The sunn Forum
Sunn Musical Equipment => Q & A => Topic started by: mike on December 23, 2000, 08:32:00 pm
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So, obviously we're all Sunn collectors here, but how many of you all are actually using vintage Sunn equipment out on gigs, jams, etc., as opposed to just creating a shrine to one's teenage gear lust down in the rec room. Whaddya got? How are ya using it? What kind of music do you play? How often? Any pros or semi-pros? What are you up against---that is...assuming that most of us are bass players, how does your rig hold up against your guitar player's(I've been quite satisfied when a six-stringer with a Marshall 100w half-stack told ME to turn down my 2000s set-up). All you Sunn guitar amp users, ever make a Marshall, Fender, or Mesa Booger owner cry for mercy in the volume contest? And you younger-than-boomer Sunn users...what about these amps attracted you? Anyone have any humorous, weird, amazing stories about playing out with Sunn gear. Didya ever have to explain what these amps are all about(even many non-musicians have a vague idea of what a "Marshall Stack" is, but amung alot of rockers, I've had to explain the significance of Sunn amps "back in the day"). C'mon, everybody, make a report...
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what are you kidding? of course i use this stuff. i have owned and used a Model T and 2000s. they were awesome but i could not hang with the expensie of tubes. i am currently using TWO older Coliseum bass heads ( excellent but i must admit their character is not as complex ). they work even better for me. they are loud as hell, are even punchier than the T and 2000, and are no muss no fuss thump. i run them to two sunn 200s size 2-15 cabs.
as far as volume goes, with my guitar player's 68 100 watt plexi (smooth and creamy) and 100 watt Hiwatt (mean nasty and aggressive) dimed ive never been over 6.
i got into this gear by fate i suppose. i found a cat who wanted something modern for jazz and funk. i had a Hartke 2000 and he had a 2000s. i wanted something classic rock so we swaped. that was it for me i was hooked. after i got into them the very timely Teagle articles in the VG came out.
we play, what probably to most ears will sound like, rock of the era these amps came from. classic. check it out.
goto mp3 - search for - The Ohm Group Limited
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I'm using the dreaded Sunn Solos II combo that even Sunn-lovers appear to hate for practice, recording, and gigging as a guitar and occasional bass player; it has a character its own and I just lucked into it at a pawn shop that didn't know what it was. I took one look at it, turned it on, and wondered why everyone hated the thing.
Sure, it doesn't have distortion worthy of any attention, but the clean sound and the trem channel are well worth attention. After about a year with the thing now, it's become my favorite amp over and above vintage Fenders. I use it in conjunction with a Fender Deluxe 112 combo live, trusting the Sunn for my mostly clean sound without problems. I don't buy by labels, I buy by my ear, and my ear says keep the thing and don't let anyone near it. :smile:
It's loud, sounds decent, and was a steal; I just wish there was more information available on it, since I'd love another or something that sounds close on the trem channel. It gets used very regularly, as in addition to my own experimental music material, I'm the backing music for a few spoken word and erotica artists, so I probably qualify as semi-pro (after all, I bought it with a royalty check) these days.
The amp can be heard frequently on my available tracks at mp3.com; visit http://www.mp3.com/thereverendrob .
I'd be lost without the amp at this point; it replaced a multitude of pedals and rotating amp lineups that I kept cycling through trying to nail the sound that the Sunn gave me with the first chord.
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Hey, Reverend, are you in L.A.? If so, there's a Solos(I think it's a II, I'm not quite sure what the difference between the I & II is) in the back of Black Market Music on La Cienega, in the aisle on the left where all the odds 'n' ends amps are. They want just under $300. Thanks for your story; I don't think that the first generation (not counting the Orion series)of Sunn solid state amps(including the Solos)could be that disregarded; after all, the Coliseum(and Concert)series amps emerged at the same time, and they were quite well respected, sporting some then-innovative features. Maybe the super-clean transistor sound for guitar was a bit much to take when everyone's ears were accustomed to a gritty tube break up, but to be honest, even the Sunn tube guitar amps(because of the 6550 &/or KT88 power tubes)were very bright and clean, quite a world away from the Brit/Marshall sound. I'd like to think of it as a Fender-with-balls tone, as Sunn guitar amps provided plenty of low-end. I've even used Sunn tube guitar heads for bass quite sucessfully, thank you. As far as the Solos is concerned, I think Jon Spencer uses one to get some nasty shrieking tones that fits his style perfectly. It actually looks like a forerunner to the Roland JC120, and that's an amp that doesn't get any respect, but it's still around after 25 years, and there was a time when all the jazz & fusion guys used 'em. What kind of info do you need? My '72 catalog states that it features an FET preamp section, with the "exclusive X20 switch laying down a fat, tube distortion sound", which translates, I guess, to meaning an overdrive stage. 120 watts RMS, 280 peak(ouch!), two 12" Sunn transducers, OR two 12" Vega speakers upgrade, or...a third option with a single 15" JBL, intended for jazz or pedal steel players.
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Slade, that's very cool that you were able to snag TWO Coliseums; serious thunder. Is vintage Sunn gear easy or difficult to come by where you are? Did you sell the "T" or the 2000s? It would be a hellacious rig to use the Coliseums for cleaner low end power, and the T &/or the S for mid/top grit(with appropriate speakers), sort of the John Entwistle fantasy set-up, but I'm sure your back muscles or club owners wouldn't appreciate it! Thanks for responding.
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i own probably just about all the Sunn gear in this area! im kidding but its not far from the truth. i have seen many good deals on the net and gotten most of my Sunn gear on-line. i have only seen four Sunn pieces in the area for sale that where not mine. i have one of those now. its a 1-18. the odd thing i have noticed is the disproportion of heads to cabs. i see maybe 1 to 2 cabs for every 10 heads. i wonder where they are all at.
i did sell both the T and 2000s. i thought about the two amp thing for a blended sound, but decided that i would only use that with an 8 string so it could be truly massive. the 2000s was well, very Felix P and the T reminded me of Geddy Lee's tone on Rush's Exit Stage Left. actually my guitar palyer (who is a amp snob) used the T a bit when we recorded and he loved it!
i can get a pretty good Entwistle tone as is but i try to give it some more "mud" than the Ox. i guess more Bruce-ish. i love the topy grit of guys like the Ox and Squire and Lee but love the thud and thump of those lower mids. thick with buzz like bees stuck in honey.
what are you running into your Sunns? i use Hamer cruise basses with the 2tek bridges. no effects currently.
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Oh yes, I could not conceive of playing through anything else but Sunn. My introduction to these awesome amps was through a local psychedelic/punk/gloom band. I loved the bottom heavy sound the guitarist had. I found out it was an early 80's Concert Lead. I lucked out and bought it from him for $100. Found out later he was a big coke-head and sold his gear frequently.
Through the years, I have had 2 older silver faced Concert leads, 3 newer 80's Concert leads and 2 4-12 cabs and a 15'' cab. I currently play through 2 80's Concert Leads. One powers a new Sunn 4-12. The other powers an old Sunn 4-12 (a Beta 402) and a 15'' cab (a Beta 105). Loud??? Oh yes. I play in an instrumental metal band thats just me and a drummer, no bassist needed. I bought my 3rd Concert Lead off of a guy that didn't like the distortion. My gain I say. I love the distortion on these amps. I had a roomie who was a tube freak, Marshalls-only guy. Even he was impressed by my amp's sound.
I have had my head fall from 5 feet up onto concrete and keep on going. Try that with a tube head. A friend brought his Boogie to play through my cabs. He never even plugged it in. As for a volume contest, I have turned my amps up to 5 and had people complain I was drowning them out.
As for collecting, I buy all I can afford. To build up the wall of amps, for internal and cosmetic parts and just 'cause I love 'em so much. I've never paid more than $200 for any piece of Sunn gear I've owned. Heads for $200 and $125 each, 4-12 cab for $200 and the 15" inch cab for $125. In the northwest, its fairly easy to find the stuff. Just gotta look in every hole in the wall shop, but its worth it.
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my first bass amp was a sunn sonaro..40 watts rwo piece amp..god i loved that amp...
I am currently a dj using a set of sunn model 8 pa speakers upgraded with 300 watt woofers and they are awesome..I won't part with them!
sunn forever!!!!!!!!!!!1
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No, unfortunately, I'm in SE Idaho. How one ended up out here is beyond me, but it's mine now. I may have to see if shipping from LA is feasible, as I'd love another one for the house.
The info you gave out of the catalog is more info than I've been able to scare up, thanks! I knew it was early 70s, but didn't have any other info besides the blistering volume. I've never turned it up past 3 and that's enough to get dirty looks from death metal bands.
The JC-120 analogy is very apt; it's the closest thing I've found to the Solos II, although I prefer the overall sound of the Sunn (not the weight though). Thank the gods for casters. :smile:
For the record, the "x20 switch" doesn't do a whole lot; at most it simulates mild tube breakup, and mine just stays off since I only have one of the footswitch sets for mine and I'd rather keep it on the tremolo and reverb.
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I was the gtr tech for the melvins in 97. Buzz swore up and down about his Beta Leads. After hearing them night after night for 5 mos., going up against Page Hamilton VHT rig, I fell deeply in love with the Beta's. Buzz really never turned the master up past 2 - 2 1/2, but the stage volume was so out of hand, comming out of the 2 Hi-Watt 4x12s he was using, my teeth would rattle.
When I got home, I searched all over for one, and for the longest time I couldn't find one. Then I got lucky and found a Beta Lead w/ 4x12 cab at a shop that was going out of biz, and got it so cheap I could still by beer for the rest of the month.
So if anyone finds a used Beta Lead w/the 4x12, in exc. cond. drop me a line.
-Sunnyboy
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Hey sunnboy!!!
I have seen the Melvins many a time and wondered if you could answer a few questions, if you don't mind.
I saw something Sunn-like in Buzz's rack gear once, looking much like a rack-mount pre-amp. Do you know anything about it? Could it have been a Sunn head modified to fit in a rack-mount?
Also, I haven't had the chance to play through a Beat Lead. How does it compare to a Concert Lead (assuming you have heard one of those as well)?
Just wondering...
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I use my Sorado rig for small gigs and recording. I use my 2000s rig slaved with an SVTCL rig. If I can find more Sunn stuff, I'll use that too!
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In 73 my band played in Portland and I saw my first Sunn amp, it was a Model T. Looked and sounded way cool, but I never got a chance to play through it myself. About 2 1/2 years ago a guitarist
who by the way has the best tone I've ever heard on stage, told me about a Sunn 2000s that used to be a studio amp in Stockton Ca. He brought it to an outside jam and I hooked it up to my 1-15 and 2-10 cabs. I finally found the tone I was seeking all these years. It was gone through completely and retubed just before I purchased it. I have used it at 2-4 times a month exclusively, on all my gigs and it sounds as great as the day I bought it. I would like to add that I place a 2" piece of foam between my amp and speakers to cut down on vibration related problems. With my showman years ago, I had put new 6L6s in every 2 or 3 months (turned completely blue). Not sure if the foam helps, but it cant hurt.
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Awwww Yeeeaaaah. Sunn is the shiz-nit. I remember when my band started "moving up" to more powerful gear, I got a Sovtek and the base player got a Sunn Coliseum and Beta Bass. Sickening! How embarassing to have the high end of your guitar absorbed by a crappy bass player! So, now I've been using a Beta Lead for a few years. Pretty nice sound, but I'm moving up to the Enforcer, something I'd never even heard of until recently. Glad to know I can get a Sunn tube head that's less than 100 years old. I play heavy, Sabbath/Melvins style guitar, so I appreciate Sunn's warm tone and jagged marble staircase distortion. Screw fuzz! I want chainsaw gain! One warning, I'm not a "boomer", only 25, but hey kids, use some ear protection! My excuse was that the music sounded like @!#$ when I used ear-plugs. Well, I didn't protect my ears, and now EVERYTHING sounds like @!#$. I have to keep getting more and more volume!
OH, CRUEL SUNN!!!
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I do believe that Buzz uses, or at least used to use a beta lead pre-amp. Probably a 1000watt power amp behind it.
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See for yourself:
http://home.swbell.net/atstrs/photos.htm
The 2000S is running through a Peavey 2X15 with BW guitar 15's.
The 1X18 used to be for bass but is now part of the on-stage amplification for the Moog Taurus bass pedals.
This show was at a club that has a 5 Kilowatt PA.
Everything was miked *except* the Sunn.
Didn't need it.
Tommy
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ha ha i should turn off the censoring on the phorum script..(look at chris' post)
anyone against it? let me know by emailing me...
thanks
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Sorry: correction to above post.
Photos now at:
http://www.brokentoyz.com
Tommy
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I'm 27 years old and i've been using SUNN amps forabout 6 years. i was attracted to them at first because of the intense volume. I was the first of my bass playing peers to be louder thatn the giutars, then he got som SUNN gear and so on.
Currently i play in a heavy acid rock duo just BASS and drums, I run a Coliseum bass w/1x18 cab, Beta Bass w/2x15 cab, and 2000s w/2x15 cab, i use these with an SVT w/2x15. but I really want to replace the SVT with more SUNN.
I have taken them on tour and I gig regularly and other bass players are envious except for my friend with the three 2000s amps. damn.
best amps ever.
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hi sunn sicko's..well here's my 2 cents...played thru my first sunn 200s back in 1968..it was borrowed...my ampeg b-15cn..smoked during a gig...ya...i had a ampeg that they only built between 67 - 68 ..sold it to our piano player..big mistake...it was a 2-15 flip top which they only made a hand full and stupid me sells it for peanuts...but hey ! we were all kids once...well...getting back...that night our lead singers friend brought to the gig for me to use a brand new 200s...plugged it in....blew the balls off the wallpapper...the stage moved...after that night ...bought one for myself...THANKS MOM..and since that day...it's the only amp i've had....i bought used one's after that..now i don't collect sunn amps...i just own them...i have a dozen 200's and 2000's combined..giged them all...bought them all back in the late 60's and early 70's...now..i wasn't rich but at that time , and all you older guys out there , that are, well..still young remember when marshall hit the stages of the world...ya...all those stacks...all the rage...alot of sunn owners wanted to emulate the guy on stage and the marshalls behind them....well...that's when you could buy a 1 or 2 year old sunn for half the money..they just had to have that marshall...well...i just had to have their sunns...so..i really only needed just another 200s to back up the one i was player thru in case ot smoked...now...they key phraze here is smoked...a back up....ya know...i never needed another amp because me 200s never quit...to this day...i have the original tubes in it...never did anything to it...probably because i played it every weekend and none of the stuff inside ever dried out or leaked...my brother tom and i had a 10 piece horn band...and my sunn 200s was the choice amp to flood the stage with pure bass sound...i played a jazz bass, a p-bass and a hofner thru it and and all the others and being the amp that it was...the play back made my bass's sound outstanding..pure hi-fi.....yup..couldn't have stood in front of a better amp...now all you young guys out there that are just coming of age , so to speak, with vintage sunn amps...your on the right path...if you get a 200s or 2000s with cab...it was the best thing you could of spent you money on...i guess now is a good time to thank CONRAD and all the guys that built the best bass amps in the world...this site speaks for it's self...this site is a momument to all the sunn amps ever built and to the guys that played thru them and still play thru them...excuse my type "O" s...i'am typing as fast as i can...there is a deep well of enfo on this site...a lot of knowlege..alot of people that know what having a sunn amp means...these amps we built in the past and still are being played today..what a tribute that is to CONRAD and the SUNN company...smiles to all...Bob from MASS.
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My son is using my Sunn concert bass rig in his punk band, Plague of dandelions. It can be seen on youtube. He sold 1 of the two 2X15 cabs while out on tour to pay for gas. I had the head serviced about 5 years ago and like that funny bunny it keeps going and going.. I use my Acoustic and Randall bass gear for pleasure playing only. Got hooked on the drums about 20 years ago. (Great Cardio) I was really lucky to have played bass and survived the 70's.
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Hi,
got a Sorado and a 350B and I use them up to three time a week. They are build like a tank. Conrad did a great job. There are no bassamps like the Sunns, giving a treble to gain the attack! :-D I use them with a classic stoner band and a Krautrock band.
I bought a Sunn/Fender 1200S back in 2000 as I liked the sound. This Amp tries to simulate this treble sound and I was quite happy with it (exept: a.) dynamic b.) this amp is far too lound). Luckily I got my hand on a Sorado and the first thing I did was selling the 1200S to get a 350B.... I used both amps live, with a mic or d tad box-no problem and easy going for the mixer.
Rock on
Oli
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hi sunn sicko's..well here's my 2 cents...played thru my first sunn 200s back in 1968..it was borrowed...my ampeg b-15cn..smoked during a gig...ya...i had a ampeg that they only built between 67 - 68 ..sold it to our piano player..big mistake...it was a 2-15 flip top which they only made a hand full and stupid me sells it for peanuts...but hey ! we were all kids once...well...getting back...that night our lead singers friend brought to the gig for me to use a brand new 200s...plugged it in....blew the balls off the wallpapper...the stage moved...after that night ...bought one for myself...THANKS MOM..and since that day...it's the only amp i've had....i bought used one's after that..now i don't collect sunn amps...i just own them...i have a dozen 200's and 2000's combined..giged them all...bought them all back in the late 60's and early 70's...now..i wasn't rich but at that time , and all you older guys out there , that are, well..still young remember when marshall hit the stages of the world...ya...all those stacks...all the rage...alot of sunn owners wanted to emulate the guy on stage and the marshalls behind them....well...that's when you could buy a 1 or 2 year old sunn for half the money..they just had to have that marshall...well...i just had to have their sunns...so..i really only needed just another 200s to back up the one i was player thru in case ot smoked...now...they key phraze here is smoked...a back up....ya know...i never needed another amp because me 200s never quit...to this day...i have the original tubes in it...never did anything to it...probably because i played it every weekend and none of the stuff inside ever dried out or leaked...my brother tom and i had a 10 piece horn band...and my sunn 200s was the choice amp to flood the stage with pure bass sound...i played a jazz bass, a p-bass and a hofner thru it and and all the others and being the amp that it was...the play back made my bass's sound outstanding..pure hi-fi.....yup..couldn't have stood in front of a better amp...now all you young guys out there that are just coming of age , so to speak, with vintage sunn amps...your on the right path...if you get a 200s or 2000s with cab...it was the best thing you could of spent you money on...i guess now is a good time to thank CONRAD and all the guys that built the best bass amps in the world...this site speaks for it's self...this site is a momument to all the sunn amps ever built and to the guys that played thru them and still play thru them...excuse my type "O" s...i'am typing as fast as i can...there is a deep well of enfo on this site...a lot of knowlege..alot of people that know what having a sunn amp means...these amps we built in the past and still are being played today..what a tribute that is to CONRAD and the SUNN company...smiles to all...Bob from MASS.
WOW Bob, you had to go deep to dig this thread up!!
Just as a suggestion, for us older guys, you might want to hit the return key every now and then instead of dot dot dot. :-D Four or five lines down and I'm too crosseyed to read the rest. :mrgreen:
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Hey Folks, New member here. Found this forum while looking for Sunn information. These days I use either a Genz-Benz stack or a Marshall stack, but added to my ever growing list of gear I never should have sold was the ultimate stack I used in the 70s. In the late 70s, Savannah Georgia area, I was using a Solarus, and not 1 but 2 matched 6x12 cabs. Lay them on the side and stack em up, 12x12. This thing would make the Marshall guys feel small! At any rate, I guess these cabs are kinda rare because I search all of Craigs List and Ebay daily, and I've haven't seen one. Kinda like the goldtop les paul I sold in the 80s for 400....
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Since we're having a necroposting party anyway, here's my story:
I don't even remember what got me into Sunn gear in the first place, although it might have been SunnO))) that started it.
Anyway, as of yet I've only gotten my hands on a Beta Lead 1x12 combo, but I've used it in a few projects; my j-pop/folk-rap band used it in quite a few places on our album, and my indie/drone rock trio is using it alongside a Zinky tube amp (oh my the contrast! it's beautiful!).
The heaviest use it got, however, is in a 5-piece punk band that I played in for awhile. We had three guitars (I also played keyboards and trombone), bass and drums. The other members were using Marshall halfstacks and/or a twin and a pretty big bass rig. I had to keep my little beauty at about 2.5 on the master and about 1 on the channel volume to keep from drowning the rest of them out!
At our last show, we ran out of mics for amps and I just told the engineer "Eh, don't worry about it. I'll just turn it up to 4 or so."
I'm using an Ampeg rig for my bass in the above mentioned indie/drone band, but I'm hoping to some day replace the head with an old Model T, to keep with my 1x18 and 2x10 cabs.
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I gotta add to this too, great thread idea!
I searched for about 3 years, went through many purchased amps, kept tradding them in, many friends amps, nothing quit right, and then my buddy said "hey, try this. its forty years old and I think the tubes are shot, try it out."
sunn sonaro, even though it only opperated at about 40% it was it.
He wouldn't sell and I offered him some big bucks. found my 200s(complete with a blown power transformer[undisclosed]) on ebay, paid way too much for it I think it was near(actually over) the $500 mark, please stop laughing...
dumped another $300 in capacitors, transformer, tubes, set up
and am now the proud owner of a very well working 200s. Cost me almost $1000 but I wouldn't sell it for $10,000. well maybe I would :-D
Me and my Sonaro toting friend are probably the only sunn owners in Saskatchewan, Canada
his is mint (sat in a closet for 40 years with a cover on it. never played until he bought it in the late 90's) but mine sounds better :roll:
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I may have mentioned before that I gig with my Sunn gear.
Usually I rehearse with my 200S and some homemade cabinets, a 115 with a JBL 2032 (15") and an 8 inch JBL for midrange. I also gig with that setup for small gigs close to the rehearsal studio.
For other gigs, I use my modified second generation Model T (mods to make it more like a first generation. Thanks, Joe!) and a Fender-era Sunn Model 410H. If we have a bigger gig, I'll add in the Model 215 for more bottom.
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I use a 1st generation sunn concert bass head with one or two (depending on gig) matching sunn 115P cabinets (replaced stock speakers with a JBL D140 and a newer Eminence). Have used this rig at practice and gigs for the past 4 years (among other rigs... I rotate my selection depending on what I feel like playing through when loading up).
Boost and Distortion are nice useable features on occasion too. A few months ago, however, a speaker failed and my amp overheated and shut down (of course it sounded awesome a few minutes before failure). As in another post one side of the heat sink warms up (normal) and the other side stays room temp... probably a blown transistor or something... I'll get around to fixing after income tax time!
I first giged thru a 2nd generation sunn coliseum bass amp w/ 215RH cabinet in late 70's that belong to another local bass player. That amp is still in use today.
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I'm a guitarist playing through a 71 Solarus head, into a 412L and a 612S(and a Traynor YGC-412 which I love, but this isn't a traynor forum!). I'm a wee 25, but like most people, grew up thinking Marshall was the only decent guitar amp, and that you needed one. I never bothered buying one, instead getting a really solid Traynor halfstack(Traynors are SO easy to come by in Toronto, given that it's their home) that I didn't appreciate at the time, and sold it for not nearly enough. I digress...
Fast forward a few years, a few various purchases, and after finally looking into the gear a lot of the bands I like are using and recommending, Sunn kept coming up. So, I tracked down some gear, checked it out, and promptly took it home. While I know I could get some sweet deals if I'd persevere, if the gear is worth the trouble, I don't mind spending a bit extra. Especially with something as solid as a Sunn.
I play in a few bands, poppy punk, thrashy hardcore, and an electronic rock band. Mostly it's just for fun, but who knows what tomorrow will bring?
The Solarus is a pretty well-rounded amp in my eyes. I can work it for anything I'm doing, which I can't say for most amps. It's got a beautiful clean tone, and running a ProCo Rat through it on 5 almost drowns out the drummer when I've got everything going. I love vintage gear, and especially those undervalued gems, like Traynors, Sunns, Garnets, etc.
I'd love to get my hands on some solid state Sunn gear, though Toronto isn't the city to go gear hunting, save for Paul's Boutique in the market(check it out if you're ever through here! The guy is amazing).
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Bought my first Sunn new in "72"a Model-T with 6-10 cabinet,I traded in a "61" 4-10 Fender Concert amp
and 50 watt Hi-Watt,the Model-T would cut through anything with my 65 Firebird,when I bought my Rick 4001 in 73 I picked up a 200S cab. with D140's and a prototype Music Man 18" folded horn cabinet and a Coliseum Bass head,I would run the neck pickup through the Coliseum head with the 200S and Music Man cabs. and the bridge pickup through the Model-T and 6-10 cab.which I loaded with J.B.L. D110's!
Now I use mostly combinations of my 200S,1-15, and 3-12 cab's and Concert Bass,Slave and 200S heads
My basses of choice are a 63 Thunderbird and a 69 EB-1.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/fatlizzard/morebass.jpg)
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I only gig with my Beta lead... for guitar or keyboards. It has what I want....
I can say that wanting to play a lot of Melvins is what made me scour eBay for it!
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I'm from Portland, still live here, and came across a Sonic II on craigslist for 200 bucks awhile ago. Looked into it and being a fan of Northwest garage rock (Wailers, Sonics and such) fell in love with the story of how Sunn amps started. Just a few days after picking it up, I tried the Sonic II out at Dante's (good rock club here) in a stereo setup with my 66' Pro Reverb and it sounded great. Tons of sparkling grind, a kind of hi-fi roar. Clean, it reminds me a lot of the kind of sounds I get out of my McIntosh mx-110 and Dared power amp setup, which makes sense considering the dynakit provenance.
Since then, I've picked up a 1st gen model T, a Studio P.A. (tube) head, a 410 cab, and a 118 cab and a 215BH. The one thing I will say about the Model T is that it's one of the few guitar amps I've come across that seems to really understand how to produce serious low-end... it's warm, fuzzy, and dialed properly it never seems hit those pain frequencies a lot of guitar players have as part of their distorted sound.
This stuff is totally getting used live: we play about 70 show a year, and even though I've only recently acquired most of this stuff, I'm certain I'll be gigging with it for awhile... and I just got a Matamp Green 412, which sounds amazing with the T...
Cheers!
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hi joe...hey pal ! sorry about the dots...love morse code....only kidding....you have to give me a little handicap with my absence of typing skills...i know i'am an older sun guy with 4th grade typing skills...oh sorry...using the words typing skills is an insult for people who can correctly hover over their key board that can space the words with out ,.......morse code....right now...as we speak...or as i type...i'am looking for the comma key.....joe...smiles to you....Bob from mass. .......... .... ..... .... ...
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For guitar I usually use a beta lead 2x12 combo or a beta head with either a 412sp loaded with eminence tonkers or one with the original drivers.
For bass it's either a silver concert lead, concert bass, or beta lead into a bassman 2x15 or a pair of ampeg 1x18 cabs.
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I haul my coliseum bass and 6x12 to every practice. I haul all that and my 2x15 to every show. When I find the second head (hopefully Coliseum Lead), i'll haul that to every show and bi-amp.
Sunn is famous for their volume, but I really like the tone. I've never played a modern amp that could produce its clarity while still having the volume up. The highest notes on my thunderbird ring like a bell.
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My 2000s is my favorite bass amp. I own quite a few tube amps, and the SUNN is the bomb! Two years ago I installed JJ KT-88's and I've never looked back.
I really like the fact that it works great with modern speaker cabinets including SWR and Aguilar. I play through quite a few set-ups including flat-wound, round-wound and fretless, and the SUNN makes all of them sound great.
The bottom-end is priceless!
I still wear my SUNN t-shirt that says "Volume never goes out of style".
Who printed those shirts anyway?
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Sunn Solarus w/ 2 X 12 Cab. (40 watts) owned & operated since about 1969. Hard Rock, 4 piece Wedding band, 9 piece Dance band with 4 piece brass section, Classic Rock (although it was about 1978 so it wasn't really "classic" yet, ha ha). It's seen all those gigs. I still have it and play it, all original except a capacitor or two and I think I've done maybe two tube replacements in all these fourty yrs., the last one back in the early 80's.
Sunn Concert Bass w/ a 1 X 15 cab I bought one back in around 1975 when I switched over to bass for a while, but sold it later in a weak moment (weak with hunger and needed to eat, ha ha). I recently bought one off e-bay because I've always regretted parting with that amp.
Sunn 2000S - bought it recent off E-Bay after reading so much about it's history on this forumn and rich briere website, that I couldn't pass it up.
Sunn 1200S (Sunn/Fender era) -
I have a 2 X 15 200S cab also that needs some restoration and I have a pair of JBL D140F's to put in it when I finally get around to doing it.
Anyway, I love Sunn gear. Wouldn't want to use or own anything else.
When my current "Second time around" band plays out which we've recently started to do it's a big problem trying to decide which Amp head to use. I love all three of the Bass Heads I have. The 2000S is just tone to die for, the Concert Bass is SO clean (and as a result is VERY unforgiving to technique foibles. I mean every little squeek, clank and buzz that you create comes out the speakers) it's sound-in-sound-out verbatim with that amp. Of course the 1200S is a dream itself of a totally different kind, being more modern feature wise and everything not to mention power wise.
AAAghhh, decisions, decisions......but I like having Sunn problems.
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Hell yeah I use the stuff!!! I have a 75 Model T and I use it for every show we do. I have a 120 watt Matamp, 80's JCM 800 that sit and collect dust. The Model T has completely enhanced my tone. Great amps and they need to be used!
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I recently acquired a silverface concert lead and love it for guitar. I play through a 70's model Traynor 212. the reverb has a ground buzz, don't use much reverb anyway. the distortion has a nice 70's growl to it, not too over driven. for more I use a Tube Screamer. this amp has the best SS clean sound I've heard in a while, actually sounds like tubes, and takes effects incredibly well. that was a surprise. I guess I kinda like like it :mrgreen:
nothing beats my 200s for bass, 5 string, fretted or my 6 string fretless. just faithfully recreates the sound of my basses, probably makes them sound better than the are (and me for that matter)
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I use 3 2000s rigs when I can.
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I use 3 2000s rigs when I can.
How's that drummer feel about your rig? :lol:
You could probably scoot him and his kit forward with your E string!
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The drummer is just sitting there for show. The drums are actually played by hitting various notes/frequencies on the bass to vibrate the appropriate drum head or cymbal.
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Ha ha ha! you guys are a riot! What you can't see in the pic is an SVT on it's side to the right! Just wanted to show this stuff in action! I also have a Sorado rig I use for practice. Two of the 2000s heads and one of the cabs I bought from Rich Briere. Been a labor of love getting these rigs up and running.
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I Have had my Sunn SX6350 for about 15 years now and feed it a hot Ibanez 6 string supper any chance i get, it pushes power out to a pair of Peavey SP5's as well as going to a Alesis power mixer direct from there to my laptop with sounforge 9.0 and there is not an amp that comes to my house that can growl as loud as this package. Although one hot supper to many it seems, can somebody direct me to purchasing the replacement output transistors located on the back in between the heat grills, there are six of these on the back and two inside (MJ15023) 8817 and (MJ15022) 8833. I have found these on the internet but they list many different things they can do and can find no info for the specific specs on these. Nothing in the manual at all. I miss my GROWL and it only happened last night.
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Hi there,they're Motorola outputs,they're used in Peavey,Yorkville(Traynor,Audiopro) and probably a million others.You can find the specs. in a Peavey service/parts manual or in a Motorola trans. guide. Hope this helps a bit,good luck Mel.
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Humm i only have one Sunn product, that would be my Stagemaster Head. I remember looking at some fender amp n looking at the Stagemaster then passing it up. My Bro n i came home did some reasearch on it n realized what a find it would be to get it, so my dad n i chased the guy down to the next town n i got it for 100$ great condition little rust needs one new pot powerchord n whole new set of knobs. But anyways Im 17 and play metal, i dont yet own a cab yet for it but i have played it on a Laney Cab with celestion vintage 30's i believe it was a 16ohm cab. Me and My buddy were amazed on how loud this amp was, we never turned up the output power for either channel over 5w and we were already shaking the walls, so this things a beast compared to his tube Peavy 5150. Its Casscaded overdrive sounded really nice but its not enough for us metal players. Other shit i use would be a Yamahaw magic stomp, danelectro Black Coffee metal distortion, and fab tone , and a boss cs-3, pro. co. rat. Playing a Agile 3100 LP copy, SX Strat copy, and some 80's Korean Squire and some 50's-60's Silvertone shotscale acoustic. I belive this Sunn Stagemaster has enought power to satisfy me for life lmao i cant wait to get a cab for it. it will be a great replacement over my Dean Markley what was handed down to me. The sad part it my uncle played a few hundred for it i belive too. One day i hopt to gig with this and possible find its matching cabs.
Im jus a kid whos fascinated by guitars amps and vintage equipment, im poor as fuck n get almost everything i own from the fleamarket, this was posible my greatet find.
What saddens me i dont see her in the Sunn Museum XD
Rock on Sunn!
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I use my SUNN gear when jamming out acidy/doomy punk stuff (anyone in nj contact me!). I'm all beta! A beta lead running a 70's sunn 2x15 and a beta bass pushing two 15's. I rarely go up past three on the master and the tones that emit are like none other. I suck the mid range out and just push pure madness. I also owned an early 70's concert lead once but let it go to a cute girl who was really into the stoner rock, oh should could've walked away with my heart and i would'nt even have noticed! With my punk band dead heros id always bring out the beta lead whenever we played, countless times id hear "turn down the sunn" screw em! i can dial any sound in on that amp, whether i wanna emulate a nice tube crunch, or pure blackened evil. I love it and plan on buying more up being as they are abundant it seems in my area.
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I haven't been using Sunns for ver long; I bought my first one, a Solarus, in 1999. It was a great sounding guitar amp, and it had completely different 6L6s in it (one GB and one GC) and somebody had put some diodes instead of a tube rectifier. I remember measuring upwards of 600V on the plates of the tubes (!) and a clean 72W output. I sold it a few years after to replace it with an Ampeg V4. It was bought as a bass amp, and I eventually traded it towards an Ampeg V4, which was not that good of a deal.
I've been playing in a Stoner Rock band for a while now, and I just picked up a Coliseum 880. What a monster. There are two guitar players in the band: one uses (ironically) a V4 while the other uses a Matamp. I play an EB-0 in an Ampeg 8x10 and it is hard for them both to keep up. Good stuff.
Thanks Conrad.
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Humm i only have one Sunn product, that would be my Stagemaster Head.
What saddens me i dont see her in the Sunn Museum XD
Rock on Sunn!
So why don't you do something about that?
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I still use my Sunn Concert Lead mainly for serenading the neighbors, haven't been in a band since I was a kid. I would love to find or form a vintage '60s garage rock band, but most of us are old, and kids want to play what they're familiar with. I guess there ain't no cure for the summertime blues.
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I still use my Sunn Concert Lead mainly for serenading the neighbors, haven't been in a band since I was a kid. I would love to find or form a vintage '60s garage rock band, but most of us are old, and kids want to play what they're familiar with. I guess there ain't no cure for the summertime blues.
I don't know how old you are, but I'm 53 and got the same itch for a vintage 60's / 70/s garage band (or in my case basement). It's the main thing that drew me into the Sunn collecting (although my collection is meager compared to some of you guys on here). I've owned a Solarus for fourty yrs. and had a Concert Bass Amp back in the mid 70's that I sold.
Now I still have the Solarus, and a replacement Concert Bass and a 2000S and a 1200S, 200S 2 x 15 Cab that I'm fixing up.....and a Garage Band that has actually already managed to play out in pulic a couple of times.
Got to keep rockin !! Put an adv. in Craigslist for your area and also in the Harmony Central classifieds and you might be surprised how many guys just like yourself come crawling out of the woodwork.
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53??! I'm 33 and have the same desire! except mainly for blues and 60's rock/funk, come to think of it, any music, even country! hey what can I say, I'm eclectic
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Well I don't know how 'vintage' it is, but I've recently hooked up with a 300T bass head, 300 tube watts. Not since my old SVT (that I let go... bad idea) have I been so "all set" with the sound of my amp. I am now, after many years of playing through 'those other' bass heads (with the exception of the SVT and an Acoustic 370- but it blows the 370 out of the water anyway...), inspired with a kind of confidence that I can play anywhere, and get any sound I need. :mrgreen:
I'm having to get set up properly with cabs now- I have impedance-matching issues- but no worries, I'm just getting on with it.
I really dig my Sunn bass amp.