Dr Bonkers Guitar Cab-Oddities™ Volume 19: SULA 4X12 Guitar Cab IR Collection

Historical Info (Click Here)

Founded by The Kingsman’s bassist, Norm Sundholm, Sunn® attempted to give bassists a better bass amp and cabinet experience by fusing Dynaco® ultra linear power amp sections with Fender® preamp topography as their starting basis, as well as using sealed cab folded horn technology with upgraded speakers. For years in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, Sunn® gear was the choice of many pros, but then they fell out of favor by the early 1980’s, were later bought by Fender® in 1985, and then eventually shuttered in 2002. Sunn® enjoyed a resurgence by stoner rock and doom metal bands in the 1990’s but that was not enough to save the brand.

The Sceptre™ 4×12 was first produced in 1968 through the early 1970s as a response to pressure from some touring guitarists who wanted a 4×12 cabinet rather than various configurations of 15 inch or 10 inch speakers. The Sunn® team realized they could layout the 12 inch speakers in a staggered S shape within a new infinite baffle that fit neatly in the already designed 200s™ sealed cabinet in order to economize the number of different cabinet designs fabricated and inventoried. If you look in the tab of speaker pictures on this page, you will see to the right hand side of the speakers, one wall of the cabinet has the cut outs for the folded horns that were a feature of the 200s™. This cab would seem to be an early example of a Sceptre™ 4×12 guitar cab according to a few sources I referenced.

By the mid 1970s, Sunn® migrated to a more conventional looking 4×12 guitar cabinet design.