[Harp-L] Super Sonny review

[Greg Heumann <greg@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've had my Sonny Jr. Four-Ten a long time. It's like an old friend.  
Its big full sound taught me a lot about how to bring out my own tone,  
and helped get my first gigs. It was my only amp until I bought the  
Cruncher as a backup last year. The Cruncher has killer tone - a  
little edgier than the Four-Ten, and as I've progressed (and don't  
need to hide behind an overly muddy sound as much as I  used to) I've  
been really enjoying it. So when Sonny Jr announced the new Super  
Sonny I was very interested to try it. I do some amp rebuilding so I  
was fortunate that Gary was able to work with me to upgrade my Four- 
Ten to Super Sonny specs.

I brought it to our pro jam on Wednesday where I was able to both  
perform through it and hear it from the audience in the hands of other  
capable harp players.  I am absolutely thrilled with the results. It  
cuts through better, breaks up more smoothly, projects better - more  
responsive than it was before, and it was already a great amp. It is  
also louder than it was before - rarely necessary thanks to the new  
line-out but nice to have - and it was already a loud amp. What  
impressed me more, though, was how, even when I was comp'ing quietly  
underneath the guitar player/vocalist, the amp could be heard. Not  
loud, not grating, just there, with great tone. Many other amps seem  
to disappear in this situation when you're playing at an acceptable  
volume, which means IN the mix, not on top of it.

Aki Kumar is a friend, fellow Four-Ten owner and excellent harp  
player. He was there that night and noticed the difference  
immediately. After some of my work he came up to me and said "WHAT did  
you do to that amp - it sounds GREAT!" I'm sure he'll be looking into  
upgrading his amp now too. I was lucky to hear Aki play through the  
rig while I was out on the floor - great tone across a wide dynamic  
range.

Having worked with Gary at Sonny Jr amps for years now, I have come to  
deeply trust and respect his ears - he really knows harp tone. I tend  
to take his advice in that regard. The Super Sonny is no exception. I  
can't wait to play it again.




/Greg

http://www.blowsmeaway.com
http://www.bluestateband.net