Sunn Beta Bass

I bought my sunn beta bass 2-15inch speakers combo in 80 or 81. My first real amp! Two channels AorB, if you had the foot switch you could toggle between them. It had drive (gain) so one clean and one distorted channel, or both at the same time. Big and heavy with casters. Only 100 watts, but loud enough to keep up with anything. I got roger waters deep to grand funk grind. the first speakers blew up, replaced them with jbl 15's. Sometimes I would pickup radio signals! I miss that amp!!!!!!

Basic layout but very versitile. Didn't have the footswitch so never had two sounds at once, but never needed it. Played rock,punk,metal, and new wave no problem

Had the head fixed twice, speakers replaced once, so it wasn't bullet proof. But I beat that amp hard!!!!!!!!!

Had it fixed at music store so I never delt with sunn.

I look on ebay for one all the time, but the two 15 combo is hard to find. I've seen the head alot. I saw one in las vagas but to much $ to ship to NY. Fragile though I don't think many are around. I miss that amp even though it was not practical.

I got a Sunn Beta Bass head for free from my older brother. It's very nice head, but it's blown a few caps. because of it's age and mistreatment. They were made in the late 70's and early 80's. It has two channels, both have drive pots. you can also plug into a separate channel that will switch between the two. Unfortunately mine doesn't have the footswitch anymore, and it's next to impossible to find one. This amp is not 100W, it's 300W, and is very, very loud!

I play it with an active Heartfield Prophecy II through a DOD Bass Compressor and out a Behringer BA810. It's a bit noisy but most bass amps that age are. This thing LOVES to be cranked! The louder it is, the better it sounds! It has the cleanest, most natural sound of any amp I've ever heard. Do not play through this with a cheap bass. Unfortunately most of the power is found in the drive, so if you want a real clean sound it will be a little on the quiet side, but as soon as you turn up the drive, even a little, it instantly comes to life with a roar! The drive in-itself is quite versatile. You can have everything from a screaming mess, to a thick muddy rumble, to a just a hint of fuzz. It's pretty amazing.

Here's where it goes downhill for me, I've had for the better part of a year now and it's broken down twice, actually only once since I've been playing it. Since it is a solid state head it's a little more reliable, and road tough, than a tube head. But because of it's age, it's prone to not being it's best from night to night. Also since it is a solid state amp, it's a right pain in the butt to fix.

Sunn was bought out by Fender years ago.

I've been playing bass for five years now and I must say this a really good amp for any price. I also own(as mentioned before) a Heartfield Prophecy II, although it's labeled as a Fender, and a Behringer BA810. I also own a Behringer BX1200 Ultrabass combo, an old Magnatone 2x15 combo, a Johnson JJ-850, a Kramer Focus IIIS, an Epiphone LP Junior, and a Marshall MG50DFX.

I've been offered several trades, including a Plush head, and a Behringer Ultrabass 3000 head, and have turned both down because this head sounded an awful lot better. If you can find one, get it, they're normally pretty cheap and are well worth it.

I purchased this amp in 1979 from Sound of Music. It is a combo FET amp with one 15" speaker, two channels each with its own input, drive, level, bass, mid, and treble. It has an input so one can combine both channels. This is a very solid, heavy cabinet with casters. The amp is covered with a tough, thick, black mesh material. The paper cone speaker blew the first year I had it. I had the speaker reconed and it's still going strong. Channel A always popped whenever I turned the amp on or off. One can get a harsh fuzz bass sound by using the drive and level. Works well for keyboards as well as bass. Is loud with lots of bottom.

I used this with a '77 Gibson Ripper. It had an ever present hiss and occasionally picked up radio stations. Loud enough to use for vocals.
Lemmy-like distortion. When used with keys, will keep up with the loudest drummer or a guitarist with a Mesa Mk IV.

The speaker was not built to handle bass. After the recone, I had no other issues with it. It had beer spilled on it, was dragged up and down stairs, was dropped on asphalt, and after I sold it to Norm, some psycho named Duke-O twisted two of the knobs off it. It's still going strong.

N/A. Sunn is long gone.

It was a good first amp. Now I use a Bassman 135.

Made in the 70's. Solidstate fet amp. I play Avent-Garde, Jazz, and some Metal. The Beta has 2 channels, and a channel to combine both channels. It has two effects loops. I mainly use this amp to fool around on, and on some recordings.

I use a 1978 Fender P-Bass, with Duncun Bass Line pickups. It has a pretty nice sound for a solid state amp, actaully sounds very warm, much like a tube amp. Has a very grindy overdrive, which i like quite alot. Sorta noisy at when overdrive is cranked, but most amps are when the overdrive is cranked. Very nice sounding amp overall, though my main amp, my ADA MB-1, is much more versitile, and is what i use most of the time when I play out.

Seems very reliabile, though a power fet died, most likely due to age, not to big of a problem.

Never delt with them.

i have been playing 6 years. I own an ADA MB-1 preamp, ADA MP-1 preamp, Ampeg SVT 200T amp (used as poweramp) BBE 422 Maximizer, Mesa Boogie 4x10 bass cab, 1x15 Mesa Boogie Bass Cab, Dean Rhapsody 12 string bass, Pro-Co Rat, DOD envelope fiter, crybaby wah, MXR bass octave. I also own a Sunn Beta Lead with a 4x10 guitar cab to match the beta bass. If it got stolen I prolly wouldn't go out and get another one unless i could get a really good deal like i got with this one. I thik would rather have one of the sunn Tube heads instead.

I bought the amp used, but I was told it was from the '70's. I play in a cover band and an original band, but no matter what band I'm with it will sound like AC/DC because that is what my guitar player sounds like (same guitar player both bands). The amp has a "clean" channel, an "overdrive" channel, and a "blend" channel. My amp did not come with a footswitch. I do not use effects, and I'm not going to walk downstairs to find out, so I don't know if there is an effects loop or not. Rock-n-Roll should never be played through headphones, so again I dont know if it has a headphone jack without walking downstairs. I only use this amp in practice. I play a Fender Hot-rodded P-Bass (American Made), and I have no problem hanging with the drums and guitar. I would give it a higher rating, but I'm not a fan of 15 inch speakers so I will give it a 8 for a practice amp.

I have a Harmony (JC Penny catalog) with P/J pick-ups which I never play. It was my first bass so I will never get rid of it. I have an Epiphone EB-O with one "humbucker" and it sounds like a muddy mess through this amp. As stated before my practice bass is a Hot-rodded P-bass and it sounds fine with this amp. I only use the P pick-up and not the J. I have not used my Fender American Deluxe P-Bass through this amp yet. I only play this bass out. Even though I only practice with it in the "classic rock" sound, it can produce a Tool sound which I also like.

I bought it used and have not had ony problems in the 1.5 years that I have owned it. I wouldn't hesitate on using this amp in a live setting even though I never have. I just like the sound of my main set up better.

I have never had to deal with customer support.

I have been playing for 7 years. I own the above for mentioned basses. An Epiphone acoustic guitar(dont know model), and an Epiphone Les Paul. Only been playing guitar about a year and just bought the Les Paul today. A Fender R.A.D. bass combo. A Peavey 2X10 bass combo with a 2X10 extension cabinet that I never play. The Sunn Beta Bass, a Sunn 300T with a Genz-Benz 4X10 cabinet (my main set-up love the sound) and a Sunn 2X15 cabinet again not a fan of 15's. I prefer the 300T because of tubes. I got tired of messing around with all those solid state amps, and thought it was time to move on to tubes, and boy was I right. But I also beleive tube amps are meant to be be turned on and left on until the gig is over which is not practical for a practice amp. So the Beta Bass fills in nicely.

my amp was made in 70 i beleive.
i play smooth, rough, loud, and i slap / pop a lot....this amp blow all competition outta the water.
this amp has two seperate, combinable channels, the channels are foot swithchable. nice clean effects loop. and two speaker outputs.
i kinda wish it had a punch effect built in although it sounds great for slapping already.i use this amp everywhere from the bedroom to the clubs. this amp is only rated for 100w @4ohms, but it will kick out enough to make a Peavey 1502-4 hit bottom with no trouble.
This is a solid state amp, but it sounds like a good old british tube.

i use two fender jazz pickups in a milestone 3, and a 1972 fender P-bass limited edition.
I play all styles of rock jazzy stuff and funk, it suits everything at the same time with a simple stomp of the foot.
the drive can sometimes be a lil noisy and rattly in big dry halls, otherwise very tight and punchy.
the amp can suit any style of bass playing.

I blew one speaker in the thinmg, but it wasnt the origanol. I ve never had any prob with the amp itself though, besides blowing 15 inch speakers like their goin outta style.

Sunn was bouight out by Fender and drove into the ground, piss off really. There are still servicer to fix them tho.

i have been playin this amp for 3 years or more, ive had numerous other amps, but ill always keep the beta bass, as a beast of bass sound and as a collectors item.
If it were stolen or lost i would hunt the man down who stole it and hurt them seriously bad. I would also hunt for another beta bass.
I love the raunchy power and sound, but hate the fact that i cant keep woofers in it, and its really heavy.
I ve compared to numerous fenders, Gallien kruegers, yorkvilles, peaveys, and ampegs, the Sunn is the best.

I don't know exactly what year this Sunn beta bass was manufactured but I think it was in the seventies. The amp is very verstile. The two channel feature and channel switcher gives me the ability to change from a clean sound to a heavy driven sound at will. The amp itself is not too complicated but it has a wide tonal control. I replaced the original 15" speaker with a 500 watt 4 ohm Peavey Black Widow. This has given the amp a serious set of balls! It is a combo with 2 speaker jacks rated at 100 watts, 4 ohms. With just using the one speaker I would put this amp up against any 300 watt combo or stack any day. The original speaker was not nearly as good though.

I am playing a Dean Bass with active electronics through the Sunn. Of course the Dean is a beautiful instrument and the Sunn makes the Dean sing with a tone that is really top shelf. The clean sound is almost like listening to a piano and the driven sound is real thick and gutsy. This amp has the sound I would want to put on the record. The gain control is kind of sensitive so you kind of have to play around with it a little. Once you get used to it you have the ability to go from a real pretty melodic bass line to a heavy driven groove at the flip of a switch. This amp is truly ahead of it's time. This amp is not made for thumpers, it is made for the bassist who wants to bring the bass into the forefront as a lead instrument. Players like Geddy Lee, Geezer Butler and Steve Harris come to mind.

The original speaker did blow shortly after I bought it, but this was probably due to age. This amp is heavy! When I changed the speaker I discovered why. The cabinet is constructed and heavily reinforced with quality wood. I could probably roll this amp down the stairs at our practice room and it would be fine. This amps is heavier than the head and 4X10 cabinet I used to use put together! It has wheels and that makes it all better.

Sunn is now produced by Fender and I haven't had any dealings with them yet.

I've been playing guitar for 20 years and bass for about 8 or 9 years. I don't think I could replace this amp seeing as Sunn no longer exists as it used to. If I had to replace this amp I would probably try the new Sunn first and then go from there. I definitely would have to get as close to this amp as I could. I did look at a number of different amps such as Ampeg Peavey and SWR, but I fell in love with tone and sound of the Sunn. The only thing I didn't like about the Sunn was it's lack of power. It is loud enough to use at rehearsal and if I need to I can always line out into the P.A. at a show.

Amp dates from late 70's. I bought it in about 1979. It is a solid-state channel-switching amp with a foot-switch to control channel selection. It has one master volume control, and gain and tone controls for each channel. It is rated at 100W RMS @ 4 ohms. Plenty of power for most applications. While it also came as a separate head, my unit is a 1x15" combo. It originally came with a Sunn bass speaker w/a large rectangular ceramic magnet. Have used this amp over the years for all types of performances, including a couple of years in a wedding band - everything from metal to polkas. The amp is extremely versatile, and the channel-switching allows you to have entirely different sounds available at the touch of the footswitch. Previously owned a SUNN 200-S, got out of the business, sold it, and when I started playing again, wanted another SUNN. THis was a good choice!

Have used it primarily w/a 1967-vintage Gibon MelodyMaker Bass reffitted w/ a Demarzio pickup and a Badass bridge. The amp is capable of about any sound I have tried to get. I swapped out the SUNN speaker for a Utah AlNiCo speaker, then for a JBL D-140F. Always liked JBL's. The sound is great! Some hum, but not bad. Can sound very clean, and the distortion is controllable. Punchy!

This amp was bought used in 1979 and has never failed me yet. It is well-built and heavy-duty. In 22 years, I have only had to change the power cord plug, which was my fault.

SUNN was a great company, but they are sadly gone. Don't know how Fender will deal with the old equipment.

Have been playing off-and-on since 1966, wrecking my ears in the process. Currently have my old Gibson bass, a Les Paul Studio, the SUNN, a Fender BX-25 (a great little amp), a Fender Stage 100, an assortment of speakers and cabinets, and several vintage Gibson acoustic 6-and-12 string guitars. I think the SUNN Beta Bass 115 amp is great, and I love the sound and its versatility, but it seems to get heavier every year (about 85 lbs). I got the BX-25 just to take around to casual jams and to play bass with acoustics. No more ball-busting amps for me! If it were lost, I would probably get a GK with a 12" speaker, or a non-combo. But I love SUNN amps!

I bought this amplifer in the summer of 1978 and had no problems until recently. I has is a mono transistor self contained 100 watt power amplifer with two channels that are combined into one or two 8 ohm outputs. The reason for this is that you can have two musicians play out of one speaker and each musician can have a totally seprate controls: drive, bass, treble, midrange, and level. There is one master volume knob that contols both channels. The real beauty is that there is a third input that (with the aid of a foot switch that I never have the pleasuer to get) can toggle between channels A and B thus giving the player two different sounds. Now even though it is a bass amplifer and works well as such you guitarist (metal heads) will love it! It has the ump like a marshall and can be put into a distorted output by turning the channel level all the way up, turning the drive to 3 and the master to 10. sounds scary but the thing starts to growl like a an electro voice big muff with tone control. Each channel (including) the master has a effect in and out so you can have three effects at the same time without putting it in line from the bass to the input (which until recently is what most bass players had to do). I also us a tube works mosvalve 500 and I can use the sunn as a preamp and drive a large speaker array with both amps, the sun drives the mid / treble section and the MV drives 18" woofers I can be contacted at Milari@email.com

I am a Louis Johnson style bassist. I use a G&L L2000 I like the amp because it is easy and very clean in most venues. If it had more power like it's bigger brother it would have been dangerous. I wish I could find an old earth amp so I could get that old 70's type meat.

I always carry this amp and used it forever, it never let me down Right now I pulled it out of the closet and I'm having trouble with the interal fuses blowing but nothing major.

the company is dead and gone!!!!

I have been playing for over 25 years and my equipment list is simple Kramer Bass flying V, Autograph II, SWR Goliath, and hartke 410T if it was stolen I would get the rackmount version of the beta bass