Return of Sunn?

[RoaDan]

A bit before my time but thought TB May find this interesting

Sunn Amplifiers is officially back, with new amps from the legendary brand expected by the end of year

$800 for a 100 watt bass amp?

 

[Passinwind]

Also, built in HPF at 65 Hz might annoy some down-tuned doom folks.

I know the CTO at the new business entity, I can ask him about that.

 

[Fishheadjoe]

I have an old Sunn Beta bass 1x15 combo. Wonder if it’s worth anything

Same
Fishheadjoe

 

[micguy]

Well, where do you put the amps if they're not on stage?

Mine stay at home. The last 5 years/
500 gigs I’ve done have been ampless.

 

[Freight Train]

$3200 and 65W? Sheesh!!! Thank God for the PF50T and V4B!

Holy mackerel I thought my Bassman 100T was steep. Now it seems a bargain and my PF50T a pawn shop find.

 

[micguy]

huh, I ran sound at major market clubs for local and international touring rock bands for many years. Amps were used for most primary stringed and keyed instruments as a primary monitoring source for the players AND definitely as sound shapers.

these amps were in no way a bad idea and not a problem for me, or the audience who came to see these acts.

side note, the best cellist I ever worked with (who toured and recorded with Nirvana land others) very effectively used a small Roland guitar amp to effectively “pass band” her cello into a very useable signal that could plug right into a rock mix - this amp was a great example of how simple low tech can work nicely.

We live in different worlds. Mine is either ampless or iso cabs, and in ears. I don’t mind a bit that I can hear myself better, and my ears don’t ring. The FOH gigs I’ve done, the overall quality improvement from the lack of stage wash is very real.

 

[monsterthompson]

I know the CTO at the new business entity, I can ask him about that.

That would be a nice answer to have. I don’t have the engineering or electronics background to provide an educated guess about it. However, I was under the impression most amps provided full range frequency response down to 20 Hz and that the cabinets were the limiting factor in low end response depending on where they roll off. I have heard/read of amps having internal fixed HPF points but thought they were likely set to filter sub 20 Hz noise. Hopefully I get some education here

 

[micguy]

Then…why would 100 be considered not enough by some? Anything less than 300 scoffed at? It didn’t seem like a bad idea over a very long period of time; in ear tech has been around for years.
Amps on stage is still the default that I encounter, from festivals where it’s obviously in the PA, to smaller joints where it isn’t, just vocals.

A 300 watt amp made sense in the days when a PA wasn’t capable of handling the bass. That day has long passed, however. An SVT, even with 2 fridge cabs, can’t begin to do what a modern PA with real subs can.

 

[DJ Bebop]

A bit before my time but thought TB May find this interesting

Sunn Amplifiers is officially back, with new amps from the legendary brand expected by the end of year

Their website is now live: https://www.sunnamps.com/

Here's just a few

View attachment 5144043

Definitely excited to see and hear more. I've always been a fan of the Beta Bass: https://www.sunnamps.com/amplification/betabass/

That should be interesting. The 100w head is $799 vs $699 for the preamp. The 100w head is significantly cheaper than the Hilbish Beta head, so I’m curious how they will compare.

Also, built in HPF at 65 Hz might annoy some down-tuned doom folks.
View attachment 5144096

As cool as this is, I've moved on since my youth.

I had at least one of each of those amps and cabinets at one time or another. Sunn factory was up the road from us here in Portland during it's heyday. That and Biamp PA gear, which is still in business with high end cooperate/conference audio.

Those were the days

I might get a T shirt, if they make one that fits me!

 

[BeMoreFrench]

To be clear, Fender is not involved with this company. They're licensing the brand name from Fender.

I know, since the 80's, but we all know that since their failed IPO many of those brands are empty shells, like Sunn was...

 

[BTL]

Price aside, the 200S/2x15 combo looks like fun.

 

[agedhorse]

That would be a nice answer to have. I don’t have the engineering or electronics background to provide an educated guess about it. However, I was under the impression most amps provided full range frequency response down to 20 Hz and that the cabinets were the limiting factor in low end response depending on where they roll off. I have heard/read of amps having internal fixed HPF points but thought they were likely set to filter sub 20 Hz noise. Hopefully I get some education here

Most fixed HPF's are in the 25-35Hz range, most variable HPF's are from 25Hz-~125Hz. IMO and IME, there's nothing below 30Hz but noise and electro-mechanical artifacts that do not contribute anything positive to the tone but can certainly create issues with clarity, noise artifacts and speaker reliability issues.

Their choice of HPF frequency might simply be recreating the amp's original voicing, or their interpretation of what could of (or should have) been done with the benefit of hindsight.

 

[frankie5string]

Price aside, the 200S/2x15 combo looks like fun.

The preamp-offerings they have look interesting, but I do wonder why they chose to use a full-size amp chassis for the preamp versions. Maybe they'll come out with a pedal, eventually?

 

[monsterthompson]

Most fixed HPF's are in the 25-35Hz range, most variable HPF's are from 25Hz-~125Hz. IMO and IME, there's nothing below 30Hz but noise and electro-mechanical artifacts that do not contribute anything positive to the tone but can certainly create issues with clarity, noise artifacts and speaker reliability issues.

Their choice of HPF frequency might simply be recreating the amp's original voicing, or their interpretation of what could of (or should have) been done with the benefit of hindsight.

That all makes sense. I'd also assume that the 65 Hz number isn't a hard cutoff, but a roll-off start point (at who know what slope).

 

[DJ Bebop]

Just why?

 

[BTL]

The FRFR cabinets look to be rebranded Mission Gemini 1&2 boxes.

 

[DJ Bebop]

As one who had a Model T head and matching 2x15" Sunn cab as my first big bass rig of the time, I guess I'm happy to see the brand is coming back. On the other hand, my current amp interests are for more modern and lighter fare.

Yup, I had a Model T with a Sunn 200s 2x15 bottom and a Sunn 6x12 bottom. I don't miss any of that now.

 

[micguy]

I'm not into Doom but yeah clearly that's a typical Fender thing here "yeah resurrect the brand we've burried after our failed IPO but don't make it too fancy for our shy consumers.". What's the use of releasing a 2x15 then ?

A 215 makes perfect sense with a “low power” (by today’s standards) amp. My rig in my college band was a 90 watt head and a couple 115’s - the speaker efficiency made 90 watts more than enough to keep up with a loud drummer.

 

[Marko 1]

Their choice of HPF frequency might simply be recreating the amp's original voicing, or their interpretation of what could of (or should have) been done with the benefit of hindsight.

Could it be that since there isn't much power, cutting it high would also make it louder?

I think that's why the old rigs seemed loud for their wattage, they couldn't produce those low frequencies that sucked up all the power.

 

[Jeff Scott]