Bass Gear Review

Reviewer	C.Alexander Claber
Experience	7
Email	alex@spiderplant.net
Review date	January 21 2003
Manufacturer	SWR
Model	Grand Prix
Price	Ł400
Item owned for	2-5 years

Dimensions	19"W x 1.375" x 8.875"D
Weight	5.25 lbs.
EQ	bass shelving EQ, two band semi-parametric midrange peaking EQ, treble sh
	elving EQ
Other	7 segment dot bar display, switchable high pass filter, side chain eff
	ects loop, effects blend control, tuner send, stereo headphone amp with separa
	te volume control, balanced XLR record out with ground lift, pad and mute func
	tion, unbalanced line out (pre master), balanced XLR and unbalanced line outs,
	rack mountable.

I A/B'd this preamp against a number of other high-end preamps to complete my Mackie M1400i & Acme Low-B2 rig, including an Eden Navigator, a EBS v2 (IIRC), a Trace 12-band preamp, an Ampeg SVP-Pro (again IIRC), and some weird Hughes & Kettner thing. Basically I wanted a preamp that just took the signal that my Warwick Streamer produced and made it loud enough to drive the power amp tp full volume.

The Eden seemed to make the tone rounder but duller, the Trace sounded very dry, the Ampeg sounded too gritty, the EBS sounded good (most like the SWR), the H&K sounded terrible (just lifeless and cheap), but the SWR just took the tone of my bass and kept it sounding great. For me it had all the features I needed and no superfluous ones (though I've yet to use the onboard EQ in anger - surely I'll need it when I encounter a room with particularly evil acoustics!) though I'd now quite like the EQ to be switchable to dial in an even better slap tone.

I've had one problem with one input jack breaking because of an oversized klotz plug but that was easy to fix (and I just used the other input until then).

When I first used it for recording I experimented with the controls and found that it sounded best with just a little aural enhance (turned up to 10 o'clock) which added a bit more bottom and top and made my bass sound really alive, but due to being such a subtle EQ preserved the evenness and punch across the whole range of the instrument.

The DI is excellent quality and being adjustable is always compatible with whatever PA or recorder it's plugged into. The signal level meter is great for setting the gain and ensuring that the tone stays clean even if you're prone to extreme EQing because it monitors the level post EQ. The high-pass filter is an essential tool for keeping the bottom-end as tight as possible and giving your amp extra headroom - every amp should have one of these subsonic filters.

All in all, I can't really fault this preamp - the tone is great, the EQ is very powerful (but the tone is so good you can leave if flat generally), and it's proven very reliable (and I'm tough on gear). It does sound like an SWR product when you crank the Aural Enhancer, but if you keep it fairly flat it just sounds very clear and full and allows the natural sound of your bass through.

If I haven't covered everything you want to know, do please email me. Oh yes, the big downside is that it's now discontinued, so you won't be able to buy one new.

Construction	85%
Clarity	95%
Versatility	85%
Value	90%
Overall	90%