers crossed). I like the advice of one other reviewer to use caution with the fuse holder on the back. Otherwise, built like a tank.

Never needed it.

I've been playing since I was 16. My main rig is a GK 800RB and a 1-15 cab loaded with a JBL driver. I use it for larger venues and outdoor gigs. It's LOUD but I don't like lugging it around (I'm now 40). My days of blisteringly loud RnR are *mostly* behind me so this amp serves me well for 75% of my gigs. I can load into a gig with everything I need in one trip: bass in gigbag slung over shoulder, WM 10 in one hand, mic stand and accessory bag in the other hand! If this were lost or stolen I might consider other sizes or brands but the weight vs. performance of the WM 10 would be extremely hard to beat.

My amp is a 2005 I purchased it from Pickers Exchange, in Chattanooga, TN. I'm a older semi pro musician, and I'm not going to carry around 100 lb amps any more.

I play blues, country and some light weight blues changes disguized as jazz.

I wish it has a couple of input jacks rather than the one input. I also wish it had Reverb (REVERB? - read on dude)

I use this amp with the extention cabinet and don't play stadiums - so it has plenty of power for my use.

What's a bass? I play lead and rhythm guitar (Tele and Strat) through this baby. Years ago, in college the Fender 4 x 10 bassman was the hot ticket. I developed an appreciation for the punch that a bass amp would give a lead guitar, and never changed. I love the sound of my '52 Tele with DiMarzzios running through this little bass amp. I turn on the tweeters. I doesn't distort which is fine with me. I have a Boss stomp box for that and other effects.

I also have a Genz Benz El Diablo 100 Head and G-FLex 2 x 12 ported cabinet. This big F***er is a 100 lbs of monster. The little SWR Working Man 10 with extention cabinet will sit right by this big dude and never bats an eye. The SWR tone is great with a guitar and the high's I get out of it are to me fatter more colorful highs than they are with that big hunk of EL 34 tubes. Call me crazy, if 15 roadies showed up to help me move and set up my amp I'd just take the SWR.

Never had any problem with it. I usually have a backup around just in case but I'm paranoid anyway. Never missed a beat with the SWR

I saw on one of the reviews that a user lost his fuse cap and coudn't find one. I wrote SWR wanting to order one, and got an email back that day telling me the stock number and where to get it.

Never needed any warranty or service.

I've been playing semi professionally since I was in high school. I'm 61 this year. I have 9 guitars and a TECH 21 Trademark 10 and the Genz Benz El DIablo 100 with the G-Flex 2 x 12 cabinet (which is for sale)

If my SWR was stolen I would get another one asap.

I love the size and the sound - and together that does it for me.

I choose this amp not knowing anything about SWR. I took my guitar to the music store and went around the wall trying every amp that was small enough to be easy to carry - TINK TINK TINK everything sounded like a little transistor radio.

As I walked over to the last corner section there were all these amps there covered in black carpet looking stuff with metal grills. I thought they looked really mean and tough. The store owner said, you won't like any of that - those are all Bass Amps. I remember thinking - finally I found the bass amps.

So I plugged the Tele into the smalles one I could find. The Workingman 10. I didn't realize that it was hooked up to the optional 10" extention cabinet. About 10 seconds later the guitar teachers were coming out from the back to ask whoever that was raising hell out here to turn it down.

I'm loving it - saying listen to that punch, listen to those highs, that damn thing has tweeters or horns in it or something.

The SWR Wm 10 and 10 ext cab went home with me that day. I love this little thing, and it doesn't break your back - and if you are having a really bad back day (which I do occasionally) you can tote the darn thing around as two pieces. I would dearly love an SWR 210C combo but I'm not dealing with a 72 lb. box any more

This model is a 2005 I believe. This amp is a great amp for practice and small gigs (Starbucks type places). I play Jazz, blues and some classic rock - OK I have played some country as well. I play electric guitar as well and know when a have a good rythym section going. This amp goes far beyonf the bedroom practices for me. It sounds like a 12" 100WAtt or louder. Can't go wrong with this one for the price. I recently bought a ext cab 10" and know it whops! excellent!

I play jazz, blues and some classic rock.It is a very quiet amp, does hiss through the tweeter at higher volumes but not very noticeable. If distortion is your thing it's not here in this amp. Very little distortion but I play jazz anyway, great for a fingerstyle sound. I use a musicman stingray copy(OLP MM2) and a fender 60's jazz bass. It does handle slapping and pops well.

This amp is built solid man. Very impressed with the construction of it. It sounded great on a gig recently(yes, I dared to). It did look funny because of it's size but it was a small local pub gig. It has not let me down yet and it held it's own live.

No problems ever.

I have been playing bass for 5 years now. I own many basses but I love playing my OLP MM2 4 string Musicman Stingray copy. I dunno I just love the thing. Love my 60's Fender Jazz bass as well. If my SWR Workingman's 10 was stolen it would be a bad day. I would buy another though.

Can't say I hate anything about the amp, for it's size, sound and price it's a gem. If you are looking for a great practice amp for you home this is it, other amps that I compared to this one in it's class and some a little better still did not have the sweet sound of a SWR.

Others have explained this. Enough features to be dangerous. I get a nice sound. Remember we are playing bass. I also have a Fender Musicmaster bass amp and it has only two knobs. I think it puts out a nice sound, only not so versatile. If you can't get a decent sound out of this amp, iot's not the amp's fault. Someone did point out that it's a little weak with passive pickups. I notice this more with a P Bass, less so with a Jazz. Also have an old Fender Musicmaster with one single coil. If I were to use that bass and play out, I'd probably use some preamplification.

I own several basses, but mostly play a Fender P-bass and a Fender Jazz. The Fender Jazz sounds beautiful through this amp, especially slap-style. I also own a Workingman's 15. Originally bought the Workingman's 10 extension speaker because I saw one cheap on eBay and thought I'd use it with the 15. Then I saw this amp on Ebay and bought it for $190.00. I swear the 10 with the extension speaker sounds better and larger than the Workingman's 15. I'm going to sell the 15.

No problems, so no comment, other than to say it looks like you could throw it out the window, plug it in, and it'd still work.

Probably not as good as it was, before Fender bought it. Bought a Fender Bass and it arrived with a tuning key broken. Went to the dealer, they called Fender, Fender said would send on gratis. Never did arrive. Nice thought, anyway. In any event, I've had no experience with the old SWR or with the new ownerhsip.

I played bass from 6th grade through college until someone stole my Kalamzoo Bass and Fender Bassman head and cabinet (late 60's and early 70's). Think Gloria, Down By the River, etc. (Whatever happened to garage bands?) Started playing again about six years ago, not out, but for my own enjoyment. I really like this amnp, more so with the extension speaker. I will probably sell my Workingman's 15 because the sound out of this one is so much better. If it was lost, I'd buy another. I does sound a whole lot better with the extension cabinet. Probably because it moves more air.

No need to rehash this. Aural enhancer? Why bother with it.

Even though this is a "second" amp, I really love this thing. I stumbled onto this amp after looking for a transport-friendly amp after my piece of junk Carvin combo gave out. I've never been wowed by SWR products in the past, but this is one little gem that really impressed me, and I bought it on the spot. I do not have a single regret. Given, the WM10 is probably not something to take gigging with you on stage, but there aren't many 80 watt 10"s that you'd want to do that with anyway. Better off with an extension cab as some in here have mentioned.

As a practice amp, it holds up rather well in a rock/blues setting (which is what I mainly play). My bass is a Peavey Cirrus 5 with actives, and through this sucker and it really sings, with good thud and good clarity in the middle. Passive bass players are probably going to struggle getting enough volume through this thing, at least if you're playing with a full band. Tweeter can be harsh, but you can control it with the turn of a knob. For its size, I really like the tone I get out of this amp.

Sturdy, and seems well built. Have not had a problem yet, but I don't ever mistreat my equipment either, so I may not be the best judge here.

SWR is now owned by Fender, which by all accounts, may not be a good thing when it comes to response time and honoring warranties. Fender is a 10-headed beast. Then again, I've yet to deal with their people.

I've been playing bass 10 years. I know good equipment when I hear it, and this thing is a gem of an amp. If it were taken from me, I wouldn't think twice about replacing it. Great tool if you have limited space, or want to practice with your buddies without having to rent a U-haul. The WM 10 is small and relatively easy to lug around, which is half the beauty of the thing. The other half is the surprisingly stellar sound out of this little bugger. If you can find one around $350, I don't see how you can go wrong.

Cirrus, Line6 Bass Pod, Ashdown EBO ABM Evo2, Hartke 4.5XL (4X10) Cab = ZEUS!

80/100 Amp 10" speaker. Standard SWR features.
Great small size with big sound!

Mine might be one of the last old style SWR 10's before Fender changed the line.

Absolutly Great sound. Kicked but on all the 12's I could find to test, and way louder than most. With the low B I have to crank up the "aural enhancer" and give it a little bass boost (Fender active Jazz) but it can shake things plenty well enough to keep up with the drummer and annoy the wife.

Cant wait to try it with an external Cab

Its seems like a little tank, but I found the weakness (as I tend to do with most things) :-(

WARNING: If you use the effect loop as a 2nd input rather than a "real loop" DONT JUST TURN IT DOWN when you unplug the input jack. TURN IT OFF. I smoked the main transistor chip unpluging my small mixer from the "Effect Return". It was a cheep fix, but not a job for most home soldering types and Im sure I have voided the warrentee.
Yes the volume was at zero. Still popped the thing.

Fender emailed me the schamatic instantly, but If I did not already have an o-scope, MultiMeter, solder-desolder tools, and the know how, I would have had to drop it off at a local service center and wait 4 to 6 WEEKS. My guess would be that any TV repair shop guy would be able to fix this unit, (its build with nice big REAL parts not nano sized surface mounts) but dont risk it if you can help it.

SWR/Fender could have put a LITTLE more into the componants. A little more capacitance in the Power supply (cut the hiss), bigger speaker wires, some nice TI op amps. But Im glad I bought it and Id recomend it without hesitation.

5 string active Fender Jazz, I play clasic rock, blues, and jazz with my kids and my rock band freinds, some of which date back to high school.

This has been well covered already.

Okay. Gotta be honest here. I'm not a bass player. I'm a guitarist. I only have a bass to lay down simple bass tracks on my Roland VS-1880 for my songs that I write. I just have an Ibanez Soundgear series bass. I don't even know the exact model. It has a P and a J style pickup, and a boost knob that adds decibels and low end, which is an active circuit. This is my first bass amp, ever, and I've been playing guitar, drums, and recording for about ten years now. I've just always recorded bass direct or through an effects patch. All that being said, I can tell you that I did try several other bass amps out before buying this one, including an SWR LA-12, and the WM-10 blew the LA-12 out of the water. I don't know a whole lot about a good bass amp, but I do know that since I've bought the amp, I haven't been playing my guitar much, and have been learning how to play bass, and LOVING it. Isn't that what music is all about? Good tone=fun=the desire to learn more. It should also be said that I am VERY much into my guitar playing, and for me not to play my guitar for a whole week, to practice bass, is really saying something. I have a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, a whole rack of effects, I use Monster Cable (Rock) patch cords, Shure microphones, etc. etc. And here I bought this little 10" bass amp, and it's got my full attention to the point of neglecting the use of all my other equipment. I think I may go back and re-do some of my previous bass tracks.

Don't know, I just bought the amp a couple weeks ago.

N/A

Overall, being that I'm a novice bass player and don't have a lot of experience with buying bass amps/bass equipment, I'm not going to rate this amp. However, if my opinion did count, I'd give it at least an 8.5. This amp certainly beats all the Fender, Crate, Peavey, and the one SWR LA-15 that I tried. If it were stolen, I would 'want' to buy it again, but I don't know if I'd have another $400 laying around to do so. I bought this amp because I had some extra cash, and was thinking about what gear I didn't have that I needed (can anyone ever have 'too much' gear, or 'enough' gear?!), and it came to me that I didn't have a bass amp. I like the tone a lot, it sounds very 'musical', like a bass is supposed to sound, rather than thin, or muddy, or like a wash tub bass from the old south. I live in an apartment, and I can only turn this amp up to about 2.5, before it will disturb the neighbors. Basically, people, although I've recorded bass lines direct for several years now, keeping in mind that I'm not a bass player, and I would generally just use root notes, 3rds, and 5ths....I feel like I just picked up a new instrument, and am really excited to dig deeper and learn to play this instrument better. That's the power of music! Thanks, SWR!!!

Mine is 2001 model. Features are already noted. Because of it's small size, it can be easily transported as a small PA, but an XLR input with a little reverb would be nice, but... It's shining moment is that it only weighs 32 pounds, goes into the back of the Blazer easily, and can be loaded (and unloaded, and set up.... and..) by my wife. The cab is well constructed and the entire package is pretty solid.

It's a good practice or small venue amp. Extension cab is a must if 1. there's a drummer involved, 2. More than 50 people are in the room, there's at least two guitars set on "11." The amp sounds clean, but in it's defense, the levels I play at don't demand earplugs. DON'T EVEN THINK OF USING THIS AMP WITHOUT A PREAMP. If you have a bass with passive pickups, and you plug directly into the amp, the audio won't be above a conversational level until you turn the volume knob past 75%. (Tried three different guitars... same results.)

So far, it hasn't failed, but, since I'm mainly a keyboard player on most gigs (with an entirely different setup, of course..), I do a bass gig about once every two months. I do use it at the house to keep said bass chops up to par, tho.

Haven't needed them, yet, but having a website to buy accessories (corners, rubber plugs, etc..) would be nice. See last comment block.

WAAAAAAYYYYYY overpriced. This is a $250 amp. I've built many stage speakers (Kind of a pasttime when I need to release those creative juices on a lazy Saturday...) I made my own extention cab, same dimentions as the SWR cab, a 10" EV 200W (8 ohm) speaker w/tweeter and attenuator, hooked a Peavey Express amp (80 watts)to it and it blew the SWR unit away using an A/B test. To me, the amp needs to be much beefier to justify the cost. I still use the SWR with my cab (same carpet and corners) when I gig, but the saving grace is it's size, not it's performance.