SWART AST Master (Head or Combo) - anyone played / playing one?

Powerslave

I'm very interested in getting a Swart AST Master or head, and would welcome the thoughts and experiences of anyone who has played / owned one of these amps.

I do love the sound of this amp in several demos, particularly the one on YT from "roknfnrol" when he's playing an LP. However, YT demos aside, I have also tried both head and combo myself - with "mixed" results.

I tried a combo about 2 years ago and absolutely loved it. I found it to be a very "musical" and inspiring amp. However, it wasn't what I was really looking for at the time (that proved to be a 2 channel gigging amp). I tried a head last year, but was slightly disappointed - finding the particular example to be a little harsh / bright in comparison to the warmth (as I recalled) of the combo. At the time, I initially thought that it might have been the new G12H30 that I was running it through - but, I experienced similar results when I then put it through a Greenback.

The convenience of a combo at home appeals to me, and my (limited) experiences of head vs combo (as noted above) also leads me to favour a combo. However, I'm a little wary of combos being susceptible to (tube) rattle when played at higher volumes - something which you don't always pick up on when demoing an amp in-store.

The AST Master circuit appeals to me over some of the other Swart designs - offering the option of playing at home "pedal-free" with some degree of gain with the MV engaged. The amp might occasionally do a small pub gig, but it would mostly be a home or jamming amp.

Thanks in advance for your input . . .

MattG

Harsh and bright are 2 words i would never use to describe a swart! even set clean with a treble booster and the bridge pickup on my strat it doesn't get harsh so something strange must have been going on with that particular example.

I have no experience of the combo I do however own, love and occasionally jam with an AST Master 2 head with the matching cab and it sounds glorious!

with my strat i get great funky rhythm tones when set clean and with the volume up high and the master down low i get awesome clapton tones.

They take fuzz like nothing else in this world and when cranked sound huge with a LP type guitar, the master volume is very usable and makes the amp easily tamable for bedroom use and they can run 2 cabs so as long as your speakers aren't crap they are very giggable.

Note that the BV25 alone will not keep up with a drummer.

But what are you actually asking? if you're just generally curious then they are great amps that can take almost anything you can throw at them including metal if you have the right pedals.

They are light weight and have no background noise, they are very well built and take pedal exceptionally well.

The tremolo is second to none and sounds huge, perfect for how soon is now type use or even just to give your chords abit of subtle warble.

The reverb is one of the best ive ever heard and the clean/ edge of break up tones are the best ive ever heard fantastic for Jazz or funk and with a little driving it gives an amazing blues tone.

If rock is your thing then ramp up the volume and thrash the input with a boost and it will give a huge rawkous rock tone that would be perfect for classic rock or punk and with a bit of fuzz it will give the full Neil Young!

mellowsun

I want a Swart. Don't seem to see them come up second hand very often. Was hoping to swap my CS Strat for one, but no luck. Decided to keep the Strat now anyway.

Powerslave

^^^ @mellowsun, they do seem to be rare second-hand - which is probably a good sign, although a bit disappointing if trying to avoid "new" prices!

@mattg - appreciate the considered response. I was very surprised when I played the head and found it to be bright. I had to run it with the tone practically "off" in order to even begin to tame it. As you say, it could have been a fluke with that particular head (valves, etc).

I'd be using the amp primarily for blues, and some classic rock - so it sounds as though it would do a fine job. My other amps are very much in the Marshall camp, and so something different from that is part of the attraction with the Swart.

I was impressed with the reverb on both examples that I tried. The tremolo was also very nice, although it's not something that I am likely to use very often.

I think I just have to wait on the next shipment to arrive at Coda and make the 3 hour trip to A/B a combo with a head / cab.

Once again, the above comments are very much appreciated - other comments (particularly from any combo owners, or thoughts on speaker choice) also welcome . . .

Thanks

thisisguitar

As far as amp rattle being an issue, you'd probably only really notice it in the recording studio from my experience... used to suffer this with my old Mesa. You can always just run an external speaker cab if you want to record though.

MattG

I'd be using the amp primarily for blues, and some classic rock - so it sounds as though it would do a fine job. My other amps are very much in the Marshall camp, and so something different from that is part of the attraction with the Swart.

Yes it would be perfect especially with some sort of  boost or low gain OD, i use the Swart atomic boost for this and as it quite rightly should be its perfect.

For rock tones i crank it and use a valve sporker or run it on the edge of break up and use a providence SOV1 either gives fantastic classic rock sounds, the issue with the first approach is it leaves you no where to go for solos as there is not fx loop and you will already be driving the input stage so any extra boost you put will just give more saturation.

Just something to be aware of.

Also used they are massive bargains and dont hang around long.

nickb_boy

I hope for your sake you managed to grab the one on eBay that went for £800 yesterday. Absolute bargain!!

Powerslave

^^^ Sadly not, Nick

Was it the black one that belonged to the guy from The Vaccines? I did think about bidding on that, but had expected a fan to go after it and the price get silly.

Silly me, it would seem!

nickb_boy

@Powerslave;966120" said:

^^^ Sadly not, Nick

Was it the black one that belonged to the guy from The Vaccines? I did think about bidding on that, but had expected a fan to go after it and the price get silly.

Silly me, it would seem!

Yeah that was the one. Can't believe the price didn't rocket on it either. All it was missing was the front logo. Someone got a steal!

Powerslave

Bump for the weekend, would welcome some further input from anyone playing one of these - especially the combo.

Maybe the lucky so-and-so who grabbed the deal from e-bay could chime in, if they can stop laughing long enough to type

JayGee

I've just been listening (for the benefit of visitors, I'm not *that* narcissistic...) to the 4 tracks in a day studio demo I recorded with my covers band using @MattG's[1] AST head/cab...

And bloody hell it sounds fabulous!

I recall the guy who produced/engineered/mixed it being hugely pleased with how easy it was to work with in the studio (basically plug it in, stick a mic in front, and "Ooooh! That sounds *lovely*" compared with seemingly endless faffing with our other guitarist's huge and deafening Marshall half-stack) as well. Best reverb I've ever heard (again Adam the studio guy chose to go with a touch of the amp's reverb over recording it "dry" and adding any reverb outboard because he just plain liked it...) and the most usable trem (not an effect I'd generally go within a million miles of but the Swart interpretation is strangely compelling...) too.

Blues, classic Rock, and the greasier end of "Americana" seems like it's natural habitat to me and bright/harsh is absolutely the last way I'd choose to describe it. 

Great little thing, fun to use and has a way of leading me at least a little way out of my normal musical comfort zone (like the trem thing) when I borrow it.

[1] He's my son.

Moe_Zambeek

Not the same but I had an AST pro for a while - it had no treble to speak of at all. No clean headroom and not a lot of dynamics. The trem was ok.

I think you ideally need to try one to see if they'll work for you. For me the AST pro was not a good fit. I was recording an album when I had it, everything it was on was ultimately re recorded with a 'better' amp...

Powerslave

Thanks for the latest contributions, guys - very much appreciated.

I'll certainly take the time to try one out as best as I can once stock is available.

JohnPerry

Amp trems i have owned or heard, in order of deliciousness. 1. Fender VibroChamp silverface. 2. Swart AST master combo. 3. Lazy J J20 4. Princeton reverb silverface 5. Deluxe reverb silverface.