SWR acquired by Fender

[Tom Capasso]

This is on Harmony-Central, but I haven't found any other info yet....

 

http://news.harmony-central.com/News/2003/Fender-Acquires-SWR.html

 

Tom

[clatteramy]

SWR's official response on the SWR forum:

 

Although everyone will have their opinion, it isn't as melodramatic as you are making it sound. For most of us at SWR, it is not a sad day at all. We consider this a new beginning, a chance to improve all aspects of SWR. Everyone here is excited to have joined forces with a true industry giant. The move is expected to reinforce the quality for which SWR is known and improve the availability of SWR products all over the world. Extended research and development budgets will allow us to continue with the innovative design concepts that have made SWR the leader in bass and acoustic amplification. Key members of the SWR staff will remain in place, including SWR founder Steve Rabe as primary consultant. We are still just as dedicated to building the Finest Bass Amplification Systems in The World as we ever have been. With the power of FMIC behind us, I think you will only see improvement in all things SWR.

 

Best regards,

Kelly/SWR

[57pbass]

That response sounds great.

I have been using SWR for over 10 years and they make great equipment.

I hope they continue to produce gear based on SWR's high standards however - I am concerned - basing this on the Fender basses I play in the various shops around town - they are inconsistent and problematic.

 

How much attention can they really pay to the details when they are cranking out 30 different versions of the Strat, 20 different versions of the Tele etc.... the catalog is 1/2" thick -

I have not been too impressed with the Fender line of bass amps either - they sound OK but they dont look too sturdy.

 

They do deserve major credit for making an affordable line of gear for beginners with their amp / guitar packages.

 

Its always a concern when a Giant takes over a small to mid sized company and the "suits" start to get involved in the decision making process.

 

Time will tell the truth when they introduce the Fender/SWR line of gear. The players will decide.

Best wishes to all involved...

[Wally Malone]

Hope this one goes in the right direction. The period when Fender took over Kubicki was not a good one, the quality took a big dump. The good part is that Philip Kubicki got it back.

 

Wally

[jeremy c]

As a loyal user of SWR gear since they began business, I am very scared.

[BenLoy]

I wonder what Bryan Beller thinks about this.

 

I wouldn't ask him to publically comment, though...he owes his allegiance to those paying his salary, not us...

[PJN]

Is my new SWR amp considered vintage now?

[57pbass]

Introducing the Fender/SWR Relic MoBassman combo.

[_Sweet Willie_]

Originally posted by 57pbass:

Introducing the Fender/SWR Relic MoBassman combo.

[clatteramy]

What if I don't want to be a SWR "Local Hero" any more? I think I might run out and buy a new SM-900 just in case....

[ibescotty]

From what I've sampled in the stores SWR has some great stuff. Looks like Fender wants to add some quality to their overall position in the market place. Hopefully they maintain that quality.

Like when Cisco bought Catalyst, Fender's looking to secure their position as a leader in the industry. Here's hoping it's good for the industry.

[rumpelstiltskin.]

well, before you start proclaiming the doom of SWR, consider this. SWR hasn't made anything new in quite some time. they've repackaged a lot of old circuits as new products, in new configurations, but they haven't made anything truly new. did you ever wonder why, despite customer complaints, they never came up with a fix for their "popping speaker" problem on shut down?

 

i suspect it has something to do with the fact that they don't have any design engineers working for them. as long as steve rabe (that's pronounced "robbie" for those of you unaware) continues to focus on raven labs and be a "consultant" for SWR (a position he retains in the fender buyout), they are pretty much treading water. the fact is, with high end bass companies like aguilar and ashdown actually creating new product, it was only a matter of time before SWR sell out or go under -- they couldn't come up with new combinations of old circuits forever.

 

why do you suppose fender created a new bass amplification division? merely to advance fender-branded bass amplification?

 

this is not to say that fender is a blessing for sWR, but merely to suggest we all watch and wait. there are a lot of very good things that could happen to SWR (e.g. hiring a design engineer) with the extra money fender brings to them.

 

life was pretty nice at crown when harman bought them out. we had more money than we could generate on our own, and the only pressure was having responsiblity to a more "business" company that wasn't as willing to accept project delays. of course the old guys complained, but i liked the situation in which we found ourselves.

 

think about it before you assume it's all bad.

 

robb.

[gearjammer]

I think this confirms Fenders committment to quality bass amplification. There not going to meddle with a good thing. Should see a reduction in price with the purchasing power of FMIC.

[doc taz]

robb makes a good point. I mean, look at Id Software , the company behind the Doom and Quake first person shooter games. Before they landed a distribution deal with Activision , these guys literally did nearly everything themselves.

 

After getting the deal, they were able to concentrate on their main business, which is of course the games, and selling their technology to other deserving game developers. (Of course, as any good software company should do, they've also released their source code for various games after several years of a game's expected shelf life.)

 

This has allowed them to gain a niche in the video game market. It's also given them tons of $$$, so much so that lead coder John Carmack is pursuing his love of rocketry .

[Adrian Smith]

I recently purchased an SWR rig to compliment my Fender P, I wonder if I had anything to do with the deal...?

[Tom Capasso]

Robb,

 

It still scares me a bit (though I have never owned an SWR product).

 

My personal buyout experience has been more like what 57pbass has aluded to. The "consolidation" of duplicate activites can suck the life out of a company/division.

 

If SWR has no engineers, do we want the Fender folk? Manufacturing issues aside, we don't know whether the Fender engineers will bring SWR to a lower level (like current Fender amps), or whether they will be freed to do some impressive work on an already strong product base.

 

Last is that if FMIC has money to invest, what return will they expect, and how will they balance new designs against other factors (like manufacturing, customer service, etc.).

 

And don't expect the prices to come down. If there is an initial investment to be made in engineering, it will be paid for by more cost-effective manufacturing and distribution. I doubt there's any room in the profit margins for a price break. And SWR is priced competitively, so there isn't market pressure to drop the price either.

 

Tom

[57pbass]

SWR hasn't made anything new in quite some time. they've repackaged a lot of old circuits as new products, in new configurations, but they haven't made anything truly new.

 

Agreed. I love good Fender basses and they have set the standards for the industry.

 

But what has Fender been doing - they are repacking every product they ever made into Relic, Out of the Closet, From Under The Bed, Artist, Vintage .. too many to list... and charging a fortune.

I dont recall anything new and innovative - please correct me if I missed something.

 

SWR produced a line of bass amps that complimented the modern active bass guitar but has done nothing too dramatic since aside from tweaking.

 

Fender - with all their capital for R & D had the same chance - but just followed the pack and still came up short.

 

They dont even give Roger Sadowsky credit for developing the Marcus Miller sound.

 

I as mentioned have been using SWR for many years and have been very happy with the results.

I hope Fender maintains the level of quality that I have been accustomed to and gives us some new gear to play with.

[Bobby Bass]

It's got to be a smart move for Fender. We all know they have never, or at least not in a long time, made a good bass amp. I better be careful, my last comments about Fender got me all my posts deleted over at the FDP. FDP, not controled my Fender, can't prove it by me.

[...]

I'm skeptical as to whether or not this is a good thing for SWR. I fear the worst and hopefully I will be proven wrong.

[getz out]

Forward apologies for non-conforming history or companies or individuals omitted from the following. Ideas are generalized for clarity and brevity (well, more clarity than brevity), not for dramatic effect.

 

It's got to be due to market pressure. Look at Eden, who I consider the DIRECT competition in that range of bass amps; Eden's deal sounds proactive, though, while SWR must be reactive. Like someone alluded to before, you have to look at it from SWR (and Eden's) perspective; even 10 or 15 years ago, what were our choices in gigging rigs? An Ampeg SVT or crap (I'm generalizing). SWR and Eden changed the landscape with there "Hi-Fi" sound (and Trace Elliott, to a point). The SWR & Eden rigs were competetively priced with Ampeg's, and were lighter and, in general, lower maintanence. Look now at the competition, though. SWR & Eden's "Hi-Fi" is now "Mid-Fi", that has to directly compete with Peavey, Carvin, Ampeg, Genz Benz, Hartke, etc. These rigs are all cheaper, too! And, what most of us consider the new "Hi-Fi" gear isn't THAT much more expensive (Demeter, Aguilar, Alembic, Bergs, Epifani, etc).

 

I don't own SWR or Eden gear, but I've used both at gigs and have been relatively content with them; to the point where I considered a SWR 900 & 2x10 + 1x15 rig. I think EVERYONE will admit, even if you can't get "your sound," you can get a good club sound out of the amps and cabs.

 

Gut feeling; Eden's products will remain mostly intact, while SWR is going to drop off into the abyss of Fender. While Fender isn't the kiss of death like Gibson, I bet SWR is going to be a nameplate on the new Fender designs, which at best lag significantly behind the competition. Like someone said before, Fender has SO many items out there, they obviously lack focus! They are great at branding, though. I mean, sure, there are diehard American Standard players out there, but I think FMIC's new "bread & butter" is that 15-year-old that NEEDS a New Vintage US Strat Texas Highway Diablo Dual Mono Reverse Trem model with SD Pickups at the bridge and neck and a Recycled Virgin Alnico Adjustable Pole-piece middle pickup (with phase and coil taps in Avacado Green. Gig bag not included.

 

Maury Spadoto

Hoboken, NJ

[FAFNER]

I don't know if swr amps are going to be better amps, but sure that be diferents

 

(sorry, my english is too bad, i'm spanish)

[rumpelstiltskin.]

Originally posted by Tom Capasso:

If SWR has no engineers, do we want the Fender folk? Manufacturing issues aside, we don't know whether the Fender engineers will bring SWR to a lower level (like current Fender amps), or whether they will be freed to do some impressive work on an already strong product base.

what's your point? if they have no engineers (and the reality is that they have no engineers because they can't afford them), what would happen to them in the future? either they will be able to continue cobbling products out of old ideas, or they themselves would fail to compete. when that happens, then what? now at least they have fender to fund true engineers designing gear. it's not as if the guys at fender bass amplification are sitting on their thumbs saying, "what are going to do today? i know, let's fuck with SWR!"

 

it's not as if SWR is renowned for reliability, either. some of their recent stuff, particularly their high-profile mo'bass, has been really unreliable, regardless of how cool they are. in that light, provided fender has the good sense to leave well enough for now, there's nowhere to go but up, at least in the near future.

 

Originally posted by 57pbass:

But what has Fender been doing ...

I dont recall anything new and innovative - please correct me if I missed something.

that is true. i meant no criticism of SWR in pointing out the lack of innovation in a lot of their new products. many companies do that, my employer included. it makes good business sense. i bring it up, however, in response to those who fear that fender will steal SWR's engineering identity, to say that SWR has no engineering identity. i also do it to demonstrate that without such an identity, they would run out of creative fuel eventually. by selling to fender they have added resources to their operation which they were unable to provide for themselves alone.

 

Originally posted by getz76:

It's got to be due to market pressure. Look at Eden, who I consider the DIRECT competition in that range of bass amps; Eden's deal sounds proactive, though, while SWR must be reactive.

while i agree that the decision is due to market pressure, i think you cannot be further from the truth in your reasoning. if a company is getting killed by the competition's unique product, they will try to design a me-too. if the competition gets bought out, they do not sell themselves in order to "compete." i've pretty well illustrated their product-design predicament. they needed money badly. they made (i'm assuming) what they believe is the best decision for the future of their company. that would be proactive, not reactive.

 

i don't know what's going to happen with SWR in the future. i don't know if fender is going to be good for them or bad for them. however, blindly proclaiming the SWR's doom without examining the facts isn't an intelligent position. it behooves all of you to look reasonably at this situation and realize that, at least in the near future, SWR is likely to maintain status quo at the worst, and perhaps at least improve in quality and reliability at the best. in the extended future, it remains anyone's guess. i think it really depends on where fender believes SWR fits into their brand.

 

robb.

[getz out]

Robb said:

 

while i agree that the decision is due to market pressure, i think you cannot be further from the truth in your reasoning. if a company is getting killed by the competition's unique product, they will try to design a me-too. if the competition gets bought out, they do not sell themselves in order to "compete." i've pretty well illustrated their product-design predicament. they needed money badly. they made (i'm assuming) what they believe is the best decision for the future of their company. that would be proactive, not reactive.

I disagree; I still see it as reactive. I still see SWR's competitors as mainly Peavey, Ampeg, Hartke, and Eden. While they all offer different products, in general, these offerings are pretty homogenous (i.e. 800 watts bridged mono with semi-parametric eq and compressor and sub-bass and blah blah blah). All these firms have large distribution channels, large amounts working capital, pricing advantages, cross-marketing, and large, multi-line parent companies backing them. SWR was all but forced to make one of three decision: (1) Status Quo, (2) Merger or Acquisition, or (3) Product Differentiation.

 

(1) Status quo, in my opinion, would lead to demise. SWR, as it currently stands, does not offer a product that is much different than the competition. Without the same business advantages, they would continue to lose market share and eventually fold

 

(2) M&A, like getting acquired by FMIC, levels the playing field. In theory, they should have the same "advantages" as their competition

 

(3) Differentiation, which I believe they were trying to do before Eden exited to Washburn (American Music Corp, right?). However, they're already a bit "big" to become a boutique shop; the market for the Demeters, Aguilars, and Bergs out there is smaller in headcount and already crowded with providers. Also, that market is much more finicky than their current market; and something from a "non-boutique" shop, even if a completely new design, is rarely every considered "boutique" in the eyes of this market. The Mo'Bass looks nice, but it's not going to save the ship.

 

The reason I consider this reactive is because it was the only valid business option they had available at this time. I've been wondering what was going to happen to SWR since Eden was acquired.

 

I'm not trying to be a pain in the ass, but this is what I do for my day gig. I've seen so many of my middle market clients gobbled up. It's amazing, two or three firms in a market traunct will line up against one another, competing fiercely. One of those fold or gets acquired, and they all panic and press the M&A button. Fun stuff. SWR doesn't have another firm to face off against. While this might sound like a good thing, it's VERY lonely, and not healthy for business unless you're looking to go into run-off and close shop in 10 or so years. And who are they facing off against at this point? Genz Benz? Too small. Carvin? Different business. Mesa/Boogie? Different product. Gallien-Krueger? Maybe, I don't know enough about GK. But what other bass-only (for all intents and purposes) amplification firm is out there that you can buy in any GC or Sam Ash? Maybe I'm wrong.

 

Maybe we can't all agree if FMIC will be good or bad for SWR, but I bet we can all agree that FMIC will have more positive results than would Gibson! However, my fear is that FMIC management is getting wet over the thought of slapping the SWR nameplate on the next (IMHO) crap bass amp by Fender. Hey, it didn't take long for Ford to take the Land-Rover nameplate, slap it on the Ford Escape, and call it a Freelander, right?

 

"The all-new, 350 watt SWR Bassman 2x10 Combo... umm, I mean, Redhead III Pro, with extra Phat-Control via MIDI"

 

Hopefully this isn't what they do, but that's my gut feeling after seeing what Fender has been churning out over the past 5 or 6 years.

 

Do I sound old, boring, or both? Well, I'm not old...

 

Maury Spadoto

Hoboken, NJ

[Wally Malone]

I mentioned in another thread about going to Arizona to stay at a friend's house for two days in the middle of the Rumour's, Fleetwood Mac Tribute show. I called my friend on Sunday and talked to him, he's been beta-testing Fender equipment including the 800 watt bass amp that many of us saw at NAMM earlier this year. Since I'll see him this weekend I'll try to find out what he knows, if anything.

 

Wally

[SteveC]

This scares me. I don't care that they haven't made a "real" advance in a while. I like the sound they have now.

 

In some cases, good things happen in a buy out. But mostly, a good thing gets turned to crap. I am affraid that is what will happen here.

 

Look at the media thing that' shappening nation wide - soon everyone will be listening to a "Clear Channel" radio station. Thank God I have satilite radio.

[...]

I now have all the confidence in the world that SWR will stay the bad-ass company that they are. SWR is going to continue putting out some of the best damn bass amplification out there.

 

You just wait and see.

[rumpelstiltskin.]

dish the info, bump. you talked to beller, didn't you?

 

robb.

[...]

Originally posted by robb.:

dish the info, bump. you talked to beller, didn't you?

 

robb.

I can neither confirm nor deny that, senator...

 

I don't want to say anything specific, because it's not my place to make statements and such for other people. BB may or may not have told me some things that make me smile a great deal.

[rumpelstiltskin.]

well, not that i was saying the fender buy-out was specifically good news...

 

but i do feel justified in not proclaiming the end of the world. i told you so.

 

but now you have my curiousity way up. what could possibly be so good? you realize the polarity reversal you have displayed? i must know!

 

robb.

[bassplayer5217]

http://www.fender.com/60cyclehum/06022003/swr_article.html

 

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - Fender® Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is proud to announce today that it has signed a deal to purchase specific assets of SWR Sound Corporation. The acquisition, effective as of June 2, 2003, will include all existing inventory of products , as well as all accounts receivable, intellectual properties and trademarks relating to SWR products.

 

Says Bill Schultz, Chairman and CEO of FMIC, We have always sought to offer a wide variety of quality products to meet the needs of all musicians, and the SWR brand name will help us do just that. The SWR bass amplification products and the artists who use them are known and respected throughout the world, and they will add diversity to what we are able to offer.

 

Many innovative product features and cutting edge artists are associated with these amplifiers, adds Bill Mendello, President of FMIC, and we are committed to the growth of the brand name, and to exceeding the expectations of the devoted musicians who play SWR amplifiers in the areas of quality, service and market support.