[Harp-L] Sonny Jr. Cruncher Review
I've owned a number of amps, and frankly, most of them left a lot to
be desired. Several years ago I attended an "Amp and Tone" clinic at
one of Dave Barrett's Harmonica Masterclass seminars, and Gary
Onofrio, aka Sonny Jr. led the session on amps. I was extremely
impressed with the depth of his knowledge about amps. He is not a
tech - but he knows good harp tone and has spent years and years
experimenting with every amp you can think of, swapping one component
at a time and listening for the differences. anyone who has ever met
Gary will tell you - the man knows his stuff. And I heard the Sonny
Jr Four-Ten, and it was good. Very, very good. I decided then and
there to stop chasing after amps, and I bought his "show special"
Four-Ten. It was a lot of money, but if there's one thing I can't
stand its a player who blames his equipment for any weakness in his
performance. I wanted to be sure my own quest for great tone was 100%
my responsibility, and I knew with this amp I would have no excuses.
It turned out the amp was so good it really helped me develop my tone
- I never fight it - it supports me. I've never looked back. The Four-
Ten is the best amp I've ever owned by a long shot, and the continued
customer support from Gary has been nothing short of amazing. He is
at LEAST as obsessive about customer satisfaction and the quality of
his products as I am about mine. Any time I've ever had a question he
has responded quickly; I've bought replacement tubes from him and
they show up so fast I wonder if he even waited to receive my payment.
Well I have been fortunate to get a good band together and realized
that sooner or later I was going to need a second amp. When Gary
started talking about his new Cruncher design, I was very interested,
because I knew, well... he doesn't screw around. So I was quick to
mail him my deposit, and I am now the fortunate owner of Cruncher
Serial Number 0001. I've had it about 1 week, and I have gigged with
it 3 times.
The short review: AWESOME. The longer review: FREAKIN' AWESOME. And
now, some details....
First, here is Gary's description, which I can attest is right on the
money:
"I just finished final prototype, with some added features and
acoustical tricks I learned from legendary original Fender cab
builder Sam Hutton, the new Cruncher is I feel my best accomplishment
of my career. I took the same circuit I know well and can adjust, the
410, and locked the presence at 4 internally, so the controls are
normal and bright 1 & 2, Bass, Middle, and Treble. By keeping the
middle at 1 and using treble as boost gain, or bridging, it has a
HUGE sound for a 35 usable wattage amp. I redesigned the output and
power transformers so as not to be shrill, and am using the perfect
one 12" and one 10" from Weber, after trying every available speaker
on the market as usual. What I have is a 45 pound, 22 x 21 x 9.5 - 10
Tone Monster, with ability to carry a midsized room without even
being mic'd. But I added a line out feature so you can go directly
into PA, and kept the crystal mic mod in bright 2. You probably won't
need to swap out tubes, the way I set it up stock it just sings with
any mic."
Here is a photo of the Cruncher next to the Four-Ten to give you a
sense of its size: http://www.blowsmeaway.com/cruncher/
410_and_cruncher.jpg
Although it is only a little smaller, the difference in carrying
weight and the way it fits in my trunk is big.
The amp is based on the venerable Fender '59 Bassman circuit, along
with many tricks and mods Gary has learned over the years to make the
amp more harp-friendly. His decision to pre-set the Presence control
eliminates the knob and therefore allows for the narrower chassis and
cabinet. This control is the least used on my Four-Ten and 4 is a
perfectly reasonable setting for it. I won't miss it. Here's a
picture of the resulting "instrument panel": http://
www.blowsmeaway.com/cruncher/cruncher_panel.jpg
The amp came boxed in a custom-made triple-wall cardboard box -
extremely well packed. The power tubes and rectifier tube were
separately and carefully packed. (The preamp tubes are shipped in the
sockets, which is OK because they have twist-lock shields preventing
them from vibrating out. This also prevents any initial "which tube
goes where" confusion during setup.) Also in the box were the well-
written and illustrated owner's manual, and typical of Gary, spare
tubes and fuses. A padded "Tuki" cover was also included. This is one
complete amp!
Out of the box I was impressed with the build quality. The hand-
lacquered tweed is simply flawless. It is a slightly darker shade
than my Four-Ten. I pulled the upper cover for a look-see and was
very impressed with the wiring job. Simply the best I've ever seen.
Here's a pic: http://www.blowsmeaway.com/cruncher/cruncher_back_640.jpg
Note the tight twisting of all AC leads, the use of shielded cable
from the input jacks and volume controls to the preamp section - this
is a very quiet amplifier and that's why. Attention to detail all
over the place, and of course, those paper-oil Astron capacitors Gary
always raves about.
The owner's manual has a "recommended setup" that covers not only
initial knob settings but also tube substitution guidelines. After
playing with both for a while I can report that this amp is extremely
flexible. With the 12AT7 in the first preamp position (the
recommended starting point) it is feedback resistant and has amazing
tone and a huge range. For a little more breakup at lower volumes,
such as dinner club-type gigs, Gary recommends replacing this with a
12AY7. For weaker mics or maximum projection, pop in a 12AX7. THESE
TUBES COME WITH THE AMP!!
Playing the amp is a joy. It is hard to describe but I'll try. It is
just amazingly responsive to your every move. As I progress from
open, single note, quiet playing through chords, harder playing and
tighter cupping the amp just keeps getting fatter and louder. If I
could use a car analogy, I'd have to say this was like having a
sports car with a 6 speed transmission, where other amps I've played
only had 3 gears and half the time you were in the wrong one. The
high end response is excellent - better than the Four-Ten. Fast and
clean. Lean on the amp and it does indeed crunch - but never to the
point of harshness - the sound just gets fatter and fatter. At the
same time it cuts through the mix in a way that makes it easier to
hear than the Four-Ten.
The mid and treble controls are extremely responsive in determining
your level of edge and crunch. Bridging the Normal and Bright
channels with the supplied patch cord gives you even more control, as
the bright volume control becomes active and covers a broader tonal
range than the mid or treble controls alone.
I've gigged with the amp 3 times - two Pro Jams and one of my band's
gigs. Two different sized rooms. I set the amp up pretty close to
Gary's recommendations. I use a Dan-echo delay pedal and one of my
custom wood mics with a Shure Controlled Magnetic element. The amp
was mic'd off the 12" speaker for the big room (a theatre with about
350 capacity, big dance floor and balcony) and left to fend for
itself in the smaller room (a large bar/dance floor about 40'x60'.)
When push comes to shove, the amp is not as loud as the Four-Ten. No
surprises there - the Cruncher has about 60% of the Four-Ten's
speaker area has 10-15 fewer watts. The Four-Ten has a fuller sound
with more bottom end. But the Cruncher sits in the mix with bit more
edge and definition, and mic'ing it (or using its line-out, which I
haven't tried yet) means you're covered for even the largest gigs.
Don't get me wrong, it has plenty of volume, even unmic'd. My band
manages our sound levels and tries to keep them reasonable. Even in a
crowded house with a floor full of dancers, we had no problem and the
amp was easily heard.
Several other local pro's had a chance to play with the amp so I
could hear it from the room as well as from the stage, and several
fellow musicians were in the audience to add their comments. Response
was 100% positive and complimentary.
I did record my first outing with the amp - our gig at The Little Fox
Theatre in Redwood City on May 11. The recording was made by an
Edirol R-09 pocket digital recorder so it isn't great quality. Since
this recording I've changed my settings and fattened up the amp a bit
more - I like it even better now. I am the front man for the band so
you'll either hear singing or harp, not both - and we did a short
show so no long indulgent solos. Still, here's our rendition of
"Prison of Love" and you can hear the amp. Harp solo starts at about
1:15
http://www.carguystuff.com/band/Prison_of_Love.mp3
Last night as I was playing I heard the amp cut out a couple of times
and my senses went on full alert. Then it got worse and my heart
sank. I love the amp and didn't want to have to report a failure in
this review. Fortunately I quickly discovered the cause - my cable
was failing. I like the switchcraft screw-on connectors but the
connection inside will fail sooner or later. I always carry a spare
cable. I managed to change it during the solos of a song I was
leading and was back in business. What a relief! My Four-Ten has had
a LOT of use and has been dead reliable. I expect the same
reliability out of the Cruncher. So now I have two amps I love. My
biggest dilemma is which one to take to the next gig!
/Greg
http://www.blowsmeaway.com
http://www.bluestateband.net
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