Ibanez SW35 (Discontinued)

Have been playing bass about 15 years in weekend gig classic rock bands. Started out with a black face Fender bassman & retired it because it almost got ripped off a few times while I was on break. Got a Yamaha solid state 100 watt that sounded better than the bassman, but it's a very bulky & heavy amp. So I got a Ibanez SW 35.

Got it used for $100 on Ebay. I have gotten other Ibanez stuff over the years & it sounded great & never broke. The SW 35 is only 35 loud watts, but a managable size and weight. I'm getting an other SW 35 so 70 watts & 2 10's will be fine for me.

It's easy to move,well made, Sounds great. 35 watts seems under rated. Coaxial 10" speaker is rated for 100 watts peak. & with a built in limiter just try to blow the speaker. 4 band Eq really works.

I wish the AC powercord was attached. I have forgotten it.

From what I can see it is well built, does not rattle or buzz.

I like it so much I will be buying another one . Most of my gigs are either small clubs or private parties so 2 of these will be loud enough. They will fit in my car easy, aren't too heavy. And if they're like my other Ibanez products, will past the test of time well.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

A guy at my job suggested it. I listened to it. Then I bought it. I paid $166 including taxes. I bought it at Bill's Music House in Catonsville MD.

I love it, its lows are great for what it is, the tweeter really aids in my funky jazz style. It has many features. I like the price. Its cheaper the other 35 watters, and most other bass amps with the same wattage cost more.

I dont like ummmm the tinking sound every once in a while.

Its heavy. 38 lbs, it has metal corners and the plastic handles hold it.

It does what it was designed to do and does it well. for a nice price. and sounds more like a 50 45 to 50 watt amp.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

It cost around US$140 at Sumber Irama, an Ibanez dealer at Jakarta. First I was looking for a 20-25 watts amp, but the Fender Bassman 25 was too expensive - though it was excellent. They don't have the SoundWave 20 so I take this one.

There's a sticker on it that says this thing is an "Earthquaker" or somekind like that. Well, I guess Ibanez was not joking about this. First time I try it at home, I shook the whole house when I slap the E string. I don't know how to set it yet so I put the volume at 10. (Hey, my Mom wouldn't bother with this, she's a fan of Queen, Scorpion and Mick Jagger, but I don't know about my neighbours =>). Good design and can be tilt-back for stage. There's a CD line-in so I can play along with any song I like. You can connect it to another amp or effect devices. Or use a headphone when you don't wanna disturb others. Nice blue light on the limiter and power-switch.

Hissing when I turn the volume at full. Especially when all EQ at full (+15) position. But I prefer a pure bass sound, so I set it like this:

Gain +15
Bass +15
Middle 0
Treble -15
Presence -15
and then I adjust the volume as I wish, around 5 to 10, while both volumes on my bass are full. With these settings the hissing totally gone.

It was not my bass' fault, cos I try this amp at the shop with an Ibanez SR600 an it shows the same symptom. Try to synchronize the amp and bass until you get the proper sound.

Good. I like the design and black color. Unfortunately the front panel wasn't made from steel (like the Fender Bassman's) so the speaker can be protected in case something accidentally punching through from the front. But it's tough anyway, I sat on it while playing.

Well, if you're looking for in-a-budget home and gig amp, you got one. Sure if you got some extra bux then just grab those Bassmans. This thing maybe not the best amp but, you can learn how to adjust your bass with the amp. As long as you know what kind of sound you want, this amp will give you.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Ibanez SoundWave SW-35 is a small, practice bass combination amplifier. It’s really basic in it’s features, but gets the job done for a practice amp. It’s got a ¼” input, and stereo RCA connections for inputting CD player or other signal. It’s got a single 10” speaker, and gives you 35 watts of power as the name suggests.



UTILIZATION

The configuration of the Ibanez SoundWave SW-35 is pretty simple to follow, even for beginners. Most users of the SW-35 will most likely be beginners, so having a simple make up is essential here. The parameters involved with the SW-35 include those for gain, bass, middle, treble, presence, and volume, so even if you aren’t experience with amplifiers, these should be easy enough parameters to decipher. A manual shouldn’t be necessary, but I haven’t seen it so I can’t comment on it.


SOUNDS

The overall sound of the Ibanez SoundWave SW-35 isn’t all that impressive, but for a practice amp it has a good enough sound to get the job done. I wouldn’t recommend using it for anything other than practice at home, and isn’t really loud enough for playing with a band. It doesn’t have as much low end clarity as you’d like to have with a bass amp, but with a 10” speaker you can’t really expect too much. I’ve used the amp with an Ibanez SR 100 and SR 800 for the most part. While not the most flexible amp, it’s probably better since it’s a beginner’s amp.


OVERALL OPINION

In the realm of bass guitar amplifiers for beginners, the Ibanez SoundWave SW-35 is an adequate amplifier, but really not much more. It’s cheap enough that you can live with it’s sound and overall make up, as it really won’t cost much at all especially if you can find a used one. I don’t think this would be my first choice for a practice bass amp, but for the price it’s hard to go wrong with it…