Introduction - SWR Mo' Bass Owner's Manual

SWR MO' BASS • INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on your purchase of the SWR Mo' Bass! You now own one of the most unique products in the history of
musical instrument amplification.
Here at SWR we share your spirit of tonal exploration and willingness to experiment in pursuit of the ultimate goal: finding
equipment that not only does the job for you as a musician, but actually enhances your overall musical experience and con-
tributes to your creative process. The purpose of this Owner's Manual is to help guide you through the process of becoming
familiar with the many features and functions of the Mo' Bass. But before we get into turning knobs, we'd like you to know a
little bit about how the concept of the Mo' Bass came into existence.
In July of 1999, William Morris West III, an engineer/designer of custom-made audio gear for many studio musicians based
in the Nashville area, contacted SWR. He had a vision of a multi-effects unit made specifically for bass guitar, and since
SWR had a reputation in the industry as a manufacturer of top-quality bass guitar amplifiers and speaker cabinets, he saw
an opportunity for both him and the company to work together on bringing his idea to fruition. An appointment was made for
us to demo his working prototype. We wondered just how good it could be. A multi-effects unit tailored for bass?
Well, when "Mo" West showed up and did his demo, we were floored. The effects were all studio-quality ANALOG sounds.
The Tube Overdrive was not of this earth. The Octave Effect (he called it a "SubWave") tracked notes in registers so low it
seemed impossible. The EQ circuit was a thing of beauty, and the Chorus simply sang. By the time we heard the Synth
pumping out sounds straight off of Stevie Wonder's "Songs In The Key Of Life" album, we all knew that the project was a go.
We called it the "Mo' Bass." The name stuck.
But then another vision came to mind. What if we could combine the best of the Mo' Bass with the best of SWR? What if
we made the ultimate bass head - the famous SWR preamp with the patented Aural Enhancer circuitry, the Mo' Bass effects,
and a stereo power amp capable of delivering 400 watts per side? Marrying the circuitry of SWR's founder and designer -
the legendary Steve W. Rabe - with the circuitry of the Mo' Bass would not be an easy chore. But as SWR President/CEO
Daryl Jamison had been saying around the factory for months, "Go big or stay home!" We settled in for the long haul.
The development cycle of the Mo' Bass lasted an entire year. During that time we slaved over every detail possible. Each
individual effect was tweaked until it was as close to perfect as we could get it. Signal routing was a huge issue as we
worked to find the best ways to send clean and dirty signals to the 1/4" outputs, the XLR outputs, the speaker outputs, the
headphone outputs, you name it. Levels were checked, matched, rechecked and rematched again. An extraordinary effort
was made for the Mo' Bass to look like nothing ever seen before, hence the design of the curved, brushed aluminum front
panel. We wanted it to look like it sounds - awesome!
We ended up with the best of both worlds. Now you own an amplifier that can be as simple or complex as you need it to be.
Run it totally clean into one speaker cabinet for classic SWR sound. Run it into two cabinets and use the chorus. Blast it
into a Megoliath 8x10 with the Overdrive on '10' (or '11' if you're Derek Smalls). Use it in the studio with everything on at
once for sounds never before recorded. Send one signal to a mixing board. Send two. Send three! Split your clean and
dirty signals using the Dual Mode feature. Combine effects. Switch back and forth. Experiment to your heart's content.
But please read the manual first, thoroughly and completely, so that you can realize the practically limitless potential of the
SWR Mo' Bass.
This way we can help you find your voice, your vision, your sound. And it's our privilege as a company to be there with you
along for the ride.
Bryan Beller
Product Development Manager
SWR Sound Corporation
Note: Please take a moment to verify that the following items were included in your SWR Mo' Bass packaging: AC Cable,
Owner's Manual, Speakon-to-Speakon Speaker Cable, SWR Catalog.
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