Sunn 118V

[pie_man_25]

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

View attachment 1135615

Those cabs may be big, awkward, and heavy, but boy do they look good being it

 

[zon6c-f]

P-oodz Sunn made many variations

Mine looks like your pic only called 118-VH = one 18" Vega in a horn enclosure

M variant was Sunn Magna

118S or V was front loaded with silver grill cloth with Sunn or Vega speaker

On rare occasion when someone guested on my rig I was stunned as to how loud it was. 370 head set @2.2-5 at most. Gut punching at over 100 ft out
We mostly played in a Huge Am LegionHall

I never suffered any on stage volume loss nor loss of highs.

With tonal capabilities of 370 coupled with my 118-VH and Rick 4001-s I sounded any way I wanted. My preferred tone was a prog setting played with pick

I performed weekly for years with that rig in a country band ( while pretending
I was playing inKANSAS). Oddly the band loved my rig/tone/Rick-n-pick style as my overplaying filled any gaps

Only thing better then 1 of those cabs is running 2

Awkwardly heavy. Mine had no handles. A chiropractors dream but as it always sounded like ear candy to me

 

[mindwell]

I've heard the 118-VH and it is a great box with a beautiful, wide frequency-ranging voice. I'd pay $325 for one in a heartbeat.

 

[BuffaloBass]

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

So we ran our 18" along side 6X10 and found a mud fruckin shimmery nirvana. My back cant handle all that "cone" anymore.

 

[Freight Train]

Is this the cab you are talking about? I think this is a 118BH.
View attachment 1135642

If this cab that P-oddz posted is the one you're looking at, I had one of those for three or four years, first paired with a Sunn 2x15, then eventually with a Hartke 410XL. When I finally got rid of the 118 and got a second 410XL, first gig I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Suddenly every nuance was there to behold! I haven't strayed from 10's since (that was 1986) or mismatched cabs. Two problems with this particler 118 - first, obviously, a lack of articulation. Not only because it's an 18", but because it's a back-firing 18" inside a wooden horn, so what little articulation you might get from a front-loaded 18 is not even there. Second, the thing was a nightmare for FOH guys. If I adjusted volume of the 118 cab so I could hear it and feel it onstage, it was creating a sub-low mess 20' and further from the stage. If I adjusted its volume so the engineer (and audience) could hear a proper balance in the bass from stage, I couldn't even hear it onstage. It's the physics of how a thing like this works. But two of 'em stacked with the bottom cab upside down so together they created a big horn mouth looked pretty awesome.

 

[Sorado71]

Regarding the ports, here is how the cabs look stacked up properly. In the earlier post, where the two cabs are on the floor, note that the speakers are offset to one side - that's because the cabs are on the floor, resting on the casters, which are on the SIDES of the cabs.

I had to recone the two speakers for my first pair of these cabs, and they sounded good, clean and clear, although just used one at a time. They're not as boomy as the VH/MH/BH cabs. My current pair (in photo) have the untouched original speakers. It sounds good at low volume but I'm afraid to push them very hard. Since it is just a home practice amp , that isn't a problem.

 

[rlb8987]

Well, I guess I'll never know how it sounds. I called the seller yesterday to confirm the time I was going to pick it up today, and he tells me he pulled it out of storage and plugged it in to test it out. I'm thinking he's going to tell me that it's busted, but instead he tells me that he didn't realize how great it sounds. He tells me he's going to have to sleep on it to decide whether or not he actually wants to sell it.

I just heard back from him and guess what? He's keeping it. Damn. So the search continues.

 

[Oren Hudson]

Too bad. Those are amazing cabs. I actually have 2.

 

[P-oddz]

Regarding the ports, here is how the cabs look stacked up properly. In the earlier post, where the two cabs are on the floor, note that the speakers are offset to one side - that's because the cabs are on the floor, resting on the casters, which are on the SIDES of the cabs.

I mostly kept them that way (when I owned the full stack) because my basement ceiling was barely tall enough to fit the stack horizontally, and I was never really able to give them enough juice without shaking my foundation. My wife was less appreciative of the volume capability then I was.

Admittedly, I did not know (or think) about stacking them with ports together. That kind of bums me out that I'll probably never get to experience the stack like that.
Maybe I wouldn't have wanted to sell the rig...

 

[zon6c-f]

Brother Oren one day I'll relieve you of your burden of owning 2

Of course I can't take a step outside the box to get a 301 so you're safe for now

Maybe it's a sign. Maybe I should persue another 1-18 VH. As lamp tables they'd match better as a pair !

 

[bobyoung53]

P-oodz Sunn made many variations

Mine looks like your pic only called 118-VH = one 18" Vega in a horn enclosure

M variant was Sunn Magna

118S or V was front loaded with silver grill cloth with Sunn or Vega speaker

On rare occasion when someone guested on my rig I was stunned as to how loud it was. 370 head set @2.2-5 at most. Gut punching at over 100 ft out
We mostly played in a Huge Am LegionHall

OT but I used to use 2 Sunn 2000S cabs with a Marshall Major head with a P bass and flatwounds in my ahem.... youth and those cabs used to vibrate everything, you could feel the air hitting you in the stomach out at about 20 ft in front of the stage, a bartender at a place we used to play regulary (PNA club) used to call us The Big Wind because of those cabs.

 

[Sunnmon]

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(?)

View attachment 1135759 View attachment 1135760

The Sunn 118V and 118M are the same cabinet and speaker. Cerwin Vega is what the "V" stands for and "M" is Magma, Sunn speak for CV18"(See the MFG code on driver). The 118VH is for Vega Horn. The horn loaded cab. The 118MH and BH are also same bin but the "M" units have CV 18" and I am unsure of the Red badged BH which is the same bin but possibly a Sunn 18" driver made in Kentucky(read Eminence)? As for Muddy, nope, tone is in your fingers. You can "stop" the notes bro....muting with the hand. Jaco can't play staccato passages on 18" Cerwin Vega speakers right? No Treble in Weather Report? Is it muddy in Canada? Jaco used 10" speakers

, right? $325 is a decent price for a good cabinet. Sunn recommends using them like this BTW. Both CV. Using like this makes it a 2000S cabinet on Growth Hormones. Mine were both $300 each. I had a 3rd one but sold it. And have these muddy "W" bins from ACC as well.

 

[Stumbo]

The As for Muddy, nope, tone is in your fingers. You can "stop" the notes bro....muting with the hand. Jaco can't play staccato passages on 18" Cerwin Vega speakers right? No Treble in Weather Report? Is it muddy in Canada? Jaco used 10" speakersView attachment 1188719 , .View attachment 1188720

Seems like a good fit for an adjustable HPF.