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Sunn 2000S bass amp query

E

eastrockstudio

Aug 14, 2008
1
0
#1
I am looking to buy a Sunn 2000S bass amp and would like to know what price range would be fair.

the details I received are from a 3rd party:
"It has a very big and heavy speaker cab. The speakers in it are either two 15's or two 18's. It works. The pots are scratchy when you first turn them- the same is true of the input jacks. The only mechanical problem I found is that the Bass tone control can rotate beyond its normal start and stop points. It does change the tone as it should but you have to keep track of how far you've turned it. "

That said, it will likely need work, so I hope to factor that in to the price I will pay.

I would be much obliged for any insight...
 
#3
Yeah, start at like $500. There is a very limited market, so that is on your side. If it's local you can save that guy a big headache trying to ship it somewhere. That counts for something to.
 
#7
I owned the full rig described below from 1990-1996, it belonged to the band Mountain in the '60s!
With 120w and four JBL D-140s... not ultra loud, but -- whoa.
You gotta know that I can't get no satisfaction since...

Link Removed

Lowbrow
 
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#8
Bottom and punch galore out of those 15" JBL D-140F speakers. Be sure the speakers are healthy. Listen for raspy tones or rattle/friction like sounds (play loud on every string and every fret). However, even with a couple of blown drivers, I'd grab it just for the cabs and head. The drivers can be replaced and head restored.

If it is cosmetically good, $800? BTW, I assume you have bucks for driving a gas-guzzler to gigs. That is the real downside to this unit, and also that you have a really strong back and a willing friend to help.

The head is a very very good tube amp, IMHO. One of the greats of the period. You can't find a better amp/cab for a P-bass if you want loud old school rock tone. :bassist:
 
#9
You are a very very bad man....:D :D :D

Lowbrow said:
I owned the full rig described below from 1990-1996, it belonged to the band Mountain in the '60s!
With 120w and four JBL D-140s... not ultra loud, but -- whoa.
You gotta know that I can't get no satisfaction since...

Link Removed

Lowbrow
Click to expand...
 
#10
The two guys in town who led me to being a bass player each had a 2000S and the matching Sunn 2x15 with JBLs. They were best friends and room mates for a while so Roger used to take both amps to gigs sometimes. He'd run his Rick 4001 in stereo, one PUP to each amp. It was great...

Big heavy amps, big heavy cabs, but those amps are heavy due to the massive power and output transformers. Wonderfully well-made amps too.

The bass knob is probably loose on the pot's shaft and should be an easy fix.

jte
 
#12
This made me dig for a picture of the SUNN 2000S I had in the 70s. This had 2 bottoms with 6-12" s in each. I think it might have been the guitar amp version? I wish I never sold this baby but it was REAL heavy..........Rob.
 

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#14
Any of you former or current 2000S users care to compare the tone against that of a '70s SVT--or perhaps a V4/V4B? I've been intrigued by this particular Sunn head, but never had the chance to play one.
 
#16
GregC said:
Any of you former or current 2000S users care to compare the tone against that of a '70s SVT--or perhaps a V4/V4B? I've been intrigued by this particular Sunn head, but never had the chance to play one.
Click to expand...

Never owned either, but used and heard both a lot.

Comparing each with one cab, I'd say the SVT is louder, but the 2000s has more low mid and low end punch. I think they are both classics, but I probably would choose the Sunn tone over the SVT---just matter of personal tone preference. The Sunn has a kind of bottom that is not muddy but is dramatically clean, sweet, and powerful with a P-bass. All IMHO. :cool:
 
#17
Jim Carr said:
Never owned either, but used and heard both a lot.

Comparing each with one cab, I'd say the SVT is louder, but the 2000s has more low mid and low end punch. I think they are both classics, but I probably would choose the Sunn tone over the SVT---just matter of personal tone preference. The Sunn has a kind of bottom that is not muddy but is dramatically clean, sweet, and powerful with a P-bass. All IMHO. :cool:
Click to expand...

Thanks, Dr. Jim, that's helpful.
 
#18
GregC said:
Any of you former or current 2000S users care to compare the tone against that of a '70s SVT--or perhaps a V4/V4B? I've been intrigued by this particular Sunn head, but never had the chance to play one.
Click to expand...

Apples and oranges.

I've never owned an SVT, but I’ve certainly used them and know what one sounds like, and that's NOT AT ALL like a 2000S!

The 2000S was big sounding but rather muddy; the SVT is big sounding with great clarity, and pumps out lots of bass without being muddy. The SVT beats it in volume, punch, and anything above 350hz. The 2000S was pretty quiet by comparison (mine anyway compensated for that in speaker area), and I often found myself using only the speaker cabs powered by a circa-1977 Yamaha B-100 solid-state head; I gigged with the rig regularly, and the Yamaha delivered way more clarity and a good bit more output.

The SVT is more like the first modern tube amp and the 2000S the last of the old guard: The full 2000S is a high-quality, low-fidelity rig that utilized low-wattage 15s in old-fashioned rear-loaded cabs, with a V-shaped port running between the top and bottom speaker (and I had those cabs open PLENTY), the high-wattage SVT is a step forward for its time and the first use of high-output 10s in a front-loaded, sealed cab.
 
#20
Sunn tube heads were extreemly lo-fi type old school sound (I played a 200S for years). The only way I could get enough mids out of it was to put the bass and treble on (0) turn on the low and hi boost and crank the volume control. I'm pretty sure the 2000S has the same pre-amp. The best 2000S setup I heard was using the head with 2x200S cabs. The smaller 2x15 cabs seem to be better balanced with a better control on the bottom end. The 2000S cabs I heard had a really loose bottom end. As far as construction goes, Sunn amps and cabs are second to none.
 

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