SWR Workingman's 10

Since 'Does it have enough power for you?' falls under this category - I'm giving the WM10 a 7. I think it has a tremendous amount of features for a small combo - but for gigging purposes it falls short. It's perfect for recording, small jams and practice though. Love the tuner out, the switchable tweeter attenuator and the XLR output.

Stellar SWR sound - but a little hissy from the tweeter. Otherwise a 10 would be in order. I've only played my main squeeze through it - a Fender American Std Jazz V. After gigging with it for a little over a year (and finally upgrading to something with a little more power), I now use my WM10 for recording and as an onstage personal vocal monitor. The timbre is ver hi-fi, which I really like. Clean, meaty and punchy. I especially like the results of close-mic'd demo recordings I've done with it. As a vocal monitor, it's perfect too.

Gotta knock it in reliability. It failed on me at a critical moment - failed to fire up right at the start of a gig!!! It was out of warranty so I was on my own. Took it apart to find the transformer U-shaped bracket (which held the transformer onto the backboard of the chassis) was defective and failed. It had broken clean through at one of the bends and pulled apart the solder joint of one of the main power plug leads. It was a fairly simple repair, but it should have never happend in the first place. The amp was ALWAYS carried, never dropped, and never jostled to and fro on a cart. It went - carefully - from basement to car, car to gig, back into the car, and then back into the basement. One of the reasons I went with this amp was its light weight - allowing me the luxury of carrying it wherever it went. So with all this babying, a broken transformer bracket - causing a total equipment failure - is totally unacceptable.

Customer support was great when SWR was independently owned - always able to talk to someone in tech support. Now that they fall under the Fender flagship, customer support is essentually impossible to reach. When my transformer went bad, I tried calling and emailing repeatedly and got no reply. This is why I really was 'on my own' when dealing with that repair.

In spite of the trouble I had with it and the fact that I've upgraded to a more powerful rig, I give the WM10 high ratings - especially for the price I paid. Fantastic SWR sound from a very small and lightweight pkg. I also mated it to the WM10T ext cab. For more than a year I used it as my main gigging setup. Though underpowered for that application, I've found new uses for it (recording, personal onstage monitoring) that are much better suited to it. If lost/stolen, I'm not sure if I would replace it. It would be rather expensive as a personal monitor, and for recording purposes, I'd be tempted to go with a DI bass amp emulator. But as long as it keeps going, I'll get a lot of use out of it.......just not for the original purpose I had for it.

I think this part has been covered!!

I'm using a 6 string electric and a 5 string fretless and they both sound wonderful thru this little gem. The tweeter has some hiss but has never been as issue except when the room is dead quite. I usually use a sans amp bassdriver DI but this amp really doesn't need it. I can get a good sound just by tweaking the on board eq and aural enhancer. I have used it more than just a practice amp. I've used this amp at large venues when I ran direct into the board. It has a good stage balance when used this way. It will not however handle a 1500 plus crowd by it's self. I play mostly jazz, blues and contemporary worship. Therefore, I have never had a reason to push the amp to the breaking up point. Sound engineers are always commenting on the great sound I get out of it.

I had the fuse holder to pop off during transport. I suggest you get a spare. They don't carry it at radio shack. The amp will be rendered useless until it is replaced. SWR should either move it to the top or recess it in the back of the cabinet. Other that, this amp will probably outlast me.

I contacted SWR first by e-mail and then by phone. I explained the fuse holder problem and the promply sent me 2 replacements!! Toooooo Cool!!!

I have a SWR 400 head and a Carvin RL210T cabinet that barely gets used anymore. As a matter of fact, the SWR/Carvin setup has become my practice setup and the Lazy Man 10, oops, I mean Working Man 10 has become my main amp except for the largest of gigs. Would I replace it if it was stolen? In a heartbeat!! Good Job SWR!!!!

I think it is a 2000, has a little blue power light, and I wish it had a parametric eq, and no Aural Enhancer.

Use a 4-string Stingray and a Fender Jazz fretless (both guitars active) to play small jazz and blues venues. I find the amount of bass coming out of such a wee box to be very surprising, and so does every musician that has heard it (SWRs are a little unusual in Sydney). Has very clean mids and tops - great with the Stingray for slapping and popping. I don't use the tweeter much, as I can get all the treble that I could want out of the Stingray. At the end of the day, tho, it's an 80 watt amp with a 10" speaker, so it's never going to keep up with my GK 400RB and 15" EV bin. It is what it is, and it is just awesome at that!

Used this amp extensively over the last 2 years with no probs at all. Don't lose those silly little rubber plugs on the back of the amp (I have mine gaffa taped in place - would recommend same).
Happy to use this amp without backup.

I live in Australia, so I've never dealt with the company directly. A word to SWR if they are reading this - I'd love to buy more SWR gear, but it is pretty much impossible to find out here - please find a distributor! No breakdowns of any kind. Very rugged. Seems bulletproof.

Love the weight vs grunt of this amp, hate the "Aural Enhancer" cos I don't really understand what it is doing, so I don't know how to use it.

Mine was made in I think 1998 or 1999. Very versatile and even includes effects send and returns. The usual dials as seen in previous reviews. Features I wish it had, well, I wish it was louder, but hard to get that without adding more wieght and more cost. My first review is way down there. I describe it as a Borg cube, which it is.

It doesn't add or detract from the bass. For those who like the modern bass sound and don't want to break your back like some peavey combos I know. Personally, I like the Trace Elliot tube sound, so I had to let her go. I'll miss the workingman's ten but I like what I got in return. Can you guess? See below

This is where the amp shines and shines and shines. Totally reliable and can totally handle the bass sound. The speaker is tough and can handle the low lows without farting out. I've had it for about 2 years and it has servd me well. Great for Jazz and accoustic work. This is pro-level gear.

I have to give SWR a ten. Initially when I bought it, there was a buzzing on certain notes. SWR paid the tech in Kelowna to disassembel it and tighten everything. Now no buzz.

What I didn't like was how expensive the covers are for these amps. Ouch!!! 40 bucks U.S. for a cover, granted they are really well made.

I traded the famous Kurt Phillips of Warhag and preiously Witchkiller straight across for a very nice(he treats gear well) for his Trace Elliot V-TYPE pre-amp. I just like the Trace tube sound more. I haven't tried any of Trace Eliot's new gear, so I don't know if quality went in the toilet after Gibson bought them out(too bad about that). Warhag has a new CD, which they did a really good job on(I believe the V-type was used on a few tracks). Do a search on the net, and you'll find the Warhag site. Kurt like me respects gear and likes good gear so the trade was an easy one.

If you are looking for a very nice bass combo that won't break the bank, buy the Workingman's Ten as it will fit the bill. Kurt also owns a guitarshop in Kelowna "Kelowna Guitarworks" and that's where my Workingman's Ten is now. The deal was done really recently, so it may still be there. New condition amp at used price. If you buy it, treat it well.

New in '98-'99. I play blues/jam/progressive rock. Holds up well for those styles. The best parts of this amp are: 80 watts in 32 lbs. Unbeatable cost/performance ration in my opinion. The 80 watts really does lack volume in some situations though. (eg. Guitarist has a Fender DeLuxe 4x12 combo!! Hard to compete.) I'm really looking into buying the extension cab since I'm gigging a lot more. The tone controls are adequate.

I've got a fretless MM Stingray. The combo has a nice overall tone. The amp does distort at high volumes, but like other reviewers say, it's not a bad distortion. Gotta plug the unused jacks in back though. That whistle it LOUD.

I had the input jack replaced because it was loose on thinner plugs. The tech complained about the jacks being soddered directly to the board. He replaced the jack with one that was wired to the board, and screwed to the chassis. He says it'll last forever now. Rock solid amp otherwise. This is my main and only rig that I use to gig with. It has never, ever let me down.

Never talked to them, and hopefully never have to.

I've been playing for about 10 years. I use a SansAmp BDDI as a pre-amp/direct box for the PA. All the gear I need. I used to have a 210 watt Peavey Mark III bass head from 1978 and a Sonic PA cabinet with 2 10" speakers and 1 18" speaker. That was a STUPID rig. The WM 10 is a much smarter rig. If my WM 10 was stolen today, I would probably look at a bigger SWR combo(red head?), but in general, I would replace it. I will probably get the extension cabinet though. The 80 watts is not enough *some* times. But for price and mass, there isn't a better value.

The othe people here took care of that already

I use the Workingmans 1X10 plus the 1X10 ex cab.I think this amp has a great sound.Very solid.I use this with 2 guitar players, they are good at controling there volume. When we gig, I just run the DI to the board and get a real nice sound.

I have had it for about 1 1/2 years and never had a problem with it. It used to get real hot when i run it hard, but I installed a fan it the back and that took care of the heating up problem.

Never had to deal with them

I have to say, I could not belive how good this sounds with the ex cab. Very small and i get in and out of gigs in one trip.

Neue Serie, 2002, kleine Veranderungen, anderes Typenschild (oben jetzt das SWR Logo aus Metall), Schalter fur Headphones und Horn off waagerecht angebracht, au?erdem sehr sinnvoll: ein zusatzlicher Klappgriff unten, zum Einen zum Tragen, zum Anderen kann man damit den Amp etwas ankippen, super!!!
Die anderen Features sind in den bisherigen Reviews ausgiebig beschrieben worden, daher erspare ich mir eine weitere Aufzahlung.
Eine Vorstufe (Gain) konnte noch eingebaut werden, manchmal ist die Lautstarke schwer zu dosieren, wenn ich den Sound am Bass wechsle.
Das Gewicht ist 15kg und die Dimensionen nicht zu klein (wg. Bassreflex), aber noch tragbar.Sehr schon ist auch die optionale Erweiterung durch eine Zusatzbox (z.B.: Workingman 10"), die Endstufe leistet dann noch 20 Watt mehr und das "Mini-Stack" schiebt dann schon gewaltig voran.

Ich spiele einen MusicMan MM40 Sterling, 4-Saiter, Standard pickups. Ich spiele hauptsachlich Soul, Funk und Gospel, ab und zu auch Rock, alles ist ohne Probleme auf diesem Amp moglich. Die EQ Regler arbeiten sehr effektiv (nicht nur im +Db Bereich), wenn ich z.B. vom Fingered Style auf Slap umstelle, hebe ich nur die Basse an und habe volles Pfund, oder in einem Song hebe ich zuvor die Basse am Amp ein wenig an und wenn ich dann am Bass die Basse reindrehe, dann flattern die Hosenbeine. Durch das Fullrange-System (Box+Horn+Bassreflex) ist es ohne weiters moglich, noch einen CD-Player oder Sequenzer zum Uben dran zu hangen (ich habe ein Korg Pandora 3 fur Bass).

Bislang habe ich keine Probleme, ich will hoffen dass es so bleibt, Technik kann halt versagen, ich mache mir da aber keinen Kopf :-)

Im Internet gibt's die Bedienanleitung, Ersatzteile und Zubehor (z.B.:Schutzhulle), alles andere kann der heimische Techniker "loten" :-)

Ich wurde mir diesen Amp immer wieder kaufen (wenn er nicht noch teurer wird: Mai 2002: 399,- EURO, Juli 2002: 499,- EURO, September 2002: 599,- EURO, ...) Ich habe viele Amps getestet bevor ich mich entschieden habe, aber nichts besseres gefunden (Ampeg BA-110 +112, Polytone Sonic Bass, Gallien Krueger, Warwick), alle sind entweder zu schwer, um sie als kleinen Gigamp zu nutzen oder sie haben zu wenig Leistung oder unnotige Features oder klingen schlecht, sind nicht gut verarbeitet)
Wenn Du auch aus dem dt. sprachigen Raum stammst und eine gleichen oder ahnlichen Verstarker spielst (Workingman 12 oder so), dann meld' dich doch mal, zwecks Austausch von Erfahrungen, ich lerne gerne dazu, wenn's um Setups oder Sounds geht :-)

For a practice/small gig amp the features are great, the balanced DI they have added means you can use the combo for foldback whilst the PA puts out the volume. Useful EQ section only a graded control of the tweeter is missing (its either on or off).

Obviously its no reggae amp but if you like clean modern tone this is the one to get. Slap tone is great but boosting treble creates a lot of hiss (no tweeter control). Then again, the flat sound is bright enough for most tastes. Fingerstyle tones are good is you dont want too much bottom end. Low overall volume the biggest drawback, but you pays your money....

Seems well made - no problems in six months of use.

Not needed - the user guide is fairly good though.

For practice at home and small gigs or rehearsals its clean tone and easy portability are great features. If this is going to be your only amp be aware of its sonic and volume limitations.

Very well equipped for such a small box. With 3 band EQ, Aural Enhancer (a rather vague concept knob that seems to have some kind of pre-shape effect) FX loop with mix control, speaker extension, Headphone, Tuner & DI out, and a 3 way speaker control. Comes with 1 10" driver and bullet tweeter, with 80 watts (120 with an extension cab).

If I had any gripes it would be a lack of a master volume. It seems to have input gain only, which results in the pre-amp EQ section being on full blast all the time. This means that the tweeter is always hissing no matter what volume you set, which gets worse if you set a harsh EQ. It's such a shame as it's a noticable detraction to the sound quality that one cheap pot would cure.

This produces a very nice tone at most volumes. Marred only by the hissing from the Tweeter. However the tweeter can be shut off without much loss in tone. and at anything other than very quit practicing volume you don't really notice it anyway.

It will distort if pushed hard, but the distortion is not to particularly unpleasant. Basically it sounds a lot bigger than it looks. and gives a great tone at all but the loudest levels. If only they'd sorted that hiss it would be near perfect.

Very solidly built. However, I when I got it, it rattled badly on certain notes. With the Manufaturer in the US, and the supplier in Germany, here in the UK I decided that I'd have to go in myself. I evetually traced the issue to the Transformer rattling against the casing, I put a couple of washers under it and all is now fine, but they loose a couple of points for the need to do that in the first place.

sent an email, and they're already sending me some rubber plugs for the jack sockets, free of charge to the UK. that puts them in my good books.

A fantasticly compact box with a very professional set of features. If they'd just sort the hiss out it would be perfect.

Picked up thos little guy at Georges Music in May 2002 for 429 greenbacks and have used it every day since. The features have been stated by other reviewers so there is no need to reiterate. I will say that the Aural Enhancer seems to suck the life out of my tone, the best setting I have found is at 12'oclock. I holds up in any musical situation I can put it through. I use this amp at home, for instruction, small venues, and practice. The 80 watts is plenty of power. I also wish for a gain control. -1 for the Aural Enhancer.

Like I said the Aural Enhancer is a "suck" button, but I deal with it. This little amp has been put through its paces and I like it. I use an array of basses with this amp and it loves them all (the WM 10 is like a pig in mud when used with an upright bass). The tweeter hisses, and when slappin' can be a bit grating, so I turn it off. The sound has exceeded my expectations. -1 point for the Aural Enhancer.

Some reviews have been scathing others have been on a more postive note. I guess I got the good apple, no problems with the WM 10 and I dont expect any. I give it an 8 because I havent abused it for long. I do have a Hartke combo, but I would never use it as a backup for the SWR.

Well I want the damn rubber plugs! Anyway, when I bought this amp it was on backorder and took a month for delivery, that was dissapointing. So I'll give them a 6 because of the lack of rubber plugs and the fact that I was out of 429 dollars and nothing to show for it. But now I am happy. Its nice to know there is a warranty, it could have been a peice of feces in a box, but as long as there is that warranty I feel fuzz and warm. It lets me know that they care.

I use this amp in a weird bi-amp with a Bag End S15-D and could'nt be happier. Small size and big tone put a smile on my face. I compared the SWR to amps of similar size from Ampeg, Trace Elliot, Peavey, Fender, Gallien Krueger, Eden, and Euphonic Audio. Well, the SWR just outshined the fenders, peaveys, and the trace elliot. It kept up with the Eden, but was blown out of the water by the GK, and Euphonic Audio. Then I looked at the prices, the SWR wins. Its actually better than I had expected. So Ill give it a 9.