The Guitar Magazine – September 2019

T

here’s a phenomenon I’ve come to recognise

any time I’ve dropped in to peruse one of the

many amp-related online forums – something

I like to call ‘research’, but which is probably

just the same quest for that quick endorphin hit

most of us indulge in when diverting from our daily

workload for a few moments – which we might dub

the ‘how soon until Swart is mentioned?’ effect.

Click on a thread that begins with one person’s

search for a great-sounding, portable, lower-wattage

combo and you’re almost guaranteed that among

the first three or four replies, you’ll see: “Get a

Swart AST!”, a sentiment that will undoubtedly

be reconfirmed throughout the thread.

SHOP TALK

MICHAEL SWART

SWART AMPLIFIERS FOUNDER AND PROPRIETOR

WORDS DAVE HUNTER

Fuelled by an aesthetic born in the

electronics of the late 40s, 50s and

early 60s, Michael Swart has earned

a reputation for creating hand-made

guitar amplifiers of style and substance.

Delivering a sound and performance that

has proved strangely applicable to today’s

music, Swart’s retro creations have also

earned a diehard following in the process...

And with good reason: Michael Swart’s creations

are not only great little works of retro-modern art

and easy front-seat-of-the-Fiat 500 portables, they

just sound great, one after the other. And don’t just

take my word for it: Jeff Tweedy, Dean Wareham,

Matthew Sweet, Joey Santiago, Trey Anastasio, Buddy

Miller, Keith Urban, Ray LaMontagne, Vince Gill and

Michael Kiwanuka have all confirmed the point in

their backlines. But for all that, there’s much more to

this North Carolina-based designer, manufacturer and

studio owner than those funky combos that look like

something you pulled from your grandad’s closet.

FLOWERS AND MILK

For the young Swart, the electric guitar and its related

electronics came along as a means of escaping what

might otherwise have been the inevitability of his

Dutch heritage – and with it, the small farm in Castle

Hayne, North Carolina, on which he grew up in the

1970s and 80s. “We’re talking flowers and milk in the

past,” he tells us. “The only flowers and milk these

days are in my yard and in my refrigerator.

“When I was young, my parents thought it would

be a wonderful thing if their son started playing

classical piano. I figure they were hoping I wouldn’t

ABOVE The Atomic Space

Tone is Swart’s best-known

amp, delivering reverb,

tremolo and 18-22 watts

of searing tone through a

12-inch speaker

OPPOSITE Michael putting

one of his designs through

its paces

SHOP TALK

GUITAR MAGAZINE 85