Sunn Alpha 112P

Late 70s Sunn Alpha 112p combo; C-MOS solid state, 50 watts, single channel, 1 12-inch speaker, tuned ported cabinet (hence the "p"); controls for Drive (gain), Bass, Mid, Mid Freq. (midrange sweep), Treble, and Level (master volume); effects loop and headphone jack. A very basic, no-frills amp.

Absolutely the loudest 50w 112 combo you will ever play, by a long shot. Insane volume. Tuned, ported cabinet adds impressive bass response. Drive stays very clean right up until about 7, then breaks up in a big hurry. C-MOS technology provides a very respectable imitation of warm tube distortion blended with a bit of undeniably solid-state bite. It ain't pure-tube heaven, but it ain't bad. The clean sound is clear and bright, the dirty sound is thick and gritty. Maybe if you were willing to spend time tweaking, you could get a variety of distortions out of this amp, but it's really only got two specialities: ultra-clean or ultra-filthy, and it does both incredibly well, though the focus here is admittedly ultra-filthy. In ultra-filthy mode (Drive on 10) at neighbor-respecting volumes (Level 1-2), it can be a bit muddy, but it clears up significantly at higher volumes (Level 3-5) and from then on, it's just a matter of how many eardrums you want to kill. Not so amazing with high-speed riffing (death metal, thrash, etc.) at high Drive, but in that cleaner, higher Level area, you can get away with a bit.

I've only had this amp for about a year, so I can't really speak for its record, but it's 25 years old and doesn't seem to have any real problems at all. As is the Sunn reputation, it's built like a tank, and I'm sure it could take an impressive amount of abuse.

For the kind of music I play, which is very loud and thickly distorted guitar music, this amp is a great little unit. Fans of Black Sabbath and their contemporaries, as well as all their generations of massively heavy mutant progeny, will find it quite acceptable as a practice unit or a step on the way to your all-tube holy grail of choice. Yes, you could definitely play smaller gigs with it.

Please note, devotees of the new era of mesa/boogie triple rectifiers and peavy 5150s will not be terribly keen on this amp, I don't think. This is definitely old-school heavy, not new-school heavy.

I've had this amp for as long as I've played guitar, and it is perfect for any sound. I've used it for Grunge, Death Metal, Alternative Rock, and stuff like Collective Soul, which is what I play now. Only one channel with two inputs, and no footswitching (unfortunatly) and is a solid state. Has plenty of power and a great sound.

I use an old Cort with humbucking pickups, and it sounds great! Really mellow-warm sound, and even though it is a solid state, it rivals most tube amps. My friend has a Mesa-Boogie, and from time to tiem, he envies my amp. Good distortion, but the lack of channel switching has lead me to using individual effect pedals.

Schnapps, man!!! It's old!! The only problem I've ever had is that the side of the case is broken, but that's just because I've dropped it a couple times

I'd never get rid of this amp.

This amp is basicly the same as the other Alpha here in the database, except that it has no reverb. It does have the C-Mos technology. It features controls for Drive, level, bass, treble, mid,and mid frequency. To distort it you must turn the drive up and use the level as the volume. This was the first amp I bought, and has served me very well for years. I have used it primarily for practice with my bands. It is solid state, but has a very warm sound. I wish that it had reverb and chorus built in, but now days I don't need those features due to my effects processor. It has plenty of power for band practices and small gigs.

I have used everything from an Ibanez Les Paul copy to cheap Kramers and Fender Music Masters and Strats. I curently play a Kramer Nightswan as my main guitar. The deep tones of the guitar blend very well with the amp. This amp is very bassy. For my metal and punk style it is a winner. It sounds very rich and clean. The Mid frequency control is a great feature. It is like a flanger that you can set in one place. The distortion is deep and pretty well broken up. For hard rock, you don't need any further distortion. I have used an Omnifex and Dod distortions to boost it in the past.

Ask me this a year ago and there would be nothing to say. From 1987 till 1997 it was flawless. I replaced the speaker with a pyle because the original was starting to sound blown and I had the extra speaker. During the summer of 97, after serving as a Bass amp for my band, it broke. All of the sudden all I can get out of it is a loud buzz. Truth be known, it is not the amp's fault. It was never designed to be a bass amp and it served faithfully till the end. The problem is not a blown speaker because I've tried others. I really don't know what's wrong with it. I use a Fender 100 watt Tube anyway, but it does make me sad that such a great amp is in disrepair.

I've been playing for 11 1/2 years and have a Fender Super Six Reverb head with a home-made 2x12 cabinet. I also have a little Peavey Rage. I would definatly buy one again. Unless you abuse it like I did, it will serve you like a good dog.