I can finally afford my dream amp, but do I actually want to buy it? (Yes, apparently.)

[Larsongs]

What kind of Amp do you have? What kind of Amp are you looking to get?

How essential & important to you is making the best sounding Music possible? If it's a Holy Grail Amp that could be extremely significant..

IMO having a Holy Grail Amp is what most of us strive for. Regardless, if we're Rich or Poor or Good Times or Bad Times..

No one knows what tomorrow brings...

Will buying this Amp really affect your livelihood if you lost your job?

Good luck!

[marqueemoon]

What kind of Amp do you have? What kind of Amp are you looking to get?

How essential & important to you is making the best sounding Music possible? If it's a Holy Grail Amp that could be extremely significant..

IMO having a Holy Grail Amp is what most of us strive for. Regardless, if we're Rich or Poor or Good Times or Bad Times..

No one knows what tomorrow brings...

Will buying this Amp really affect your livelihood if you lost your job?

Good luck!

Specifics will be revealed soon.

To answer your next question, very. I'm not going to get rich or famous playing music, so I at least want to sound as good as I can. I have a little more of an "appliance" view of amps, but this one is particularly well suited to my playing style.

Yeah, who knows what's going to happen. If I have to let some things go down the road so be it. In the end it's just stuff.

[DeathJag]

When you’re watching the sunrise over the burned wasteland in a few years, owning nothing but rags, wouldn’t you like to be able to look back and remember playing your dream amp?

[marqueemoon]

When you’re watching the sunrise over the burned wasteland in a few years, owning nothing but rags, wouldn’t you like to be able to look back and remember playing your dream amp?

Exactly.

Hopefully I can still keep a Telecaster around in case I need to club someone.

[sessylU]

I think a part of this comes down to how you view your gear. For a lot of people, an amp is a white good. That's not the way I look at mine, although I am envious of people who see it this way.

If it is just a white good, then yeah, maybe wait until you're better set up.

I don't really believe in providence or anything, and gear is just gear. As much as I love my amp, I know that everything I own is basically just tomorrow's firewood. Having said that, I feel something special about my amp and the fact that it's a dream amp. Dunno. It's a sign that things worked out well, maybe.

[somanytoys]

I stared playing pretty young, and started off with crap. It’s what most people do as a parent, buy their young kid something cheap and see if it’s a phase or if they stick with it. Plus, nobody else in my family really plays music, so there was little encouragement.

I bought my own first decent bass 2 or 3 years later with my own money, then my father helped me buy another amp when he saw I was really serious, even tho he didn’t like the musician life path.

After 40 years of playing, I don’t ever look at almost anything as utilitarian or white goods, although there are some things you use that are merely good tools. To me, everything matters from the guitar to the speaker.

Some things that aren’t great can be used well by some people with great success, but that’s not so common. Having started with absolute crap, trying to learn while trying to overcome their shortcomings and getting frustrated, then upgrading little by little over the years and getting more experience with various types & grades of equipment, I find that equipment is a really big deal. It’s the difference between picking up an instrument and playing for an hour, vs playing for 3 hours because you’re having a blast.

If you really like this one, and if you have other amps that are more commonly coveted that you could sell before this one if it were necessary, I doubt you’d regret buying it.

[OffYourFace]

Is it vintage? If so, have you played it yet? Does it sound like your dream amp? If not, then there's no rush. There's the chance you'll be disappointed.

If it's new, just wait. Update your home studio instead.

[marqueemoon]

Well, I done bought it. It’s a 2015 Swart AST with a factory Pro Panel. Came with a nice hard sided cover.

I bought an STR Tremolo last year after selling some other gear and absolutely love it. The reverb and tremolo just kill.

This is essentially that, but “one louder”, and the Pro Panel will make it easier to use a load box or run out to an external cab.

Selling my old Bassman head and Vibro Champ covered about 2/3 of the cost, I had a little money I’d been saving, and the rest is my birthday present.

Maybe I’ll do a NAD post after I’ve had a chance to mess with it.

Re: recording gear, I’d eventually like to improve my setup, but I don’t feel like it’s holding me back creatively.

[sessylU]

Huzzah! Congrats!

[terminalvertigo]

Well, I done bought it. It’s a 2015 Swart AST with a factory Pro Panel. Came with a nice hard sided cover.

I bought an STR Tremolo last year after selling some other gear and absolutely love it. The reverb and tremolo just kill.

This is essentially that, but “one louder”, and the Pro Panel will make it easier to use a load box or run out to an external cab.

Selling my old Bassman head and Vibro Champ covered about 2/3 of the cost, I had a little money I’d been saving, and the rest is my birthday present.

Maybe I’ll do a NAD post after I’ve had a chance to mess with it.

Re: recording gear, I’d eventually like to improve my setup, but I don’t feel like it’s holding me back creatively.

Well shit dude.

Had i known you were grabbing a Swart I woulda been all for it!

I just grabbed one myself! a AST Master MKII 1x12 in dark tweed with an alnico gold!

[DeathJag]

That makes me happy. Oh yeah, I hope it makes you happy too!

[marqueemoon]

Well shit dude.

Had i known you were grabbing a Swart I woulda been all for it!

I just grabbed one myself! a AST Master MKII 1x12 in dark tweed with an alnico gold!

Hell yeah! The guy I sold my old MIJ JM to has an AST Master. He let me have a play through it before I handed the guitar off. Sounded huge.

The standard AST is definitely going to be leaner in the bass. I considered holding out for an AST Pro, but I like the smaller form factor of this, and the price was right.

[somanytoys]

Very nice. I don’t think you’ll regret this, ever.

And speaking of Gold, I recently bought a 12” alnico Gold and put it in my AC15. I like it better than the Blue that I had in it, but they sound really good together when the Blue is used as an extension cab or with another amp (AC4) in stereo.

I really want to check one of those Swart amps out, but not until I could afford one. I feel like playing one would make me reconsider selling more amps and pedals to fund it. That would be some agonizing decision making.

[marqueemoon]

I feel like playing one would make me reconsider selling more amps and pedals to fund it. That would be some agonizing decision making.

There was definitely a bit of that. .

[OffYourFace]

Nice. I was never into Swarts until I saw the Buddy Miller Rig Rundown. I'd love to have the model he uses.