Sunn Concert Bass

The Sunn Concert 200 watt I own was made between 1973 and 1978. This amp fits my playing needs (in the solid state area of amp heads). It is pretty basic: volume, bass, mid, and treble. The cool part is that it has a brite input and switch which allows you to get a nice "pingy" sound. I play mostly punk rock, alternative, and grunge. But I do play some classic rock as well. It does not have headphone jacks. I have no idea how many ohms this head is rated at. I play it through a GK 2X10 goldline and it works fine though I feel as though I don't get the full 200 watts. You can hook up two amp cabs to this if you want. It accepts pedals very well. At any and all settings there is no buzzing or humming. I use it indoors in my room or outside in the garage. It has all the features I want out of a jamming/small gig amp. This is fine for band practice, jamming with loud playing friends, and for small gigs. If you are going to be playing at big gigs or concerts get another amp that is bigger. Keep the volume on head between 3 and 7.

I play through it with a Fender Standard Precision and Fender Standard Jazz. It suits my style and desires fine. I plays shows with a Mesa Boogie M-2000 with 2 Mesa Boogie 6X10 Powerhouse cabinets. This is a great head. Very clean. Best for punk rock,grunge, and alternative. It takes pedals very well.

NEVER had any problems with it. I gig with it never had it fail. Treat it nice and it will be nice to you for a life time.

Never called them. Never needed them. Never will need them.

I have been playing a couple of years. If stolen I would search the Earth to find another one. For a small solid state bass amp head you cannot beat its quality for the price. You could buy Markbass, Mesa, or Fender. But you would pay alot more.

I have used Sunn Products without a failure for 34 years. Saw a used 1973 Concert Bass amp for $129!! only missing the handle. This is a great amp for bass. Good to bring as a back-up because it is small enough and light enough yet very powerful. It's appointments are however very SPARTAN. Basic volume, treble, midrange, bass and Distortion(need a foot pedal to activate this)controls, single channel. 2 input jacks and a handy bright switch. Rear panel features a preamp output, power amp input(to use amp as a slave) and a single speaker jack. Minimum speaker load is 4 ohms, will work @ 8 ohms at power reduced to around 105 Watts R.M.S. This is an old school solid state amplifier sporting the same output transistors as the Acoustic 370, 2N3055, 4 of them.

The amplifier is very loud for a so-called output of 150 Watts, R.M.S. into a 4 ohm load. Fender basses are the only basses I currently own, strung with what else? Rotosound RS66LD roundwounds.
It sounds very similar to the Acoustic 370. Tone controls are not exactly Robust but for $129 it kicks butt, sounds better than G-K, Ampeg etc amps in it's category. Used for Rock-punk-fusion.
Primary speaker load has been 2 SWR Goliath III 4 x 10" cabinets, stacked. So this leetle amp on top of 8 10", well it rocks!

I own the following Sunn Amps:
Sunn Coliseum Bass Amp
Sunn Coliseum Lead Amp
Sunn Model T (4 x 6550 tubes)
Sunn Concert Bass Amp
Neva, I repeat neva eva broke down.
All amps are 1973 except the Lead which has red knobs.
No problems ever.

Lifetime warranties don't apply to used gear and not when said company has been outta biz-ness.
When they were active, Becky proved invaluable to me by supplying me with all schematics. Never needed 'em, but as a veteran Electronic Technician I wanted them just in case. Of wot I bluddy do not know.

I have played bass since 1971. Got My first Sunn Amp in 1974.
O.K., you asked for my other gear:

EQUIPMENT INVENTORY:

1. SUNN COLISEUM BASS AMPLIFIER, 1973

2. SUNN COLISEUM LEAD AMPLIFIER, 1975

3. SUNN MODEL T AMPLIFIER, 1973

4. SUNN CONCERT BASS AMPLIFIER, 1973

5. SUNN 200S SPEAKER CABINET WITH 2 JBL K140's, 1969

6. SUNN 215S SPEAKER CABINET WITH 2 JBL K140's, 1973

7. SUNN 215S SPEAKER CABINET WITH 2 JBL K140's, 1973

8. SWR GOLIATH III SPEAKER CABINET WITH 4 P.A.S., 2006

9. SWR 410T SPEAKER CABINET WITH 4 EMINENCE, 2005

10. FENDER BXR SPEAKER CABINET WITH 2x10, 1x18 EMINENCE, 2000

11. FENDER PRECISION BASS, 1967 WITH MAPLE FRETBOARD

12. FENDER GEDDY LEE JAZZ BASS, 2006

13. FENDER STRATOCASTER, 2006

14. GIBSON LES PAUL JUNIOR, 1957 (LEND-LEASE) TO ARIZONA BROTHER

15. YAMAHA CLASSIC GUITAR, 1980

16. ACOUSTIC 370 AMPLIFIER, 1974

17. ACOUSTIC 301HC CABINET, 1974

18. FENDER JAZZ BASS, MIM, 2002

19. ACOUSTIC 301HB CABINET, 1973

20. ACOUSTIC 450 AMPLIFIER, 1975

21. FENDER JAZZ BASS, CUSTOM SHOP, 1966

22. ACOUSTIC 140 AMPLIFIER, 1974

23. ACOUSTIC 406 WIDE CABINET, WITH 2 JBL K-140'S 1978

I've own this amp for over 30 yrs. I used to use it live. Great amp,but power, and bass end, to me, were a bit weak. I have the 2-15 folded horn cab.

When I used it, the power and bass end were a bit weak. I was playing a clear Renissance bass through it.

Never had an issue with it! I would however like to know more about this amp! If anyone has any info., it would be great!

N/A

Great!

Mine is a mid-'70s model with a red logo. I'm never quite sure whether the "features" rating should describe the actual number and variety of features or the usefulness and appropriateness of the features that exist. To put it simply, this amp does not have a lot of features, but the ones it has are useful. The front panel has two inputs, brite and normal, four dials (volume, bass, mid, treble), and a brite switch (that's right -- two levels of briteness, to make all your briteness fantasies come to life). I use the brite channel exclusively, though the brite switch sounds a bit cold and metallic to me. The rear has two speakers outs, plus a preamp out and power amp in -- useful if you want to place anything in the signal chain in between those stages. There's also an accessory outlet which is pretty handy. Last, it has very wisely-placed rubber feet on the end with the heavier transformer, plus a heavy-duty handle on the other end, so it's no sweat to carry it single-handed -- nice touch!

I play a Mexican Fender J with stock pickups, usually straight into the amp or with a Big Muff for fuzz. I use a 1980s Peavey 1x15 for a cab. As you might have already guessed, I'm a no-frills kind of guy. I'd rather find a sound I like and then worry more about what notes I'm going to play instead of endlessly tweaking. It's hard to make a bad sound with this amp -- it has a beautiful clean tone, and that's really all I want from it. Lots of bass, actually a great deal of mid-range honk that I tend to roll off, and, as we discussed, an almost limitless universe of briteness. It's plenty loud for rehearsal (with electric and acoustic guitars, keys, drums, and vox) and manages fine in the small-to-mid size clubs I play in, though the volume knob gets pretty close to 10 for performances. Sounds as good with the volume at 2 as it does at 10.

The amp does lose a couple points for noise, though. I was having some occasional problems at home with RFI, tuning in some very distinct radio stations, but I had an amp tech install ferrite beads on the power cord, and so far it hasn't come back. It wasn't a constant problem to begin with, though, so I'm not sure if it's solved for good. There's also some hum -- but what's a little hum between friends?

I've only had it going on three months, but it hasn't failed so far. Amp tech who looked at it said the power section had blown at some point, but it was repaired well and functions fine now. I mentioned the RFI, which was a pain, but it never effected a gig, just practicing in my apartment. I haven't abused it, and its previous owners took pretty immaculate care of it, so no serious problems are expected and none have been encountered. I'm not really in a position to own a backup, so when I considered buying vintage, I wanted to make sure what I got had a reputation for durability. Read the other reviews here -- does it sound reliable?

There's a very knowledgeable community of Sunn users on the internet which probably functions as better customer support than most existing companies.

I've been playing bass for around eleven years, gigging for money for about six. I play in indy/alternative bands where the instruments serve mostly to complement the voice, and my role is to sync up with the bass drum and push things along. That said, this is a great amp for any style of bass that uses a strong, clear, clean tone -- funk, blues, classic rock, etc. I play all of those styles through it for fun and it sounds great. If I lost it somehow, I don't know if I'd try to replace it with the exact same model, but I am definitely sold on Sunn amps and would look for another. As I said, I'd much rather pay attention to technique and musicality than to the gear I'm using, and this is a great amp to just forget about. Just play and enjoy the sounds you are making!

My bands bassist uses a 1976 model. It has an amazing sound that has been unrivaled by any other $700+ amp i've played. We got it for 100 dollars from a guy who used it with no problems what so ever. It sounds amazing and it can pump sound like no other. Treble, Middle, and Bass knobs are all you need apparently. Fender should have taken note when they bought them out.

We are using a Washurn Warrior with Humbuckers and a P-bass with open coil pick ups. It sounds amazing for the rock music we play. It sounds amazing with the washburn.

We just had our first problem, and it was because a kid turned the volume to 10 and played it as loud as possible. Blew the cab, a matching 215, but the head is still great.

Sunn is gone but there are tons of people who'd love to try to fix any of your problems. These are great amps.

We've played through tons of amps and if you ever see one like this, i would encourage that you get it and take it home. These amps rival any amp out there and are solid, great heads.

I think it was made in 75 or 76. It is extremly versatile. Play stuff from Hendrix Zepplin The Who Black Sabbath Tool Rush Ect...
On the front it has a bright and a normal input with a volume, bass, mid, treble and distortion. It also has a treble boost switch. On the back it has 2 speaker outputs, one power amp in one preamp in as well as a foot switch R & L inputs. No fancy stuff like big eq or gimics with this amp. Just Raw Power.

Use a costom jazz, Pj style pickups, 4 10inch Jbl's 4ohm with bullet horn in center of cab, and the old electro harmonics Bass Balls pedel. I love the the sweet spot on this rig. It sounds large. very responsive. The distortion is smooth yet powerfully charming.

Extremly reliable! Clean the pots once or twice.

Owned it for 15 years never had a problem exept Once but that was my falt. I used an 8 ohm speaker cab and it shut down due to overheating after about 15 min. Says on the back in big black letters it would do so. Other than that, never a problem.

Been Playin' for 23 years, If I were to lose this amp and came by another concert sunn I snage it up again. It's bullet proof! Has lots of power. You can't use an 8ohm cab or it will overheat and shut down as well as sound strange. You haved to use a 4ohm or 2ohm cabnet.

I bought my Sunn Amp at Daddy's junky music in Manchester N.H. in 1974, slightly used, I have used this amp for many hundreds of jobs. never one problem. what a great amp. from Jazz to deep country, just lay the 215 on its side and hear that great country bass sound come from it. it will make a great coffin when I die! cause it ain't for sale. Harry Gerard, Maryville Tennessee

as mentioned, it does the job. In my humble opinion, bass just needs to be bass. I rate the sound from the Sunn concert bass, as just great. no fancy frills/ no trace elliot type of space alien green light stuff, just one great amp.

like I said, bought used in 1974, and never one days problem at all.

don't need support. it was built right the first time.

playing since 1960/ I have lots of gear. audio centron amps for my p.a. (also bulletproof) JBL speakers I own a crate B100 small gig amp/ I own a Fender princton chorus/ many guitars, from tele's to strats, I sold my 1962 p-bass and kept my beloved westone rail. and it ain't for sale either. peavey foundation and I also have a 1959 dano six string with original coffin case

1975 Model with what I beleive is the "200" cabinet.
This amp is bullet proof. It's been a road warrior it's entire life and with no repairs. Wish I could buy a car that lasts this long. I bought it from a guy that used it for rock/blues/jazz since it was new. I hadn't seen the dude since we gigged in '76.
If your line power is filtered, you will not experience much noise. Otherwise this sucker is a noise antennae.

I wanted a strong keyboard amp and he was downsizing so I traded a small Peavey bass amp an $50. Have been using this amp for Emu and Kurzweil piano and Emu Classic keys. Lots of damn near subsonic lows produced here, much lower frequencies than a stringed bass and yet no distortion. It will rearrange furniture quite nicely. Amazingly, it also reproduces the high frequncies quite well also!

I use it as my 'monitor' amp but have to be careful not to go way beyond what even some BIG sound systems put out. I use it in 100% Bass, 100% treble and 50% Midrange settings for keys.

Twenty six years times 134 gigs per year = 3484 x five hours per gig = 17420 hours use with NO malfunctions or repairs.

Out of biznez since the guy that bought the company from the Kingsmen's Bro died in a plane crash and his family just let Sunn wither until Fender (2001) dusted off the marque. No reissues but one 1.2 Kw model !

I love this old amp more than my old Dual Showman because this one works ALL of the time.

Bought new in 1974, with lifetime warranty. Built for easy servicing with all transistors in sockets. Very reliable overload protection circuits. Single channel, very simple tone controls, footswitchable treble boost and gain boost. a very basic, no-frills amp.

a Sunn concert bass amp played through a Sunn 200s bottom with 2 JBL's was the classic pro bass rig in the mid-70's. More sock than a dual showman and more reliable than anything else on the market at the time. Somewhat noisy by modern standards but quite useable.

In 26 years of use, it only failed once: a blown up power supply rectifier in 1977, repaired free of charge.

The warranty lasted longer than the company. Too bad they don't exist any more.

unbeatable value in today's dollars, these amps sell used in oregon for around $100 and deliver 126 watts RMS into 4 ohms (later versions rated at 200 watts into 2 ohms). Limited tone choices but adequate for most purposes.

I was given this Sunn by my father and it needs a little more sound options

LOUD!!!!

When my amp gets used for more than 20 minutes it gets real hot then cuts out and turns off :(

I have not delt with Sunn yet

It is an neet amp but because it turns off, it defeats its use , because i cant use it for shows