Sunn Concert Bass...$150...go for it?

Lemming16 · #1 04-25-2011, 06:46 PM

Erase this please

bottomend! · #2 04-25-2011, 06:50 PM

$150 bucks? if you have the cash and wanna spend it - do the deed. the Acoustic 220 is not a fan of modern cabs that want/can handle lots of power. Pair it with a cab from the era it was built (preferably an Acoustic 402) and it'll be VERY loud, believe me. The old Sunn stuff was great but to my ears was a little on the harsh side compared with the Acoustic stuff. I really liked the function of the EQ though but overall, I found it to be a little flat sonically and a tad bit one dimensional.

KramerBassFan · #3 04-25-2011, 07:11 PM

$150 is good for that. Not a super phenomenal steal by any means, but not bad at all. I'd get it.

KramerBassFan · #4 04-25-2011, 08:26 PM

Probably does just that, distort. Up to you if it sounds good, i personally would probably play with it a bit when i first got it, and never use that knob again.

Fendbassfan · #5 04-25-2011, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bottomend!

The old Sunn stuff was great but to my ears was a little on the harsh side

I had a Sunn Concert 200 watt with matching 2x15 Cab in the late 70's and even maxed out it was super clean.

bottomend! · #6 04-25-2011, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fendbassfan

I had a Sunn Concert 200 watt with matching 2x15 Cab in the late 70's and even maxed out it was super clean.

By saying it sounds harsh I wasn't saying it distorted. I find these amps to be somewhat less than whats traditionally considered "warm" sounding, thats all.

Fendbassfan · #7 04-26-2011, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bottomend!

By saying it sounds harsh I wasn't saying it distorted. I find these amps to be somewhat less than whats traditionally considered "warm" sounding, thats all.

Oh, Ok. Sorry. For only 200 watts I remember it getting super loud without distorting and wasn't that bassey. But I was comparing it to the 15" Sunda Fold horn Cab with Quilter 'Duck' head I had before that which even made my Ricky 4001 sound a bit bassey.

Lemming16 · #8 04-26-2011, 10:19 AM

Sometimes i think i should get one of those old matching cabs (acoustic or Sunn) and overdrive pedal instead (the problem is, here in my city you can hardly find an overdrive bass pedal). What really bugs me about this amp is how the distortion sounds. I'm not looking for a fuzzy distortion, i'm looking for a kind of grindy sound distortion.

Jason P Bass · #9 04-26-2011, 10:22 AM

I have a Concert Lead. I think it's essentially the same amp with reverb, boost, and some other extras. $150 is a good deal, but not insane.

Sounds amazing for an aggressive, grindy, dirty sound. I play with a Genz Benz 210 cabinet. I'm not an expert on Entwhistle's tone, but it certainly does a good Steve Harris.

As I understand it, it's also a fully active EQ. "Flat" is with all the tone knobs at 0 or 1. Diming this amp is WAY louder than cranking only the volume. There is basically no "clean" sound at any reasonable volume. That said, it breaks up very nicely.

It is the only amp I use at home for practice. Everything else collects dust.

Does the Concert Bass have a footswitch? If so, check the jack on the amp. If it is a multi-pin connector (looks sorta like an older computer mouse connector) then you will never, ever, under any circumstances, find a footswitch for it. You'll have to make your own or do without. If the footswitch has RCA / phono jacks, then you're in better shape.

Jason P Bass · #10 04-26-2011, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lemming16

Sometimes i think i should get one of those old matching cabs (acoustic or Sunn) and overdrive pedal instead (the problem is, here in my city you can hardly find an overdrive bass pedal). What really bugs me about this amp is how the distortion sounds. I'm not looking for a fuzzy distortion, i'm looking for a kind of grindy sound distortion.

Can you just ask the guy if you can test it out?

The distortion on my Concert Lead is definitely grindy, not fuzzy. However, if you open up the treble, it will sound harsh and nasty.

It is not a subtle amp, but I love it.

BigOldHarry · #11 04-26-2011, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KramerBassFan

$150 is good for that. Not a super phenomenal steal by any means, but not bad at all. I'd get it.

I owned one of these many years ago

For its time, it was a very good head. Not crazy powerful (200w into 4 ohms, if memory serves) but good clear tone. 100% solid state, if you were wondering.

The technology in this head has since been vastly surpassed - For $150 a GK400RB is a much better head (tho admittedly, no so cool looking).

Lemming16 · #12 04-26-2011, 10:28 AM

Yes, i guess today i'll go and check out how it sounds, that should be the only way. If i get it, you guys can be sure i'll post some sound clips.

Thanks a lot Jason, your reply was very informative (and please excuse my english).

Edit: to Bigoldharry: Hi, the problem is, here in Mexico, a used GK400RB is selling for like (what would be on USD) $450, of course, that's ridiculous, so i saw the Sunn Concert Bass like a good deal and a good alternative for the Acoustic 220

.

Jason P Bass · #13 04-26-2011, 04:13 PM

The amp is good, the price is good, and it is super cool to have a vintage Sunn amplifier. If the money is easy, I would give it a try.

Fendbassfan · #14 04-26-2011, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lemming16

the problem is, here in Mexico, a used GK400RB is selling for like (what would be on USD) $450

Our singer blew my Sunn Concert head by plugging mics into it and I replaced it with the GK400RB. They go for about $225 all the time on Ebay so maybe you can find someone that ships to Mexico. I'll sell you mine for $325 and ship it to you. LOL. Just kidding (or am I)?

Metal Matt · #15 04-26-2011, 07:00 PM

Mine was $200, so $150 seems great to me if it has no issues. I have the US version that doesn't have the distortion built in. I also have two matching slave amps that were around $100 bucks. They are 200 watts @ 2ohms. These amps are super loud for their low wattage. Doesn't really have the most versatility as far as tone goes, but for me it's the sound I wanted. When my band is playing, I always run my amps where they are just starting to clip, and for being solid state, they breakup nicely and don't sound as harsh as other SS amps would when pushed. They've held up to not only 30+ years of ownership prior to me, but to the past 3 that I've had them and abused them. No problem handling low F#, or all the fuzz and other effects I've thrown at them.

Lemming16 · #16 04-26-2011, 07:17 PM

Oh, whoa, thanks everyone for your opinions. I went to the store and the owner said he did not have a cab so i could try it out, but he told me that it was a lot like the Acoustic 220 i already have. He also said that the "distort" knob doesn't produce a very good overdrive, and that i shouldn't buy just for that feature.

Maybe all i should do is getting a good overdrive pedal, like a Bass driver or something.
Btw, while being there, i saw a "new" (very old) Acoustic b320 amp head....this one.. for $110 bucks. It is 320 Watts @ 4 ohms, that would mean it is gonna blow my cab (which is 200W at 8 ohms).

Bill Posters · #17 04-26-2011, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lemming16

Btw, while being there, i saw a "new" (very old) Acoustic b320 amp head....this one.. for $110 bucks. It is 320 Watts @ 4 ohms, that would mean it is gonna blow my cab (which is 200W at 8 ohms).

i believe the B320 runs at 175 watts into 8 ohms so if that is the impedance of your cab then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

Really though you can take watt comparisons between amps and cabinets with a huge lump of salt. As long as they aren't grossly mismatched and you don't push your speakers into audible distress you should generally be fine.

Also if you want a cheap option for an overdrive pedal I recommend the Digitech Bad Monkey. If you know which end of a soldering iron to hold you can mod it to work very well with bass (although it works reasonably well stock).

Lemming16 · #18 04-27-2011, 12:11 PM

Well, i'm going today for the Acoustic B320 and see how it plays with my cab. Btw, the graphic EQ sliders are all broken except 1 (but it works, only the sliders are borken), and 1 of the inputs (the 0db one) doesnt work (the -10db works fine).

Your reply (Bill posters) was very good news to me, i really hope it wont blow up my cab speakers (my cab is the most expensive thing of my gear

). I hope i can get that tone i really wish for.

Calaverasgrande · #19 04-27-2011, 12:25 PM

this really depends on the music you play. For people into grunge, doom, punk, etc Sunn solidstate heads are a known quantity. They produce that "Sunn" sound. Buzzo From Melvins uses a Sunn solidstate head.
I would be hard pressed to choose between an Acoustic (original ACC not the GC stuff!) and the Sunn though. The Acoustic had a slightly better distortion (Rob Wright from NOMEANSNO used to run an Acoustic 456, their first 3 or 4 records are that tone). Also with the graphic EQ you can kind of ape the Sunns distortion sound by pegging one of the midrange sliders and engaging the distortion.
What kind of music you play?

Corey Y · #20 04-27-2011, 12:47 PM

$150 is a good price if it works properly. I bought the one I had for $200. I didn't sell it or trade it away either, unfortunately it blew up (3 weeks after my previous old solid state amp did). I'm a fan of the built in distortion, but it does warm and punchy with a little growl easily. They're not that loud compared to most modern amps, but loud enough for for a typical bar gig I think, if you're running it into enough speakers.

I'd buy another at that price.