Swart AST vs. Fender '59 Bassman LTD Reissue

[chameleon101663]

If you've owned/played both...which one has more "magic" and big, rich 3D clean sound?

[jimmyohio75]

Originally Posted by chameleon101663

If you've owned/played both...which one has more "magic" and big, rich 3D clean sound?

Never played the Swart but "magic","big" and "rich 3D clean" pretty much describe the Bassman to a T.

[sanhozay]

The Bassman will have the bigger voice and will have way more clean tones. It's hard to top 4 - 10" alnico speakers for a 3D sound, and the LTD is a honey of an amp, but I just have no need for an amp as powerful as the Bassman. I like to crank my amps wide open and that's one of the AST's most impressive sounds. It's a small cabinet, so expect a little boxy next to a demo against the Bassman, but the little beast has a huge projection. Verb at lower volumes is welcomed and tremolo is a must for me. Easy to acquire in pedal format but it's not going to touch the real thing. I think the Swart is 28lbs, never needs a bias, loves to play with tubes and is the coolest looking amp that loves all my guitars. It's a warm, organic and reedy sounding amp that just works really well for my needs. It's not the loudest amp and has little clean headroom but it's amazing sounding.

[Teleking]

I own both. I play rhythm and sing, so I use the Bassman. The AST is a nice amp, but I don't think they're as good as my Victoria 20112. I think my Victoria blows the AST out of the water. My AST does have nice overdrive tones, the trem is fantastic, and the cleans are very nice, but it just sounds thin compared to my 20112.

The bassman will be a much fuller sound. Much more bottom. Much more clean headroom. I love the cleans on the bassman. It's a very loud amp though and you'll need pedals to push the amp for overdriven tones.

The AST has more bells and whistles than the Victoria, but I choose to play the Victoria over the AST almost always. I've had my Victoria for 12 years. That any my 66 Super are the only amps that I've ever had that lasted that long out of about 50, and neither are going anywhere in my lifetime. I have some other recent purchases that likely won't go anywhere either, but these have lasted the test of time. Hope that helps.

[chameleon101663]

That helps a ton. Thanks!

The Guitar Center near me has a couple '59 Fender Bassman LTD Reissues for sale around $1000. May have to pick one up soon. Is that a decent price?

[jimmyohio75]

Originally Posted by chameleon101663

That helps a ton. Thanks!

The Guitar Center near me has a couple '59 Fender Bassman LTD Reissues for sale around $1000. May have to pick one up soon. Is that a decent price?

No, you can do better on E-Bay. They go for around $800-850 in good shape!

[riffmeister]

Comparing a lower wattage 2x6V6 1x12 in a small cab with a higher wattage 2x6L6 4x10 is apples to oranges.

[sanhozay]

Originally Posted by riffmeister

Comparing a lower wattage 2x6V6 1x12 in a small cab with a higher wattage 2x6L6 4x10 is apples to oranges.

Totally.

Years back I helped a major blues player load-in his Super Reverb & Pro Reverb into a club {now out of business} called the Sit 'N Bull. When I got to the place I was astonished to find how diminutive the place actually was. A I carried in the firepower I could not help but wonder: why two amps? please let me buy you a tube screamer, and no wonder why the blues are dying.

Sorta kidding, but not that much.

[Redrum]

Certainly tone is a subjective topic around here, but please, the AST was "blown out of the water"? That's a little much. The Swart AST is right up there with the best, despite it's diminutive size. I've heard the AST next to literally dozens of the most popular and trendy combo's commonly discussed here on the TGP and the AST, while having it's own thing going, never even came close to being blown-away by any of them.

If clean headroom is an issue, just mic it. Crikey.

[chameleon101663]

Originally Posted by riffmeister

Comparing a lower wattage 2x6V6 1x12 in a small cab with a higher wattage 2x6L6 4x10 is apples to oranges.

That is obvious. I'm moving beyond that and talking about about clarity, dynamics, feel, swirl, etc. In other words, the thing that make an amp "magic". I could mic either one, so volume is not as much of an issue as the soul of the amp.

[sanhozay]

Bassman needs to be pushed to experience the magic. And expect a long speaker break in, {for the Swart, too} which is a real bitch if you can't push it. The Swart can be pushed and it will sound humongous. The notes swirl and hang in the air and they are super beefy. The AST is a reedy & fat sounding amp, so if the high end hearing ain't what it use to be it will probably sound flat & congested. The Bassman is a great sound and Fender does a nice job on their LTD reissue. I see them all over the place, so they probably hold up well. I think the verb makes the AST a player at low volumes and that matters a lot to me. And the magic is also the size of the thing and the ease of replacing and experimenting with different tubes. The magic of the tremolo is that it's pure tube and one of the best sounding in the history of amplifiers. The magic of the Bassman has been sustainable for the past 50 years, so it's a tough amp to topple. I think the AST is the equal and the far more practical and better choice for me. Go play one for the love of xmas!

[chameleon101663]

Originally Posted by sanhozay

Bassman needs to be pushed to experience the magic. And expect a long speaker break in, {for the Swart, too} which is a real bitch if you can't push it. The Swart can be pushed and it will sound humongous. The notes swirl and hang in the air and they are super beefy. The AST is a reedy & fat sounding amp, so if the high end hearing ain't what it use to be it will probably sound flat & congested. The Bassman is a great sound and Fender does a nice job on their LTD reissue. I see them all over the place, so they probably hold up well. I think the verb makes the AST a player at low volumes and that matters a lot to me. And the magic is also the size of the thing and the ease of replacing and experimenting with different tubes. The magic of the tremolo is that it's pure tube and one of the best sounding in the history of amplifiers. The magic of the Bassman has been sustainable for the past 50 years, so it's a tough amp to topple. I think the AST is the equal and the far more practical and better choice for me. Go play one for the love of xmas!

Great comparison. I would play an AST in a heartbeat if I knew anyone in Las Vegas who owned one! ;-)

[sanhozay]

Originally Posted by chameleon101663

I knew anyone in Las Vegas who owned one! ;-)

Oh, I hear ya! If that Tele on your page is your main squeeze then I sincerely think you will love the voice of the AST. The demo's on Swart site are spot on. It's a very easy amp to dial in for a nice tone; every thing sounds great but it really compliments a Telecaster style guitar.

[riffmeister]

Originally Posted by chameleon101663

Which one has more "magic" and big, rich 3D clean sound.

I'm talking about about clarity, dynamics, feel, swirl, etc.

I could mic either one, so volume is not as much of an issue as the soul of the amp.

I think volume might be an issue. The Bassman with more wattage and bigger iron and more square inches of speaker & baffle will move a lot more air than the Swart and sound a lot "bigger". If you turn up each one to it's "sweet spot" where you are getting the "magic" happening, one amp will be much louder than the other.

How will you be using the amp? In the bedroom? In a band? If the latter, what size room and how loud do you play? I'm going to guess that the Bassman will be too loud for you in its sweet spot. That's one reason why many people love the Swart, great things happen at reasonable volumes.

[pedalcr8z]

Originally Posted by Redrum

Certainly tone is a subjective topic around here, but please, the AST was "blown out of the water"? That's a little much. The Swart AST is right up there with the best, despite it's diminutive size. I've heard the AST next to literally dozens of the most popular and trendy combo's commonly discussed here on the TGP and the AST, while having it's own thing going, never even came close to being blown-away by any of them.

If clean headroom is an issue, just mic it. Crikey.

Sorry to disagree but "blown out of the water" by a Victoria Deluxe pretty much describes my own experience with the same 2 amps also. I REALLY wanted to live with the AST but felt it sounded to boxy, small and far too bright. Love the looks, build quality was great and the amp certainly has a vibe of its own and while I feel it is a very good amp I do not put it in the sonic category as my Suhr Badger 18 combo which unquestionably also blew it out of the water or my Victoria Deluxe both of which I consider outstanding amplifiers. All 3 amps share a very similar price point but their not even close.