someone put a master volume on my sunn 2000s!

[ngh]

so i just drove to philly from brooklyn to pick up my new sunn 2000s yesterday! had my first practice with it today running into an ampeg 4X10 (which i am looking to replace with something else soon). And boy does it sound amazing super defined and punchy, fills up a great space in the mix, cutting without dominating, in short exactly what I wanted ! but I digress...

the amp has been recently overhauled by a good tech. he recapped it and filled it up with nice new JJ's (I kinda wish I had the original tubes in it but hey you win some you lose some) as well as a nice three prong. but he also installed a master volume knob, replacing the bass boost switch on the control panel. It is all stellar work and makes for a vary reliable amp. but I just don't need the master volume, nor do I really want it.

I hear alot of talk about master volume vs. non master volume amps. so I just want to know wheather I should reverse the master volume mod and reinstall a bass boost switch. or if it is not worth the effort.

if i keep the master dimed and just use the original volume will that yield the same results as bringing the circuit back to original? or will the master hurt/change the tonal quality by virtue of being in the circuit.

if having the pot in there does not do anything detrimental to my tone i was thinking i would just hook up the bass boost function to the "polarity" switch which currently does nothing due to the three prong upgrade.

any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

side note:
if any of you have any advice regarding a good cab to pair this thing with (I use alot of effects mostly dirt boxes and like headroom so I can play dynamically without too much grit when i don't have a fuzz engaged) other than the obvious choice of finding a sunn 2X15 with JBLS. and yes I know it is all a matter of preference and I plan on trying this thing with as many cabs as i can find. but a nudge in one direction or another is always appreciated.

[JimmyM]

Just turn the master volume up to 3:00 or more and use gain to control volume, and it should behave much like it did originally. Don't know anything about the circuit but it sounds reversible. Got to admit they should have told you that before you bought it, but at least it sounds great, so that's really the important thing.

[B-string]

I personally think they should be flogged for doing this to a classic head.

That said leave it full CW unless you want some preamp grind (reason someone did it). The Bass boost is fun but more of a mud switch in use, the polarity switch is dead so make use of it but use shielded wire to keep the hum out of the circuit as much as possible.

[ngh]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Just turn the master volume up to 3:00 or more and use gain to control volume, and it should behave much like it did originally. Don't know anything about the circuit but it sounds reversible. Got to admit they should have told you that before you bought it, but at least it sounds great, so that's really the important thing.

I knew about it. and I know that it is reversible. I just don't know if it is worth the effort. and yes it sounds great and that is great! but if it could sound better that would be well... better!

and besides I have found that on my limited budget getting awesome vintage gear that people have fiddled with is my ticket to nice stuff on the cheap. I got a 70s ric 4001 for $600 because some fool routed a whole in it to install a gibson mudbucker (badly I might add). after a little TLC it looks like a ric plays like a ric, sounds awesome to boot. so I am a fan of people modding their nice things to their detriment.

[JimmyM]

LOL! You make a point, bro!

[ngh]

also I will post some pictures of her tomorrow guts and all when I get back to my practice space to swoon over my new toy! I also realized while inspecting it that there is an extra quarter inch jack installed near the power tubes, trying to get in contact with the tech who did the modding to find out what it is for (16ohm tap maybe? this one was shipped with an 8 and a 4 ohm. and I know that is a common mod for these guys)

[ngh]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Just turn the master volume up to 3:00 or more and use gain to control volume, and it should behave much like it did originally.

also what makes you say 3:00 as supposed to keeping it wide open?

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by ngh

also what makes you say 3:00 as supposed to keeping it wide open?

Good question. Don't know. It's been a long time since I used a SUNN, but I use SVT-CL's all the time, and the gain seems to behave like the single volume knob more when you turn the master up to 3:00. When I cranked the master all the way, I had no leeway on the gain dial between screaming loud and off. But that's an Ampeg, not a Sunn. Try it both ways and see what you think.

[ngh]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Good question. Don't know. It's been a long time since I used a SUNN, but I use SVT-CL's all the time, and the gain seems to behave like the single volume knob more when you turn the master up to 3:00. When I cranked the master all the way, I had no leeway on the gain dial between screaming loud and off. But that's an Ampeg, not a Sunn. Try it both ways and see what you think.

interesting, I did feel like i was getting a little more tube compression when I cranked the master than I would have liked. I will definitely give this a go see what feels right!

[edbass]

Originally Posted by B-string

I personally think they should be flogged for doing this to a classic head.

That said leave it full CW unless you want some preamp grind (reason someone did it). The Bass boost is fun but more of a mud switch in use, the polarity switch is dead so make use of it but use shielded wire to keep the hum out of the circuit as much as possible.

Amen.

Originally Posted by ngh

also I will post some pictures of her tomorrow guts and all when I get back to my practice space to swoon over my new toy! I also realized while inspecting it that there is an extra quarter inch jack installed near the power tubes, trying to get in contact with the tech who did the modding to find out what it is for (16ohm tap maybe? this one was shipped with an 8 and a 4 ohm. and I know that is a common mod for these guys)

That's probably not a jack, I'll betcha if you look at it closely you will find the trim pot for the output tube bias lurking in that "jack".

You can switch the output taps from 8 to 4 ohm to 16 and 8 ohms, but you need a soldering iron to do it. Piece of cake though, they came both ways from the factory depending on the year and how many cabinets it was ordered with.
You couldn’t buy a 2000S from Sunn without at least one cab; the "2000S" was actually the amp with one or two cabs.

I've used 2000Ss through lots of cabs, but nothing sounds as good as this configuration IMO;



Also, as a side benefit if you regularly drag a full 2000S rig around you can save some cash by cancelling your gym membership.

[ngh]

not seeing the picture but I assume its sitting on top of a matching cab?

[JimmyM]

Two of them. In mint condition.

[musicman666]

WOW!! That rig looks classically amazing!! I love the vintage style.

[ngh]

ah yes of course! if i could only find one of those cabs for sale i would be a happy camper

[Chef]

There's really no downside to having the master volume, IMO.
Turn it all the way up, and it should be "just like it wasn't there."
If you want that nice saturated tone, at lower volume, now you can have that.

It was not really cool they did that without asking though.

[ngh]

sounds to me like a unanimous don't bother switching it back...

[daveman50]

Originally Posted by edbass

D

I hate you so much!! drool.

[D.M.N.]

It felt like a punch in the gut reading "but he also installed a master volume knob". I just...ugh, some people. Anyways, as silly as it is, I'd probably leave it. Not because it's useful (which, on a "120w" amp, I don't think it is, I can't imagine why you'd feel it necessary to install a Master), but rather because to install the pot for the Master, he would have had to cut the face plate (and probably the chassis), so I don't know how you even could reinstall the switch. Why he wouldn't have just installed the Master in one of the other holes already in the chassis (all 120w sunns has the same chassis, meaning on the 2000s, under the faceplate, there are extra holes already drilled) and left the bass boost where it was is beyond me.

Nonetheless, congrats on the Sunn. They're my favorite amps.

[ngh]

quick update on this. turns out this is a pre bass boost era 2000s the master volume knob is just where the bass boost would be on a later model.

[soundmasterg]

All the more reason to have kept it original. The pre-bass boost models are quite rare and have the old style grille cloth. Techs who make changes like that to amps without getting the customer's permission first should not be techs!

Greg