[Harp-L] Sonny Junior Avenger review

["Michael D'Aurizio" <mdaurizio@xxxxxxxx>]

Hello all, I just wanted to pass on my experiences with a new amplifier I purchased.    I have had the
opportunity to play through, or hear live, nearly every brand of custom
harmonica amplifiers. I have owned Meteors, Fat Dogs, and Sonny Junior amps, along with some modded vintage Fenders,
and gigged them all in a variety of settings over the years. I have to say, TO
MY EARS Sonny Jr. Amplifiers perform the best of them all. I currently am lucky
enough to own a S.J. Cruncher, a Super Sonny, and the latest edition to my
collection is a Sonny JR. Avenger.

     I contacted Gary Onofrio, the owner of Sonny
JR. Amplifiers a little over two months ago to see if he was still selling his
amplifiers. I had checked his web site a few times and it was down. I had come
into a little extra disposable income, and wanted to know if it was still
possible to purchase one of his Avenger amplifiers. I had heard a lot of good
things about the Avenger, and was very interested in acquiring one. I am thoroughly
happy with the performance of both my Cruncher, and Super Sonny, but I am of
the belief he who dies with the most toys wins. I contacted Gary on the phone,
and Gary told me he had enough parts left to build me an Avenger, and agreed to
do it, so I jumped at the opportunity. When the amp arrived, it was a true
thing of beauty, just like every other Sonny Junior amp I have purchased. The
quality of workmanship in this amplifier is second to none. The lacquered tweed
finish is flawless, the wiring inside is as neat as a pin, and the amp is built
to last a lifetime. No corners were cut to produce this product, quality parts
throughout. The old adage “you get what you pay for” is more than fitting for
this product. 

  I have had the
opportunity to play through this amplifier for about a month now. I have used
it at about a dozen gigs, in a variety of venue sizes. In the larger venues
house sound was provided, and the band was mic’d up for the performance. Other
shows were at smaller venues, where we mic’d nothing, and ran sound from the
stage. The Avenger worked perfectly in both applications. I used the speaker
line out at the larger venues, and the sound engineer loved the set up. He was
able to get a great sound for the house. The regularly attending fans of my band at these shows said the harp has never sounded better. I front a five piece Blues band called
Big Mike & The Motivators. We are Bass, Drums, Guitar, Keys, and Harp.
Sometimes our stage volume can get a little loud in the venues that we are not
mic’d, and being heard over the band is NOT a problem with the Avenger. This
amplifier has all sorts of volume, and projection. I have never heard anything
like it. Plenty of volume, with plenty of headroom left over. It’s pretty
impressive!  The tonal qualities of the
Avenger are much like my Cruncher, only with noticeably more volume.  The tone is very clear and sweet, with just
the right amount of break up. The amplifiers tone and performance is very
responsive to cupping technique, and the performers’ subtleties in playing
technique. The bottom end of the tone on the Avenger is perfect in my opinion;
it has plenty of it, but does not get muddy, or booming. The high end of the
tonal spectrum is beautiful, pure, and not brittle sounding. The cut with this
amp is spot on too; I can clearly hear what I am playing at all times throughout
the performance.  The Avenger sounds
great with both diatonic and chromatic harps. The extra horsepower, and unique
tonal qualities, seem to make it a lot easier to get my chromatic harp tone
across to the audience in the un-mic'd scenarios.

   Overall, I am extremely impressed with this
amplifier. In my opinion this is the Holy Grail of harp amps. Granted, I am not
a professional harmonica player. There are many, many players with better chops
than me. But, I am a musician with a great ear. I know what sounds good when I
hear it, and what I hear from the Avenger sounds GREAT.

                                                                    
Mike D’Aurizio         Big Mike & The Motivators, on Facebook, and Reverbnation.