Sunn 118V

[rlb8987]

Hi everybody,

Does anybody have any experience with a Sunn 118V cab? There's one for sale near me, asking $325, all original except for being re-coned 10 years ago by a Cerwin Vega certified technician using Cerwin Vega exact replacement parts.

I've been jonesing for an 18" cab for my Acoustic 150b head and this seems like it could fit the bill. Thoughts? Experiences?

 

[BassmanPaul]

I've been jonesing for an 18" cab for my Acoustic 150b head and this seems like it could fit the bill. Thoughts? Experiences?

Good grief! What on earth for? Mud city all day long.

 

[zon6c-f]

118vh is a golden horn variant.
Acoustic head plus Sunn cab= ear candy

If your cab is front loaded 118 had more mid punch.

Go for it! And post us as to how great it sounds

 

[old spice]

It's a 4 ohm cabinet, FYI.
I have 2 and they sound great and are very sturdy.

 

[rlb8987]

118vh is a golden horn variant.
Acoustic head plus Sunn cab= ear candy

If your cab is front loaded 118 had more mid punch.

Go for it! And post us as to how great it sounds

I'm hoping for that ear candy!

It's a 4 ohm cabinet, FYI.
I have 2 and they sound great and are very sturdy.

Good to know. Thanks for the info.

Good grief! What on earth for? Mud city all day long.

I've always been a fan of those big, booming sounds of the late 60s/70s.

 

[BassmanPaul]

The irony is that most of us in that era were desperately trying to get rid of that muddy tone. LOL

 

[rlb8987]

The irony is that most oaf us in that era were desperately trying to get rid of that muddy tone. LOL

Hahaha yes it is a bit ironic. I've always kind of gone backward when it comes to music.

 

[RonEW]

If its the one I think it is, front mounted, rear loaded folded horn, CV speaker was original, they are great, not muddy to me(don't play lead), can take care of anything from background lounge trio to outdoor loud rock venue. Got mine probably early 80's, still have it. Very efficient, used mostly with Sunn Concert bass head which was sold a while back, now a Mesa D800. It is the only reasonable size cab I ever found that would handle any job. Its a keeper.

 

[P-oddz]

I would probably lean towards the camp of @BassmanPaul
I used to have a Coliseum bass with the matching 118 cabs (I still have one of the cabs in my basement since they are so awkwardly large, the buyer still hasn't picked up his second cab from last October). The stack was incredible to look at, but, honestly, any of my other cabs were more enjoyable to play with the head. The 18s definitely have a distinctly darker tone that you can't EQ out. In addition, they are really awkwardly large/heavy cabs with only a handle on the top.

That said, if you are looking for that tubby/muddy kind of tone, they'll deliver in that area. And they are cool to look at.

Edit: Pictures or it didn't happen

 

[RonEW]

Pic above doesn't seem to be the same as mine, don't see the folded port all the way across the bottom and mine doesn't have the al coil covers. Either way, only thing is to try it.

 

[P-oddz]

Pic above doesn't seem to be the same as mine, don't see the folded port all the way across the bottom and mine doesn't have the al coil covers. Either way, only thing is to try it.

Is this the cab you are talking about? I think this is a 118BH.

 

[RonEW]

Nope, mine is a front mounted 18 with a rear loaded folded horn port, the port is all the way across the bottom kind of like a shelf port only there are a couple more pieces of wood inside to taper the folded horn/port. Looks similar to the pair above but don't think is the same.

 

[daveman50]

Probably is the one in the prior pics. I think these are the only 2 18's that Sunn ever made.

 

[Relsom]

Is this the cab you are talking about? I think this is a 118BH.

View attachment 1135642

That's the one I had. I remember it was a 118MH though.

 

[RonEW]

Guess they made more than 2, mine is a 118-M. The port across the bottom is flared, more open at the front and tapered from the back, more taper from inside from the back and up, can't see well unless the grill and back is removed.

 

[P-oddz]

In looking these up, apparently there were a number of 1X18 configurations that only varied by a letter. I'm not absolutely sure on any of the history. I checked the model on the cab I have still and it's just labeled as a Coliseum Transducer. Maybe I'm wrong thinking it's the 118V(?)

 

[Jeff Scott]

Is this the cab you are talking about? I think this is a 118BH.

View attachment 1135642

I knew a guy in high school with that exact same amp rig. Is that you?

 

[40Hz]

The irony is that most of us in that era were desperately trying to get rid of that muddy tone. LOL

Only as muddy as you played it.

I was pushing an Acoustic 150 head through an unpowered 301 folded horn for several years and nobody complained about mud. On the contrary, many people told me they could hear every single note very clearly for the first time. And it used the same CV as the cab here.

Far cry from the punchy percussive bark you get out of so many modern cabs these days.

 

[Doug Parent]

Hi everybody,

Does anybody have any experience with a Sunn 118V cab? There's one for sale near me, asking $325, all original except for being re-coned 10 years ago by a Cerwin Vega certified technician using Cerwin Vega exact replacement parts.

I've been jonesing for an 18" cab for my Acoustic 150b head and this seems like it could fit the bill. Thoughts? Experiences?

Back in the 70's I had an Acoustic single 18 cab, front loaded. It was inefficient and I blew the driver with about 100 watts. The cabinet was almost identical to the Sunn 118. Honestly, I didn't think that driver sounded good at all. I've played through a EV18B and JBL K-151 before and those 18's were spectacular.

 

[daveman50]

If my memory can possibly be reliable after 44 years, I compared the 118 and the 215 cabs when I bought my Concert Bass rig and there was no contest, to my young ears, the 215 was the clear winner.