Swart Amps

The new Atom from Michael Swart began life as a Swart concept for a reverb variant of the original Space Tone 6V6-se model. An amp well known for offering amazingly sweet tones in a small, 5 watt, single-ended Class A package. Powered by one 6V6 power tube and utilizing a Weber 8" speaker it's a perfect amp for use at low volume for use around the house and for recording or even behind a mic' to fill the largest stadiums in the world.

What Michael discovered while doing the R&D on this new model was that he was ending up, essentially, with a Mini-Me version of the world renowned Atomic Space Tone rather than a mere reverb version of the 6V6-se.

The Atom delivers most of the swirly goodness and incredible note bloom and lift of the AST in a small, affordable and low volume package. Want even lower volume? Add a Night Light attenuator. Want more volume? Add a Night-Light attenuator and use its line out to run the Atom into a 100 watt Germino or Marshall or decent power amp such as the VHT 2150 or Mesa Simul 2:90.........then you get the Atom at high volumes and in stereo.......oh the wheels are just a spinnin'!

This is one extremely cool new amp from the genius amp designer that is Michael Swart.

Specifications and Features

• Single-Ended, Class A  power design
• 12DW7 Triode Tube Reverb
• 8" Weber Signature speaker
• Solid Pine Cabinet covered in lacquered Tweed and Oxblood sides with inlayed piping just like its Big Brother the AST
• Controls: Volume, Tone, Space (reverb)
• Power supply filtering switch for either a more vintage, compressed and lower headroom setting or for a slightly more open sound with a bit more headroom
• 13 3/4T x 13W x 7 1/4 D
• 14 Pounds!

Customer Comments

"Stu,

The Swart Atom rocks! Great tone and great reverb in a nice little package. I love the tweed covering, too. I'm very happy with the atom, its great for playing in my apartment, and I think it'd be real handy to bring to a jam.

Just a great amp to have!

Thanks!"

Matt O.
 

One of our top sellers of all times with over 70 sold the first 90 days these were available and hundreds sold since with an enormous fan base.

"Unbelievable sounding 20 watter with a single 12" speaker, wonderfully rich vintage style tremolo, deep reverb and amazing tone. Regardless of what type or types of guitars you play, the touch sensitivity, dynamics, swell, musical compression....everything about this amp....will just blow you away. The cleans are so incredibly lush and swirly that you feel as if they might just carry you away. Little harmonic fairies seem to fill the room behind every note.

The clean tones morph gradually into a singing, pushed clean which morphs into a very thick, chewy overdrive with just a touch of 50's Fullerton style bark, but don't let the tweed covering and 6V6 power tube set fool you; this is no Tweed clone......it's a magical amp that makes its own mark on amplifier history and a permanent part of my personal amplifier collection.

I have had more fun playing this amp. My 60's Strat, Grosh Electrajet, R7 Historic Les Paul and MotorAve LeMans have rarely been played so good! Don't ya just love an amp that makes you play over your head and inspires you to break out of your rut? The Atomic Space Tone offers enough volume, headroom and dynamics for small club use, but even at 20 watts I find it fairly useable around the house. When used with Swart's Night Light I can play well in to the wee hours even after the kids are asleep."

Stu Carter - owner, Fat Sound Guitars

"We waited a long time to get this right but we finally found something that equaled the tone and perfect placement of the original Swart ST-6V6se "Space Tone," but with 20w of twin 6V6/6L6 power in high Class A biased AB. This beast has the goods with TUBE REVERB and TUBE TREMOLO, something virtually non-existent in today's marketplace. With an amazing 12" Custom British Vintage Series BV-25m that screams TONE with body, soul, and OUTPUT. This all new circuit is housed in a lacquered TWEED pine cab with oxblood clothed sides. This amp is in its own league."

Michael Swart - owner/designer Swart Amplifier Company

• The AC is cleaned and rectified by the reliable JJ 5AR4, this a very robust tube providing excellent sonics due to the total lack of solid-state circuits in the rectification stage (SS rectification leads to a more hard/harsh tone and slams the tubes on power-up causing excess tube wear). A heavy duty, JJ 500V Surface mount capacitor is the mains filtering device.
• Powered by Twin EH 6v6's putting out 18-22 cathode biased Watts; the twin 6V6s seem to really put out an amazing mixture of soul~tone. We love this combo! (You can also sub 6L6s for a bit more headroom due to the extra beefy Heyboer Power Transformer,
• A 12AX7 does duty as the driver and bias regulated Tremolo. Ever heard tube tremolo? You will now. Simply put, if you're a tremolo fan, you won't go back.
• Reverb is all tube. Tube Reverb is the only way to go and our implementation leaves the competition sounding two-dimensional.
• The first preamp tube is another dedicated rocking 12AX7 to drive this beast to Mount St. Helens and back. Our whole driver/preamp circuit has been optimized from months of testing. The AST sings like no other.

A Best Seller since 2005
Fat Sound Award for Sonic Excellence!

Most Recent Custom Comment

"Stu,

I'm loving the Swart AST! It sounded great out of the box and, on my regular Thursday night blues gig it killed on the jazz tunes we open with. Stunning jazz amp.

At the end of the night the drummer complained that I sounded a little muddy on my solos on the blues stuff which knocked me back
a bit till I realized I'd never changed the tone and volume settings from the jazz tone. I had the tone on 2 and the volume on 4.

The next night we played a dance at an old wooden auditorium and I turned the volume up to 7, tone on 10 and the thing just rocked. I was using an old SIB Echodrive delay and a Klon Centaur and the results were flat out amazing. I could either step on the Klon for a solo with my guitar volume left alone (7 or 8) or leave the Klon alone and crank the guitar volume for a slightly different tone. Sang like a bird.

Sunday we played a concert in a park where I was absolutely positively sure the Swart just wouldn't be enough. I was playing with a Hammond organ, amplified harmonica/sax, bass and drums. I spotted the sound guy at the local rock and roll club in the audience about half way back and, after we finished, I asked him if he could hear me. "Hear you?? You were the loudest [expletive deleted] up there! That little amp is amazing!" This is after being dwarfed by tenor sax played through a JBL powered PA for the last 3 years.

Today I tried my Bob Gjika humbucker guitar with just the SIB delay and, if possible, the damn thing sounded even better! Incredibly lush chords and enormous authority on the solos."

Andy B.
Cape Cod, MA
 

The video in the link bar above was "filmed" as a demo video for the LsL T-Bone guitar, but if you ride out the intro where Greg V discussed the guitar you get to hear some very tastey examples of what this amp is all about.

Fat Sound brought Swart Amplifiers to the Market as Michael Swart's first dealer. During the time since Swart's appearance of the boutique amp scene, the original Atomic Space Tone has been one of our top sellers, has garnered an extreme cult following and is one of my personal go-to amps on a daily basis.

Michael's newest version of this amp, the Atomic Space Tone Pro takes the original amp's chassis, which needed no improvement, and adds a few new features and cosmetics to meet the demands/requests of the market place.

Featuring a new, deeper cabinet, the Pro version resolves one of the main gripes that "pro" players have always had with the original......exposed knobs and potentiometers. The pots are now nicely out of harm's way by being recessed inside the cabinet.

The new, deeper cabinet also adds just a hint of low end to make the amp sound even fuller than before.

Also new are the cosmetics which mirror those of the Super Space Tone. Lacquered, dark "burlap" now covers the entire amp and Michael has added gorgeous, imbedded pinstripe piping. All of this is topped off by Swart's new logo first seen on the Super Space Tone.

Additional upgrades include the use of the very popular, British made, Celestion G12H30 Heritage speaker and a new extension cabinet output jack with a heavy duty toggle switch that allows the player to throw a switch to choose the internal speaker or an external 8 Ohm cabinet.

All-in-all, a historically significant, benchmark amp made even better.

Dual 6V6 power tube section creates 20 watts.

Super Swirly reverb and mind altering Tremolo.....both footswitchable. 

New MK2 version features high-gain switch for increased versatility. A meaningful addition to an already great amplifier.

Swart builds amps that have an incredible amount of magic per square inch. 

This amp was designed to give players who need the low wattage grind of a 5 watt, all tube amp a bigger, fuller sound than has previously been available. This is accomplished by moving from the typical 8" or 10" speaker configuration that is so popular in 5 watt amps to a 12" and through the addition of Swart's super lush reverb circuit

The 12" speaker is the fantastic Mojo BV-30H British Series ceramic speaker

Powered by a single-ended, Class A 6V6 as stock, but equally capable of running a single 6L6 for more headroom and shimmer up top or a single EL34 for a more British crunch. 

Rectification is courtesy of a 5AR4 and the preamp consists of dual 12AX7's

Controls are Volume, Tone and Space (reverb), high-gain switch. An on/off footswitch for the reverb circuit is included.

Unlike many amps in this genre Swart has included a standby (launch) switch to extend tube life.

The amp features a gorgeous new style that in Swart fashion recalls the "Space Age of The 50's" aesthetic.

Also available in Dark tweed for an additional $100.00 

Features

• 5W CLASS A ~ JUST INSANELY BIG TONE BREAKUP!
• Single-Ended Output - Zero Negative Feedback
• 100% Tube Circuit - GZ34 or 5Y3 Valve Rectifier
• Big Swart Tube Reverb - Foot Switchable
• Hot and Clean mode Switch
• Powered by choice of 6V6 ~ 6L6 ~ EL-34 (shod w/6V6)!
• JJ 12AX7(2) - JJ 12DW7 - EH 6V6GT - JJ GZ34 Rectifier
• Point to Point Hand Wired Circuit
• Cathode Biased (no need to bias)
• Carbon Comp Resistors ~ Mallory Caps
• Cloth Hook-Up Wire
• Hi/Lo Input for High & Low powered Pickups
• Heaters referenced to ground
• Standby Switch for tube warm-up, extending tube life
• All Swart Amplifiers employ Star Grounding
• 4/8 ohm 1/4" Out - Drive other Speaker/Cabinet
• Switchcraft 1/4 inch inputs and output
• CTS Potentiometers
• Custom High Quality USA Built Swart Spec Iron
• Speaker: 12" Mojotone BV-30H ~ 8 ohm
• Finger-Jointed, solid Pine Cab w/ Lacquer Tweed Cover
• Vintage Jewel Lamp ~ Circuit Fuse Protected
• Dimensions: 17" W x 9 3/4" D X 16 3/4" H (w/feet) ~ 29lbs

Fat Sound Award for Sonic Excellence!

New MK2 version features high-gain switch for increased versatility. A meaningful addition to an already great amplifier.

Swart builds amps that have an incredible amount of magic per square inch. 

This amp was designed to give players who need the low wattage grind of a 5 watt, all tube amp a bigger, fuller sound than has previously been available. This is accomplished by moving from the typical 8" or 10" speaker configuration that is so popular in 5 watt amps to a 12" and through the addition of Swart's super lush reverb circuit

The 12" speaker is the fantastic Mojo BV-30H British Series ceramic speaker

Powered by a single-ended, Class A 6V6 as stock, but equally capable of running a single 6L6 for more headroom and shimmer up top or a single EL34 for a more British crunch. 

Rectification is courtesy of a 5AR4 and the preamp consists of dual 12AX7's

Controls are Volume, Tone and Space (reverb), high-gain switch. An on/off footswitch for the reverb circuit is included.

Unlike many amps in this genre Swart has included a standby (launch) switch to extend tube life.

The amp features a gorgeous new style that in Swart fashion recalls the "Space Age of The 50's" aesthetic.

Features

• 5W CLASS A ~ JUST INSANELY BIG TONE BREAKUP!
• Single-Ended Output - Zero Negative Feedback
• 100% Tube Circuit - GZ34 or 5Y3 Valve Rectifier
• Big Swart Tube Reverb - Foot Switchable
• Hot and Clean mode Switch
• Powered by choice of 6V6 ~ 6L6 ~ EL-34 (shod w/6V6)!
• JJ 12AX7(2) - JJ 12DW7 - EH 6V6GT - JJ GZ34 Rectifier
• Point to Point Hand Wired Circuit
• Cathode Biased (no need to bias)
• Carbon Comp Resistors ~ Mallory Caps
• Cloth Hook-Up Wire
• Hi/Lo Input for High & Low powered Pickups
• Heaters referenced to ground
• Standby Switch for tube warm-up, extending tube life
• All Swart Amplifiers employ Star Grounding
• 4/8 ohm 1/4" Out - Drive other Speaker/Cabinet
• Switchcraft 1/4 inch inputs and output
• CTS Potentiometers
• Custom High Quality USA Built Swart Spec Iron
• Speaker: 12" Mojotone BV-30H ~ 8 ohm
• Finger-Jointed, solid Pine Cab w/ Lacquer Tweed Cover
• Vintage Jewel Lamp ~ Circuit Fuse Protected
• Dimensions: 17" W x 9 3/4" D X 16 3/4" H (w/feet) ~ 29lbs

Fat Sound Award for Sonic Excellence!

Hands down one of the coolest little 5 watters on the market. The number of amplifier companies building this "type" (meaning 8" speaker, 5 watt) of amp these days is really staggering. It's a hot market. We have tried at least 8 variations on this theme just in the past year alone. In my opinion there are two that really rise above the pale and offer something truly special and useable. The Dr Z Mini Z with its more British influenced chime and definition and..... the Swart Tweed ST.

The Tweed ST has strong Tweed Champ influences with that amp's reedy midrange and sweet tonality, but the Swart offers a tighter low end....it's really tight!......better overall definition and a smoother, less biting/harsh top end. It is a very easy amp to play and works beautifully with all manner of guitars/pickups.

For classic 50's American tone with better low end and a better feel at around the house or recording volumes this is the best I have played. 

The Space Tone amplifier is inspired by Classic designs from the single-ended ALL VALVE era 50's. The Circuit is a customized Fender Princeton 5F2/5F1 Champ derivative that borrows the best from both topologies. The tone and clean to distortion characteristics are excellent.

The Supro inspired cabinet is finger jointed pine and covered with select fabric that combines good wear with vintage style. 

The ST-6V6se circuit is hand wired, point to point by Michael Swart. There are no Circuit or turret boards resulting in the most direct path. Cloth wire is used for hookup. Simply put, there are no semiconductors or solid state diodes anywhere as the Space Tone is 100% valve powered. Tubes include the excellent JJ 12AX7, Electro-Harmonix 6V6GT, and NOS 5Y3. It's a Pure triode front end into the great 6V6 all cleaned by 5Y3 tube rectification. 

Sound is amazingly BIG. Go from super clean to TUBE distortion with the turn of the volume knob 

Swart became an iconic amplifier designer and brand literally overnight. One of the reasons for this is that every amp Michael Swart has released has been absolutely incredible and absolutely unique.

The  Atomic Space Tone Mark 2 Head features all the goodness of the original AST 20 112 combo (one of our all time best sellers) in a head format with the addition of a fully defeatable, extremely effective Master Volume, Dual Speaker outs and a 4/8/16 Impedence selector.

Power section is now run by a pair of Tung-Sol 6V6's versus the JJ set previously used.

The result is a creamier, smoother gain tone at higher Volume control settings.

Same amazingly spatial reverb and mild-altering tremolo both of which can be defeated via the included footswitch.

The available, matching 112 cabinet is the perfect compliment for this amp and features the Mojo BV25 watt speaker.

• Specifications
• All Tube circuit ~18-20w twin 6V6 High Class A Biased AB
• Can be powered by 6V6, 6L6, and now the EL-34
• JJ 12AX7(3) - JJ 12DW7 - Tung-Sol 6V6 - JJ GZ34
• Tube Rectification ~ GZ-34 or NOS 5Y3
• Sub NOS 5Y3 for earlier breakup/increased compression
• Tube driven, spring reverb and tremolo
• Tube driven tremolo
• 12AX7, tube driven, Defeatable Master Volume
• Completely hand-wired 
• Light Tweed covering with inlayed piping
• Cathode "AUTO" Biased (no need to bias)
• Hi/Lo Inputs for better PU Output matching
• Hand wired point to point ~ Made in USA
• Standby Switch ~ Amp warmed up extends tube life
• Carbon Comp Resistors for BEST TONE
• Mallory, Sprague and JJ Caps, selected for Application
• Finest silver tinned cloth & Teflon covered wire
• Twin Outputs to run two Cabinets
• 4 / 8 / 16 Ohm selectable ~ Rear Panel Switch
• Dedicated 2 button foot switch included (reverb on/off, tremolo on/off)
• Extra Large Rubber Feet for Vibration/Protection
• Solid, finger-jointed Cabinet ~ Lacquered Tweed
• 1x12 cab standard with Mojo BV-25
• Head Dimensions: 17 7/8W x 9D x 10H ~ 19lbs
• 1x12 Cab Dimensions: 24W x 11D x 16 7/8H ~ 26lbs

This new amp starts off with clean tones that are very full and thick and have a feel that reminds me of a good old tweed amp at moderate volumes, but it has a sweeter less abrasive and easier to play top end and a very tight and controlled low end with just enough looseness to feel like it's moving some air.

This is easily one of the thickest, creamiest, most complex amps at gain that I have ever heard. There isn't a harsh frequency anywhere to be found and dialing up perfect single coil or humbucker tones is as easy as turning the Volume and Tone controls to their maximum settings of 11. 

There are all kinds of wonderful in between tones to be found at other settings, but the simplicity and ease of knowing you can always just crank it and have it sound perfect is a real boon for players who like minimal fuss in dialing their amps in.

In the Hi gain setting the Super Space is pure creaminess. No mud, just thick, harmonic goodness with gobs of sustain.
The Lo gain setting backs things down the perfect amount for a slightly more vintage response and gain level.

As with Michael's original 20 watt Atomic Space Tone, the Super Space has gorgeous reverb and deep, organic tremolo that will pulse you right over the edge of the stage at its highest settings.

The Super Space is easily loud enough and has enough headroom to work in any small to medium sized club I would ever play, but it is so smooth, fluid and rich that it never seems brutally loud.

Quad 6V6 (or Dual EL34)
3 x 12AX7
1 x 12DW7
1 X GZ34 RECTIFIER

Matching cabinet is gorgeous and sounds as great as it looks. Loaded with Dual Celestion greenbacks.

Head $2549.00
212 Cabinet $699.00 

Fat Sound Award for Sonic Excellence!

Above and beyond your average attenuator, the Night Light offers defeatable bulb filament compression and the ability to run TWO amps in Stereo via the Output stage of amp one.

"This pedal attenuator was definitely built by someone with young children; someone who understands great tone, but also the need to achieve it at a very low volume. An ultimate example of necessity being the mother of invention. The initial "On" mode reduces the volume considerably. I honestly can't tell any difference in tone or feel b/w the attenuator off position and the heaviest degree of attenuation on offer by the unit, but the volume reduction is substantial. Love the lights which respond to your playing!"

-Stu Carter, owner Fat Sound Guitars

From Swart's website

"The mail would start innocently enough: "Hi, I love your amps!" Then would come the hook: "So..., can I play the STR-Tweed in the same room with Aunt Rene? She's not a heavy napper but her hearing aid can be dialed back." Sure, Jimmy.

Indeed. Truth be told, even the little ST-6V6se would make Aunt Rene's eyes change hue given a heavy hand and increased endorphins. But we love the 6V6se, STR, and AST and really didn't feel like saddling each with Master volume. The combos deserve the Swart Hallmark purity of circuit.

Enter the dreaded A Word: Attenuator. Yeah, we know. And Sir Michael thought there were plenty of attenuators to choose from. On the other hand, could thy Swart Magic come into play yet again, moving this device to another plane? Well, after a solid year of research, trials, virtual black holes, and head scratching, we have the answer:

YES! Meet the Swart Night Light; there's NOTHING like it."

More from Swart

Michael succeed in making an attenuator that is optimized for lower wattage combos, standing apart from the crowd. And while this beast brings the tone of any great, lower wattage amp down to whisper quiet levels, keeping the tonal harmonic integrity intact while retaining the quality of output tube breakup, it's much, much more.

For instance, the completely defeatable (flip a switch and you bypass the whole nine yards) circuit has a unique bulb filament compression stage, giving the attenuated signal a more saturated tube-esque compression, bringing a bit of the Brown Sound to play (this is a subtle effect). Slam a chord, and watch the main jewel lamp glow as it compresses into sweetness. A flip of the switch removes this stage if not desired.

The actual attenuation is controlled via a three position switch, avoiding the issues with mediocre attenuator pots robbing the sonics of heft and tone. The most attenuated position leaves surprisingly robust breakup at a shade over natural string loudness. It's THE answer to your significant other wanting to burn a hole through the center of your skull.

If this was all the Night Light did, it would be good enough. Yet Michael Swart didn't stop there. He wanted a way to link up TWO amps, the first driving the second via it's full OUTPUT stage, bring all the effects PLUS power tube drive, this reduced to proper input level, then fed through the INPUT of the second amp! The number of tonal variations is staggering; simply put, this is a boon for all Tone Explorers. Run an AST into a ST-6V6se! Or how about the STR-tweed into the little ST. Man, it's just too fun to be legal. I could ramble for 10 paragraphs and still not get near all the possibilities with this setup. When you add in the attenuation aspect, this little magic box gives more than it has a right to.

Lastly, it's compact, and cool to stare at, just like all the Swart gear. And last but not least, it makes a great NIGHT LIGHT! Bring your whole family in to gaze at the beauty. Or not.

Features and Specifications

The night light is very portable and built like a rock. It's the size of a small effects pedal: 4.67" L x 3.68" W x 1.18" H. This thing can practically fit in your pocket.

The Night Light was designed specifically for the ST-6V6se, STR, AST, and AST Pro. But even though optimized for the Swart brigade, the Night Light will work with ANY amplifier 22w or less with the light compression, 30w with it off. [Note from Fat Sound] We have now tried the Night Light with several sub-25 watt combo's from various manufacturers and found it to work equally well regardless of amp being used.

Bored by the plethora of text? Hit the bullets:

Attenuation settings

Light Compression Mode
This mode runs the attenuated signal through a Swart jewel lamp filament, bringing a subtle tube compression/brown sound goodness. Ever wonder what your signal sounded like through a light bulb? You'll be addicted in seconds

Bypass compression mode
Removes the light compressor out of the circuit for more natural dynamics.

Heavy duty 3 position Switch
This main chicken head switch allows you to switch between 3 different attenuation settings. The lowest setting is about the same loudness as your guitar strings.

Special Features

Guitar Amp, guitar line level out (works in attenuation mode or bypassed)
Allows you to send the complete amp signal to another guitar amp. Now you an sound like Jimi in BOLD AS LOVE! Well, maybe. You COULD. Seriously, have you heard two Swarts together? You should. .

You can send the AST effects, reverb and Tremolo to a standard non effects amp. This allows you to run the AST in stereo with another amp sharing the effects between the two amps.

With the Night Light it is now possible to get the AST sound into your 200 watt live guitar amp. Just plug the Night Light into the AST; set it to the sound you like and run a line from the Night Light to your 200 watt stack for ear shattering levels.

it is now easy to run a Space tone into a AST or a AST into a Space Tone.

It's a virtual blue night light show of psychedelic craziness. And it looks cool. Keep your 3 yr old entertained till the wee hours.

Highly Recommended!!™
Fat Fave Award for Excellence

Customer Comment

"Stu,

as you know, I picked up my Swart Night Light on Friday and I've got to tell you that it is the best purchase since buying my Swart AST. It absolutely ROCKS! I had been playing my Swart mostly on the "2" setting in our band situation. This weekend I plugged in the Night Light and cranked that amp past the 3 o'clock setting and WOW! The amp is alive with more tone and responsiveness than I've experienced with any attenuator. I've played my guitars more this past weekend than have in the past 6 months. The tones are truly incredible. This is easily the best purchase I have made in a long time! Swart has done it again."

Ricky T.
Raleigh, NC

Anyone that knows pedals knows the Dallas Rangemaster and the history behind it. Michael took one of the all time favorite gain boosters with that legendary tone and distortion and made it even more reliable and less prone to RF Bleed while still employing the much sought after vintage NOS Mullard OC44 Transistor(!!!), the key device to retaining this tone with boost. The ATOMIC BOOST is an amazing match with the new twin 6V6 ATOMIC SPACE TONE!

•Vintage NOS Mullard OC44 "glass" Transistor hand selected and gain tested •All Point to Point Wiring - No Circuit Boards •Toggle between Mid or full boost, optional high boost with the sacrifice of mid or full boost •Full bypass switching •Blue Power LED •Sound goes from a semi clean boost to over the top creamy tube distortion