[Harp-L] Super Sonny

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A while ago on this list, Sonny Jr. offered a few of his Super Sonny amps for sale at a bargain price.  I have been interested for years in acquiring a big tube harp amp, which is something I haven't had in my toolkit since my modified Super Reverb was stolen in 1980 (not counting a Master Volume Twin Reverb, which I really didn't think was a great harp amp).  I jumped at the chance to buy one of the world's best purpose built large harp amps at a discount price, and I took delivery on the amp today.  My initial impressions of the amp follow.

The amp is impressive in about every way I can think of.  Build quality is simply amazing.  The amp's size is big enough to impress, though at about 53 pounds it's still within the range of what I might carry to a gig, and it looks fabulous in its heavily lacquered tweed coat.  The obvious inspiration for the amp in terms of specifications and looks is a '59 Bassman 4x10, but the original inspiration has been painstakingly re-engineered in many ways.

The sound of the amp is also impressive. It's loud, of course, and it's got a lot of power where you can really hear it on harp. I've played with it for a few hours, and twirling the tone and volume dials yields a range of big, interesting sounds. The amp is obviously designed to play blues, and when you play Chicago-style chord slaps against single notes the thing comes alive.  Unlike many tube amps, the Super Sonny doesn't smear chords--you can hear every note, whether the voices are close or spread out.  

So far the mic in my collection that sounds best with this amp is the Shure 545SD.  I don't own a really good bullet type mic, which is something I plan to correct soon.  I didn't like my initial attempts with the Fireball V, but we'll see what happens when I have a chance to work with it.

The amp has no effects, and I spent a few minutes setting up some basic reverb and delay patches on the RP355.  This worked well, and I plan to spend a little time setting up a full set of effects-only patches on the RP for use with this amp.  The amp also has no effects loop, so any effects must be applied between the mic and the amp (or on the line-out from the amp section; however, in that case the amp would be putting an un-effected sound, while the PA would be putting out an effected sound).

I spent about an hour with Sonny Jr. in his shop, going over the amp and making tweaks to fit my mic and style.  We tried a few different preamp tube configurations, tried several different mics, and tried two different cabinet back panel setups.  When I left, I had spare preamp tubes, an alternative back panel, a booklet describing the amp and its workings, and a couple of other extras designed to make using the amp easier and more rewarding. 

What can I say?  Sonny's an artist.  His amps are killer. Even at $1795, the Super Sonny is a killer amp.  (That's really not a lot of money in guitar-amp land, as the latest Musicians Friend catalog shows.)  At the sale price announced on this list that I got it for, it's a wild deal for an inspiring piece of gear.   

I'm really glad to have this piece in my collection, and I'm looking forward to making some great sounds with it.  

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp"
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
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