anyone out there own both the Swart AST and the little 5 watter?

[farlowhigh]

I have the AST and I love it but I find that it is quite loud for the distorted tones around the house. I have been using a Dr. Z Airbrake to take the edge off and it is pretty good but I find myself wondering if I could justify having the smallest Swart as a little distortion machine and the larger AST for the great clean tones...

anyone own both and feel that the two amps offer enough distinction to justify owning both? This would be mostly for home use...I realize that some own the AST for gigging and the smaller one for practice...anyone own both just for home use?

[tennisplayer]

Vox Da5, $129

[farlowhigh]

I have a Roland Cube 30 for a nice low-power modeler and it has its place but I just love the Swart sound in particular..the Vox is certainly a better price, I grant you, and I really should stop buying amps at some point, but this is really my only vice left in life...

[tennisplayer]

I just noticed you have a bumbox! How does that work at home? I hate gassing for amps, don't want to sell it do ya?

[Rockin J]

I played a couple of his amps at the Dallas show and they were great except for the controls on the back. I did'nt try the 5 watter but I don't much care for the sound of little amps. Head and cab would be better. His 30 watter has a master volume that works very well. I dont no why he does'nt offer this on the AST. The AST head has been discontinued but on his website he stated to watch out for a new head with matching cab. Be nice if the new head had the master to help get some distortion.

[surfshack]

i used to have the 5 watt Swart. Excellent sounding little amp and it will get loud , certainly louder than bedroom volumes.

[farlowhigh]

I probably should sell something but I really like the Bumbox lead 1 for its surprisingly thick and convincing distorted voice given the entirely reasonable volume...my only disappointment with the Bumbox (and it is slight) is the relative lack of a clean sound (I know, I know, it is 1 watt and what was I expecting, after all)...the newer models have a different and better volume pot and with that and a boost pedal, you can definitely get something cool, but I (probably unreasonably) was hoping for more of a range of clean to dirty. The distortion is great, though, and the amp is really great for what it does...It is a great amp for home and really nails one of the varieties of Marshall crunch...goes great in conjunction with a low-gain OD like the Barber LTD, I think...

[farlowhigh]

I understand that 5 watts at home can be plenty loud...my Savage Macht 6 is pretty fierce, but I guess I am wondering whether it would be worth getting a smaller Swart so as to easily access the distorted end of the spectrum without an attenuator...the Airbrake is really good at what it does but as everyone says, you do start changing the sound quite a bit past the first few notches and that is still probably significantly louder than the 5 watter...I understand the 3 dB =doubling the wattage thing, and I should probably just stick with the AST but just thought I would throw this out there and see if others bought both amps and thought it was a good call.

[MoRawk]

But you have a Suhr Badger. Why do you need any more low wattage amps when you have powerscaling?

[Crazyquilt]

I own an AST & briefly da a 6V6se. FWIW, I think a Macht 6 sounds more like a mini-AST than the 6v6se. They are also comparable, volume wise, tho' iirc the se breaks up more & earlier, and I remember liking its tone when dimed more than the Macht. Sounded more like an angry fuzz. That isn't a slight against the Macht, however.


But, I think if you got the 6V6se, you'd likely find it less versatile and rewarding than the Macht.

Now, when the version of the se with reverb & a 12" speaker comes out, that may no longer apply.

[Drowned Rabbit]

I own both the AST and the Baby Swart.
Each are great amps, but if you're thinking
that the Baby Swart will sound the SAME as
the Atomic, just with less volume, I'd say
you'd be disappointed (just my opinion)
If you can swing it financially, I'd sell the
AST and get the bigger SuperSpaceTone.
All the coolness of the Atomic and more,
with a MasterVolume!

If you're set on getting the BabySwart, hold
off for the redisigned version with the 12"
speaker and reverb. That one looks real cool
and seems like it will address the few, minor
issues I have with the BabySwart.

[farlowhigh]

good question, MoRawk! Certainly I don't need any more low wattage amps with the ones I already have...it is more a matter of liking the distorted Swart (diswarted?) sound in particular and feeling that the AST is just too loud to get those tones comfortably in a house...nothing against the Badger! I love it but it has a particular sound and it is pretty distinct from the Swart sound...I have thought about waiting until the newer Swart comes out with the 12" speaker and reverb...that is certainly the saner and more reasonable path to take. I know that, I do...the newer Swart will certainly be cool but probably will be a while before its out and the rumor is that it will be higher priced...around 1200 or 1300 as I recall someone saying somewhere here on TGP...
ah, maybe you are all right...I hadn't really thought about the newest SST but that just seems like too much amp for my situation and it is quite expensive...I have heard that the master volume is great but it seems hard even for me to justify as an amateur player...despite my amp decadence of the last year or two, I am not wealthy and saved for quite a while before buying most of these amps...

[farlowhigh]

Drowned Rabbit, hadn't thought about selling the AST and using the proceeds to go toward the larger SST...hmmm

can I ask what you find the minor issues with the BabySwart to be? why did you buy both amps? I don't expect the baby Swart to sound the same, but I was thinking of the smallest Swart as good for distorted tones at a reasonable volume and the AST as good for the wonderful cleans along with the lush verb and great trem...(esp as I don't find the clean to not entirely clean tones too loud on the AST...)

that was my hare-brained scheme in my mind to justify another amp purchase...maybe I should just stick with the AST and save my money for the newest Swart, or maybe think about that Gries 5 watter for a reasonably priced Blackface sounding amp...

[farlowhigh]

Crazyquilt,
that is very helpful to hear your thoughts on the Savage vs. the se...I generally think of the Macht as having a different sort of sound but I will A/B them soon and see if maybe they have more similarities than I thought...that does sound like a sane plan to think of the Savage as a smaller AST...I think I feel myself coming out of the crazy haze of amp fever...I have plenty of amps for now and I will just try to become a better player for a while...what a thought!

[ruger9]

I have the same concerns with the AST (re: reasonable home overdrive volumes)... and while I'm not "against" the SST, I'd prefer the ASt combo.

Has anyone used an attenuator with the AST yet?

I attenuate my other amps at home with good results, but some amps have reps of "not sounding good attenuated"... Z's Carmen Ghia is one, for example...