Sunn logos through the years...

[robbass]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and dig all the great information! 

I was curious if anyone knew the date ranges for their logos on amps and cabs.  We all know the smiley face was around the start of the company and I think the red logo came out in the BETA series period circa late 70s and early 80s.  Does anyone have additional information on the other dates for the black on silver logos or silver on black logos?  Do the different colors signify different ownership thoughout the Sunn years?

[jaybird]

As a graphic designer who thinks the sunn logo is one of the coolest/best designed logos ever, I'd like to hear more about the history of it as well, if anyone knows...

I've always been particularly curious about the "serif'ed" logo that I've seen on a few pieces here and there - most notably the Coliseum 300 amp below, and on some PA/mixing board equipment.



It still looks cool, but I've always wondered what prompted that move - seems like it didn't get applied too consistently or frequently, and it's always interesting when a company with such an iconic brand/logo decides to alter it in someway... at least for those of us who pay attention to such things as part of our livelihood...

[Addam]

Possibly adding more bulk to represent the sound/appearance of the amps/cabs.  Also, possibly to better fir the 0)))  I too am looking at the new(er) logo from a graphic designer's(as I'm going to school for that and am pretty close to being done) point of view.

[siamesetwins]

The wider, serif logo was introduced in the early '80s, when Fender bought Sunn. Don't really know why they changed it, maybe just a slight alteration to signify new management?

As the OP said, red logo was introduced in the late '70s at the onset of the Beta period.

To the best of my knowledge, late '60s was mostly black on silver, and the silver grill was popular, as visible on the (mostly) tube amps of that period.

Honestly though, I'm really not the best person to answer this...

[jaybird]

The wider, serif logo was introduced in the early '80s, when Fender bought Sunn. Don't really know why they changed it, maybe just a slight alteration to signify new management?

I kinda figured it might be something like that, but like I said, it doesn't seem like they were very consistent or thorough about applying it across the board... which I gather is pretty much the way Fender seemed to handle the Sunn brand overall - as a sort of half-assed afterthought.

[xsolarusx]

I vaguely recall a thread a few years back where someone posted all the different logos they could find.  Pretty neat stuff.

As far as fender acquiring Sunn, they're a corporate black hole, sucking up anything that comes into their possession. Last going off, they were just slapping the 'classic' Sunn logo on products that would never sell under the Fender name.

[jaybird]

As far as fender acquiring Sunn, they're a corporate black hole, sucking up anything that comes into their possession. Last going off, they were just slapping the 'classic' Sunn logo on products that would never sell under the Fender name.

Isn't the Fender Bassman 300 the exact same amp as the "discontinued" Sunn 300T, though? I think the Sunn 1200s hybrid lives on as the Fender Bassman 1200 too...

[EdBass]

Here's the original "Smiley Face" logo on a T Shirt. I'll be offering a few of these in the classified section soon. PM me if you want more info...

[robbass]

Groovey smiley face logo shirt!

That's kind of what I thought with the logos;  Black on Silver was from the 60's tube era and silver on black may signify the solid state years in the 70s(?).  It appears that they signify different product lines such as the red logo for the BETA years, or this was done in conjunction with a change in company ownership.  The logos and branding was not done very consistently as my Coli 300 has a red logo and the photo posted is the a silver on black logo...

I can comment on Sunn while I worked at Fender in the late 80s.  The Sunn product line was practically nonexistent, along with Rogers percussion and a few other brands, which I believe was acquired as part of Fender's CBS period.  I did pickup some Sunn PA cabinets and floor monitors during my time at Fender where (funny, all the logos are mismatched but the price was dirt cheap and I still use the Sunn PA cabs and floor monitors).  From what I recall at the time, Fender was more focused on improving their own product and image post CBS years, so Sunn became less of a priority.  I worked in Finance for Fender and Sunn, along with Rogers, were low revenue performers on our reports for the management team which is a crying shame cause it could have really developed over the years as Fender had some really talented R&D.

[loudthud]

Here's a thread with a picture I posted of the pre-75 badges.

http://sunnforum.ampage.org/sdp/index.php/topic,4099.0.html

Edit: Fixed link

[biltmore]

Here's the original "Smiley Face" logo on a T Shirt. I'll be offering a few of these in the classified section soon. PM me if you want more info...

Be still, my beating heart

PM'ed

[jaybird]

Here's a weird one - Hartzel-era SB160 combo, with the serif-ed logo on the "head" portion" and the standard logo on the cab/speaker portion



http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/msg/1622457948.html

[CLD]

I sent you a PM as well, EB. Cool shirts!

[Isaac]

It amazes me that Sunn came up with such a truly timeless logo. The smiley face looks extremely dated, but the sunn o))) logo always looks fresh and new, unlike other logos from the same era. Others have come and gone, or stayed, and are classic, but still look old-fashioned, like Marshall and Fender. Or dated and not classic, like Peavey.