Sunn 412LH...

[BigOldHarry]

So I ran one of these monsters for quite a while in my misspent youth -- and since I've been reading about the whole "Return of the 12" speaker" to the bass world thing (including some new 4x12" cabs) - I was wondering... I really liked that cab - huge lows, big clear mids/highs... It was an odd design, as I recall, with the drivers loaded at an angle, but man I could really bring the bass with that beast. Does anyone out here run one of these - - and why do you suppose the design has not been copied?

[Mr. Foxen]

The design probably wasn't very good on a technical level, the angled drivers meant it took up more space than a cab with that air volume inside should, the angle mostly being to cram more drivers into a smaller box, in order to overcome the limits of the speakers. With the new 12s, you could get all the volume and frequency range and more, probably with only two drivers and a smaller box, but you'd probably have to mess about with eq to get the same 'tone'. I think the Sunn cabs were very sturdily built, although I've not taken any apart, which probably contributed to their sound.