Swart Space Tone Atomic Jr.

[acstorfer]

I owned a Swart Space Tone 6V6 that I loved. Sadly I had to sell it and that broke my heart. I vowed to one day replace my Swart Space Tone 6V6 whether it be another "baby" Swart or any one of his amplifiers.

My brain has been going absolutely nuts over which amp I should get. It has consumed my every waking moment for months. Should I replace it with the same? Should I get the same amp but with reverb? Should I go for something with a 12" speaker and reverb? Should I go for a 12" speaker with reverb and tremelo? Should I just blow into a wad of cash for a 20 watt, 12" speaker, reverb, and tremelo?

There is a store somewhat local to me who calls themselves a Swart dealership. When I called them to see what models they had for me to try they told me they didn't have any .

Well Tuesday I made a decision to go for broke and get the Atomic Space Tone. I was on the phone with an actual dealership, placed the order, and the payment wouldn't process. There was a limit on my debit card so I had to notify my bank to tell them to raise it. Anyway I told the store I'd call them first thing so we can work this out. That night I came to my senses. The debit card issue was fate. I Called them back the next morning to tell them I'm going to hold up and think about it. So, will it be the 6V6 or the STR-Tweed. Quite honestly I know I love the 6V6. Even with the 8" speaker I know there is no boxyness in the sound. It's much lighter to grab and go. Also it's about $500.00 less. Okay, I made up my mind tonight ! I was going to call the store tomorrow and order my "baby" Swart 6V6.

Of course that's not the end of the story. I was perusing thru eBay and Reverb and low and behold I saw a used Swart Space Tone Atomic Jr. It's exactly the same as the 6V6 but it also has tube driven spring reverb tank. I never really considered this model at all. I have a TC Electronics Hall of Fame Reverb and I'll also be getting my Neunaber Slate/EXP on Saturday (this setup gives me the ability to have four Neunaber stereo pedals at my disposal including their Wet reverb). I never thought the reverb, as great as it is would be worth an additional $350.00. Anyway, I worked out a fantastic deal with the seller and my new (to me) Swart Space Tone Atomic Jr. which was shipped out to me on Monday! It won't be in my hands until 12/30

Here are some pics from the seller

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Kiss My Shiny Nitro Ash!

 

[halouis]

Congrats!!! I love my AST-pro. I'm sure you will be very happy. The tone is outstanding.

The only thing that would bother me about that specific model if I was gigging it is how the knobs are not recessed in somehow. Seems too easy to damage while loading in a vehicle. I'm guessing that model wasn't really intended to be a gigging amp though.

 

[Fullcircle]

I'm confused. Was there a question there?

Seems like with swarts, you first choose power requirements, then other adjuncts like reverb and trem. Don't know why you'd "blow a wad of cash" on more power if you don't need more power.

Sounds like you liked what you had, power-wise, so I'd say stay there and maybe adjust some of the flavors (speaker/cab size, verb, trem, etc) accordingly.

From what I've seen and heard though, the small swarts are cool amps.

 

[RubyRae]

Congrats on a great amp and what sounds like a good deal. I always buy used when looking at boutique style amps (well any amps really). Swart as we know typically has controls on the back.
I would never worry about gigging with it (mic) or putting it in my car (that's just nonsense).

The 6V6 amp will sound great, and the reverb will sound way better than any pedal you could get. Enjoy! One heck of a gift for the holidays.

 

[acstorfer]

Congrats!!! I love my AST-pro. I'm sure you will be very happy. The tone is outstanding.

The only thing that would bother me about that specific model if I was gigging it is how the knobs are not recessed in somehow. Seems too easy to damage while loading in a vehicle. I'm guessing that model wasn't really intended to be a gigging amp though.

Thanks!

I'm not worried bout the knobs. I'm not gigging with it, thus the 5-watt model


Kiss My Shiny Nitro Ash!

 

[acstorfer]

I'm confused. Was there a question there?

Seems like with swarts, you first choose power requirements, then other adjuncts like reverb and trem. Don't know why you'd "blow a wad of cash" on more power if you don't need more power.

Sounds like you liked what you had, power-wise, so I'd say stay there and maybe adjust some of the flavors (speaker/cab size, verb, trem, etc) accordingly.

From what I've seen and heard though, the small swarts are cool amps.

Nope, no question there. I pretty much stuck with what I had, plus reverb.


Kiss My Shiny Nitro Ash!

 

[acstorfer]

Congrats on a great amp and what sounds like a good deal. I always buy used when looking at boutique style amps (well any amps really). Swart as we know typically has controls on the back.

I would never worry about gigging with it (mic) or putting it in my car (that's just nonsense).



The 6V6 amp will sound great, and the reverb will sound way better than any pedal you could get. Enjoy! One heck of a gift for the holidays.

Thanks man. My old 6V6 sounded fantastic. I dang near cried when I had to sell it! Oh well, it will just make the Atomic Jr. that I'm getting sound all the better.

I won't be getting it until New Years Eve. It is going to be s very tough wait!


Kiss My Shiny Nitro Ash!

 

[emisilly]

I predict awesomeness. Congrats! I bet you can't wait until it shows up.....

 

[halouis]

I agree with Ruby. The reverb is totally worth it!!

 

[Mike Eskimo]

Swarts are great amps and I love the tone Buddy Miller and that guy who plays with Hiatt get from theirs.

For my own playing ?

Vastly over-priced.

That has a little to do w/ Swart and a lot to do with my playing

 

[acstorfer]

This waiting is truly terrible!!!!!

Oh well, six more days


Kiss My Shiny Nitro Ash!

 

[Eddie spaghetti]

Hello, first time post.
Swart amps have been doing my head in for months,and doesn't help when your no where near a dealer.
But I was fortunate enough to try a few of there amps last week. After a lot of research and watching demos, I thought I would have purchased the STR-Tremolo, but that was until I tried the STR-Reverb Tweed. That Raw sound one me over,and that gain switch blows your mind,compared to the 3 way eq switch on the Tremolo.
But I wanted an amp with Tremolo for more versitility. So I am going to try the AST in a couple of weeks, and that should be the decider for me.....hopefully.
Thanks for all your threads, to help my decisions.
Ed

 

[blackguts]

I love mine as a small amp and as a tube tester.

 

[acstorfer]

Hi Eddie

Whichever model you go with I know you will love it! I should know. I am on Swart 2 and 3 [emoji23].

I'm not surprised to hear you prefer the STR Reverb over the Tremelo. From the Swart website the tweed seems to be Swart's own preference as well. From the write up it seems to have much more growl to it.

I love my Jr. It is amazing! After I got it though I suffered a family tragedy and I went on to "you only live once mode". Even though Jr. was all I really needed I decided to go for an Atomic Space Tone as well. I found a good deal on a used one and I pounced on it. It has been my dream amp for nearly a decade. It is a really amazing amp. I absolutely love it and I love it every day.

Is the AST that much better than Jr.? No, not really. There are benefits to both. What is really wonderful is that Jr. sounds just as full as the AST. There really isn't any boxyness to it. Is it worth having both? It actually is. Most of my guitars play clean until Jr. really gets cooking, most but not with my Tele. I love the sound of my Tele grinding at really low volume. Of course I recently picked up a Swart Night Light (attenuator) so the AST has caught up to that. So, why do I still want both amps? Playing in stereo is the stuff legend is made of!

Anyway here's some picks of Jr. with the AST [emoji41][emoji450][emoji344]

 

[acstorfer]

Hi Blackguts

If you get some recommendations on tubes let me know.

 

[xStonr]

Congrats on the amp. That one is on my short list.

 

[Eddie spaghetti]

Hi Eddie

Whichever model you go with I know you will love it! I should know. I am on Swart 2 and 3 [emoji23].

I'm not surprised to hear you prefer the STR Reverb over the Tremelo. From the Swart website the tweed seems to be Swart's own preference as well. From the write up it seems to have much more growl to it.

I love my Jr. It is amazing! After I got it though I suffered a family tragedy and I went on to "you only live once mode". Even though Jr. was all I really needed I decided to go for an Atomic Space Tone as well. I found a good deal on a used one and I pounced on it. It has been my dream amp for nearly a decade. It is a really amazing amp. I absolutely love it and I love it every day.

Is the AST that much better than Jr.? No, not really. There are benefits to both. What is really wonderful is that Jr. sounds just as full as the AST. There really isn't any boxyness to it. Is it worth having both? It actually is. Most of my guitars play clean until Jr. really gets cooking, most but not with my Tele. I love the sound of my Tele grinding at really low volume. Of course I recently picked up a Swart Night Light (attenuator) so the AST has caught up to that. So, why do I still want both amps? Playing in stereo is the stuff legend is made of!

Anyway here's some picks of Jr. with the AST [emoji41][emoji450][emoji344]

Thanks for your input, eases the thought process a little. Are you running the stock speakers?.

 

[acstorfer]

Thanks for your input, eases the thought process a little. Are you running the stock speakers?.

I am, but I have been thinking about swapping the stock mojotone speaker in the AST with a Celestian Blue. I was thinking the gold seeing how the blue is only rated at 15 watts and the AST is rated at 18-22 watts, but Kelly at Swart loves the Blue in it.

Here's a paste of our correspondence on the matter.

I started out with the 6V6 and my love for Swart amps bloomed from that moment. I recently replaced my 6V6 with a Space Tone Atomic Jr. in early January and my love for all things Swart exploded. For almost ten years my "dream amp" has been an Atomic Space Tone. I always knew that one day I would get one. Well I couldn't resist it anymore and I picked one up in late January!




Anyway, I've been looking into speakers for my newest acquisition. While I normally would have never had a second thought with the Mojotone that came stock I keep reading on your website that the Celestion Gold is the ultimate speaker to compliment an AST.

So here is my question. Will the Celestion Gold fit into an AST, or does it need the extra room that is provided in the AST-Pro?

Hi Adam,

Hey man, sounds like you have made a great trek through the land of Swart. I actually love the combination of having a 5w single-ended option along with the push-pull higher power AST circuit. They both are different enough to offer unique takes worth the cost of admission.

I have to say, even the stock Mojo BV-25 is an amazing speaker for the stock AST. I still have one in mine. It offers a synergistic match. That being said, I actually loved the sound of the Celestion BLUE we auditioned in an AST Pro a few weeks back. I like both the Gold and the Blue but was extra smitten with the Blue this last week. Either of them WILL fit in the AST, though it's very tight.

If you have access to either of those speakers via a friend or a shop nearby, this in a cab, you can try them out but running a speaker cable from the output on top of the chassis directly to the cab. Try to match at 8ohms though the 16ohm mismatch has sounded quite good even if not officially recommended by Swart.

- kh

kelly holsten

wilmington, nc

 

[blackguts]

Hi Blackguts

If you get some recommendations on tubes let me know.

The last batch of Mullards I bought all worked and sound good. I was successfully reducing the noise in a Custom Vibrolux by using the Swart as a tester for each new tube, as it is so easy to get them in and out and hear them one at a time.

 

[Eddie spaghetti]

Hi Eddie

Whichever model you go with I know you will love it! I should know. I am on Swart 2 and 3 [emoji23].

I'm not surprised to hear you prefer the STR Reverb over the Tremelo. From the Swart website the tweed seems to be Swart's own preference as well. From the write up it seems to have much more growl to it.

I love my Jr. It is amazing! After I got it though I suffered a family tragedy and I went on to "you only live once mode". Even though Jr. was all I really needed I decided to go for an Atomic Space Tone as well. I found a good deal on a used one and I pounced on it. It has been my dream amp for nearly a decade. It is a really amazing amp. I absolutely love it and I love it every day.

Is the AST that much better than Jr.? No, not really. There are benefits to both. What is really wonderful is that Jr. sounds just as full as the AST. There really isn't any boxyness to it. Is it worth having both? It actually is. Most of my guitars play clean until Jr. really gets cooking, most but not with my Tele. I love the sound of my Tele grinding at really low volume. Of course I recently picked up a Swart Night Light (attenuator) so the AST has caught up to that. So, why do I still want both amps? Playing in stereo is the stuff legend is made of!

Anyway here's some picks of Jr. with the AST [emoji41][emoji450][emoji344]

Well I just got back from Seattle, and had a chance to try out the Swart AST!
I've come to the conclusion that the STR-Tweed is for me. Which deep down I already new, but had to cross off trying the AST.
Iam just curious, they say you can create more head room swapping the tubes in the STR-Tweed to 6l6's. So I guess you can create less head room in the AST by ?
Going to order my amp this week,they don't say to much on speaker options,other then the cream?. I like the sound of the stock speaker in the STR-Tweed, that should be the answer, but curiosity killed the cat!.
Thanks Acstorfer.