I probably wouldn't buy a new Sunn 200s for $3500.
OTOH, I'm not sure I would sell my old 200s for that much, either.
OTOH, I'm not sure I would sell my old 200s for that much, either.
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New SUNN 200S anyone?
- Thread starter BassGreaser
- Start date
In my neck of the woods (PNW) a 60s Sunn 200s in decent stock working condition (usually except for the 3 prong plug and/or a few caps) goes for around $1000 cad or $700 usd. That's what I paid for my 1st gen 1967 one a few years ago, and I've seen a few others around recently for the same. The current price seems ridiculous in comparison; although, yes, it's 2026 and you're getting a brand-new, near-faithful reproduction that likely won't require servicing for a while. Whether it sounds as good and loud, remains to be seen.
Fender 135 and Studio Bass are also ultra-linear designs (out of production, but fairly available used)
Oh man, those tube amps look legit! They will likely sell however many they make, but $3500 for any low wattage amp that doesn’t say Portaflex is a big ask. Plus I still get a deal on Ampeg stuff even though I’m retired 
But make no mistake…they will sell.
But make no mistake…they will sell.
is that where they all are?
for as much as we saw sunn amps in all the old rock photos, we never see any actual vintage sunns around here (mid-atlantic coast). the joke is that they all ended up in that warehouse along with the ark of the covenant
And the Ashdown Heads are -
CTM-100 / 100W / $2000
CTM-200 / 200W / $2800
CTM-300 / 300W / $3300
The original Sunn and Fender/Sunn factories were near Portland OR, so maybe there was a stash of nos that found its way to the semi-local market when it closed in 2002, since I've seen plenty of various 60s/70s/80s Sunn gear in really good condition for sale in the PNW. Pure speculation, though.
Still plenty of used Sunn heads and cabs here in New England. Lots of dealers carried the line.
Disclaimer: my previous post about the price does reflect old geezer bias. I bought my Sonaro head (like 200S but with EL34s) from after years of playing through it in his practice room. He only asked me to pay what he had bought it for….$60
That was around 1990, I sold it a decade later for $100. His practice room now sports a blackface Bassman in white tolex.
Disclaimer: my previous post about the price does reflect old geezer bias. I bought my Sonaro head (like 200S but with EL34s) from after years of playing through it in his practice room. He only asked me to pay what he had bought it for….$60
That was around 1990, I sold it a decade later for $100. His practice room now sports a blackface Bassman in white tolex.
I paid $1100 for mine in 2015 (previously loved of course). Cosmetically it was pretty much mint, but it needed output tubes and I had to swap out a resistor in the bias supply to get the tubes in the proper range. I already had the tubes and did the work myself. For someone to pay a tech, let's call sunk cost for the amp about $1650. Still a lot of money IMHO
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$1650 in 2015 dollars = $2326.50 today.I paid $1100 for mine in 2015 (previously loved of course). Cosmetically it was pretty much mint, but it needed output tubes and I had to swap out a resistor in the bias supply to get the tubes in the proper range. I already had the tubes and did the work myself. For someone to pay a tech, let's call sunk cost for the amp about $1650. Still a lot of money IMHO
I would step up to the 500 you get a gain knob as well and better control of your output tone…beta mini https://sunnamps.com/betamini/
for a 200W portable bass amp, I would recommend the Traynor SB200H ( bulletproof!)
| Traynor
traynoramps.com
… and the Super Twin, the much « hated » guitar amp but it’s a good thing for bass players!
I did not know that guitar players hated the Super Twin. Of course, 180w guitar amp is kind of silly overkill though.
If I am not mistaken, I saw a lot of things on the internet (everything on the internet is the truth, rightI did not know that guitar players hated the Super Twin. Of course, 180w guitar amp is kind of silly overkill though.
) when I bought mine and needed much infos as possible.- the weight (it’s kind of heavy and out of balance because of the transformers);
- it’s brutally loud and clean for geetar;
- the distortion crude circuit is not really tasty for geetar.
Steel guitar and maybe Rhodes players love it though…
I converted mine to head only following the thread I found here. A small mod to the distortion circuit make it useable under certain circumstances. Perfect ~200w tube head for bass IMO!
***As usual, a bit of exaggeration on my side, not « hate » but not « love » neither!
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Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
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- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
A lot of us don't love the rotary EQ section all that much for guitar either, and the clean with the factory drivers is nowhere near as sweet as a good Twin Reverb either, IMO. But with the right cab it does make a nice 160-180 watt bass amp for many people's taste, for sure.If I am not mistaken, I saw a lot of things on the internet (everything on the internet is the truth, right
- the weight (it’s kind of heavy and out of balance because of the transformers);
- it’s brutally loud and clean for geetar;
- the distortion crude circuit is not really tasty for geetar.
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I think it's a pretty honest 180w amp. I had the Studio Bass version for several years and it definitely delivered the goods.
The Super Twin is cheap enough, it could be a worthwhile project for bass conversion. I would probably make an extension cab for producing bass frequencies and build in a crossover in the guitar speaker cab, so that when you plug in the extension cab, the bass is routed to the bass woofers. In other words, use the guitar speakers for midbass and above frequencies. It would be a fun experiment.
If anyone around Portland Oregon needs a 200S, I’ve got one I’d let go of.
