My sunn coliseum lead

gabezylo · #1 03-16-2010, 06:01 PM

Hey guys, i just had a quick question
i just picked up a sunn coliseum lead, and i was wondering if there would be any trouble running my bass through it.
thanks.

Pilgrim · #2 03-16-2010, 06:02 PM

Nope. Just play into a bass cab, not a guitar cab.

gabezylo · #3 03-16-2010, 06:04 PM

are you sure?
thanks mate

KramerBassFan · #4 03-16-2010, 06:22 PM

Yep, it will handle bass just fine.

Anyways, its a Sunn Coliseum power amp, same as in the Coliseum Bass.

ONLY difference is the pre amp, and a few little onboard FX.... i want to think it had distortion? Either way, it will work just fine.

Bigjohn · #5 03-16-2010, 06:29 PM

Chris Squire didn't have trouble with his on Fragine, Close To The Edge, Yessongs and Tales From Topographic Oceans and Entwistle didn't have trouble with his on Who's Next and Quadrophenia.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gabezylo

Hey guys, i just had a quick question
i just picked up a sunn coliseum lead, and i was wondering if there would be any trouble running my bass through it.
thanks.

craig.p · #6 03-16-2010, 06:40 PM

I ran one of those for years way back when, before bass was going through the mains. Ran it into a Sunn 118MH. Had to goose up the lows externally 'cause the on-board controls just wouldn't do it, but otherwise it had all the power I needed and never let me down. It was a long time ago but i *think* (not sure, memory shot to hell) the fan pulled air from the bottom of the case, so make sure you have the amp sitting on its (very wide) rubber feet or else you'll block the airflow across that heat sink. I always had a wide piece of plywood with me to put under the amp in case I had to use a narrow cab.

gabezylo · #7 03-16-2010, 06:51 PM

thanks guys, really helpful

rllefebv · #8 03-16-2010, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craig.p

...Ran it into a Sunn 118MH...

I just recently traded some old gear I had laying around for a Sunn Concert Bass and a non-working 118MH... Monster cab if I ever get around to getting it working

OP, back in the late '70s I ran a Concert Lead into a couple of bass cabs and it worked splendidly... Your Colliseum will rock with the right cab!

-robert

craig.p · #9 03-17-2010, 04:27 AM

I wish I'd made a frequency plot of that cab when I had it. I always suspected it was one of those "two-octave wonders" because I had to bring up the bottom end so much. But, it was loud, it was reliable, it did throw, and it wasn't as heavy/expensive as a V4B FH or a 301 FH. O, Compromise.

billbern · #10 03-17-2010, 05:25 AM

Used a Coliseum lead for years with a Sunn 412s and a Sunn 118v (not folded horn). Great stuff powerful and reliable.

gabezylo · #11 03-17-2010, 07:48 PM

thanks mates again,
whats a good cab to buy?
what would work nicely with it? im buying a whole new setup, i'm excited

craig.p · #12 03-20-2010, 10:25 AM

Just my own opinion here, but my Coliseum was by far the tightest-sounding head I've ever owned. Like it maintained a death grip on every note that went into its input jack. (And I am OLD and have owned lots of heads -- SS and tube.) So, pairing it up with a tight-sounding cab will make matters worse (or better, depending on your POV). Depends on the sound you want. A flabby cab, on the other hand, will make up for the amp's tightness, if that's what you want.

Also I restate my (subjective) observation that the ~~cab~~ amp sounded bass-light range-wise, and had to have the bottom end goosed up externally to compensate. So if that's a problem for you, you'll probably NOT want to pair it up with something like an SVT which is basically a 10-12dB/octave high-pass filter with a 100Hz knee. My gut feeling tells me to go exactly the opposite way: go for extension.

Maybe you should bring the head around with you and try a few cabs with it.

johnk_10 · #13 03-20-2010, 10:53 AM

i've owned and played thru a Coliseum Bass, a Coliseum Lead and a Coliseum 880-all of them the early versions. IME, none of mine had any real low end to speak of thru any cabinet, so ireally didn't care for them, but IMO, their tube heads are as good as you can get.

gabezylo · #14 03-21-2010, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnk_10

i've owned and played thru a Coliseum Bass, a Coliseum Lead and a Coliseum 880-all of them the early versions. IME, none of mine had any real low end to speak of thru any cabinet, so ireally didn't care for them, but IMO, their tube heads are as good as you can get.

might i ask what cab you used?

johnk_10 · #15 03-21-2010, 11:42 AM

i tried it thru an ampeg 8x10, a 610HLF, three different 2x15 cabs with JBL K140's, an ampeg 4x12 (v4 cab) and a Sunn 1x18 (4 ohm) cab. it just didn't do it for me thru any of them.