Members companyman Posted June 22, 2011 Members Share Posted June 22, 2011 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&item=270741036305&nma=true&rt=nc&si=RuMbc5D%252F5E%252F8h6jbnH3Ijf9JeVc%253D I just sold my Vox Pathfinder on craigslist for a hundy, and saw a Sunn Alpha 112R for sale also on craigslist for $85 so I thought I'd check it out for kicks and talk him down to $50 or something. I plugged in and it had a weird crackle going on that wasn't contact crackle so I told him I'd have to pass, I can't afford to sink money into a vintage solidstate amp repairs, if I'm not mistaken, I have heard they are a bitch to work on. The guy wasn't a musician, and had no use for it so he just gave it to me! So cool, good karma is comin' his way for sure! I took it to my friend that is an amp tech, he says it is a solder problem in the gain pot, he is gonna fix it up super cheap. It is a 1978, from what I have read, it is one of the better soildstate amps out there. 50 watts C-Mos technology(whatever that means...), reverb, parametric Mids EQ and effects loop... supposedly round and warm and loud as shit, well it is a Sunn after all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members houseofglass21 Posted June 23, 2011 Members Share Posted June 23, 2011 I have one of those but I don't like it. The parametric mids thing sounds really weird with this out of phase midrange honk. Really hard to dial in a clean tone I was happy with. I also have a Sunn Concert which is much better, but I think Lab Series are the best SS amps ever. My Lab Series L11 blows them all outta the water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted June 23, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 23, 2011 I have one of those but I don't like it. The parametric mids thing sounds really weird with this out of phase midrange honk. Really hard to dial in a clean tone I was happy with. I also have a Sunn Concert which is much better, but I think Lab Series are the best SS amps ever. My Lab Series L11 blows them all outta the water hmmm....even though I couldn't get much volume out of it with the gain pot issue, I played with the EQ because the parametric thing is what interested me in it to begin with. I thought it sounded really good, with a very wide sweep of the mid-range frequencies, in fact all of the EQ controls had a wide sweep, the mids-freq, the mid, bass, and treble. Well anyway, it was a free amp, and beggars can't be choosers. do you use the effects loop, how does it sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted June 23, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 23, 2011 anyone else, Bobby D you must have played one of these at some point in the 80's?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doug deeper Posted June 23, 2011 Members Share Posted June 23, 2011 I had a Sunn Alpha 115, and I really liked it. The fuzz was awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted June 23, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 23, 2011 I've heard King Buzzo gets his fuzz tone from a Sunn, huge! I play mostly clean, and use an OD, but it is nice to have the option of bringing the Doom if need be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members houseofglass21 Posted June 23, 2011 Members Share Posted June 23, 2011 I just felt that the EQ section of the amp colored the sound too much. When using dirt pedals with it it sounded like there was a wah pedal on. I have a Pathfinder and it sounds much better. Much more transparent sounding platform for use with pedals. I mainly just use the Sunn Alpha for practicing bass or running my drum machine thru now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted June 23, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 23, 2011 I just felt that the EQ section of the amp colored the sound too much. When using dirt pedals with it it sounded like there was a wah pedal on. I have a Pathfinder and it sounds much better. Much more transparent sounding platform for use with pedals. I mainly just use the Sunn Alpha for practicing bass or running my drum machine thru now. I'll check it out, good thing I don't use much dirt, very light OD mostly, I get my sustain from a compressor. I can always move it if it isn't my thing, and get another Pathfinder. Perhaps an EQ pedal in the effects loop could fix your issue with the mids.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kap'n Posted June 24, 2011 Members Share Posted June 24, 2011 Run don't walk....away from it. Had the 112RP version. Bad sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby D Posted June 24, 2011 Members Share Posted June 24, 2011 anyone else, Bobby D you must have played one of these at some point in the 80's?! yep......played them several times -- but the one i GIGGED with was the Beta Lead -- the Alpha series were around, but i only played them at the shop to demo some guitars on. they are kinda cool, especially for FREE..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted June 24, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2011 yep......played them several times -- but the one i GIGGED with was the Beta Lead -- the Alpha series were around, but i only played them at the shop to demo some guitars on. they are kinda cool, especially for FREE..... I just need a decent clean sound, with some decent EQ-ing...hopefully after the tech is done with it, it will sound okay, ...and free is hard to argue with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted June 24, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2011 yep......played them several times -- but the one i GIGGED with was the Beta Lead -- the Alpha series were around, but i only played them at the shop to demo some guitars on.they are kinda cool, especially for FREE..... yeah the Beta Lead's are kinda spendy these days, the King Buzzo connection has driven the price up, there is one on ebay for $1250 BIN, saw one at Music Go Round for $249 a couple of years ago, didn't need an amp at the time, I played it and it sounded pretty cool, the weird speaker baffling angle thing was a cool idea, holy smokes it was loud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted July 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 holy crap, I just went to the tech to pick up the Sunn, picked up a used celestion Rocket 50 speaker for 20 bucks at Music go round, and this thing sounds pretty good! I got to try it out by jamming with with Bo Diddily's touring harp player (he played with Bo for 30 years), who was visiting the tech! Dude was righteous, we jammed out on Muddy Waters' "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and he told a bunch of great stories. I love the parametric mids control on the Sunn, and this thing has tons of clean headroom! Happy new free amp day, awesome afternoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members iamthearm Posted July 4, 2011 Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 I've heard King Buzzo gets his fuzz tone from a Sunn, huge! I play mostly clean, and use an OD, but it is nice to have the option of bringing the Doom if need be! he uses a Boss ODB-3 into 2 rack mounted beta series sunn heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted July 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 he uses a Boss ODB-3 into 2 rack mounted beta series sunn heads. right, my style couldn't be further from his lol! I would love to try a Beta Lead for sure though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby D Posted July 4, 2011 Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 glad you got it running well. a good speaker always helps! nice amp for free Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted July 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 glad you got it running well. a good speaker always helps! nice amp for free thanks! It has a good sounding reverb, reminds me of the Ampeg reverb. It is nice to have an amp again, hope your feeling better Bobby D! Happy 4th of July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theAntihero Posted July 4, 2011 Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 holy crap, I just went to the tech to pick up the Sunn, picked up a used celestion Rocket 50 speaker for 20 bucks at Music go round, and this thing sounds pretty good! I got to try it out by jamming with with Bo Diddily's touring harp player (he played with Bo for 30 years), who was visiting the tech! Dude was righteous, we jammed out on Muddy Waters' "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and he told a bunch of great stories. I love the parametric mids control on the Sunn, and this thing has tons of clean headroom! Happy new free amp day, awesome afternoon The rocket 50 is probably the most hated celestion ever made, suprised you liked it. Personally i didnt find that it was terrible sounding just very quiet. Also there is a 1x15 alpha at a pawn shop around here thats been there for about a year, maybe i should take a look at it. I like the Beta Lead i have, its not a nice sounding amp but it does nasty mechanical sounds fantastically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted July 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 The rocket 50 is probably the most hated celestion ever made, suprised you liked it. Personally i didnt find that it was terrible sounding just very quiet.Also there is a 1x15 alpha at a pawn shop around here thats been there for about a year, maybe i should take a look at it. I like the Beta Lead i have, its not a nice sounding amp but it does nasty mechanical sounds fantastically. yeah, I have read the reviews of the rocket 50 too, I don't need a bunch of volume, I rarely play that loud, even with the band, I just don't see the point of it....but I have in the past. The tone of the speaker doesn't sound that different from a vintage 30 to my ears, but I don't use much gain either, it is a bit scooped/hollowed sounding, but the Alpha's parametric EQ fixed that up. As far as I am concerned the Sunn Alpha series is a good sounding, under the radar amp, and honestly for a solidstate amp sounds great for cleans, huge EQ range. If for nothing else, get one for a backup, or to run a stereo rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Philfixit Posted July 4, 2011 Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&item=270741036305&nma=true&rt=nc&si=RuMbc5D%252F5E%252F8h6jbnH3Ijf9JeVc%253DI just sold my Vox Pathfinder on craigslist for a hundy, : Wish I could get a hundred for a Pathfinder! I've got the factory packaging and the for-real VOX footswitch; I've had it listed for $100 but no bites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kap'n Posted July 4, 2011 Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 The rocket 50 is probably the most hated celestion ever made, suprised you liked it. Might br true for normal amps. For the Sunn Alpha, anything goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted July 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 Might br true for normal amps. For the Sunn Alpha, anything goes. , you really hated it huh? My band fell apart so I don't care that much about "tone", it is good enough for me at the moment, sounded good at low volume to me. It was thoroughly gone through by the tech, sounds pretty good to me, but maybe I have a tin ear ...and really, who can argue with a free amp when you are unemployed and broke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members houseofglass21 Posted July 30, 2011 Members Share Posted July 30, 2011 Just an update...I switched out the speaker in my Alpha 112R to a Celestion I had laying around and it sounds about ten times better now. So it was the stock speaker that was making it sound like ass. Sounds pretty awesome now. Excellent practice amp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EdMan57 Posted July 30, 2011 Members Share Posted July 30, 2011 I had a Sunn Alpha 112R back in the late '70s.I remember that it could get pretty loud,had an aggressive distortion mode and a deep reverb.Another cool thing was turning all the tone controls all the way down,diming the overdrive and then cranking the reverb.Made it sound like listening to a rock concert from far away.Btw,the stock speaker had a tiny magnet and it blew within a couple of months.The replacement Eminence speaker sounded much better. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted July 30, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2011 I am actually doing a wedding party gig for our bands drummers this evening. We are doing a short set of the albums tunes and a couple of covers. I'm looking forward to my first gig with the Alpha 112r, it is beefy as heck, and that parametric EQ is seriously awesome for dialing in the mids, a huge range, love it! Glad to hear a speaker swap changed your mind on yours. I am sorta kicking around the idea of making the back of the cab a convertible open/closed back deal, to open it up a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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