200s fix

[play4zero]

After waiting for a previous tech to fix my 200S and failing, local speaker gurus at Slice Speaker recommended Don Warren of Raytown (suburban KCMO) for the repair job.  So I took it out to his shop and since I live cattywhompus across the metro area from him he said he'd see what he could do for me while I waited.

Turned out the unit was a mess, with missing parts, a bad tube, some bad solder joints, etc.  Don slowly started identifying one problem after another and a couple of hours later I had a very healthy 200S.  Not sure how to get to the recommended tech thread, but this guy should be a first call in KC.  He even had one of the Sunn spec manuals for all their units.  Very good, very experienced.  Happy to provide contact info in what ever format, or forum is most appropriate.  I note that the list of techs in whatever section I found was pretty sparse.

[EdBass]

Excellent! Sounds like the old girl just needed to be "put right", as has been mentioned here before, these old amps need to be maintained. After 40 years or so, they aren't just plug n' play.
It's amazing the difference when you find a real tech, isn't it?

[CLD]

Quigley Music in Kansas City sold a lot of Sunn gear so maybe he's seen a few before!

And what a bonus for him to do the work while you were there.

[play4zero]

Not sure if Quigley  even does any repair work. Most stores don't have their own techs.  The guy I was using was the protege of a phenomenal tech who has since left the area and is alleged to be in Ohio.  He was very good.  However, his proteges are not at the same level and this is the first time I've really found the limits of their knowledge.

Don has been doing this for 50 years, has the original Sunn shop manual with all schematics, and, better yet, a mountain of stuff he's collected over the years to use to fix stuff.  He had everything he needed there from caps to tubes, etc.  He just set about working on it one step at a time.  In addition to ironing out all the bugs, he also switched the output taps to 4 and 8 ohms since everything I have is 8 ohm.  It rates out at 72 watts and drives my Eden D810XLT just fine.  I also have some older Ampeg cabs that may be fun to try out. 

I'd love to find some of the old Sunn cabs, but they're hard to find.  I do have two Sunn PA columns from the same era that could be modified to be twin 15 cabs and, I'm betting that Slice Speaker could build them for me.  That will probably not happen though since I have a ton of Eden stuff plus an Ampeg twin 15 and Isovent cab.  Still would be nice to get rid of the Ampeg cabs and get some Sunn cabs, ideally, both a twin 15 cab and a single 15, or 2 x 12 if one of those was made.  Ultimately though, I loved the sound of the original twin 15 cab and would love to acquire one.

  Here's the Eden pile, I've since gotten rid of the 210 and added a 212.

[EdBass]

Nice "pile"! Is that a WT800 and a WP100 with a WT1250? It's kind of hard to tell from the little pic. I had a WT800 and a pair of 410XLT's for evaluation for about 6 mos. in the late 90's, BIG power. If you run that "pile" as a rig you can probably kill small animals at 100 ft!
It would be interesting how that 200S sounds through those and the Ampegs, particularly the Isovent. I'd love to have one, for no other reason that they are so freekin' weird. 

[play4zero]

Yes, that is a WT800 (a 97 upgraded to B version specs) and a Nav powered by a WT1250.  I have an endorsement deal with Eden and am a moderator on their board.  I personally like the sound of the Ampeg twin 15 better than the Isovent, but the Isovent has a lot more potential owing to the ability to bi-amp the separate chambers of the cab.  It just takes someone brighter than me to truly maximize its usefulness.  I used three Sorados way back when they were new and never forgot how much fun they were, so when I got a chance to get a 200S head I had to get it.  Would love to find a 69 twin 15 cab (the head was born on 5/12/69) and also a single 15.  I am going to haul the Isovent out of storage to see what it sounds like.  I'll let you know.  Thanks for all the help. This is a great forum, and I know what it's like to get the same questions over and over again, so your efforts on behalf of these great amps is appreciated.

[EdBass]

I liked the Eden stuff, but I went with Ashdown. Be careful with your 200S, that's how I got hooked; or rather RE-hooked on those little glass bottles. I only gig occasionally now, so the convenience of a SS rig isn't a real issue, and no one is interested in giving me a deal anymore anyway, but that being said transistor rigs just don't get it for me any longer.

Have you tried Eden's all tube head? I've heard it's a re badged, tweaked Smarvo, I saw it at NAMM a couple of years ago but didn't play it.

[play4zero]

They have two.  One is very expensive (3K) and the other one is about 1200.  The A version of the cheap one was blown out on ebay for about $650.  The nice thing about them is you can individually bias tubes.  That said, I'm not unhappy with my Eden units for the gigs they were designed for, 1100 watts through a 410, or 810, volume cranked about half way with very efficient speaker cabs.

Lately however, I've been doing some smaller gigs where I'd like something that develops the sound at lower volumes (never thought I'd consider a 200S a low volume unit) and that's where a lower wattage tube unit comes in.  Also thought about the lower wattage Ampeg unit, but prefer these.  They're also nice because you only have the two large tubes and you can pretty much buy a matched pair and stick them in and go. So you don't have the maintenance of an SVT (my last one almost bankrupted me trying to keep it going).  I'm loving it already. Sounds great, particularly with the basses I've been using lately, an 81 Gibson Artist Victory bass and a 57 re-issue Fender P bass with a Lindy Fralin PU.  Very happy and content right now.  We'll see how it does after a few weeks of gigging.