Author Topic: I need info on my coliseum bass  (Read 2989 times)

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Offline Holger

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I need info on my coliseum bass
« on: October 05, 2000, 08:35:00 am »
I bought this nice "coliseum bass" amp and I knew there was something powerful about it, I didn't exactly fell in love with it on first sight, nevertheless I bought it not knowing anything about it. I just wanted to have it. I have been playing it for two years now with nonSunnspeakers and it never really let me down.
But now having come across the Sunn myth in the www I begin to be so proud of my little dinosaur and I urgently need to filled in with basic information on my Sunn coliseum bass. That is

How many watts does it feed into the speakers at which resistance? On the back it says it sucks out a strong 800 watts. ( At 120 V? What does that mean, shouldn't that be 220 V? )
When was it built? The exact serial number is: A 21 308
What is the legend behind this special amp, who played it, which revolution in bassamp construction does it embody and which character is commonly ascribed to it??
Who can help me out?

Offline Don T.

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I need info on my coliseum bass
« Reply #1 on: October 09, 2000, 10:09:00 pm »
Hello:
 Sounds like that Coliseum 300 is an export. It does not supprise me that it only has US silk screening. The Coliseum 300 was the brainchild of Rex Baker the resident bass player at Sunn during it's design. Built in the early 80's it has the standard  20-0166 power board netting 125w, 200w, & 300w at 8, 4, & 2 ohms respectivly. I believe his insignia was "WAK" somewhere on the pre-amp board while the power-amp board has a hammer with "AU" meaning Rod Goldhammer. It was one of the first bass amps with an active x-over for bi-amping bass rigs. I found the "contour" button to be very useful (it was an average EQ setting from 100 different bass players). Very rugged unit. I don't remember off-hand who were the endorsees except for John Entwistle of the Who. I wish I still had mine cuz I really liked the power and sound. That about sums up what I remember.
Don T.
Don T.

If it's too loud, you're too old.

Offline Holger

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I need info on my coliseum bass
« Reply #2 on: October 11, 2000, 08:32:00 am »
Thanks a lot for your info, I can definitely work with that.

Holgi

Offline Don T

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I need info on my coliseum bass
« Reply #3 on: October 11, 2000, 09:45:00 am »
Holgi;
 I just remembered that Rudy Sarzo was also an endorsee. He was a "Hair Band" bass player in the early 80's
Don T.
It's the ear not the gear.