Sunn amps.

[Jonny Dopamine]

I've fallen in love with these things, and I want to buy one, but I'm kind of clueless.

I've played through a colliseum bass (though i don't know what kind) and I think a concert bass...

I love the absolutely GARBAGE overdrive tone you can get from these. Easily the best sounding solid state over-drive I've ever heard.

Lets talk about these, I need to make a decision of which one to buy but I don't really know ****.

 

[tahbass]

Get a Sunn O))) 300T. 300 watts all tube power at 2, 4, or 8 ohm loads. Has two channels, 10-band graphic eq, compressor, and looks bad as hell. And I'm convinced that through the right speakers, this thing can crack the crust of the earth. I've got mine on 2 through an 810 and it's louder than the other four members of my band (drummer, keyboard player, and two guitars both with Sunn O))) guitar amps / cabs).

 

[Jonny Dopamine]

Nice, i've never heard of the 300T. Is that a pretty penny?

I've got an acoustic 810 right now. Unfortunately, it's the ****** guitar center kind, but I'm broke. I also have a 70's ampeg 215 and a ampeg PR410.

I'm hoping to snag one of the solid states for under 300 eventually, but tubes would be awesome.

 

[fu22ba55]

The SS Sunns and the Tube Sunns are both mighty, in different ways.

Sunns are VERY trendy (i.e. overpriced) right now due to the robes-and-fog crowd.

There's a 300T, and a 2000S both for sale in the TB classifieds, right now.

A search of this site via Google will yield TONS of info:

http://www.google.com/search?q=sunn+site:talkbass.com

Not to mention a trip by the Sunn forum.

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[MrDOS]

I prefer the pre-Fender Model T for "that tone." Listen to one if you can!

 

[Bassman822]

Isn't the Fender Bassman 300 Pro the same as the discontinued 300T?

 

[Jim Campbell]

Nice, i've never heard of the 300T. Is that a pretty penny?

I've got an acoustic 810 right now. Unfortunately, it's the ****** guitar center kind, but I'm broke. I also have a 70's ampeg 215 and a ampeg PR410.

I'm hoping to snag one of the solid states for under 300 eventually, but tubes would be awesome.

there's one in the classifieds now.....

 

[iualum]

Isn't the Fender Bassman 300 Pro the same as the discontinued 300T?

...affirmative...only difference is badging...love how some swear they're different, lol...

 

[tahbass]

The one for sale on here is at $1125 and for local pickup only. If you can get it, get it. I had a Behringer BX4500 and hated it (but I bought when I was 16 and had no gear knowledge at all), had an Ampeg SVT 4 Pro and didn't quite like that one (not loud enough, not mean enough), and then got the 300T and I will never look back. I'll never get rid of it, I see it being a permanent fixture in my setup. I may add some more stuff (really fond of some of the stuff Aguilar is making and might have to get a 70's SVT, also like Orange amps), but the 300T will undoubtedly be a constant.

Fender Bassman 300 is the exact same... Fender bought out Sunn (can't remember when specifically) and re-issued a lot of stuff (i.e. the 300T and Model T) with the Sunn name but then also made Fender copies (i.e. Bassman 300) of the Sunn models. As far as that goes, the re-issue 300T and the Bassman 300 are the same but I'm not sure if an older 300T would be slightly (or more) different.

FWIW, the Sunn logo is way more badass than Fender's...

 

[NKBassman]

Get a Sunn O))) 300T. 300 watts all tube power at 2, 4, or 8 ohm loads. Has two channels, 10-band graphic eq, compressor, and looks bad as hell. And I'm convinced that through the right speakers, this thing can crack the crust of the earth. I've got mine on 2 through an 810 and it's louder than the other four members of my band (drummer, keyboard player, and two guitars both with Sunn O))) guitar amps / cabs).

Just wanted to clear something up here, because I've been seeing a lot of it lately...

The brand is called Sunn.
The band is called Sunn O))), which is a reference to the Sunn logo.

Don't even get me started on Warmoth VS Warmouth...

 

[Lazarus.Bird]

Are the 300T and Bassman 300 actually identical? As in, the only real reason to buy the 300T over the Bassman 300 is the "cool" factor?

Also, just noticed the Bassman 300 doesn't retail anymore from MF and GC. What gives?

 

[tahbass]

I would tend to disagree with that, technically the brand is Sunn O))) because the O))) is part of the logo. People abbreviate it without the O))) because it's easier / quicker. The band took over the licensing rights after the brand got bought out by Fender (partially to keep the name going and partially because Sunns were pretty much the only amps they used). Also helps to distinguish the two a little bit, but really... all you have to do is put it into context and you can usually figure out which of the two is being referenced.

Lazarus.Bird, yes they are the exact same amp. Same transistor, same wiring config., same chassis design, same everything. The ONLY difference is that the Sunn O))) and 300T plates on the front were replaced with Fender and 300 ones, respectively. Not sure why they don't make them anymore (probably something along the lines of product cost and profit margins). You can still get them for relatively cheap used though (got my 300T used in great condition with footswitch for $1000 shipped). Note: relatively cheap in comparison to some other amps (for example an Aguilar DB751 goes for around $2200 new right now, and looking like usually around $1200 used).

 

[jnewton]

I'm dying for a Coliseum bass.

 

[fu22ba55]

I played through an 80's model Coliseum 300 into a single 15" on a backline for a few shows. (I think it was a Hartke 1x15 or something like that.) One of the the best SS tones I have ever heard. P-Bass --> Coliseum 300 --> 1 x 15.

 

[KramerBassFan]

I would tend to disagree with that, technically the brand is Sunn O))) because the O))) is part of the logo. People abbreviate it without the O))) because it's easier / quicker. The band took over the licensing rights after the brand got bought out by Fender (partially to keep the name going and partially because Sunns were pretty much the only amps they used). Also helps to distinguish the two a little bit, but really... all you have to do is put it into context and you can usually figure out which of the two is being referenced.

Lazarus.Bird, yes they are the exact same amp. Same transistor, same wiring config., same chassis design, same everything. The ONLY difference is that the Sunn O))) and 300T plates on the front were replaced with Fender and 300 ones, respectively. Not sure why they don't make them anymore (probably something along the lines of product cost and profit margins). You can still get them for relatively cheap used though (got my 300T used in great condition with footswitch for $1000 shipped). Note: relatively cheap in comparison to some other amps (for example an Aguilar DB751 goes for around $2200 new right now, and looking like usually around $1200 used).

Same transistors?

But, SUNN never made a 300 watt tube amp.

The 300t Is EXCLUSIVELY a Fender product, and not really even worth the name SUNN on it. Good amp? Fine. But its honestly not a SUNN. developed by FENDER, produced by fender, and renamed a FENDER eventually. So there is absolutely no difference between the SUNN 300t and the Fender bassman 300 or what ever they call it these days. Same amp through and through, minus the badge.

Sunn gear you said?

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I LOVE my Coliseum 300. Bought it over a year ago, no problems what so ever with very heavy use.

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[lbanks]

Thing is, I thought the OP said he like the sound of the Solid State Sunn's. That's different sound from the 300T. He might be looking for a Bass Coliseum 300, which can found pretty cheaply... if you can find one.

 

[KramerBassFan]

Thing is, I thought the OP said he like the sound of the Solid State Sunn's. That's different sound from the 300T. He might be looking for a Bass Coliseum 300, which can found pretty cheaply... if you can find one.

Yep.

Ebay is your friend... and no i don't have any of them for sale on ebay

 

[tahbass]

Same transistors?

But, SUNN never made a 300 watt tube amp.

The 300t Is EXCLUSIVELY a Fender product, and not really even worth the name SUNN on it. Good amp? Fine. But its honestly not a SUNN. developed by FENDER, produced by fender, and renamed a FENDER eventually. So there is absolutely no difference between the SUNN 300t and the Fender bassman 300 or what ever they call it these days. Same amp through and through, minus the badge.

Sunn gear you said?

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I LOVE my Coliseum 300. Bought it over a year ago, no problems what so ever with very heavy use.

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Thought the 300T was originally made circa 1990's by Sunn who was not bought out by Fender until the mid to late 90's? That's why the reissues started popping up around 1998-2001 before Fender completely dissolved Sunn in 2002...? My apologies if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that that was what happened.

 

[edbass]

I would tend to disagree with that, technically the brand is Sunn O))) because the O))) is part of the logo. People abbreviate it without the O))) because it's easier / quicker.

Technically? The name of the company was technically "Sunn Musical Instrument Co.", and the brand is "Sunn".
The "O)))" is just a modernized and stylized version of the picture of the smiley faced sun radiating rays that adorned the original logo.
It believe was changed in '66 or '67 because the original logo looked "old fashioned".

The band took over the licensing rights after the brand got bought out by Fender (partially to keep the name going and partially because Sunns were pretty much the only amps they used).

Huh? FMIC bought the full rights to the brand, logo and trademark from the Hartzell Co. in late 1985 (?), and still own them. Hartzell had owned the rights to Sunn since they bought the company from the founder, Conrad Sundholm, in 1971.
I think by “took over” you actually mean “committed blatant copyright infringement”.
I would imagine that they could be forced to stop, I think the point is, why waste the money and effort pursuing them?

You know the old saying; “You can’t get blood out of a stone”?

Personally, I think it applies here. Luckily (as far as the name is concerned, anyway) for them, their appeal and influence is so fringe, and their revenue likely so insignificant that Fender probably couldn’t even recoup their legal fees to sue them, and IMO the band is so obscure that any negative overall effect that they have on the brand is negligible at best.
Coupled with the fact that Fender isn’t even using the Sunn name presently, I would imagine that the attitude at FMIC would be “Who cares?”.

If there was any money to be had, or even if the artist’s influence reached a point where a measurable percentage of musicians (read; “potential Fender customers”) would identify the bands stolen trademark infringement directly to FMIC, I’ll bet it would be a different story.

I actually asked a Fender AR guy about it at a NAMM show a few years ago and his answer was “Who?”.
I tried to explain it and he said “Really? There’s a group out there calling themselves Sunn, spelled S-U-N-N? Hmmm… I wonder if legal knows about that.”

As far as Sunn being pretty much the only amps they use, if I were a gambling man I would bet that the reason they used Sunn amps was because they were real cheap in the 90’s, and they’re LOUD.

Thought the 300T was originally made circa 1990's by Sunn who was not bought out by Fender until the mid to late 90's? That's why the reissues started popping up around 1998-2001 before Fender completely dissolved Sunn in 2002...? My apologies if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that that was what happened.

KramerBassFan is spot on, the 300T is all Fender with Sunn badging. The last “Sunn” design was in the early/mid 80’s.
And… Fender didn’t “dissolve” anything; they just stopped production. If they wanted they could come out with a whole new Sunn line tomorrow.




P.S. This is my opinion/speculation based on the info I have. If anyone can provide proof that the band has FMIC's permission to use the Sunn trademark, I'll change my story and apologize for this post.

 

[tahbass]

Technically? The name of the company was technically "Sunn Musical Instrument Co.", and the brand is "Sunn".
The "O)))" is just a modernized and stylized version of the picture of the smiley faced sun radiating rays that adorned the original logo.
It believe was changed in '66 or '67 because the original logo looked "old fashioned".

Huh? FMIC bought the full rights to the brand, logo and trademark from the Hartzell Co. in late 1985 (?), and still own them. Hartzell had owned the rights to Sunn since they bought the company from the founder, Conrad Sundholm, in 1971.
I think by “took over” you actually mean “committed blatant copyright infringement”.
I would imagine that they could be forced to stop, I think the point is, why waste the money and effort pursuing them?

You know the old saying; “You can’t get blood out of a stone”?

Personally, I think it applies here. Luckily (as far as the name is concerned, anyway) for them, their appeal and influence is so fringe, and their revenue likely so insignificant that Fender probably couldn’t even recoup their legal fees to sue them, and IMO the band is so obscure that any negative overall effect that they have on the brand is negligible at best.
Coupled with the fact that Fender isn’t even using the Sunn name presently, I would imagine that the attitude at FMIC would be “Who cares?”.

If there was any money to be had, or even if the artist’s influence reached a point where a measurable percentage of musicians (read; “potential Fender customers”) would identify the bands stolen trademark infringement directly to FMIC, I’ll bet it would be a different story.

I actually asked a Fender AR guy about it at a NAMM show a few years ago and his answer was “Who?”.
I tried to explain it and he said “Really? There’s a group out there calling themselves Sunn, spelled S-U-N-N? Hmmm… I wonder if legal knows about that.”

As far as Sunn being pretty much the only amps they use, if I were a gambling man I would bet that the reason they used Sunn amps was because they were real cheap in the 90’s, and they’re LOUD.



KramerBassFan is spot on, the 300T is all Fender with Sunn badging. The last “Sunn” design was in the early/mid 80’s.
And… Fender didn’t “dissolve” anything; they just stopped production. If they wanted they could come out with a whole new Sunn line tomorrow.




P.S. This is my opinion/speculation based on the info I have. If anyone can provide proof that the band has FMIC's permission to use the Sunn trademark, I'll change my story and apologize for this post.

Withdraw all previous statements. Well-played, sir. I didn't realize the last model was hashed out in the 80's. Sorry for making myself look like a jack-ass. At any rate, the 300T's a great amp (IMO). As far as the OP, I suppose it doesn't apply since it's tube not SS. Again, my apologies for submitting quasi-irrelevant info.