Sunn Model-T

my 1973 model t fits the bill for this 48 yr old r+b / jazz bassist. it sounds like i'm in bass heaven. the amp is real simple.2 inputs + a bridged input , strightahead tone controls and a real nice presence control.plenty of power from 4 6550 's.

i use a fender bass (p/bass).the amp is quiet and has a punchey yet smooth sound,nice + fat. i use the combination input,w/ the master on 10 and both input volume knobs low (around 2or3) for clean lows and good definition of the notes.this amp cuts through anything.most bass players comment on my sound,not that i'm a monster player mind you,but i've played all these years knowing that solid playing and a good sound brings longevity in the music biz.
do not confuse this amp w/ the new fender/sunn models which are good products but not at all like the older sunn amp(s)

this amp is a tank,i have used this as my main amp for years on countless gigs where (more often than not) it was "rode hard and put away wet". the only thing i find on this amp is when the tubes go they just dump quick.sometimes you start out fine and halfway through a set you sound like freddy fuzztone.i think i've had about $35 in repairs (outside of tubes + biasing) since 1974.nothing major has ever gone wrong w/ this amp. if you find or have a model t look (HARD) for a quad set of n/o/s RCA power tubes or if you really want some tone,i'm talkin to the bass players now, find some old metal grid GE 6550's.both are exspensive but well worth the cost and effort (ebay + the internet have made this real easy)

alas,the real sunn company is long gone,but service is not a problem if you have a decent tech.like i stated before,this is a simple,well made quality amplifier easy to repair,service and modify (if so inclined).just remember to check the bias when you retube.there are plenty of interesting sunn sites on the web (which,if you don't know how sunn started you'll be in for a surprise) plenty of schematics also...

i've been playing + recording for 36 years. i own 2 fender precision basses.an old ampeg b/15 fliptop amp , i bought everything used in the late sixties while in high school w/ $ made playing and i still have it all. i also have a 70's music man bass amp which i like. i use only jbl 15" speakers.
i would scour the earth for another model t if any thing happend to mine.it amazes me people will pay BIG $$ for tiny old amps yet you can still get these at a very un- vintage / working musician
prices.buy one for a couple of hundred bucks, put in new tubes and you'll have a lifelong friend.

No clue when this was made, but it's original (not the Fender reissue). Offers two channels--bright and normal--through seperate inputs (no switching) and a bridged channel input. Seperate channel volumes, shared treble, mid, and bass, shared master volume and presence. 2 12AX7s in the preamp, 1 12AX7 inverter, and four 6550 power amp tubes. Mono line outs (seperate for each channel) are located on the front panel. No effects loop, no headphone out, no half-power switch. 100 watts, solid state rectifier. Best feature was the very nice presence control that REALLy made a difference in sound.

I used a Fender strat, Gibson ES335, and Gibson LP through this baby. This has to be said for this amp: excellent cleans are to be found here. The 6550s add a bubbly, chimming sound not found in other output tubes, and the bright channel makes clean playing lovely. Unfortunately, 6550s DO NOT SOAK. Almost all distortion comes from the preamp tubes, and this was back when preamp distortion technology wasn't very well thought out. Both channels break up at about 7, and bridged they break up at about 4 (on both channels). The distortion is gritty, even with good 12AX7s, and the always chimming-clean 6550s create the perpetual effect of blended clean and dirty channels.
The Gibson 335 got a good shimmery, sustaining BOC tone when the bright volume was full up and all distortion (such as it is) totally compressed out. Fuzz pedals, even cheap ones (DOD American Metal) sounds good through this amp (6550s really make effects warm and lush, the best tubes out there for effects-playing). Too bad the distortion itself is the pits.

I'll say this, though---it could take the worst beating and still sound great.

Traded a Roland GP8 processor for it. Even trade--felt no better or worse off. Both pieced of gear were crap with one or two good sounds. I would buy one of these again for $100 for bass, putting in some very low-gain preamp tubes, but never again for guitar. If you have a really powerful and noiseless compressor (Carl Martin or TC Elec), and get your tone strictly from effects and external distortions (preamps or pedals), this might work well, providing you put in preamp tubes that don't distort themselves. The tubes REALLY warm up effects and external distortion, and would serve as a great power amp for a rack. Barring that, say away from this amp.

two channels. input for each and also a imput that conbines channels. both share eq. Ie- bass, mid, treb, presence, master. each have own volume contro. both share a 3 way mid switch. Amp is powered by 4 6550s and 3(I think) 12ax7's. rated at 100 watts with a rotary ohms selector on back.

I use mainly A les paul classic and a les paul studio through this. Amp is quite loud..louder than my 100 watt 6550 powered 74' marshall super lead. The sunn has tons of head room and being a 6550 powered amp results in very gritty "overdrive" with volumes cranked. I use the term overdrive due to it not breaking up much. amp is very booming and thick. nice and tight with edgy presence. great for being heard through a thick mix. I usually use a boss overdrive or a old big muff for lead stuff. I play it through a old krebs 4-12" cab from the 70's that I recently put naylor 50 watt speakers in. sounds good.
I orig. bought this amp for a bass amp, and yes folks..does make a hell if a bass amp AS LONG AS YOU HAVE MILDLY RATED TUBES. I say this because before I had this retubed it sounded like a lower powered vintage svt. I got it back from being retubed and it didnt have nearly as much headroom as before. Overall the tube swap was for the better, now it breaks up better for guitar. I rate this a 8 due to it being unique and kool sounding

Its a work horse. huge transformers = alot of weight. this this is rock solid and put together for the long haul

Sunn isnt around anylonger, fender brought back supposed "sunn" reissues but no relation.

Amp is great. Dont plan to ever get rid of it. It is part of my ever growing collection and I plan to cut some tracks with it in the studio next month. great amp, great price. If it was stolen I'd be upset and look for another.

This amp has a ton of features- actually USEFUL ones, not the bells and whistles that come on many amps nowadays. Most of these are actually on the back panel, and include a bias adjust screw, polarity switch, speaker impedance switch, and- thank goodness- a circuit breaker switch. On the front panel, you get volume controls for both normal and bright channels, as well as global 3-band EQ for the preamp section, a presence control for the power section, and a master volume. Each channel has its own input and output so you can jump the channels. There is also a "bridge" input in the middle, so you can run both channels in parallel.
As for power, I play clubs that use ~1,000-1500 watt PAs, and the master volume has never been over 6 1/2.
How old? Well, the serial number is #034405. Send me an email if you know what year it is. I hear the later models are similar to the Fender reissues, with only one input and an actual "hot" channel.

I have gone through my Gibson phase and am currently playing a Telecaster. My style is eclectic and ranges from jazz and blues through MBV-style "shoegazer" music through hardcore punk, "post-punk," and loads of experimental styles. Sometimes I play extremely dry; other times, I use a very effected tone. Distortion tones run the gamut. It all depends on the gig.
Most of us have played through amps that get every sound but the right one. Well, this one gets only one basic sound, but it kicks ass. Any distortion box kicks ass through this amp. A Tube Screamer is a natural, and with a Fuzz Face or a Bee Baa- whoa! Even those shitty "metal distortion boxes" put out a convincing growl through this. Zoom or Boss digital effects sound almost analog here. If you must use digital reverb, go for the hall programs- they're actually useful here!
The natural amp crunch is very warm and bluesy, but needs a little compression to kick it in the ass. Jumping the channels in either sequence seems to be of little consequence, and I prefer the tone from the bridged input. I set the gain so the amp is on the verge of breaking up, so that when I kick in the fuzz or overdrive, the volume boost gooses the amp into its own overdrive- and I get compliments on my tone on every gig.
FYI, I use the Sunn 4x12 that came with the amp. It is less brittle and has more thwunk than a straight Marshall cab with greenbacks in it.

I have had this amp, tubes and all, since 1994, and all it needs is a polish. I want to find another old one like I have now, but only so I can run stereo. Backup? This thing has never failed me.

I have never called Fender for customer service. If I blow a transformer somewhere down the road, I'm not sure if the "new" Model-T's parts will work. I'd rather not think about it.

I play blues gigs as well as my own completely arch, experimental gigs. This amp is perfect for everything. It is the ultimate "dry signal" amp, which you can pump any dry or effected tone through with fabulous results. I get compliments on my tone every night.
If you are sick of gratuitous knobs and B.S., look for one of these amps. A bass player found this amp at a flea market for $250, and I haven't found any since, so these may be rare nowadays. However, I still think this is one of the most underrated guitar amps in its class.

The amp has three inputs (normal, bright, and channel-bridged modes), and a seperate line out for each channel. The controls are bright volume (channel 1), normal volume (channel 2), bass, mid, treble, presence (true presence, in the power amps control loop, not just a forth band of EQ) and master volume. On the back there is a knob for changing the ohm load to the speakers from 2, 4, 8, or 16 ohms, very useful. There is no recording out or reverb, unfortunately. Both normal and bright channels can take seperate guitars simultaneously. I use this amp for recording, in my bedroom, and for performance. It's plenty loud enough for any of those applications, though if I was going to do a stadium show, I'd need to buy a second one. It used four 6550 power tubes (rather quite expensive) and three 12AX7s, though from time to time I think about trying 12AU7s, but never get around to it.

When I first got it, I used a Gibson Professional 335-S Deluxe (an old solid-body I had beaten up quite severly over the years), as well as Fender strats, Les Pauls, etc., but now I use a custom John Suhr Purple Haze strat as my sole instrument (when not playing acoustic). I play the psychedelic Texas blues (Hendrix, Doors, SRV, etc.) as well as some jazz and modal rock, and this amp smokes for those styles! That seems to be where the distortion is focused, a greasy grind that sets off blues perfectly (sounds exactly like Stevie Ray Vaughn). I let a friend use it for a punk set, and it sounded terrible...this is a blues/rock amp only. Its not very noisey, but when the master is maxed out, there's a notible ambient noise when the channel volume is also all the way up. Each channle begins to distort at about 3, and goes up from there, however, even when the distortion and master are all the way up, kicking in a compressor cleans it right up, almost like channel switching (I use a T.C. Electronic Sustain+EQ). The sound is grinding to glassy, and the clean sounds are otherworldy breathtaking. Definitly the best tube clean I've ever heard, soft and full and round, with a fair amount of bite when the presence is up. This is a rocker's amp, for those who dig classic rock, blues, or some alternative...it's not a high-gain metal amp, if you want to play heavy power chords, don't get one of these, you'll hate it.

Apparently it's hel up since the late '60s with no problems at all...I don't know if these are the original tubes, but I doubt it. I use it without a backup, and don't ever see myself needing another one.

They no longer exist...bought by CBS Fender and discontinued. Fender has recently reissued the Sunn Model-T, claiming it's a faithfull reproduction of the original. It isn't even remotely the same amp, and it costs about four times as much as an original '60s Sunn.

I use this amp with a '60s strat and several select pedals (T.C. Electronics Sustain, Fulltone Fulldrive 2, Fulltone Dejavibe, Colorsound SupaFuzz/Wah, and a Boss Flanger) though two hardwood custom monitors (each has a 12" full range and four 5" tweeters). I also use a Johnson Millenium for some recordings, but this is my main amp. I wish it had reverb, but beggars can't be choosers. This is by far the bast amp I've ever used (Fenders, early Marshalls, etc.), and for blues nothing except for REALLY high-end Fender amps compare (VibroKing, for instance is possibly the best out there, except for botique amps, but it costs more than six times as much). I bought it because I love glassy blues, and I needed a ballsy amp to go with my new custom 60s-model John Suhr strat. I knew Hendrix used a Sunn, along with Marshalls and Fenders, and this definitly screams Jimi. I'd buy one again, if only for the beautiful sparkly clean. I'm thinking that when the power tubes finally do fail, I might have a bias switch added for subbing KT88s, but that's a decision for the future. The reason these aren't two-thousand dollar collectors items is because nobody knows about them...the fucking Fender reissues might draw attention and drive up the price though.

i believe that my model t was made in the late 70's, i am still researching to find a way to accurately date it. i have only had this amp for a couple of weeks, but it has already impressed me with it's versitile tones. this amp allows guitars to keep thier personalities, without over-coloration of tones. it has two seperate channels which can be bridged for a fatter sound. features include: master volume, treble, middle, bass, presence, 100 watts of all tube power and swichable ohms (2-4-8-16). the thing weighs a ton, can push two speaker cabs, and seems to sound good even at lower volumes.

so far i've used this head with a marshall 1960a cab w/ the modern lead speakers, and a 1974 sound city 4x12 w/ fane speakers. both cabs sounded great but the marshall seemed to give more definition to both highs and lows. i'v plugged in pauls, sg standards, danelectro u-2s and lace sensor strats, and every ax kept it's vibe. there does seem to be a squishy feel to the notes, but maybe that's how gt 6550 tube are. this amp is for pedals, processor cats move on. you can go loud and clean, or get dist by cranking the norm and brite vol. and using the master vol. for control. rumour says its a hell of a bass amp. i normally don't dig master vol. amps, but in this case i think it allows for better tones at lower volumes. get a nice thick clean sound and use a fuzz or dist. pedal in front and you're there. mine seems to be very quiet for a tube amp, virtually little noise. no reverb, oh-well.

not much to add here, the musician i got it from just had it retubed with groove tubes. he claimed to have had no big problems with either of his 2 model t's over the years, other than he could no longer stand the weight of them. tube amps in general are very organic, as you can replace and change things as necessary (as long as parts and money are avalible).

the sunn has set, get a serviceman to help if you need it.

i have been playing guitar for about 12 years or so, and work at a guitar shoppe in columbus, ohio. i am exposed to great gear on a daily basis, and have a modest collection of goodies myself. i would say that for the money these amps are going for used, they are a great value for a working musician who wants true tube tone in a 100 watt package. it can peel the paint off of the walls, and still work out in a smaller club. i am curious as to how the model t sounds as a bass amp. it would be a coup for the money if it could serve me in 2 seperate ways. it could work as a backup amp for a touring band, optimizing van space and functionability. i'd buy another if the price was right.

Simple features: Bright Vol, Normal Vol, Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence, Master Vol. Line out, 2 spkr. outs, 2-4-8-16 ohm select.

I play Fender Precision basses thru it. It delivers a fat, round tube bass sound. Since I want it clean, I run the Master Vol at 10 and set the Brite & Normal Volumes (I plug into "Both") at 3 or 4. It's a LOUD amp with tons of pure tube sound. I run it thru a pair of EVM 15s.

It's very reliable, with the tubes being the only "replacable" parts. I use the Tung-Sol 6550s...but they are quite expensive.

There is none! Find your own tech...in case you need one. I have 2 of these heads and I've never had any thing I couldn't fix myself.

The sunn model-T is an all tube head rated at about 100W. As far as features go, it's pretty simple. There are three inputs (one for the normal channel, one for the bright, and one for both). It also has two outputs (one for each channel), but the outcoming signal is exactly like the input (it just sends it back out again without doing anything to it). It also has a line out. No reverb, which is my biggest problem with it. Each channel has a drive control. One main volume. Bass, mid, and treble controls (I've seen a model-T with a three position switch for the mid eq). Plus it has a very nice prescence control that adds a certain....something. Right now I'm using a sunn beta lead as a speaker cabinet (sunn made completely enclosed amps even for it's combo amps). I just unplugged the beta lead, stuck the model-T on top and plugged it in. The impeadance is adjustable (2,4,8,16), maybe more, because i remember having more than 4 clicks on that knob. Anyway, it's a 2X12 converging speaker cabinet.

This is diffinately one of the strangest sounding amps I've played with. Very bluesy, but with a strangeness to it that I can"t quite put my finger on. The bright channel is definately the best sounding one, very clean when strummed lightly, but breaking into a nice mellow roar when strummed hard. I play a Fender Jaguar in many different tunings, most of them based around A or B. That combined with a sharkfin pick makes some of the coolest sounds I've heard. The presence control is pertty dramatic. Turned all the way down mellows out the sound a lot, turned all the way up it will bite your head off.

This is the most reliable amp I have ever owned. My sunn beta lead broke, so did a Crate that i bought NEW. (And both of those were solid state!). I've played at gigs, I've hauled it around countless times in the trunk of my very bumpy VW Scirocco, and it has never failed. I've had it for more than three years and have only replaced the driver tubes (three 12AX17's, or something like that), and i play it nearly every day. I plan to change all of the output tubes soon, but it doesn't seem to need them. It's a rock!

Sunn is no more, and i can't tell you about repairs because it has never needed them.

I love it. I will buy it again and again. If only it had reverb. I saw a sunn 100S with reverb for $150.00, but all of the tubes were loose and the reverb didn't work (which was the only reason i would have bought it). Has anyone ever seen another all tube head this good for $125?! My bandmate's $1500.00 Vox broke down, and it still didn't sound as cool as my good ol' sunn! Come to think of it, i had better stop praising it before you all go out and buy up all of those dusty sunns and drive up the price!

I bought my Sunn model T four years ago and it has never let me down. I recently had to drop a couple of hundred for some new caps and a retubing, but it was still working fine . The 6550's are a little pricey, but they have alot of low end (I use it for guitar, but the only other person I've ever seen use one was a bass player). It definitely doesn't rage like a Marshall, but it has an ability to be heard over other musicians (I am in a very loud band that sometimes gets into volume battles). By this I don't mean that it is loud, it just has a meaty sound. I use it in conjunction with a Musicman HD65 because it doesn't do channel switching. I am very happy with this set up. It was one of the best $150 dollars I ever spent.

The sound is very seventies as far as the overdrive goes. It has a bright and a normal input and another jack that allows you to use both channels. I use the two channels and then use the individuals knobs to control which one is dominant. The sound works for me in playing loud rock, and then pulling back to quieter stuff. The Amp is very responsive to the attack on the strings. I generally use an Gibson SG or an Ibanez Artist with it, but I once used it with a Strat and it was very reminiscent of Deep Purple's old Super Lead 100 Marshall sound.

Very Reliable.

N/A

Love it.

I bought my 100 watt Model T amp and 4x12 Lab Series cabinet in 1990 for US$125 to use with my Farfisa organ because I wanted something loud. Well there is more than that I guess. It has two channel inputs "bright" and "normal" with a master volume. The inputs can be used separately or together via a 1/4" jack that feeds to both. It has the usual bass, treble, and mid with some units having a three-way band select for the mid (mine does not have this.) It also has "presence" which a former band-mate of mine and I dubbed "disruptor" (you can guess) anyway, turning up the "presence" has some sort of weird hi-mid boost that does radically different things depending on the type of signal is going into the amp. Its 100 watts are from a quartet of 6550's (which are not cheap) with the pre-stage being taken care of w/ 2 12AX7A's. No reverb. No tremelo. If it could have one of these effects in it I would choose tremelo. Use as a keyboard amp didn't last long and I have been using it live and for recording ever since. This is a very powerful amp that sound good at high and low volumes

I am not a "tone purist" or whatever you want to call that sort of Stevie Ray Vaughn worship stuff, but I can say that this amp has got soul. It lacks in the upper highs but gives it all back in the power of the lower midrange and the sustain. I think Blue Cheer used Sunn amps if that tells you anything. As far as distortion goes this amp has a sort of "poor-man's Marshall" overdrive when you turn up the pre- stage, that again I say, gots soul. As far as "styles" I have used it with I guess the rock and psychedelic pigeonholes will do.

This amp has never broken down.

When DID Sunn stop making guitar amps?

I want another one. It is big and it is heavy. I'm glad I sold my Twin. The model-T is also an excellent bass amp. I still see these amps in the paper for US$150-250 but remember you will probably have to re-tube it which runs around $150 just for the tubes. I recommend Jim Flynn at Entertainment Electronics in Portland Oregon as he has done excellent work on my "T" as well as other gear I have brought him.