NAD- Swart Space Tone Atomic Jr.

[Alaska Mike]

I have owned a Swart AST combo and now the AST MkII head, so I am familiar with the breed. They rarely show up here, and when this 2017 example popped up on Marketplace for a fair price and in a very cool surfy color, I restrained myself for a week and then bought it. It’s going to make a nice bedroom amp.

So many Black Friday deals out there that tempted me, but this one was the one that got me. Very sweet tones at reasonable volumes.

 

[Whoa Tele]

Hey Mike . Is there any clean headroom at all on this amp. Say enough to do a duo gig maybe. I currently own a Swart Antares and use to have an STR Tremelo so I dig the swart sound . Thanks and congrats on the amp

 

[Alaska Mike]

Hey Mike . Is there any clean headroom at all on this amp. Say enough to do a duo gig maybe. I currently own a Swart Antares and use to have an STR Tremelo so I dig the swart sound . Thanks and congrats on the amp

I just got it last night, so in my vast experience…

Really, it depends on the room. The 8” speaker does well in that cabinet, but I expect clean headroom would be increased with an external 10”/12”- which was kind of the whole idea of the Swart Tweed/Tremolo.

I have a Fender Champ 600 as a bench amp, which I added an 8” speaker to and did a few mods to try to improve the sound. It doesn’t hold a candle to the Swart in any category.

I have a friend that did gig his a couple times for small gigs where music was for ambiance rather than the focal point.

 

[Whoa Tele]

I have owned a Swart AST combo and now the AST MkII head, so I am familiar with the breed. They rarely show up here, and when this 2017 example popped up on Marketplace for a fair price and in a very cool surfy color, I restrained myself for a week and then bought it. It’s going to make a nice bedroom amp.
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So many Black Friday deals out there that tempted me, but this one was the one that got me. Very sweet tones at reasonable volumes.

I just got it last night, so in my vast experience…

Really, it depends on the room. The 8” speaker does well in that cabinet, but I expect clean headroom would be increased with an external 10”/12”- which was kind of the whole idea of the Swart Tweed/Tremolo.

I have a Fender Champ 600 as a bench amp, which I added an 8” speaker to and did a few mods to try to improve the sound. It doesn’t hold a candle to the Swart in any category.

I have a friend that did gig his a couple times for small gigs where music was for ambiance rather than the focal point.

Thanks man . I’d mainly be playing with another guy on acoustic rhythm guitar

 

[Alaska Mike]

Oh, I think it would easily keep up with an acoustic, unless the player was absolutely bashing the strings on a dreadnought. Then you would likely be well into breakup. It’s a very nice package, especially if you don’t use tremolo. I’m adding a JHS harmonic trem to my pedal board, because I like to fatten up my tone with it. The reverb is surprisingly large for the tank size.

Between it and a Tremolo as a gigging amp (no mic), I would have to give the nod to the Tremolo, just for the extra headroom. You never know what room acoustics are going to be like. I doubt either would keep up with the quietest drummer, and I would jump up to at least the AST.

But for my needs, this thing checks all of the boxes.

 

[black_doug]

Nice score Mike!

I have been curious about Swart amps and was just reading specs at the Swart website. Do you know much about the MV in the design of the AST Head Mk II? Is it post phase inverter? Dr. Z has some new heads with PPI MV that I’ve also been curious about.

 

[Alaska Mike]

Honestly, I don’t. After I went down the rabbit hole on a Princeton build, I decided to not worry about the geeky stuff and just concentrate on a well-built product that does the thing I am looking for. Every Swart I have owned or played through has been impeccable. There’s a small handful of boutique builders that deliver that same level of quality at that price.

I would give them a call or shoot them an email with questions. Great people.