Sunn Alpha 112R combo?

[frigid midget]

Opinions?

Nay! Just another shitty little ss combo with an inflated price tag thanks to the whole Model T doom connection, hold on to yer tiny terror combo.

Yay! You're broke, it'll costs ya half of what you'll get for the TT, which you're not even in love with anyway...And it's just a decent enough pedal platform for home use.

What say you?

I'll try it out this weekend, I'm curious what you mahfakkas think though.

[rfurtkamp]

The Sunn combos are decent if priced right.

Nothing to write home about but better than a lot of the cheapo SS competition.

It all comes down to how much it costs on these honestly.

[frigid midget]

Thanks, that's sorta what my instincts also told me

Any idea on what a fair price would be though? In your opinion, averagely, ballpark,...?
I could be stinchy here, but $240 just seems a bit steep to me, considering what that could buy you these days in terms of either old/new/tube/modeling used combos Btw, to be fair, the one I'm eyeing comes with a decent new celestion speaker instead of the original (supposedly crappy) one.
Don't suppose I have to take into account that they're maybe kinda scarce, keep their value a bit better than a Gorilla combo or whatever?

[rfurtkamp]

The Sunn speakers weren't bad honestly, they were price point but better than most of the time in that ballpark.

As far as contemporary pricing, I have no idea, especially going Euro.

I wouldn't personally pay that much for them, given the new wave of decent modern SS amps.

At $240, I'd just get something like a used modeller and be done with it - if I didn't want to program or hassle, find one good sound in it, and boom.

[chamberpain]

I have a love/hate relationship with mine. It's pretty sterile sounding when ran clean. The gain you get from it is pretty raw sounding. Kind of grinding and somewhat unique to my ears. Also it has a mid frequency knob that you can use to get some cocked wah type sounds. I found mine was never enough to keep up with a drummer, even more so as a clean platform for pedals.

[frigid midget]

I have a love/hate relationship with mine. It's pretty sterile sounding when ran clean. The gain you get from it is pretty raw sounding. Kind of grinding and somewhat unique to my ears. Also it has a mid frequency knob that you can use to get some cocked wah type sounds. I found mine was never enough to keep up with a drummer, even more so as a clean platform for pedals.

Hmmm, I see...

But if you'd use it exclusively at home, at low volumes, and never without at least one dirt pedal in front of it...Good enough for something that won't ever come near a stage, live/rehearsel situation, or recording studio?

[chamberpain]

If clean headroom at big volumes is not your concern, it works just fine. Nothing really special about it, all in all. I can't really comment on the cost vs personal value. I picked mine up stupid cheap several years ago. Would I buy it again at today's price....probably not. But I'm also in a minimal mind set with amps and have been trying to downsize lately.

[frigid midget]

Update: Bought'd.

Payed a bit more than I really wanted, but in a way it does make sense...

Anything with the "sunn" name on it will probably hold its value better than whatever modern digital made-in-taiwan modeling amp I could buy for roughly the same price. With my tendency to endlessly flip gear, resale value is amost as big a concern as anything else

First impressions: It sounds like I remember old solid state amps sound. A tad sterile, lacking the sag/warmth/character/whatever of a good tube combo. So pretty much what you'd expect from any ss '70s combo I guess. But if I take a little time messing with those controls, I think I should be able to find 'set and forget' setting that'll make the amp a decent enough pedal biatch.

The build in distortion is - not unexpected, it's old school ss after all - utterly unuseable, just ridiculous. It's actually funny how horrible it sounds concidering how during the last decade the Sunn brand got hugely hyped based on the gnarly Model T tones. Which as far as headroom and balls is probably the opposite of this Alpha 112R. Again though, so far I can recommend it to anyone who's looking for a cheap trashy solid sate pedal platform to mess with at home.
The cheesy cold harsh uninspiring solid state tones you get from old fender/roland/laney/peavey/marshall ss amps are much worse in my experience.

[Abanoise]

I don't know if my 112 is different from your 112R, but I'm sure it's one of the best small SS amps for home practice and recording. I paied mine about 100 bucks, and couldn't be happier. The mid freq knob has a really dramatic range, and overall it takes pedals quite well. Not too harsh and a good amount of low end for a small solid state combo.