Sunn Model T

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zed32

zed32

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i'm gonna go check out this Sunn Model T head that somebody is selling for what appears to be a decent price. i had intended to use it for bass, but after doing a little bit of research on the thing, it appears to be listed as a guitar head.

it's 150 watts, is it gonna be loud/clean enough for use as a bass head for playing out? that SVT-3 Pro that's been giving me trouble is finally in the shop, i just need something for the short term, but if the Sunn turns out to be a good deal, i might just keep it. i know my old head was 150 watts and wasn't nearly loud enough (sounded pretty good though), but i'm assuming 150 watts all tube is gonna be louder than SS right?

any thoughts on this amp for bass?

oh and i'll be using it with my Eden nemesis 4x10 cab (4 ohm).
 
zed32 said:
i'm gonna go check out this Sunn Model T head that somebody is selling for what appears to be a decent price. i had intended to use it for bass, but after doing a little bit of research on the thing, it appears to be listed as a guitar head.

it's 150 watts, is it gonna be loud/clean enough for use as a bass head for playing out? that SVT-3 Pro that's been giving me trouble is finally in the shop, i just need something for the short term, but if the Sunn turns out to be a good deal, i might just keep it. i know my old head was 150 watts and wasn't nearly loud enough (sounded pretty good though), but i'm assuming 150 watts all tube is gonna be louder than SS right?

any thoughts on this amp for bass?

oh and i'll be using it with my Eden nemesis 4x10 cab (4 ohm).

I had a bass player in a band years ago and the Model T was the only thing he would use-and yes it kicked primo ass with his jazz bass. Loud, wooly, and solid, thats how I remember it's tone. :D
 
sweet....im gonna check this one out. if it works and stuff, i think for $175 it might be a good deal for an all tube head...we'll see
 
zed32 said:
sweet....im gonna check this one out. if it works and stuff, i think for $175 it might be a good deal for an all tube head...we'll see

They are built like a tank if I remember correctly~ ;)
 
Anfontan said:
They are built like a tank if I remember correctly~ ;)


yeah i talked to the dude on the phone, he said "this thing is the size of a microwave, and it weighs a ton"

his main reason for wanting to get rid of it is because it's just too damn heavy for him to lug around haha

but i still have my youth, so hopefully i'll be able to drag it to the gig. ;) :D
 
A Sunn will blow your head off. They are LOUD.
 
Great amps. I have the Model T's sister amp the 300T and it's simply the best bass amp i've ever played. Astounding.

Buy it. It will be hell loud. Any Sunn valve amp or vintage solid state amp won't let you down.
 
i have an all tube sunn 200s head i adore for both bass and guitar. it is heavy, but so worth it.
 
Had a Model T, loud, loud, loud. Probably good for bass with the right cab. My .02. Later had a Sunn Concert Lead 200 watts......way loud but sounded like Sh**. It was SS not valve like the Model T. For 175 I would buy one.
 
My father handed down his Model T to me when I got serious about music... need I even remind you how sweet tubes can be!!!

I ran that head with a 1x15 fender cab and a hartke 4x10 cab side by side with the head on top of the 4x10 cab. I played outdorr and indoor shows for a few years with this setup, and it never had trouble playing anything!!!

It weighs probably about 35 or 40 lbs... I haven't had it in a few years, but it is a very solid piece of equipment, and worth every penny.
 
this BLOWS...

ok, why the fuck does this shit always happen to me???

the guy with the amp just called me right now, and said that as he was bringing the amp out of his garage, he tripped and dropped it on the floor. so now the amp doesn't work. FUCK!!!

i was looking forward to scoring a decent deal. he said something about it powers on, but one of the tubes "lights up purple"? is one of the tubes (or all of them) fried?


the same shit happened to me when i almost scored an awesome deal on a mid 70's Yamaha acoustic ($100). i called the guy around 11 AM from work, told him i would be by there to pick it up when i got off work. called him around 5:30 and he said "sorry man, i sold it already".

this sucks ass! :mad:
 
i just found another guy selling an Ashdown Mag 300 for $200...

i guess that's an OK deal, but i was kinda looking forward to having a big ol' beast of a tube amp.... :( :( :(
 
OK he just called me back again and says that he opened up the head and some of the tubes came loose, and now it works again. i'm gonna go check it out anyway, and see if it's not severely damaged..........
 
Built
Like
Tanks

Seriously.
It'd take more than dropping it from a little bit to affect that amp's operation.
 
went to check out the amp, it sounds pretty good, no apparent damage from the drop, he showed me what happened and it really didnt fall that far. the amp has handles on the sides, and as he was carrying it, he lost his balance and lost the grip on one of the handles, so the amp fell on it's side and the other handle was still in his hand. so i could see how the tube might have come loose from it falling sideways. we left it on for a long time and played through it, no trouble, so i bought it. it's home now, and i'm cleaning it up.

this kinda brings me to an OT question, what's a good way to clean paint off of Tolex (the guy had his band name painted on the top of the amp)? also the tubes are a little dusty (stored in a garage), is it OK to leave them as-is, or should i wipe them off with something?

i'll do a search and check out some answers.
 
pull the tubes and wipe them down... while they are out try to retension the sockets... make sure the power supply is disapated and take a small screwdriver (i use a dental tool) and close the tabs a bit so they are tight on the tubes.... consider retubing... if i remember correctly thats got 4 6550's in it in a pentode mode... same kinda output configuration as the original SVT... uses an output tranny that's refered to as ultralinear... the output section is taken from a DYNACO tube hi-fi desingned by david hafler... have someone that knows what they are doing rebias it for you and at the very least have the supply filters replaced....
 
While you got the tubes out it would be a good time to spray a little contact cleaner on tube sockets and the pins of the tubes. I don't know if I would retube in right a way or not the tubes in it could last for years, that will save you a tech service call. But if you do then give Jay at Eurotubes a call he'll have a complete set of tubes on the way to you in a couple minutes. Those guys are FAST.
 
i think i might actually re-tube it. i noticed one of the power tubes is kinda messed up, it looks a little blue on the inside, and i'm pretty sure they are only supposed to glow orange, right? i just hope there's someone within a 50 mile radius that knows how to do the bias adjustment on this thing. would it be OK to remove a couple of the power tubes on it? i heard it's safe to remove them in pairs. would it be OK to put new tubes in it without biasing just for an "emergency" one-time use, then get it biased? :confused:
 
Okay, this is from memories of when these were new, but as I recall, Dynaco used a bias voltage EQUAL to a fresh 1.5 volt battery.

The idea was that you could measure the actual DC voltage of a fresh 1.5 Volt battery, note the marking on your VOM, then adujust the tube bias till it matched the battery voltage mark on your meter.
 
sweeeet i found a guy in town who actually builds custom amps and stuff. he said he can bias my amp for me and stuff.



edit: you can tell i'm an idiot because i end two sentences in a row with "and stuff", and stuff.
 
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