Swart News Round-Up  ~  4-15-08

Hail to SPRING!  Hey, I know we're in relatively mild North Carolina, and on the coast at that, but there is nothing like spring to bring out the exclamation points. And of course, it also brings going crazy outside with time on this sorry keyboard taking a distant backseat. Although, in defense, we've both been emailing and phone talkin' fools here lately, right along with soldering and developing into the wee small hours, when the best work gets done as the neighbors slumber until they hear screeching feedback at 11, this mixed with howls and backfires.

March and April are bringing some great stuff, such as the custom ST-6V6se in dark tweed with contrasting piping, all heading to the West Coast whenever we feel like giving it up. Click below for full size full-tone view.

We occasionally do custom orders and the usual charge for a substitute covering is hovering around $100usd although the cabinet guy always grumbles and kicks up some sawdust.

Then again sometimes it's worth living through the muttering, such as with the dark tweed Space Tone and the AST style 2x12 cabinet, which we decided was just TOO GOOD to leave custom.

Indeed, while waiting for the AST Head Mk II to emerge from the Swart Shop, we've hit upon the great stop-gap for all current AST owners who want to partner their combo magic into a matching tweed 2x12 cabinet. So far, we've had several AST owners pull the switch on the matching cab to get their juices flowing, and that oh-so-beautiful tone becomes larger than life when pushed out of this 2x12 beauty. We are considering a new AST back panel mod, complete with second dedicated output along with a set of rubber replacement feet to keep from slip-slid-matic on the cab. I have to admit, I was smitten with the AST driving that big ole cab, too. IT's definitely an option for the AST owner... I just love the look of this cab for ANY reason and it's definitely going to be a full-time option that is $499 unloaded, and $699 loaded with Celestion "Greenbacks".

See full view front and back

As for the AST Head Mk II, stay tuned for some upcoming compelling pre-pre mule production photos with more info regarding this long awaited beast, the successor to the limited edition AST Head, except now with some additional tweaks and options that make it a more fully realized offering with more flexibility and user friendly attention to detail. The photo below was taken last month in full, ugly mule chassis glory...

AST Mule - Pre-Production


Right now, it's off to the shop to do some testing... Keep on reading below for more happening around Swart including new dealers in the northeast, crazy E.J. & his hearse, cat engineer, and everything else plain to see.

All you need to do is WRITE!     Till next time.

- kh ~ swartamps.com

The Music Zoo - Swart Dealer Ludlow Guitars - NYC Michael and I want to welcome two new Swart Dealers!

Stop by Ludlow Guitars deep in the bowels of Manhattan, NY and in a short while, The Music Zoo, deep in the bowels of ummm.... Little Neck. And if you know Swart, you know we love Bowels, except if inside Mr. Possum.

Ok, so I had NJ up here for The Music Zoo for a few days. Still hoping "The Zoo" didn't catch it..of course, they will now. Speaking of bowels, Eric Stump was sharp enough to inform my sorry self on the error, and I quote, "I almost had a deep bowel movement when I saw you FINALLY
had a NJ dealer!! But alas, it was not to be."

Thanks again, Eric. Now stop messing around
and get over to The Zoo
!

 

 

Daddy Mojo Videos w/Swart AST
Daddy Mojo Piezo Magic

Yep, it's good ole Daddy Mojo yet again, with his Cigar Box guitars that have you wanting to reach for the wallet, tossing ducats North of the border in order to get some of that funky, cajun vibe going. This time, Sir Lenny sent along a PIEZO pickup sampling to illustrate that even acoustic can come off finger-linkin' good via Daddy Mojo and Swart.

    Click on the graphic at right to sample
     the Daddy Mojo Piezo with the AST ->


kh ~ Swart Online

 

E.J. Wells and his
Happyland Studio have
Gone Swart Mad...

Ok, there is no way to explain, describe, summarize, or even duplicate ole E.J. Wells. When we got an email from E.J. professing his insane need for the SST-30, AST, ST, professing his love and whatever else he could think of at 2am, who knew that it would result in a near 37 email exchange, each one getting more twisted and bizarre as the last. E.J. was sending locks of hair, photos of his "85k Pavement Testing" truck, Swart trapezoid SST Barns, hearse video, shots from '77, 2007, what he would look like in 2027, and of course, his own HAPPYLAND STUDIO cat. You have to love ole E.J. who plays out quite a bit, seen on tickets with the likes of Unknown Hinson, SCOTS, Horton Heat, among others (now focusing on Happyland Studio). By the 24th email, he was akin to a long lost friend, by #32, I was asking how the family was doing and where I could sleep in the barn. You'll see more of E.J. - How can you not, even if the sleeveless shirt does scare me a bit. heh. Ole E.J. Gotta show those pythons... - kh

 

 

 

 

Christian Lamothe
groovin with ST- 6V6se

When a amp can fits between my soul and my fingers, I can't shut myself up. Wow!

The Space Tone is so pure and brings out of it box THE true tone. You can almost tell the brand of the strings ;-P One tone knob for a wide range of colours: that's it! That's what I was looking for!

Definitely a Swart fan for life - Thanks for your sonic vibe.

- Christian Lamothe aka Billy Cash (Montréal)
   http://www.myspace.com/hillbillycash

 

 

 

 

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