Sunn, flat/clean tone?

mc_muench · #1 03-07-2011, 09:37 PM

Ive been doing some research on the Sunn Concert Bass amps and I hear alot of great things about how great they are for that muddy fuzz noise, that I love, and how they are overpriced now nright now...but I cant seem to find anything about if they have a somewhat clean flat tone?

love this tone!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJiRm7YqWfM

the byronic man · #2 03-07-2011, 09:42 PM

the "silverface" ones(not sure about the later ones) have a distort knob and can definitely get a good clean tone. not as much volume as something like a Coliseum, but definitely good and clean if you want it to be.

mc_muench · #3 03-07-2011, 11:06 PM

sweetness, that fuzz tone makes me melt on the inside, I have a new head to dream about...

craig.p · #4 03-08-2011, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mc_muench

[...]but I cant seem to find anything about if they have a somewhat clean flat tone?l

I've owned both a Concert and a Coliseum. Both amps nailed "clean, flat tone" -- to their detriment, in my opinion -- but if that's what you're looking for, you should be able to get it out of either by default.

mc_muench · #5 03-08-2011, 06:13 PM

its not really about the tone of one but what type of speakers do these heads like? I have an ampeg 4x10, which I own, and an ampeg 1x15, which my band got for winning band of the month from our local music-go-round. long story short my band is breaking up and with some persuasion I can prolly swap taking my 4x10 for taking the 1x15, if the amp likes a 1x15 better the 4x10.

ZiggyDude · #6 03-08-2011, 08:53 PM

I am very curious about this. I am new to Sunn but have been using vintage Acoustic. I heard that the Col in all forms is a monster. Something about the tone controls are all active. But - the Beta and Gamma are really lame. The Concert is actually 100 watts - so it is in the Acoustic 120 category - maybe? One thing about the Acoustics was the ability to do a sudden surge (Transient) response. I was wondering if the Sunn Concert could do this.

Reason for curious. I have been rehabbing the 215B that went with the Concert. Presently put a 370 on top and that is WAY too much amp. I was wondering what would it be like with a Concert.

Sunn 215B Restoration

mc_muench · #7 03-08-2011, 09:16 PM

I just found a Sunn Coliseum 300 by me!...As soon as I start looking for Sunn stuff and they start crawling out of the cracks of the earth for me

mc_muench · #8 03-09-2011, 11:32 AM

Bump for the ? on whether I shoulkd take the 4x10 or 1x15

Calaverasgrande · #9 03-09-2011, 11:39 AM

4x10 will be louder, 1x15 may be more akin to the "Sunn tone".
I would not go for Sunn if clean was my thing. They seem to always be a little muddy, albeit in a good, warm, way.
The Beta Bass is actually one of my favorite Sunn amps. They are certainly there own thing. Heck that was kind of the original ultralight amp!

mc_muench · #10 03-09-2011, 11:46 AM

Well Im buying one more for that muddyness, I was just wondering if it was going to be a one sound animal or could it be somewhat versatile.

Thanks Calaverasgrande, I think I'm going to take the 1x15 if possible, so I can pair it with another 1x15 in the future, cause I hear that a lot of people use 2x15's with Sunn amps

Calaverasgrande · #11 03-09-2011, 11:19 PM

I'm sure they made some 4x10 and 4x12 bass cabs. But I always see 2x15 sunn cabs. I dont know if they sold more or if the others they made arent as good? But god I have seen hundreds of Sunn 2x15. It's like saying Ampeg brings up an image of an 8x10. Sunn=2x15.

edbass · #12 03-11-2011, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calaverasgrande

I'm sure they made some 4x10 and 4x12 bass cabs. But I always see 2x15 sunn cabs. I dont know if they sold more or if the others they made arent as good? But god I have seen hundreds of Sunn 2x15. It's like saying Ampeg brings up an image of an 8x10. Sunn=2x15.

I'd say that's pretty accurate. Sunn didin't even offer any "bass transducers" smaller than 15" until at least the mid-late 70's, several years after their heyday, well after Conrad Sundholm sold out to Hartzell. I don't think they even had a bass 410 in the lineup until a decade after that even, well after Fender bought them out.
The vast majority of Sunn bass amps came out with 215's, a few with 115's, couple that with the fact that you couldn't buy a Sunn amp without a cab, so they are certainly by a wide margin the most common; at least in my experience.

This will probably seem strange for the "less experienced" (i.e.; "younger") members, but some of us may remember the mighty SVT seeming "unorthodox" for the era when it came out because it used 10's for bass guitar.