Author Topic: 190L and cab  (Read 5393 times)

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Offline celestialbass

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190L and cab
« on: July 15, 2015, 01:38:41 pm »
Hey fellas,
      my first post here! Recently picked up a 190L with 2x12 cab. With the original footswitch, speaker cable, slip covers, and even the hang tag still on the cabinet. The control plate had a little bit of grit that came off easily with a little bit of light kitchen cleaner. It's freakishly clean for such an old amp. Although the chassis has a little bit of dust accumulation inside. I'm not sure if the tubes are original, if you all can help me ID them that'd be great. The power cord is 3-prong. Not sure if that was replaced either?

      Additionally, has anyone ever used one of these amps for bass? Obviously not with the open back 2x12 cab, but I've got a schroeder 410R with high sensitivity, wondering if it would still retain the lows at moderate volumes. If not I might sell it to get a 200S or something if not.
 
      Attached some pics for you all to check out. Thanks!

Offline celestialbass

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2015, 02:09:39 pm »
the preamp tubes say "IEC", one power tube is a tung sol and the other is a "international servicemaster 6550"

Offline Isaac

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2015, 10:06:43 am »
Right off the bat, I think you can assume that at least one of the power tubes is not original, based on the fact that they're not the same. My Model T came with Tung-Sol 6550s. It was purchased new in the mid 70s.

In general, there is no issue with using guitar heads for bass. In my experience, this is doubly true for Sunn heads. I used my old Sceptre head for bass many times, and it always sounded good. same with my Sentura II, which has almost identical circuitry. I expect this is also true of your 190L.
Isaac

Offline celestialbass

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2015, 07:37:23 pm »
Right off the bat, I think you can assume that at least one of the power tubes is not original, based on the fact that they're not the same. My Model T came with Tung-Sol 6550s. It was purchased new in the mid 70s.

In general, there is no issue with using guitar heads for bass. In my experience, this is doubly true for Sunn heads. I used my old Sceptre head for bass many times, and it always sounded good. same with my Sentura II, which has almost identical circuitry. I expect this is also true of your 190L.

Thanks for the info Isaac! I had heard that they had different input caps, but I'm not sure if that affects the tone. I'm not very familiar with electronics. I might get it retubed and biased just because I'm not sure how long it's been since the amp had a proper checkup. Can I assume if it's seen light playing that the capacitors are still in good working condition? Or do they degrade with time instead of usage? (again maybe this will be a matter of assessment for the tech)

Offline Isaac

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2015, 08:51:00 am »
No, I don't think that's a good assumption. In fact, sitting idle is probably the worst thing for capacitors, short of excessive voltage that damages them. Playing an amp regularly is generally good for the caps, though it does tend to wear out the tubes.
Isaac

Offline seattlesunn

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2015, 09:16:46 am »
Great looking amp.  Thanks for posting the pics.

I would have the caps checked, they go bad if they go unused for long periods.
Sonaro (got me through highschool,  college and still my go to amp
200s
Coliseum Lead
1200s (hybrid amp)
Fender bassman 300 pro (I call it a 300t)

2-SUNN 215 cabs (D140's in one  Faital 15PR400's in other)
fearful 15x6, 15 sub

Offline celestialbass

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #6 on: July 26, 2015, 04:30:47 pm »
Yeah some of the caps have gone bad. I'm going to replace the power tubes as well. Because it's in almost "collectors" condition I may sell it to fund something more justifiable for gigging out with rather than subjecting it to certain wear and tear. Does anyone know how much a stack like this would go for? Excellent condition with slip covers, footswitch, speaker cable, etc.

Offline EdBass

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #7 on: July 27, 2015, 06:27:30 am »
Yeah some of the caps have gone bad. I'm going to replace the power tubes as well. Because it's in almost "collectors" condition I may sell it to fund something more justifiable for gigging out with rather than subjecting it to certain wear and tear. Does anyone know how much a stack like this would go for? Excellent condition with slip covers, footswitch, speaker cable, etc.

The only way to get a current market value, "how much a stack like this would go for", is to find what comparable items have sold for recently. That's a difficult task with a rig like yours, as they are not common on the most likely venue to find completed sale prices; eBay.
While most enthusiast forums are chock full of self proclaimed gear experts who just can't wait to post their unfounded opinions on gear values, we here avoid speculative, unfounded "guessing" at gear market value as it is totally meaningless, and can even be counter productive and/or inflationary towards the gear we all are here to discuss in the first place.

Since you probably won't be able to find any solid comps in the eBay sold listings, there are only two numbers that mean anything; how much someone is willing to pay, and how much money, trade or other compensation you would take to part with your rig.
If you are fishing for "offers", put it on eBay; you will find out exactly what the rig is worth in the open market, and if so please report that hard number back here so us other Sunn-o-philes can use it as a frame of reference.

However, since it is clear that it is your intent to turn your newly acquired Sunn rig, you'll need to come up with a hard price that you would sell it for, and list it in the Classified section here. If you want to send me a selling price, I'll be happy to modify and move this thread to the Classified section for you.   

We don't do "make me an offer" solicitations in the Q & A section here, there is a sticky at the top of the Classified section with an explanation of why.
 
 

Offline celestialbass

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #8 on: July 27, 2015, 10:15:11 am »
Yeah some of the caps have gone bad. I'm going to replace the power tubes as well. Because it's in almost "collectors" condition I may sell it to fund something more justifiable for gigging out with rather than subjecting it to certain wear and tear. Does anyone know how much a stack like this would go for? Excellent condition with slip covers, footswitch, speaker cable, etc.

The only way to get a current market value, "how much a stack like this would go for", is to find what comparable items have sold for recently. That's a difficult task with a rig like yours, as they are not common on the most likely venue to find completed sale prices; eBay.
While most enthusiast forums are chock full of self proclaimed gear experts who just can't wait to post their unfounded opinions on gear values, we here avoid speculative, unfounded "guessing" at gear market value as it is totally meaningless, and can even be counter productive and/or inflationary towards the gear we all are here to discuss in the first place.

Since you probably won't be able to find any solid comps in the eBay sold listings, there are only two numbers that mean anything; how much someone is willing to pay, and how much money, trade or other compensation you would take to part with your rig.
If you are fishing for "offers", put it on eBay; you will find out exactly what the rig is worth in the open market, and if so please report that hard number back here so us other Sunn-o-philes can use it as a frame of reference.

However, since it is clear that it is your intent to turn your newly acquired Sunn rig, you'll need to come up with a hard price that you would sell it for, and list it in the Classified section here. If you want to send me a selling price, I'll be happy to modify and move this thread to the Classified section for you.   

We don't do "make me an offer" solicitations in the Q & A section here, there is a sticky at the top of the Classified section with an explanation of why.
 
 

Thanks for all of the advice above! Yeah I definitely wasn't trying to make it a "make me an offer" thread, and I apologize if it came off as such, but as you've said I've been hard pressed to find any relevant pricing points on the internet. Actually thinking about maybe trading but for a sunn bass amp in similar condition. At this point I could have the head modded with the caps to bring it to bass usable specs, however then the matching speaker cabinet won't see the use it potentially could with a six stringer. I'm very torn!

Offline Isaac

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #9 on: July 27, 2015, 05:51:36 pm »
From what I can tell, the 190L is similar, perhaps identical to the Sceptre, Sentura II and several other heads. If that's the case, and I think it is, it should work well as a bass head. I've used a Sceptre and Sentura II for bass many times, and they've worked well for me. As you say, though, the cabinet is not suitable for bass.
Isaac

Offline BassHog

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2015, 01:13:01 pm »
The 190L sounds fantastic for Bass, no need to mod it at all. Have the power supply caps changed, and Bias and Cathode Bypass caps (Basically all the electrolytic caps). Have the power tubes checked out and if they are in bad shape have a new set put in...and Rock that baby.
67 Sunn Solarus
70 Sunn Sceptre
71 Sunn 350B

Offline celestialbass

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2015, 02:35:48 pm »
It's currently in the shop getting recapped and retubed with JJ KT88's in the power section. The tech is gonna bypass the reverb section but leave the tremolo intact. He said removing the tremolo from the circuit could increase the gain which may not be ideal for bass.

Offline Isaac

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2015, 01:36:51 am »
I don't see any reason to bypass the reverb, although I also don't see any need for it for bass. I have used the reverb on bass for surf tunes.
Isaac

Offline celestialbass

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Re: 190L and cab
« Reply #13 on: September 09, 2015, 10:34:11 am »
It's up and running! Sounds great, loving the grittier tone I get at high volume and MAN does this thing scream with a muff style fuzz pedal in front of it.