200s bass cab, made in Mexico?

[Moonliner]

Hello

I'm thinking of buying a Sunn cab.... It says Fender, and made in Mexico on the back. When were these made, and are they worth anything?

Thanks

Oops, I just found out its a Sunn 215, not a 200s

[Watson]

Fender bought Sunn from the Hartzell Group in the mid-80's (1985 I believe) after Tom Hartzell died in a plane crash.  So anything Sunn which is also branded Fender is from after that point in time.

[Moonliner]

Thank you. I'm learning as I go, thanks to great sites like this.
About a different cab, Is the 100s worthy of using as a bass cab? The seller thinks it's a 100s from early 70's but not sure. Cab has large ports on right side of each 15. Thanks

[EdBass]

A 100S has a JBL D130F and a compression driver, and I think was discontinued by 1970. Sunn is basically divided by era of ownership, Sundholm inception-1971, Hartzell 1971-1985ish, and Fender 1985ish - end.
The gear had decidedly different characteristics, yet shared some crossover/re-issue models and gets a little confusing, if you spend some time with the catalog thread stickied in "Q&A" you can get a feel for what is what.
As far as your search for a bass cab, I don't think any Sunn 2X15 sounds bad although people have their personal tastes and preferences.

Do some searching around here and you'll pick up a ton of knowledge about Sunn.

[Moonliner]

Thanks for all the great help.

I guess my dream cab would be an early 70's 200s.... mainly because my man Phil Lesh used them (and most everyone else at that time!).
A question if I may: The 200s has the port in between the speakers, and then I've seen others with ports on the side next to each speaker. (hope I'm using the word 'port' correctly). Is there an overwhelming preference for one over the other?
As you may have noticed, I'm a bit gear illiterate. My rig at for the past 15 years or so has been two single 15 BagEnd cabs with an Ashdown AMB500 head. I like being able to take 1 or 2 cabs as the gig requires, but am getting a bit drawn into the idea of a big wall of old school bass at my back.

Thanks again for all the help.

[EdBass]

The 200S was indeed center ported, pretty much a scaled down 2000S cabinet or vice versa. Not exactly to scale, but sames design.
They were also rear loaded, which by comparison to front loaded cabs is a monumental PITA if you need to get inside, and the internal ducting of the huge 200S port combined with the rear loading of the drivers made it difficult to fit anything with a bigger magnet structure than the JBL D140F in there.
Hartzell used the same size box for their 2X15 cab, but sealed the back and front loaded the drivers, which was the beginning of the offset/side ported speakers. A very good (IMO) change that simplified construction and allowed the versatility of dropping any 15" driver into the cab, and that 2X15 design continued through many cosmetic and nomenclature changes at least into the mid-late 80's, and are far more prolific than actual "200S" cabs.

Here's some interesting reading;
http://sunnforum.ampage.org/index.php/topic,9834.msg33766.html#msg33766

Search is your friend!

[Watson]

Don't know anymore but just noticed this on cl...Sunn 2x15 bass cab - $100.

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/msg/4305736269.html

[Isaac]

No pics, no information. Might be anything from a 200S cabinet to a late 90's Model 215. IMO, any Sunn 2x15" cabinet is worth $100. Which may be why I have too many of them.

[Isaac]

Moonliner, if the cabinet has the ports on the side, it is of the 215x family. 215S loaded with Sunn Transducers, 215M loaded with Sunn Magna drivers, and so on. Also an excellent cabinet. I thin it's better than the 200S cabinet, but it doesn't have the reputation of the 200S. Tuning frequency might be too high. I haven't had one in decades, so I can't do any tests. But that might still be good for some drivers. All I really know is that I had a 215S back in the 70's, and it sounded great.

[EdBass]

No pics, no information. Might be anything from a 200S cabinet to a late 90's Model 215. IMO, any Sunn 2x15" cabinet is worth $100. Which may be why I have too many of them.

Ditto! I also agree that the side ported 215 series are excellent cabs, the only real plus to the 200S cab is the "originality" factor IMO.
The side ported cabs are infinitely more practical and versatile as far as I'm concerned.

[Soundmasterg]

I think I remember seeing something in the past that the 2000S cabs can take speakers with bigger magnets easier than the 200S style cabs due to their bigger dimensions? I haven't bothered to check inside my 2000S cab to see...but throwing it out there....

Greg

[Isaac]

I don't know whether or not that's true, but it makes sense. Those cabinets are huge!

[Soundmasterg]

I don't know whether or not that's true, but it makes sense. Those cabinets are huge!

If I get time to look at my cab I could tell for sure when I open it. I have to open it anyway one of these days because I have a cabinet rattle I need to address. I just have no time due to school for awhile still....

Greg