Sunn Beta Lead - amazing solid state amp [grunge, doom, stoner, drone, sludge]

If you like stoner rock, doom metal, grunge, sludge, or drone, you definitely know the famous Sunn Beta Lead. There's so much hype around this amp. Buzz Osborne from Melvins uses this amp. Rumors say that Kurt Cobain used to gig with a Sunn Beta Lead during the Bleach era. The sound of Red Fang is pretty much based on this amp since they use it for guitars and bass. The list of bands that use the Sunn Beta Lead is long and includes Sandrider, Melt Banana, and Pissed Jeans. It is not a cheap amp anymore since is not very easy to find, especially outside the US. The amp in the video is from 1979 and is a US model with all original parts.
#sunnbetalead #sunn #weasacompany
The amp is not easy to find, you have to check Reverb every once in a while. However, there are some alternatives.
Hilbish Design offer a Sunn Beta Lead replica, this is what Buzz Osborne uses today - bit.ly/3aS942t
Monolith used to offer a Sinn Beta Lead replica called Magam. Every once in a while they appear in the used market on Reverb - bit.ly/35j6cun
Sacred Fire, which is an Italian brand based in Turin, manufactures an amp head called Screaming Witch which is a replica of the Sunn Beta Lead. You can find it here (in Italian) - bit.ly/2WeawXv
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[@WeAsACompany]

Is this the best solid-state amp ever for heavy music?

[@allwrongnotes2780]

Either that or Peavey. They made a few rare birds in the early 70's that can really bring the doom.

[@WeAsACompany]

@@allwrongnotes2780 Also Traynor TS series is dope. The TS 140 is a sleeper, very hard to find.

[@GuitarTalkunedited]

The CR120 and Marshall Mosfets are also contenders

[@WeAsACompany]

@@GuitarTalkunedited Yes they are! I would throw in the mix also vintage Traynor TS series.

[@groteandreas1482]

@@GuitarTalkunedited My first Amp was a Marshall Mosfet 100...funny enough I could never bond with it. I allways preferred my buddies Laney AOR. Now I got a Sunn Beta, that are very rare around here. Love it... Maybe opinion change. And a Laney La30bl... could never forget that old AOR 😁

[@RGCarlton]

Glad I picked up a Beta Lead for $200 before the vintage spike. Great demo!

[@WeAsACompany]

Mine was a little bit more than that but still before the spike. Are you happy with yours?

[@RGCarlton]

@@WeAsACompany I absolutely love it. Unfortunately it sits on a shelf indefinitely, third only to my '74 DR103 and my '74 Gen 1 Model T.

[@WeAsACompany]

@@RGCarlton Well, great collection man. If you have a vintage DR103 you don't need anything else ;). There's just one amp that I would take over the DR103, Selmer Stereomaster. But is super expansive and very hard to find.

[@RGCarlton]

@@WeAsACompany legend has it that those things are monsters!

[@WeAsACompany]

@@RGCarlton They are! On listing o Reverb right now reverb.com/item/31217944-selmer-stereomaster-1967-nos-condition-very-very-rare-50w-stereo-100w-mono - not really cheap.

[@Therealbackslabbath]

I love vintage solid state amps. I have a Peavey standard 260 series. It can destroy eardrums man. Pristine cleans too, perfect for pedals 👍

[@Marko9801ZG]

Great demo! I have a 212 beta combo, using as a head with a 412 cab... I hurt my ears when I bought it, I'm not kidding... It really is better for my stoner band than any other tube amp I have or had. It simply gives healthy sound, and the EQ is superb.

[@WeAsACompany]

thx a lot man. I agree, the EQ is phenomenal. I love it, the only thing is that I don't like much how it reacts with fuzzes. Otherwise would be my weapon of choice all the time.

[@chrislopez1391]

fav amp. i play mine into a 70's 4x10 Holmes cab and it is the loudest little rig ever. lucky to have paid someone 60 bux for it then paid 4x that amount for an original footswitch. worth it.

[@Jordannofun]

Someone I know found one in a dumpster outside a jam space

[@WeAsACompany]

lucky guy

[@kazukihiratani]

Why would someone wanna throw this away? It's one of the greatest amps ever!

[@tyleraddey-jibb6867]

Hahaha I’m going to be playing through that very head tonight my dude

[@andriealinsangao613]

@@kazukihiratani Probably didn't appreciate the BRUTAL tone this amp can spit out!

[@75Pollux]

Very surprised by the clean/edge of breakup, sweet tones !

[@joshuaallgood7030]

Greatest solid state amp ever made!

[@WeAsACompany]

Yeah!

[@natehine8541]

I had a beta bass combo with 1 15 inch speaker .. one day my guitar player plugged into it .. and lost his mind .. it sounded huge

[@heavy_70s70]

I cant belive that is straight into the amp....thats crazy!!!

[@TheGorillafoot]

Sunn makes some really slick amps. I got one of their little 112 combos and it's massive.

[@mattfleming2287]

I own an Acoustic 134 amp. From around ‘72 I think. It is the cleanest, warmest sounding amp I’ve ever played through. It’s a perfect pedal platform. Insanely loud-never got it above 4 even during live gigs. While everyone knows about the Sunn, no one ever talks about Acoustic. I ended up pulling the amp from the cabinet (it was a 90+lb combo) and have used it in hundreds of shows. Another amp to consider if you use pedals as you main tone.

[@WeAsACompany]

Acoustic is a great solid-state amp, one of the best with Sunn Beta Lead and Traynor TS series, however, they're not easy to find and not cheap.

[@in.der.welt.sein.]

I concur. I've had a 150 that I use for practice when I don't feel like lugging around the more expensive tube amps, and the 150 never disappoints. Even the bass amps sound pretty gnarly for downtuned guitars.

[@Tylerxfm]

dude i love this channel, it has made me have more appreciation for pedals and amps and how everyone is very unique. thank you!

[@Tylerxfm]

i have always wanted a beta lead, been a melvins and red fang fan for a long time and saw this video and looked for one online, found one pretty close and went and bought it! lol

[@windyhollow7869]

agata from melt banana has also used this amp a lot. just goes to show how versatile it can be.

[@bruhbruh-dz4lm]

great concise demo of this man!

[@anmeramz88]

The Hot Tubes from EHX has a very similar character to the lower gain settings on this amp, crispy on the top and beefy/greasy/flubby on the lower end. I've found you can boost the Hot Tubes with a Rat or other fat distortion to approximate the tones of the Beta Lead, worth a shot if you're after doomy sludgy tones on a tight budget!

[@MrCarsandguitars]

Man I love how these amps sound. I have a preamp pedal that's a copy of a beta bass and i run my bass vi into it. It sounds awesome.

[@WeAsACompany]

Great! Which pedal do you have?

[@MrCarsandguitars]

@@WeAsACompany it's from slunk poedals. A small builder in new york

[@WeAsACompany]

@@MrCarsandguitars cool, I'll take a look at that.

[@MrCarsandguitars]

@@WeAsACompany the guy runs an Instagram page, and is usually pretty quick to reply. I think most of his stuff is one off.

[@WeAsACompany]

@@MrCarsandguitars Thx!

[@evanlundgren3039]

Sunn alpha series mixers are also a way cheaper alternative with the exact same preamp and opamp ICs and power section is still a healthy 100watts at 4ohms. I actually seem to enjoy the alpha 6 much better for the multiple channels and built in blendable nature of the circuit. And the Kustom III Lead head and Combo 130watts at 4ohms and very similar tone and capability as well as being a cheap alternative.

[@roberttaillet7599]

I got mine in 1979 still have the sun and I also have the Randall 80 watt

[@WeAsACompany]

Lucky guy!

[@roberttaillet7599]

I also have a marshall dsl100 a marshall mg100 A-line 6 150 what in a crate 150 w

[@in.der.welt.sein.]

The rg-80? Those are killer sounding.

[@fekdaleo]

@@in.der.welt.sein. rg80 is 100 watts, rg100 is 120

[@vonjunzt4130]

Buzz from the Melvins used this head sometimes I'm sure, but I saw him on tour with Hiwatt amps, and some of those Melvins recordings sure sound like a Marshall sound to me. Amp sounds great for sure though

[@hellbent4fruitleather863]

early on he used these heads to HIWATT cabs. then later he switched to the rackmount beta pre-amps with carver rackmount amps & still used his hiwatt cabs.

[@jkf9167]

Beautiful sounds.

[@WeAsACompany]

Thx a lot man!

[@tobiascooperman1002]

I've been on the hunt for one at a good price. I usually just jam my old roland sip 300 preamp.

[@geordiedog1749]

Yes.

[@no_name1107]

I can attest to the space time continuum opening opening up if you push it past 1.

[@WeAsACompany]

🤣

[@jamesprice6381]

Yep KILLER til it breaks, that one chip i BLV is RARE as hens teeth, i was fortunate to have found one back in 2005

[@zisme]

Love my beta lead. Respect the master volume knob!

[@WeAsACompany]

One day I'll crank it to 10, the very next day I'll be in a parallel universe.

[@malevolentsound]

I mean with gain maxed it maxes out at about 5 on the master volume, after that it just gets more muddy. Still loud as fuck

[@magnusoddsson8168]

@@WeAsACompany at least in jail

[@WeAsACompany]

@@magnusoddsson8168 :)

[@geraldcalifornia5923]

I have one sunn beta lead but i dont know if really its too loud. It sounds amazing but its not to loud compared with a twin reverb or peavey classic chorus 212. Does it suppoused to be louddr than a twin reverb ? HELP I dont know if its something wrong with my volumem knob SUNN. The right side of this if its wrong its that I can play in my bedroom at 10 on master volume B)

[@profile_01]

Please Fender reissue these

[@ArcturusduBouvier]

Love mine too !

[@WeAsACompany]

they're great amps.

[@GuitarTalkunedited]

Excellent video.. in reference to the come where was the mic positioned?

[@WeAsACompany]

Thx a lot man. This was close-miking with Sennheiser e906. The center of the mic was aligned with the end of the center of the cone and the beginning of the cone itself. I'm not a big fan of center-miking.

[@Fuzzbucket3358]

I wish these wasn't as rare as hens teeth around here. Where are they all at?

[@WeAsACompany]

Mainly in the U.S.

[@dansemacabre4350]

Hey! Very nice video! - I have this amp (beta lead from 1974) for some years in my bedroom and now in 1-2 Weeks I'm gonna get this devil into the rehearsal room (which i seared for in my city for two damn years!) - anyways - I just can't wait to use my new gear on this amp. recently bought a GUILD polara S100, which evolved to be my Nr#1 Guitar (drop C) and I also got the walrus audio "ages" - I hope they'll give me both a nice heavy-rock'ish & doom-esque vibe - which will perfectly fit my new band's genre. Can you give me infos about this foot-switch? I just got the amp-combo (2x12" with the amp - which i've already taken out of the combo to use it as a head on a 4x12") but never ever knew there is an footswith. Is this aftermarket? original? where do i get something like that? I'd be happy with an (working) aftermarket-footswith tho! can you maybe help me to get my hands onto such nice footswitch? Btw - I'm thinking about bi-amping the sunn beta lead with a soldano hotrod 50 tube amp. this total set-up has balls of steel (i hope at least, lol) anyways, thanks for this video - would love to get an reply from you. Have a nice week and greetins from germany

[@waynealderman1921]

Have you gotten to try one of the Hilbish clones vs a real Sunn?

[@WeAsACompany]

unfortunately not. I would love to do a back to back. Based on some demo on the internet I've the feeling they sound slightly different.

[@MarcAndreLevesque]

King Buzzo's live rig is a Hillbish, need I say more? :)

[@richwalter5322]

They sound a bit different... the Hilbish doesn't sound as good to me, sounds more compressed and dull

[@AmiGuitar]

How does it sound clean with fuzz and distortion tho?

[@DaisyHead666]

how in gods ballsack did yall get ahold of this thing? I cant find em nowhere for under 1k

[@rickroy1353]

Super Crush 100 !

[@XxStonedImmaculatexX]

I just got one myself and am trying to dial it in. I was going thru my bypassed pedals into both channels on max overdrive and it sounded awesome! But when I lowered the drive to try and use my pedalboard I was getting a popping sound and was afraid of blowing out my 2x12 cab. Would you happen to know why I'm hearing that popping sound?

[@mantid138]

How loud was this in the room when you had the master on 1 but drive cranked?

[@WeAsACompany]

A lot!

[@R1GAMBLER]

❤️)))

[@negativeland5207]

Had anyone tried out those hilblish clones?

[@geraldcalifornia5923]

Does anyone have the problem that the amp has buzz or humm noise always and the buzz get worst wen yo increase the master volume?

[@WeAsACompany]

Not here. The knobs are a little bit noisy when you turn them, it's an old amp. Besides that no problems at all.

[@magnusoddsson8168]

I have one that "hizzes". I haven't yet taken a round on it with an oscilloscope to figure out what is going on. If I remember it is on both A and B channels so it has to be the pre-amp stage. I still used it despite of the hizzing.

[@in.der.welt.sein.]

You need to replace the old electrolytic capacitors.

[@magnusoddsson8168]

@@in.der.welt.sein. Thanks for the tip. "old" in this context is relative. It was hissing quite seriously back in the nineties when I used it the most. I might actually haul it down from my attic and check on the bulges on caps. I assume we are not talking about the main caps in the power stage? The power amplifier is relatively silent if I remember correctly.

[@geraldcalifornia5923]

@@magnusoddsson8168 yes I only have the noise on the B Channe.I dont know if its in the drive knob, the reverb knob or the level channel. In the A channel I dont have that problem. Also my sunn isnt not to loud as my Traynor Ygl-3 or my Peavey classic chorus 212 i dont know IfIt supossed to be loud as those amps or loud as a Twin reverb or a HIWATT is it ?

[@nunoharris]

Hi. Is this amp similar to the one used by Cliff Burton ? Thanks

[@AmiGuitar]

Yes

[@AmiGuitar]

Except he used the beta bass

[@funcia789]

Hey my new amp. Thumps every time I turn it off and I personally dont think that is good for it. My amp does not have a standby switch. Any help?

[@vittorioplatania8987]

You can put a standby but you need an amp tech.

[@WeAsACompany]

it can depend also from your electrical system. The best thing is to have an amp tech to check it.

[@fallenshallrise]

Mine thumps a little too when I shut it down but I never worried about it. Does your thump change volume with the master volume? Maybe experiment with that.

[@funcia789]

fallenshallrise I turn everything down when I turn it off its still loud af

[@WeAsACompany]

@@fallenshallrise I do like Lazrax, I turn everyhting down before I turn it off.

[@amirulsafian4667]

I heard people said CR120 have a similarity as Beta Lead. Is it true ?

[@WeAsACompany]

Based on my experience is not true. I had a CR120 and it's very different to the Beta Lead.

[@amirulsafian4667]

@@WeAsACompany so what's amp that resembles Beta Lead ? Have any ?

[@WeAsACompany]

@@amirulsafian4667 This is supposed to be the exact replica www.hilbishdesign.com/product/beta-preamplifier

[@delkel9delkel914]

Correct sound custom from Russia make a bunch of Sunn preamps in rack or pedal format. Supposedly Sunn O))) have used their stuff.

[@roach-2351]

How would this compare to the randall rg100es?

[@WeAsACompany]

We've never tried an RG100, sorry.

[@roach-2351]

@@fahey7335 hey just an update I bought a randall rg100es and its awesome for that NOLA sludge tone which I was going for. I would say it sounds quite similar to a marshall. I am really happy that I got one

[@Jose_Munguia]

I've got a Sunn Beta Lead and a Randall RG100ES. I wouldn't say they're similar really. They're both really loud solid state amps, but that's about it. I had a chance to get a Peavey Century 200H and didn't go for it, kinda regret it. That one seems to have a similar kind of tone to that of a Beta Lead, if I remember correctly.

[@michaeltaylors2456]

I had one new in 1982, thought it was the nastiest, not in a good way, flattest, dullest, darkest POS ever devised. Was loud tho. I guess it’s a sound that some people like. I listened to the demo, goddam it’s worse than remember.. enjoy and thanks for posting. By the way I got suckered into buying g it because the sales dude, one Jimmy Hotz who was part of its development allegedly, demonstrated it with a real deal Echoplex,

[@kurtbader9711]

The pick attack is pretty nice, even better if you accentuated it a bit. Nice as it is though. They sound so good until you get used to standing in front of old Marshalls. Not dissing these, love concert leads, Hafler G-300s, etc. Maybe I shouldn't be pontificating so much, a pile of old Marshalls costs a poor man's fortune. Better bang for the buck to be found in relatively inexpensive but pro caliber gear. Hope for the kids. Make 'em sing! Do your research, find your treasure and get back to us. There's a bunch of 'em out there waiting to be found and unleashed. See, research can be fun! And rewarding. Enjoy the journey.

[@geertvanassche8447]

I wonder if the amp can also produce the sound from light to heavy blues , someone can give me the information ?

[@in.der.welt.sein.]

Yep.

[@beelbrother1648]

You made that thing sound good! I played in a band who's guitarist used a Beta Lead and his tone was awful.

[@bobsbigboy_]

Im guessing bad cable

[@beelbrother1648]

@@bobsbigboy_ nah, he had a knack for making any amp sound bad xD

[@bobsbigboy_]

@@beelbrother1648 lmaooooo

[@ent3241]

How much does it cost?

[@liamoandhuckle3118]

Sunn O)))

[@kennyh5083]

Yea and used it costs more than many new tube amps

[@quantumleap1593]

Randall war head

[@sleepisoptional]

treble: OFF 🤣 …bet it sounds great with beyer m160 ribbon

[@michaelcullinan3796]

Could an axe fx get like this?

[@ragnarok1199]

If you can only find a Sunn Beta Bass, it's the same amp except without built in reverb. Last time my bandmate saw Red Fang he said everyone in the band was playing through Sunn Beta Bass amps. I play through a Sunn Beta Bass in Numerical Control Society kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZrNgp14gdOKmJo It's a very distinct solid state tone. Does it replace a tube amp? No. But also, I don't think it's supposed to.

[@WeAsACompany]

Exactly, they're the same amp. I've seen Red Fang live and they have Beta Lead and Bass, I mean, all of them!