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Info on Sunn Stinger 100 amp

Started by PoorOtis, July 01, 2018, 02:22:54 PM

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PoorOtis

I have always wanted a SUNN amp, and my grandson knew that and picked up a Sunn Stinger 100 Amp for me last week from parts unknown! I have been on the Net trying to get information about this model Sunn amp, but the only thing I could find was a download of the owners manual from Fender/Sunn. Has anyone worked on or owned one of these amps? Heck..I can't even find out what year it was made..must be asking the wrong people!
I have found info on Stinger 20/35/60s..but little to nothing on the Stinger 100! Its very heavy for its size and very Loud! I have never see this model of Sunn Amp..But I'm happy to have it! Any info on the Sunn Stinger 100 amp will be helpful. Respects. PoorOtis.

Enzo

You are not asking the wrong people, you are just asking about an amp that doesn't have a fan base. 

Pick up the phone and CALL Fender, and ask if they can send you the schematic for that, and while you are at it, ask if it is the same as some Fender model.  Those Fender era Sunn solid state amps were almost every one just a rebadged Fender model.

I know you discussed this on another site, but what is wrong with it?  What are we trying to fix?

teemuk

#2
The Stinger series amplifiers are some of the last ones Sunn Musical Equipment Co. manufactured before Fender (FMIC) purchased them. (Which took place in 1985, almost immediately after CBS had sold Fender trademark away and FMIC had been formed by former Fender exacutives). Solid-state design, naturally. Stinger amps were a cheaper following offshoot for more "professional" Sunn amps like SB and SL series, or Stagemaster, Sunn transistor amps that appeared after the more famous "Beta" and "Alpha" series amps. Similar feature to them is using CMOS inverters for overdrive/distortion but these ones lack the "soft limiter" of the power amp stage and probably feature "passive" tonestacks. They are of different design.

I have schematic for Stinger 60 amp. It's obviously designed to be very "tube-like" sounding; all preamp stages are designed non-linear and the power amp stage is made to have low damping factor. The amp is actually very similar to Sunn "Stagemaster", sans some special features like channel switching, FX loop and "soft limiter". This is my hunch, but these amps may have been designed by someone from the famous Moog "Lab Series" team, they bear so striking resemblance to Lab Series L3 amplifier, combining both CMOS inverters AND servo-biased FETs for overdrive. Never seen anything alike in other SS amps, except in Lab Series L3. Just a guess though. Anyway, shortly after these the company was sold to FMIC and that's the end of that story.

AFAIK, Fender did not reissue any of the late Sunn SS amps, or any Sunn design on that matter. They purchased Sunn mainly to acquire a factory, since they didn't have one as CBS kept all of them when they sold the trademark away. So FMIC just needed a manufacturing plant and resources in US ...and purchased Sunn.

Fender did not continue to manufacture any of the previous Sunn designs, did not reissue them, and they did not even "inspire" any of the Fender (FMIC) amps that followed. FMIC created their own, completely new SS preamp design back then... and even today they still keep utilising it in one form or another. Sunn designs - especially solid-state - went down in history right there and then.

Fender may have relabelled some old Sunn inventory, or sold some of the Fender Japan products under Sunn trademark (for a shor while, maybe) but it took several years after the initial purchase before they actually bothered to revive the Sunn trademark. (Sunn was purchased in the mid 1980's whereas Sunn brand was revived in the mid 1990's). When they did that the products were - as said - just Fender products with Sunn logo. Even the famous "Model T" was - to many people's dismay - totally unlike the Model T amplifier that Sunn had manufactured earlier. So it was just reviving of a trademark, not revival of any older Sunn designs. Too bad, they made many great SS amps in the period between early 1970's and early 1980's.

Yes, Fender likely has several Sunn manuals and schematics, which they have acquired when they purchased the company. Hopefully one for this amp too. But, AFAIK, there never was a Fender "Stinger" amp or even anything similar. The Stingers were strictly a Sunn product. (No, 1980's Fender amps with CMOS overdrive aren't similar, that's just a happy coincidence. Using CMOS inverters for overdrive was probably "fad" for everyone since mid 1970's and totally well known "in the art").

teemuk

Judging by the manuals, Fender actually did shortly continue manufacturing Sunn "Stinger" series, at least models 35, 100, 12 and Stinger Bass.

These amps were, however, made in Taiwan, and there's a good chance they were actually products sourced from Fender Japan (which was more or less an individual business entity), thus "OEM" and manufactured by any suitable company on license. Same thing as with the cheaper Squier and Sidekick series, which Fender Japan kept manufacturing despite CBS selling the trademark in USA. These Stinger amps may be - or may not be - similar to Stinger amps produced earlier by Sunn Musical Equipment Co. (by the time a division of Hartzell Corp).

Enzo

Then it might be illuminating to determine when this amp was made.

I found the Fender SKX100 was made in Taiwan.  Fender lists a schematic available for that.  Worth a call to Fender to see if the SKX100 has any relation.

PoorOtis

I found out that the Fender Stage Lead II amp(Japan) and the Sunn Stinger 100(Taiwan) are the same amp..guess Fender just Re-Branded the same amp for Sunn & Fender during that time frame. I could not find any reviews on the Sunn Stinger 100 Amp, but I did find reviews on the Fender Stage Lead II, which are all positive. I guess that Sunn at that time did not have a very big fan base.
 
Thanks to everyone for all the info..good food for thought. Respects. PoorOtis.

Diablo_IV

hey teemuk can you throw me a schematic for the sunn stinger 60, I am working on a stinger 20, sound the the preamp is of the same design.

edvard

Quote from: Diablo_IV on November 05, 2019, 11:58:00 PM
hey teemuk can you throw me a schematic for the sunn stinger 60, I am working on a stinger 20, sound the the preamp is of the same design.

There's a .gif file of the Stinger 60 Rev. B here (3rd post down):
https://forum.sunnstillshines.online/index.php?topic=7082.msg34495#msg34495

You are correct.  According to the User Manual (https://support.fender.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002388866-SUNN-Guitar-and-Bass-Amplifier-Owner-s-Manuals), the Stinger 20 and 60 were the same amp with different power sections.  I think even the power sections could be the same, but missing one pair of Power Darlingtons (TIP102 & TIP107) in the Stinger 20.


edvard

Quote from: PoorOtis on July 07, 2018, 03:07:06 PM
I found out that the Fender Stage Lead II amp(Japan) and the Sunn Stinger 100(Taiwan) are the same amp..guess Fender just Re-Branded the same amp for Sunn & Fender during that time frame. I could not find any reviews on the Sunn Stinger 100 Amp, but I did find reviews on the Fender Stage Lead II, which are all positive. I guess that Sunn at that time did not have a very big fan base.
 
Thanks to everyone for all the info..good food for thought. Respects. PoorOtis.

There's some information here:
https://www.stratopastor.org.uk/strato/amps/twoseriessolidstatefenders/twoseriessolidstatefenders.html

He says email him for the Japan schematic.

EL34world has a Stage Lead II schematic, no idea if it's the "Japan" schematic or not:
https://el34world.com/charts/Schematics/files/Fender/Fender_stage_lead_ii.PDF

DrGonz78

I think that EL34World website download is the Japan version. Either way just email Stratopastor and he'll help you out, he's a nice guy.
"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." -Albert Einstein

Diablo_IV

thank you guys, so yea im going to replace all the filter caps. The transformer looks toasted and only puts out about 14vac where i should be getting 19 or 20.  When dealing with winding ratios do we divide 120 by 20, or 110 by 20?

Diablo_IV

never mind, I believe i need a 40 vct secondary transformer.   If anyone could tell me what amount of amperage i may need to power this amp that would be great.  I see some transformers with 40 vct but with only at .06 amps.