Facing facts

[Isaac]

Time for me to face some uncomfortable facts.

I'm not getting any younger. Big, heavy cabinets are getting to be too much to handle. Same with amps.

I'm not likely to be playing guitar in any bands again. (Bass is all I play these days.)

When I play bass, I usually go straight to the PA.

I need more space in my house.

What all this comes down to is that I expect to be getting rid of some of my larger and heavier Sunn gear. A 200S cabinet, a Sceptre cabinet, a Model 215, two 410S cabs. Probably a Model 410H and the open-backed 2x12 that came with the Solarus after they split the combo into a head and cab. A few heads, but I think I'll make sure they work first.

I plan on keeping my 200S amp and one cab. Maybe the Sentura II head.

I'll be sad to see them go, but they take up so much room, and I never gig with them anymore.

[Soundmasterg]

I feel where you're at Isaac. I've downsized to my 2000S head and cab and the 1x15 that I built for myself and that is it for bass. I'd likely part with the 1x15 if someone offered my close to what it is worth. In my heart of hearts I'd like to get your 200S head and cab if you were going to let them go, but realistically I have no need for those either. The 2000S is more than enough power for me and the 200S is duplicating some of that range. That said, I think the 200S cabinet sounds better than the 2000S cabinet....a little more balanced.

Hope when you are trying to sell that you can get what you want for them all!

Greg

[Isaac]

Thanks, Greg.

My 200S and cab are the two pieces I'm sure I'm keeping, at least for now. I still use the cab regularly, though not for gigging. I do have a second cab that never gets used.

I have to do something, though. I have inherited the family piano, and need room for it. The second 200S cab and Sceptre upright 4x12 are taking up space where it needs to go.

[Soundmasterg]

I'm sure whenever and whatever you decide to sell, you'll be able to find buyers. The cabs are a little harder because they are large, and a lot of modern players aren't interested, but maybe with the reboot of Sunn, some interest will come from that.

Good luck finding space! I have a new house since I saw you last with much more room, but I don't have room for a piano, though it would be nice. Maybe someday.

Greg

[EdBass]

Hi Boys, long time no talk. I haven't been on the forums for a while. I took a contract in the Automotive industry a few years ago, and because I'm ALSO not getting any younger, I had to focus on that exclusively.

I plan to gradually get mentally out of the corporate mindset and get back in touch with the right hemisphere of my brain.
We'll see how that goes...

[loudthud]

I have been wondering lately, just how many of us old musicians had a piano in the house where we grew up ? I did. Never really learned to play it, but it came in handy when I was taking Music Theory class.

[Soundmasterg]

Hi Boys, long time no talk. I haven't been on the forums for a while. I took a contract in the Automotive industry a few years ago, and because I'm ALSO not getting any younger, I had to focus on that exclusively.

I plan to gradually get mentally out of the corporate mindset and get back in touch with the right hemisphere of my brain.
We'll see how that goes...

Good to hear from you Ed! Like you I've had to get in the right headspace in order to continue to make money and haven't bene playing much at all. I spent 2 years getting my duplex ready to sell, then sold it and bought a house, which needed work, and then got run into and have spent the last couple years working on cars so I can sell them and get to just what I need. Unfortunately that leaves little time to enjoy my hobbies.

It's important though for peace of mind if nothing else. I fully plan to get back into playing and building guitars and amps and going out to jams and playing shows. I think the sooner you're able to rejoin that world the better for your mental health also. 

I do plan to make it back to the Dayton museum for a better look at the airplanes there one of these days. Hope you're doing well otherwise!

[Ryan Phelps]

To all my Sunn friends,

I relate to Issac's post. I just turned 70 years old and am thinking "what will I do with all this old Sunn gear"? I'll need to sell this stuff to Sunn fans.
I have 7 tube heads, 7 speaker cabinets and 2 solid-state bass combos.

It is interesting to me how early Fender, Marshall, Ampeg and Acoustic amps (especially bass amps) are considered iconic and collectible, but Sunn amps are not! Perhaps Sunn amps are not as widely recognized or appreciated, just my suspicion.

OK, send me your thoughts!

[Isaac]

Yeah, it's time.

As for Sunn not being iconic, I'd say that part of the reason is that they went out of business. As a result, with no new gear, people stopped using them.

[Ryan Phelps]

Issac is correct! I'll amend my statement about Sunn not being iconic ..... I was thinking of the general guitar / bass community. Certainly there are small groups of Sunn fans that appreciate the various eras (Sundholm tube amps, Hartzell solid state amps, Fender era amps).

For me, Sunn is iconic. As a teenager in the late 60's and early 70's, I recall seeing bands from Portland, Oregon playing sock-hops at high school with Sunn tube amps. I collected Sunn catalogs and could only dream of owning them ....so expensive! I imagined that only pro musicians could afford them.

Decades later I could afford them and began collecting and restoring ( I'm a self-taught amp tech, read all the books and have a fully equipped repair bench). Now that I'm retired, I'm working through my collection ....restoring and updating. I have a 1969 Sunn 2000S on the bench right now!