{{short description|Musical instrument amplifiers}} {{other uses}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}} {{More citations needed|date=October 2023}} {{Infobox company | name = Sunn Musical Equipment Corporation | logo = SunnLogo.png | former_name = Sunn Musical Equipment Company | type = [[Privately held company|Private]] | genre = | foundation = 1965 in [[Tualatin, Oregon]], US | founder = {{unbulleted list | Conrad Sundholm | Norm Sundholm}} | location_country = United States | industry = [[Musical instrument]] [[Amplifier|amplification]] | products = [[Instrument amplifier]]s | owner = {{unbulleted list | [[Fender (company)|Fender]] (1985–2002) | Sunn Musical Equipment Corporation (2023–present)}} | homepage = {{URL|sunnamps.com}} }}
'''Sunn''' (stylized in all lowercase as '''sunn''') is a brand of musical [[instrument amplifier]]s based in [[Tualatin, Oregon]], United States.
== History == In early 1963, [[the Kingsmen]], a band based in [[Portland, Oregon]], became known for their hit version of the song "[[Louie, Louie]]". After its hit single, the band soon embarked on a 50-state national tour. Because the band was used to playing small [[Sock Hop|hops]] and school dances, many of the members found themselves ill-equipped with the amplifiers that they were currently using. Bassist Norm Sundholm discovered that his bass amp was not nearly powerful enough to play larger [[concert hall]]s. Sundholm enlisted the help of his brother Conrad to help solve his problem. By 1964, the Sundholm brothers had designed a high-powered concert bass amplifier. The early Sunn amplifiers relied heavily on [[tube amplifier]]s designed by David Hafler and preamps sold by the Dynaco Hi-fi company, with many of the first units actually containing power amplifier chassis sold by Dynaco (models MKII, MKIII, MKIV) as well as modified Dyna PAS1 preamplifiers. By 1965, the demand for Sundholm's amplifiers had increased to the point where the family garage could no longer be used as the manufacturing facility. At this point the Sunn amplifiers still relied on the Dyna power amp circuitry, reworked to fit Sunn's own chassis but still employing Dyna produced and branded transformers and the same electronic design. Thus, the '''Sunn Musical Equipment Company''' was founded. Throughout the original Sunn Amplifier line they employed Dynaco designed and built transformers (up to the 120 watt MK VI transformer set) and Hafler based power amp designs until Sunn stopped producing the original line of tube amplifiers in favor of the [[solid-state electronics|solid-state]] Concert and Coliseum models. Later Sunn produced the electronically unrelated Model T tube amps.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Sunn o))) Amplifiers: Home of the legendary brand |url=http://www.sunnamps.com/p20043601/ |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Sunn Amplification}}</ref>
[[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation|Fender]] acquired Sunn in 1985, relocating operations from Tualatin to [[Lake Oswego]].{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} The stated intent was to both revitalize the Sunn amplifier lines and to produce some Fender-branded models as well, which included the Standard Series (Princeton Chorus and Ultra/Ultimate Chorus, both solid-state) and M-80 Series, and are identified as USA-made amplifiers with an "LO"-prefix serial number.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}
Fender shut down the Sunn operation in 2002.<ref name=":0" />
In 2023 a group of experienced music and electronics industry executives licensed the rights to build Sunn branded products and formed the '''Sunn Musical Equipment Corporation'''. The team includes executives from Mission Engineering, Bose, Fender, Charvel, Yamaha, Intel, Hastings and HP, as well as an advisory team made up of former Sunn engineers, designers and management.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Mission Engineering, Fender Bring Back Sunn Amplifiers|magazine=Music Inc.|date=October 2023|page=24}}</ref>
== In popular culture ==
The band [[Sunn O)))]] was named after the company. The band’s name includes a modified typographic representation of the Sunn logo.
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://www.sunnamps.com/ Sunn Support] – official website *[https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/conrad-sundholm Conrad Sundholm Interview] at [[NAMM Oral History Program|NAMM Oral History Library]] (2016) *[https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/norm-sundholm Norm Sundholm Interview] NAMM Oral History Library (2019) {{Sunn O)))}} {{Fender}}
[[Category:Guitar amplifier manufacturers]] [[Category:Manufacturing companies based in Oregon]] [[Category:Companies based in Tualatin, Oregon]] [[Category:Defunct companies based in Oregon]] [[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1965]] [[Category:Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2002]] [[Category:1965 establishments in Oregon]] [[Category:2002 disestablishments in Oregon]] [[Category:Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States]]