Sunn 1200S Cabinet Pairing - too much power?

[vitalelectric]

So I just got a Sunn 1200s (read 2000s) head, after scouring through these threads, and with the indirect consultation of @edbass, and I'm looking for a good cabinet. The 2x15 Sunn's seem to be rare as hen's teeth. Any recommendations?

Also, the Sunn is overpowering my Bergantino 8ohm 1x12 cabinets attached in parallel, which are both rated at 350 watts a piece, but it seems like the Sunn is blowing them up - speaker over excursion (resulting in distortion) even with the volume at 2 on the Sunn. Is this abnormal? Speakers in the Berg's are in good shape - maybe just getting an enormous amount of low end...any ideas?

 

[walterw]

it seems like the Sunn is blowing them up - speaker over excursion (resulting in distortion) even with the volume at 2 on the Sunn. Is this abnormal? Speakers in the Berg's are in good shape - maybe just getting an enormous amount of low end...any ideas?

you're watching out for the right thing here, the amp just pushing those small cabs too hard with too much low end. when they stop sounding clean is when you have to back off.

the only "ideas" out there are to back off the volume and low end and add/change to bigger/more cabs.

(that said, i was always disappointed with the complicated preamps on those fender/sunn 300/1200s, they were just too "congested" with too much EQ and stuff going on. i felt like you could get a cleaner, better bass tone by running a sansamp pedal or something into the FX return and bypassing all that junk)

 

[vitalelectric]

Sorry - should've specified this is an older 1200s from the 70's - not quite as much horsepower as the newer 1200s, but I understand the same principle applies. It really does sound fantastic at lower volumes, I just want to be able to realize my full thunderdom in a live setting.

Funny you mention that about sansamps/fx returns - prior to the 1200s, I had been running into a sansamp vt bass into the return of my Aguilar AG500 (with the same cabinets). Only problem there was zero headroom when blasting it with a fuzz. Which, ironically, is what blew up the front end of the AG500 and cause me to get creative with that workaround in the first place...

 

[walterw]

Sorry - should've specified this is an older 1200s from the 70's

well hell, into two berg cabs you're probably just overdriving the amp itself;

with 4 6550s it's pushing 100w, maybe 200 at the absolute max.

something like that needs big cabs to get any kind of clean rock band volume, like a pair of 2x15 cabs wouldn't be out of line