I've got some pics for the Sunn Museum.

[Jonathyn]

Hi!  I just joined. How you all doin? I've recently acquired a Sunn O))) Sceptre, I'm sure it's from at least 1969 since it has Groove Tube GT 6550s in it, not KT88s like the Sceptre initially had installed in 1968. I noticed that there was only one picture of a Sceptre in the Sunn Museum, and it was very small, and definitely inadequate. I now have some FANTASTIC shots of a RESTORED Sunn O))) Sceptre for you all, i'm sure you'll enjoy them. Here they are...


 

 

 

 


There's more if you really want to see them. 

 

[loudthud]

Well, your amp does have the Mid Boost switch and the post mid 69 badge and grill cloth. Too bad the grill cloth has been painted black. I don't think Groove Tubes was around in 69 so the 6550's don't mean much. Does the amp have the paper tag glued to the inside of the box? What country are you from using a 240 to 120V converter?

[EdBass]

Welcome to the world of Sunn!
Nice Sceptre, but the manufacturer is just called "Sunn", the O))) is a graphic. I think there's a "band"  that refers to themselves as "Sunn O)))", they play one note for 5 minutes really loud, and people pay to see them do it. I suppose there is no accounting for taste.
Sort of sad though, that the name of such an iconic rock and roll amp manufacturer is allowed to be associated with such mundane noise, but I suppose Fender has better things to spend money on.

[Jonathyn]

I am from England, that's why I'm using a converter. Paper tag glued to the inside of the box? You'll have to explain.
 EdBass, I am aware and have been since the beginning that Sunn O))) is pronounced just "Sun" and that the O))) is a graphic, we are working in TEXT here, eh?
 Anyway, the "band" that exists is of the same name, Sunn O))), and I can see why lots of people don't like them. They aren't for everyone. They play what is called drone doom metal, and are at once an experimental duo and on-going collabaration project including such people as the members of Boris, Joe Preston from Melvins and Attila Csihar of black metallers Mayhem. I personally like Sunn O))) very much and see their work as an interesting experiment with sound at high volume. It'd be best to listen to something of Sunn O)))'s first, prior to you also saying "I think there's a "band" ", so you don't form an opinion on them too soon and give forth an inaccurate and misleading description of their sound. I love Sunn O))), "mundane noise" as you called it and I love traditional music, and i'll confess, without a problem, that i'm an elitist, and I certainly don't see the band as being mundane. They're extreme! Totally the opposite from mundane in the way i'm thinking. They're more about SOUND, not so much MUSIC, if you get me. So when you listen to them, don't expect to be hearing strict MUSIC. Drones aren't easy to understand, it's the effect they have on you, not about how many chords or "notes" played, it's a mystic/cosmic thing I believe, if you think about it hard enough...

 


And yeah, I thought Groove Tubes was a more modern manufacturer of valves. I didn't realise the grill had been painted black, I assumed it was already like that, and to be honest, I prefer black instead of grey. Good to be part of the world of Sunn!

[loudthud]

There is usually a small piece of paper glued inside the box near the power transformer (left side as viewed from the back) that has the model name and a diagram of tube locations. It's rarely talked about but it should say if the amp originally had KT88's or 6550's.

[Jonathyn]

I had a quick look by just tilting the amp forward and I couldn't see anything there next to the transformer. Should I be able to see it like this?

[EdBass]

As a Capitalist, I'm a fan of Sunn O))). I have listened to them, I've endured live video as well. I'm pretty sure I have the "drone" genre sussed out. Here's some previous posts I have regarding them;

in the weary words of bobby d "...dont criticize what you dont understand".
and matters of taste are indisputable.
i love the band and the music they make-have talked w/ the the two main members-have heard their earlier music,(they c a n play...)
but drone music is not yer every day stuff and if you want to learn what it is-listen to some Lamonte Young and Pandit Pran Nath, etc. Drone is very old and playing it in this ADD modern world doesnt sit well w/ a lot of people.
maybe you will be enlightened
maybe nott
stan

Let me make sure I've got this right; People actually pay to listen to one note for 3+ minutes?
Well, if so, my hat's off to them, this is the best marketing scam since pyramid schemes were popular in the 80's.
When I think of all that time I wasted learning to actually play a bass guitar... I could have just plugged in a bass, cranked up the amp, knocked it off of it's stand and recorded it .
To each their own for sure, but as far as "enlightened"? Well I'm not sure about that, but I guess I can see the attraction for a beginning player. Everyone who plays knows the type; someone who wants to call themselves a "musician" without taking the time it takes to learn to actually play an instrument.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, almost every real musician started out as a "wanna be".
This phenomenon probably also goes a long way towards explaining the popularity of "Guitar Hero" .

While I admit to being appreciative of the bands ability to sell the sonic equivalent of snake oil, I would think if the band Sunn made any real money, the very real legal dept. at FMI would end up with it.
Their name is about as blatant a copyright infringement as I’ve seen.
If you think that FMI doesn’t purse its copy rights; ask G&L about it.
I suspect that in terms of actual money, they don’t generate enough of it for them to waste litigation on.

Also, while I will vehemently defend the bands right to record and sell it, I still find it hard to believe that anyone wastes money on this aural miasma.
Again, I think I can see the appeal for a beginning player to try to emulate this..."art form", but I would suspect that psychologically it must mainly appeal to post pubescent males as an expression of their inherent apostasy.

well, i suppose ed meant that he thinks the appeal that draws people to the band is because they are such a departure from the norm that the consumer would feel "cool" or hip to be "in to" them.

Pretty much, but as much as an expression of rebellion as hipness. I think most adolescents, particularly males, go through a phase of rebellion as part of the normal maturation process. Kind of a by product of the testicles dropping, I think it’s natural for young adults to try to find their own identity, apart from simply being a little clone of their parents and/or other influences. Many times this manifests itself in things like vandalism, blowing sh*t up, etc.
Also, traditionally living vicariously through persons in the limelight for various reasons; musicians, athletes, actors, even publicized criminals, sometimes combinations of the afore mentioned identities (i.e football players indicted for assault, musicians arrested for DUI, and so on) is commonplace; these characters becoming role models of sorts, making the rationalization of aberrant behavior acceptable to the confused, impressionable, hormone addled mind.
Of course, clan mentality factors into this equation. Being a follower can carry the acceptance and reassurance of a like minded group, and go a long way towards validating this “individuality”.
Just as an example, the “Goth” culture; a bunch of kids striving to assert this individuality by being exactly like all of their peers.
Or…”Skinheads”
Or… “Drone”
Or…”Hip Hop”
Or…”Grunge”
Or…”Mods”
Or…”Rockers”
Or…”Jazz”
And so on…
I’m not being judgmental, lord knows as a man-child I personally am embarrassed by some of my own self righteous activities; my adult rational for some of my behavior the early 70’s is that I believe it to be a normal part of maturation.
While I do not in any way condone anti social behavior, I believe the real danger exists when these behaviors extend into adulthood, well beyond the time when the individual should move into the “responsible adult” phase of life.
Particularly in the instances where this afore mentioned youth mentality is exploited for financial or personal self esteem reasons.

and he can't really understand why someone would like them since he doesn't really care for that type of music.   i could be waaaaaaay off. 

Quite the contrary, as I state above I think it’s normal for young adults to be attracted to non mainstream attractions. In the case of music (and I use the term “music” very loosely in the example of the band Sunn), there is the added attraction that anybody with a guitar and an amp can emulate it, even without actual talent. This makes it accessible for the rock star “wanna be’s” to form “bands” and maybe garner some status among their peers, without the hassle of lessons, practice, etc.
Kind of the way jazz musicians must have looked at “Rock and Roll” in the 50’s.

  and yes, i have wondered about the name rip off per say.  it's more of an homage to the type of amps the guys love.  even though it really isn't.   they (the band sunn) started doing what they do as an homage to the band "earth".   not the pre- black sabbath earth.    but another drone band from seattle.  sunn was originally called "mars".  earth / mars.   then they changed to sunn because of the amps and because as to put it in to their words "the earth revolves around the sunn".  poking fun.  the band earth even had a record titled "sunn amps and smashed guitars live".  so everything is kind of tonque in cheek and a play on words / names. 

Well, whatever.
I still would imagine that if the band ever got even close to mainstream, or if FMI would get serious about marketing the Sunn brand, the band and any of their pseudo “labels” would find their butts in a courtroom.

Always the same argument everywhere...on every board...
"Yeah The Beatles suck because they can't compare to Vivaldi's virtuosity."
"SunnO))) sucks because they can't compare to Led Zepplin."

It's not a matter of what THEY "can't" do...it's a matter of the inabilty of select observers to appreciate music as an art form.
Be it vehicle for principle, expression and/or any variation between.

Interesting analogy, however I think it struggles under some very obvious conceptual flaws;

Music is an art form and is recognized as such by the majority of persons.
IMO even bad music is an art form.
Perhaps noise is considered an art form in certain circles, but it’s not music anymore than the sound of a 747 taking off, or the sound of rush hour traffic, or the sound of a forklift falling off of a loading dock is.
IMO The Beatles, Zep and Vivaldi et al are/were artists. Simple or complex, good or bad, love it or hate it, the aforementioned created and/or performed “music”; a widely recognized art form.

IMO the band “Sunn” makes noise and attempts to package this noise as music. From the albeit small sampling I’ve tasted there seems to be a rudimentary musical structure at times, but it appears the main thrust is uncontrolled harmonic (and sometimes even discordant) audio distortion, relegating their “art” to the realm of  “noise”.
 
So, art form? Debatable. Music? Maybe slightly more musical than a passing freight train, but not music by definition. I wish the members of the entire “drone” culture continued success, if they are indeed "successful"; but let’s call it for what it is, and not try to draw any analogy between the band Sunn and Vivaldi for Pete’s sake.

I'm not suggesting that people shouldn’t patronize the genre, if someone wants to pay to listen to a recording of an empty 50 gallon drum rolling down a staircase or audio of NHTSA automobile crash tests and call it an art form that's fine by me.
In fact, all of this is just dandy in my book! As I’ve stated, as a capitalist myself I appreciate the fact that they can market their product for financial gain. I won’t go into my thoughts (again) about how they accomplish this feat, what demographic they have seemingly tapped into, it doesn’t matter. More power to them, I wish every struggling “musician wanna be” could lock into a sustaining revenue stream, it might ease the tax burden on us working stiffs a little bit!

[Jonathyn]

About the grill cloth being painted black, will this stop my pics of the Sceptre being used in the Sunn Museum? Do the amps have to be in their original state to be featured? Cos i'd really like to see it in there, since the photos are pretty damn good.