Should i buy a swart SST-30?

[leighianson]

Ok so here's the deal, i live in the Great land of Australia (not so great if your into boutique gear), anyways i absolutely love 6v6 style amps and the swarts seem to really nail that warm tone I'm after. Trouble is there is only one swart dealer down under and I've never seen an SST in stock.

I have played a friends AST pro which i liked heaps, just thought i could do with some more gain and possibly headroom. Should i risk it and order the SST and matching cab (around $4000 to get it here) even though I've never played one?

As a reference i play blues, rock, and a bit of modern jazz scofield type stuff with a strat and soon to add a 335.

Cheers

 

[hangten]

I have a other few amps (Marshall 1987x, 1965 Bandmaster, Fryette Memphis, Fender deluxe reverb reissue) and the Swart AST MK II is by far my fav.

FWIW one of the best live tones I've ever heard was locally - a guy playing a PRS>klon>SST-30.

I'd get one if I had the cash FWIW.

maybe try to find a used one here or on Ebay?

Also, I have the swart night light attenuator which works great as well.

good luck!
cheers,
Aram

 

[Davidg1974]

Yea I have never played one but I saw Steve Earle over the summer and thats what his guy was using.Killer sound and I was close too the stage and the front system went down so I was just hearing amp and moniters for a while and it was just as sweet.But-I would be very hesitant about putting out that much dough for something I javent played. Hope that helps.

 

[Tim Plains]

I was in the same boat you are last year but with the AST MKII. My local dealer said they never never got them unless somebody placed an order. I took a chance and ordered one blindly. Glad I did because it's an amazing amp and one of my favourites.

That price seems high to me but then again you are in OZ. I'm sure you would have to pay crazy import taxes if you buy from the US but look into it before you decide anything. Brett (Eddie's Guitar, St. Louis) carries Swart and they're a great store to deal with. I believe they ship worldwide.

 

[leighianson]

Thanks for the replies, it is a lot of cash to drop on an amp i haven't played but I'm taking a trip to the swart dealer in march so i'll play some of their other models then, as well as some 3 monkeys amps as they're the only australian dealer for them too. Import taxes and shipping big 2 x 12 cabs to Australia is such a pain, but i think it'll be worth it for the SST. I plan to visit the U.S one day and hit up all the awesome boutique stores.

 

[jayn]

I played one....once...in a store....it's haunted my dreams since.

Sounded absolutely great. If I wasn't so cheap (and didn't haved a wife) I would have bought it on the spot....and shipped it to Canada from CA.

 

[fuzznutz]

The answer is yes. You should buy one.

I've owned my SST-30 for 2 and a half years and I've never had the thought of getting a different amp since. It does Jazz, blues, and rock with ease and with 6v6 vibe. Plus the 2 12's really fill up the room.

If you check my posts, you'll find that I'm like a broken record about this amp, and Swart in general. I'm a fanatic, and that's probably why I'm on the front page of their site.

 

[porterburst]

Get it!



I've played the SST-30 many times, and it sounds absolutely fantastic. Killer cleans, reverb,trem, and super versatile.

The tone and feel is so juicy and brown, defiantly next on my bigger amp list.

 

[Crash-VR]

I bought one, but it just didn't any headroom at all for a 4 6v6 amp IMO. I returned it the next day. I haven't played the AST but for some reason I have the impression it has more headroom. I know my Nolatone Rotten Johnny does for sure...

 

[porterburst]

I bought one, but it just didn't any headroom at all for a 4 6v6 amp IMO. I returned it the next day. I haven't played the AST but for some reason I have the impression it has more headroom. I know my Nolatone Rotten Johnny does for sure...

Wow, I thought it had pretty decent clean headroom plugged into the lo input, and the gain switch in the lo position.

Perhaps four 6L6GC would have worked out better for more clean.

 

[archtop]

The Swart SST seems great. It was on my short list of 6V6 amps, but I ended up with a Tone King Metropolitan and am loving it. The Divided by 13 FTR 37 is another 4x6V6 amp you could check out.

 

[leighianson]

Yeah i was looking at the tone king amps too, the clips i heard seem to get those beautiful blackface cleans at any volume. Archtop, do you use the lead channel as much as the rhythm? Also, did you get your metro from pro audio in Canberra, or order it from the U.S?

Thanks for everyone's input, I'm pretty sure i'll be placing an order for the SST within the next month or so! just waiting for a few hundred dollars to come in.