- SWR Sound Corporation
Infobox Company
name = SWR Sound Corporation
type = Private
genre = Musical equipqment
foundation =Sylmar, California
founder = Steve W. Rabe
location_city =Scottsdale, Arizona
location_country = U.S.
homepage = http://www.swrsound.com/SWR Sound Corporation is a specialist manufacturer of
bass guitar amplifiers,preamp s, speaker cabinets, andacoustic guitar amplifiers.History
The company was founded as SWR Engineering, Inc. by its namesake, Steve W. Rabe. Rabe was known for his engineering work at
Acoustic Control Corporation . After extensive research with topLos Angeles studio bassists, SWR released its first commercial product in 1984, the PB-200 hybrid tube/solid-state bass guitar amplifier. The first 5 units were manufactured by hand in a garage in theSan Fernando Valley . This model soon became the SM-400. SWR then pursued development of a speaker cabinet to accompany its amps. In 1986, SWR released the Goliath, a 4 x 10" full-range speaker cabinet with a built-in horn tweeter, a first for bass cabinets.The company's name was changed to SWR Sound Corporation on
1 December , 1997 as part of a restructuring plan. Rabe sold the company to accountant Daryl Paul Jamison and soon created a new company,Raven Labs . SWR was based inSylmar, California until January 1999, when it moved to the formerCetec Gauss speaker factory in nearbySun Valley, California . On2 June 2003, Jamison sold SWR toFender Musical Instruments Corporation for a rumored $8 millionFact|date=January 2008, after a previous year of lagging SWR sales and dwindling market share. Jamison reportedly tried to sell to Fender a year earlier for a larger sum, but this failed to materialize.Fact|date=February 2007SWR is now a brand in Fender's portfolio rather than an independent company and its products are now manufactured at Fender's facilities in
Corona, California andEnsenada, Baja California . Fender is headquartered inScottsdale, Arizona .Recent product development
The Workingman's Series of amplifiers was redesigned and upgraded to the WorkingPro Series - heads and cabs in 2005, and combos in 2006.
At the 2007 Winter NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show, SWR introduced the SM-1500 head, which combined the hybrid tube/solid-state platform with some Fender-era innovations, including a tube-driven compressor. At 1500 watts (in bridged mode at 4 ohms), the SM-1500 is the most powerful toroidal-based amplifier on the market today.Fact|date=January 2008
The July NAMM Show featured the new Natural Blonde combo. Built on the platform of the Acoustic Series California Blonde, the Natural Blonde is a 2-channel 2X8" combo designed especially for acoustic bassists. "Bass Player" magazine gave it a very favorable review and Editor's Award in the August, 2007 issue.
External links
* [http://www.swrsound.com/ SWR Sound website]
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