Vintage 1999 SWR Workingmans 12 Bass Amplifier Review

Howdy!

Today we looking at a solid little bass amp I found on my local social media site, a SWR Workingman’s 12 that was made sometime between 1999 to 2002. This is a well-made combo amplifier that sounds good and is pretty portable, making it a real cool find!

SWR was founded by Steve W. Rabe (a former engineer for Acoustic amplifiers) in 1984, and he set up shop in the San Fernando valley. He designed and built a lot of cool amplifiers and speakers, such as the Goliath and the Super Redhead. He sold the company in 1997 and the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation bought it in 2003 so they could run the business into the ground, like they do with almost everything they acquire.

The Workingman’s 12 was introduced in 1994, and was part of a series of amps that included the Workingman’s 10 and Workingman’s 15. These were SWR’s first “cheaper” amplifiers, and they were very popular with consumers. The one we are looking at today is fairly compact, measuring 16 inches wide, 23 inches tall, and 16 inches deep, and weighing in at a stout 47 pounds. There is a metal grille for the speaker, and the chassis is covered in fuzzy black carpet that attracts pet fur and dust as if this was the purpose that SWR designed it for. By the way, this was made in the USA, which cannot be said about later SWR products.

The amplifier puts out 100 watts RS through the onboard 8-ohm 12-inch driver and separate Piezo tweeter, and output is upped to 120 watts if an 8-ohm extension speaker is added. This seems like a pretty accurate power rating, judging by the amount of sound this thing can push out.

On the front panel you will find an XLR direct out, a ¼-inch tuner out, passive and active input jacks, a Gain knob, an Aural Enhancer knob, 3-band EQ knobs, an Effects Blend knob, the Master Volume control, and the power switch. Around back is an IEC power cable socket, a selector switch that turns off the horn or puts the unit into headphone mode, a ¼-inch headphone jack, and the effects loop jacks. Pretty simple, really.

The knobs do not need much explanation. The Effects Blend knob mixes the signal from the bass with the signal from the effects loop. With the control fully counter-clockwise, no signal from the effect is heard. As you turn this control clockwise, more of the effect can be heard in the overall sound. When the control is fully clockwise (or pulled out), the dry signal is completely out of mix.

The Aural Enhancer knob is kind of a magic turbo boost control that I do not really understand. To quote the Owner’s Manual, “The Aural Enhancer was developed to bring out the fundamental low notes of the bass, reduce certain frequencies that can “mask” fundamentals and enhance the high-end transients. The effect becomes more pronounced as the control is turned up. The result is a more transparent sound. Listening to a passive bass with the control set all the way down, and then turning it all the way up, can be likened to listening to the bass suddenly become “active.”” Whatever.

There are not any surprises when plugging into this combo. I have owner SWR products before, and have always been impressed with their tone and power output, and the Workingman’s 12 is no exception. The EQ and Aural Enhancer controls allowed me to get a nice variety of tones, from a warm character that would be perfect with an upright bass to edgier sounds that would be appropriate for harder rock. In between those extremes I was able to dial in a nice round sound that would be great for blues and soul. The overall volume is pretty good, making this amp appropriate for smaller gigs, and I found that the DI works really well. So, if you are able to go through the PA, this amp would be pretty much all you would need for a bigger gig, as long as the stage is not ungodly noisy. I think it is a winner, and I plan on keeping it around for a while.

When the SWR Workingman’s 12 amplifiers were new, they had a retail price around $700, and a street price around $500. I am seeing used ones online for $150 to $300, which is a reasonable price for a solidly performing American-made combo amp that can pull it together for small gigs. If you ever get the chance to check one out, see what you think and post a comment below!

Mahalo!

2006 Martin D-15 Custom Acoustic Guitar Review

Hiya!

Today we are looking at a 2006 Martin D-15 Custom dreadnaught acoustic guitar. This model is on the lower end of the Martin spectrum, but is still a pretty nice US-made guitar. The custom part is that this instrument have a spruce top and rosewood sides and back, unlike other Martin D-15 guitars that are made of solid mahogany. These were only made for a few years and were distributed exclusively through Musician’s Friend.

Indeed it is made of some nice woods! It has a mahogany neck, Sitka spruce top, and East Indian rosewood sides and back. The bridge is made of East Indian rosewood too. I am not sure where the fretboard came from, but it is rosewood too. Inside there is D1 A-frame bracing, if you have any idea what that means. Ornamentation is sparse -- the body has a matte finish, a simple rosette and body binding, and a nice-looking faux tortoiseshell pickguard. Unfortunately, it looks kind of cheap if you think about it too much.

The neck is pretty sweet. It has a smooth oval profile, and has a glossy finish. It has the traditional 25 1/2-inch scale 1 11/16-inch width nut. 14 of the 20 frets are clear of the body, and they are well-finished and pretty level. The neck is capped by a rosewood headstock overlay, a gold foil logo, and nice quality chromed sealed-back tuners.

This one is in pretty good shape on its 8th birthday. It just has a few marks, dings, and nicks, and the matte finish has been worn shiny in a few places. The frets are still in great shape, and it sets up nicely with a very low action on light gauge strings. Somewhere along the line someone professionally installed a bone nut, which is not a bad thing. It weighs in at around 4 pounds, 6 ounces in case you are keeping track.

How does it work? Despite its entry-level cost it has a definite Martin character and tone. The dreadnaught body style allows for sufficient power, and the low oval profile neck is fast and easy to handle. The bass is loud and full, and the midrange detail is sweet with a good balance between the two. It is fun to play, and is nice for songwriting, fingerpicking, folk, country and bluegrass. Don’t get me wrong – it is not in the same league as my D-18GE, but it is pretty darned good.

I guess the important thing is how much these things cost. Back when they were new, they had a list price of $1499, and a street price of $999, which included a nice-quality hardshell case. These days they are $500 to $600 used guitars, which is not too bad for a US-made Martin that is built with nice woods. Plus, they have all been getting older and the tops have been loosening up, so they sound better than ever.

Check one out, and if you can get put up with the Spartan appointments, they are a pretty good deal. If appearance is important, save up and buy a D-28. It might take a while…

Mahalo!

The Ukulele Part 2: On the Mainland

Hello!

My last blog entry ended with the introduction of the ukulele to the United States mainland, and I thought I would pick up the story where I left off.

After the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, there was a flood of Hawaiian music with vaudeville performers. This meant that the ukulele (and the lap steel guitar) was in greater demand because things were the same then are they are today: when famous musicians are playing an instrument, the demand carries over to the public too. So, sales giants Sears and Montgomery Ward started selling ukuleles via mail order.

And people really liked that the instrument was easy to learn, and in just a few hours they could start making basic music. There was even a popular method book, the “5-Minute Ukulele Course” which sold for 5-cents.

Martin Guitars of Nazareth PA saw this demand and did not want to miss out on the trend. They came out with an inexpensive (under 10 dollars) uke which brought them a lot of business. Martin had enough new business that they had to expand their factory 3 times between 1917 and 1926 to meet demand. By 1926 they were making 17,000 ukuleles a year, which is quite remarkable considering that 10 years before they were selling just a few hundred instruments (guitars and mandolins) per year.

The craze continued on through the 1920s and 1930s, and Martin, Regal and Harmony made a lot of money selling ukuleles. Most transcriptions of popular music included ukulele tablature.

World War II did little to dampen enthusiasm for the ukulele. Maccaferri cranked out about 9 million cheap plastic ukuleles between the war and the late 1960s. Perhaps the high mark (or low mark) of the uke was the 1968 hit “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”, as performed by Tiny Tim.

After this time, demand for the ukulele crapped out, and there was about 20 years where ukulele music moved to the back burner.

The start of the re-emergence of ukulele popularity can probably be best attributed to the late Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (IZ), a Hawaiian musician that recorded touching versions of “What a Wonderful World” and “Over the Rainbow.” I have heard his renditions in quite a few movies and TV commercials over the years.

Since the late 1990s I have seen increasing numbers of ukuleles in music stores, and there are now displays in Sam Ash Music and Guitar Center locations across the country. A new generation of musicians are learning the instrument, and I think that is terrific in this age of Guitar Hero fake musicians.

Mahalo!