Sunn Beta-Lead

I have the 2x12 combo in great shape. I also have the 3-button footswitch (Both Channels / Channel Select / Reverb on-off).

This amp was made in 1980.

I play it like crazy at school - it is my only gigging amp. I use it mainly for keyboards, actually, guitar comes second.

With keyboards, I play mainly with jam bands, and I play everything from SRV covers on a fat Hammond setting to screeching leads through a distortion and wah pedal to soft pads. The Beta Lead responds to each of these with a warmth that I don't find in any solid-state keyboard amp.

For guitar, I play mainly grunge, punk, and metal. I sold my Marshall MG100 combo for this amp, and I haven't been disappointed. It plays much more nicely with my pedal setup and has much more volume and balls than the Marshall did.

There are two channels, A and B, which have identical sets of controls (completely seperate). You can plug into one or the other, run the two seperately, or you can plug into the middle jack and use both. Each has a seperate effects loop as well. You can use the footswitch to select one channel or both.

The amp's only effect is spring reverb, which is fine with me - I would rather have the effects at my feet in pedals. I do wish it had some kind of accessory power jack on the back so I didn't have to use two outlets when I play.

This has a TON of power. It can drown out two (yes, two!) heavy hitting drummers and a bass player with a thing for his 4x10 cab when I play keyboards through it!

The amp doesn't really have a clean or dirty channel, it all depends on how you set the gain knob. Put it below three and you've got pretty pristine signal, very warm, especially for a solid state amp. Cranking the knob to about 5 you get some pretty good blues and grunge distortion, has some balls, crunchy but not seething. Twist the knob all the way to 10 and you've got a full on, rip-your-face-off crunch. I love it for some of the punk I play.

This amp also tolerates any kind of pedal REALLY well! I use a Line6 Uber Metal pedal to great effect, getting a little more gain from the amp extends pinch harmonics a bit better than with the pedal alone.

I own a Dean Dime Razorback, a Dean Les Paul-shape with a Dimebucker in the bridge, a 1986 Charvel Model 5, and a cheap Epi with a Duncan Detonator in the bridge. I play all sorts of styles, but mostly grunge, punk, and metal.

Keyboards, I own a Nord Lead 2X, a Roland Fantom x6, a Korg Kaoss pad, and some otheres.

It is noisy when you crank it up!!! The level of hiss is quite minimal even at large gain and volume. This thing just absolutely roars when you get the master volume past five or six.

Never had a single problem with it - which is great, the thing is almost 30 years old! It stands up to twice a week gigging and three times a week classes all over town.

The amp has never broken down or had any problems. I'm handy with a soldering iron, and I bet I could fix it if I had any problems with it. I gig without a backup all the time.

Built like a tank - only heavier! Casters are a lifesaver here.

The company doesn't exist, but there are some very knowledgeable people on the Unofficial Sunn forums at www.sunn.ampage.org. I asked all sorts of questions and they answered every one really well.

I love this amp! I've had it for about two years now. I used to own a Marshall MG100 2x12 combo, but I sold it to get this. I own a small Crate practice amp.

I would cry if this thing got stolen, because I got it for a great (read: low) price. I would replace it as soon as possible.

I love the versatility of the amp, I hate the weight.

I own 2 of the beta lead combos that have the 2 X 12" speakers at 45 degree angles. I bought the first one at Goodwill and the second on Ebay. I believe they come from the late 70's/early 80's. The most obvious feature is the ability to play through both channels (A and B) simultaneously. This allows you to dial in some amazing sounds. Switching between the two channels also is helpful sometimes (although most of these amps never come with the footswitch, which can be hard to find. It's a weird 4-pin configuration on the jack, so a 1/4" jack won't work). If you're patient you can find a footswitch on Ebay and likely pay $20-$50 for it. Another nice feature is the ability to run an extention speaker cabinet. Believe me, this amp can drive it! It's a beefy, solid, powerful (100 watts) amp for playing rock. It sounds good clean also, so I imagine it would work well for other styles. The reverb is decent. The drive knob adds a nice, thick gain. For a solid state amp, this thing sounds awesome. It sounds "multi-dimensional" and has soul. Most solid state amps have a rather sterile sound. This amp actually sounds warm and tubey, believe it or not. Also, it weighs a ton, so if you will be transporting it do yourself a favor and get some casters.

I play an Epi Les Paul Custom (with the 2 stock humbuckers) through it and that has a nice Sabbathy 70's rock sound. I heard King Buzzo of The Melvins used one (or two) as well as Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) occasionally, so maybe that gives you some idea. I play in an instrumental stoner rock/math rock trio and it's perfect for that. I also use a Big Muff (Sovtek green) and a HomeBrew UFO fuzz for different distortion sounds and they work well with the amp. An MXR micro amp also comes in handy for driving a lead. The amp doesn't create much unwanted noise. You can get just about any sound you want out of it. The E.Q. range is very sufficient. You get big bottom end, thick driving mids and sparkling highs. I love the speakers (SUNN) they sound awesome----huge square magnets!

Mine have been pretty darn dependable. I did blow the speaker leads one time, but since I had that repair ($18 cheap!) it's been smooth sailin'. Besides, that happened when I first got it and who knows how long it's been (if ever) since the amp had any attention. Remember, these things are 25+ years old. I would gig without a backup, although I have heard more that one person say that they break down.

I used to own one of the beta lead heads (no speakers attatched). Someone gave it to me and said it didn't work. I showed it to one repairman and he gave up on it and said I could use it for parts. I got a second opinion and this guy fixed the amp. I will say that I didn't like the sound of the beta lead head as much as my beta lead combo. It just didn't measure up somehow. My rating for this category is based on the following factors: 1) SUNN is no longer in business, so how could they possibly help? and 2) What's the likelyhood of getting it fixed by a good repairman if it breaks down?

I have been using this amp for a year. I like most SUNN amps that I've met. I also have a Model T and a Sceptre (SUNN tube amps). I liked the Beta Lead so much after I had used it for a few months that I started searching for another one. I found one on Ebay for the "buy-it-now" price of $299 w/free shipping. So not only would I buy it again but I did buy it again. I love everything about the amp except for the weight.

Bought new in April 1980 for $350! Channels are A, B, or both. This head sounds like anything you want it to sound like. I have even used it as a bass head! I have stereo out on my pedalboard, so I use channel A for direct and channel B for effects. I mix channel B lower than channel A for that perfect blend. One time I had to use channel B for my bass player. I ran a cord from the channel out to a power amp that we ran to his 18" cab. Channel A ran my cab as normal and channel B ran his cab. How many amps can do that!

I play a stock 1972 SG Custom with 2 humbuckers. The clean sound is incredible. A warm mix of bass, mid and treble. The Drive distortion can sound like Brian May or you can get that early Metallica sound. Tweaking the tone controls is key in getting a variety of sounds. I use an acoustic simulator pedal that sounds great with the clean sound. I also play heavy rock and I can see my Carvin 4x12 cab's speakers thumping! If you keep the channel levels lower than the Master Volume, the amp stays clean. If you crank the channel levels higher than the Master Volume you get big noise and enough distortion to renovate a house!

I have used the amp since April 1980 with no back up ever. I blew out an output transformer once because I ran a 4 ohm cab with it. I have had the pots replaced because the shafts break off easily. The Master Volume had to be replaced in 2000, because it got scratchy. I have used it in the studio for all Iron Man recordings and live shows!

Sunn is gone. I know Fender carries Sunn products now, but they haven't reissued the beta series yet. I go to Guitar Center for repair work.

I have been playing 41 years. I also own Rickenbacher 4001, Saga Precision kit bass, B.C. Rich Mockingbird and Yamaha Pacifica. 4 Carvin 1980 4x12 cabinets loaded with Eminence speakers. If something happened to this amp, I would buy another one right away! Univox made an amp model U130L that is close to the Sunn. They are gone too.

I have the head model, bought used, if you know what these are they probably have what you want, if your looking for one. However would have liked it if it would have had tremolo, but had reverb, better than my bassman on that note. Has out puts out the ass in the back as well, can't go wrong there either

playing with a 1969 fender telecaster thinline. Suits me fine for clean and distorted. The clean is AMAZING and you can stick pedals in front of it if you wanted to tweak the sound. Sounds great for post-rock/indie/garage/shoegaze/stoner... yeah I guess I play in a band that blends that many tones or whatever..... Sounds nice clean, better than my vox... has a little noise from the drive, but with some electronics spray cleaner should fix that,I hope, but you can't hear it when you play. The distortion is something that not all will want, not marshall, or mesa, or any of that shit... total tonal mush, which is still reasonate , but just I dunno SONIC DOOM, hence why I love it.

I am sure I could drag this behind my car and live, they don't have/had lifetime on the thing for no reason

what sunn....? Fender, bleh... sorry pal

Been playing for around 10 years. IF it were stolen and I didn't have to pay the inflated prices, yeah I would buy a new one. IF not I would go for the Sunn brand different head, just because I dunno , would want to try them out, and some of the others seem better. I mean EVERYONE who brings sonic doom/bliss plays these, growing, Sunn-0 , Earth, etc

This is an early 80's beta lead. The amp itself is not really that versatile, but the fact that it blends so well with distortion pedals makes up for that quickly. I play experimental. It's pretty loud, could be louder.

Gibson SG, Japanese Boss SD-1, Japanese Boss DF-2, Digitech WH-1 Whammy, Zvex Fuzz Factory. For what it does, I really love it. The tone is very rich, dark, and unique. The feedback is gorgeous. My first impression was Nirvana Bleach. It really has that feel, dark and grungy. The distortion is good. Still, this amp can't hold a candle to a Paul Rivera Fender Twin Reverb II, the last amp I owned. (fucking government stole my amp....long story). But hey, for the price, great amp. I run it through a Marshall 4x12

Not sure. Seems pretty solid.

no clue

Been playing 12 years. I would buy 10 of them for $235 if I had the cash. These things are increasing in value really quick, and are going on ebay for $500+. I lucked out on mine. I think they are going up in value because of the current Melt Banana tour (Agata plays one). I wish the distortion was more versatile.

Schematics for this amp are at http://www.dangpow.com/~sunn/svcmans/beta/.

My review is somewhere on this page.

Sunn Beta Lead, the head version, not the combo. Two channels. Three inputs so you can use one channel at a time, or both channels at once. I don't have a footswitch for this beast but I'll bet you could rig one up with a trip to Radio Shack. 4 ohm speaker outputs. Sort of limiting, but it won't hurt the amp if you use speakers of higher ohmage, and no matter what, this amp is always putting out its full power unless you somehow have a 2 ohm cabinet, which would damage the head anyway. Solid state head.

I play a Fender American Standard Strat with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickup in the bridge. I play the head through a Line 6 cabinet with Celestions in it. This amp has an amazing clear and full clean sound, very tube like response. I've had this amp on 8 (which is DAMN loud) and the sound was still clean as could be. The reverb sound is awesome. I would highly recommend using this amp for this application! As for the distortion, well, you either love it or you hate it. There is a lot of distortion on this head, particularly if you use both channels. If you like the Melvins, Earth, Black Sabbath, etc., then this distortion will be right up your alley. If you're more into the super compressed, Mesa Boogie type gain, look somewhere else. Also, this is quite a loud head. I normally use a Crate Shockwave 350 watt and this amp competes with that head, even in the headroom department!

I just bought this head off of Ebay recently. When I first got it, the amp cut out a little bit, but then worked fine for the half hour or so I played with it. So, I really can't give a good opinion in this area now.

Well, Sunn is long out of business, and I'm probably like the 10th owner of this head so there is no warranty. I've been told Fender techs will work on Sunn stuff, but I wouldn't know.

I've been playing guitar for 11 years and this head has the best clean sound I've ever heard from any amp, period. I've played Fender heads before and they sound nice but lack severely in headroom, and other modern metal amps are designed for players who mostly use their gain channel, so the clean on those amps isn't as pristine. I love that this amp is loud and clear all the way through, and has a very unique, thick distortion tone. I'm a little wary that the amp is so old and that most of the parts are probably impossible to get anymore, but such is the way of vintage equipment: it sounds good because the parts inside are obsolete. I really wish I had a footswitch for this thing, but whatever. I still have my Crate head, which is a nice head, too. Still, nothing beats vintage!

Made in 70's, Bought 1978 I think? This one has two 12 inch speakers, replaced with celestions, The speakers are set angled towards eachother just over 45 degrees, so it has sorta wide dispersion. and creates great feedback when you get it right.
Lots of GRUNT, I read somewhere that Curt Cobain had one of these he used for bigger gigs, when his Marshall 1959 wasn't LOUD enough!!!
Believe IT! I can rarely get it over 2 else i get an unfriendly visit!Lottsa features, Has Footswith, changes channels A, B, A+B,
Reverb on/off.

Chainsaw Distortion, Any amount, I NEVER use it on 10, sounds crap, but less is more here, you have to get the drive/level/master just right, Then use FX.
It is real hissy when any amount of drive is used, you only hear it in the quiet bits, but annoying.
It puts out a solid usable variation of sound, if a bit noisy,
Handy one clean one dirty channel setup, or A+B for more mix options
each channel has send/return loop on back, also Master send/return.
2 speaker outputs.
I have run two Celestion Quads with this and I think I damaged my hearing? What?
This IS A ROCK AMP!!!
Would rate higher but 2 noisy, May need a service?

Very reliable, Has fallen with/from double stack and has just kept goin'
Plastic pots are a bitch, I have a few snapped off, can still adjust, but with difficulty
I use this all the time, have since 1978-9 great backup for Marshall.

Great Thumping Amp, More than enough power to get you heard!
Very versatile tonally, BUT a bit to very noisy depending on amount of drive used, You can get a sweet sound out of these if you work at it. NASTY is no problem, just spin those knobs to the right.
I love this amp, a shame about the plastic pot shafts (What were they thinking?), the drive pot shafts are the only metal ones. And the hiss is a bummer (Just Keep Playin')

The amp was made in the mid-seventies, 2x12 combo but could drive a cab very easily. I mostly use it for clean and distortion. It sounds decent at low volumes but sounds the best cranked but it is very loud. Sounds much like a tube amp its definately the fattest solid state amp I've ver encountered. I actually bought this amp over a Fender tube amp(which I regret now) but it is more practical, thos I have had to put in the shop twice now in the past year mostly because of my abuse.

I usually run A standard Telecaster or Ibanez bass through it and sounds great for both. Im surprised it can handle bass but it does it very well. This amp is very loud and does produce feedback, but if you know what your doing feedback can be used to your advantage. It takes effects very well but the feedback when using distortion and a wah is unbearable i dont recommend it. But that is also with a guitar with single coils so that accounts for much of my problems.

I used to trust it but it broke down a few days ago but i have a gig in a month so I would rather everything be repairing that it have had broke down during my show. I have gigged with it in the past with no backups and never had a problem. Sounds like a cranked Marshall mic'd. I played a friends 30 anniversary Les Paul through it and to be honest my Telecaster sounds better. Played an Ibanez GAX 30 and got very Tony Iommi tone out of it.

Its Fender now. If the amp breaks take it to a shop much less hassle. My warranty is void anyway.

I have been playing for two years I think. I play bass in an emo(think At the Drive-In) band and I use it at church occasionally if we go somewhere I dont require as much volume as this puts out for Wed. Servive in the Youth Room even though I'd love to crank it and scare them. I looked up how loud this amp will go and it will max out cranked at 128 decibels if I remeber right. Thats pretty loud and if its not you can always mic it.

70's solid state head version. Two channels with the option to drive both (which is what I normally do).
Dials for bass/middle/treble/reverb/drive/level & a master volume.
I think it has a footswitch option but I don't see the use for a footsitch here at all. There are two channel accessory options to add effects. I've never actually managed to use this feature successfully yet. It seems quite a powerful 100 watt amp though.

I use a guitar with a single humbucker & have used this amp for a few gigs and have not been too pleased with it's performance at high volumes. At lower volumes it has a nice woody reverbed tone but crank it in the live situation & things fall to pieces. Its transistor qualities become apparent via whistling feedback & undefined trebley mush. Adding a distortion only served to make things more uncontrollable. Because of this the amp has now taken a backseat as a slaved power amp, and for this purpose it works fine. It's not a particularly versatile head so until I find a way of getting a good live sound it shall remain this way. I think it would work as somekind of preamp but it plainly does not like to be driven (even through two 4x10"!).

I wouldn't feel comfortable using it without back up for gigs again. But it seems fairly robust & has served its purpose.

no

Well for the price I paid for it seems on the high side but they are hard to comeby in the UK & i was anxious to use the same amp (albeit transistor version) that King Buzzo (Melvins) uses. I would probably not buy this amp again but would look into a Model T or some such. I like this amps tone at low volumes but hate the fact that all goes out the window when cranked. That's all.