Sonnyjr.com - About the Amp

The Sonny Jr. Four Ten

Harmonica/Guitar Amplifier

*** Please check out all other companies, products, pricing, and then ask yourself this question: Why should I buy an amp from Sonny Jr.?

My answer to you is: You will be dealing directly with a seasoned harp player, who has been performing for over 30 years in all types of club situations, and who will guide you through whatever changes you need to make for optimal tone. So many of you have told me that once you bought an amp from a company and then asked for customer support as to how to get a certain tone from it specifically for harp, your experiences were less than gratifying. I also learn from my customers as more varieties of microphones and pedals are being used, and that working a customer through a situation gives me more to work with in the future. In dealing with the thousands of harp players over the years, a good 95% desire the same qualities in an amp which is to be dripping with tone, enough volume to compete with the band's enthusiasm, and certainly the versatility to adapt to all equipment and situations.

I am the only person you will deal with before, during, and after the sale. You probably would not even be looking at this site right now if it wasn’t for our strong reputation. The search for TONE and VOLUME has never been so doggedly sought after. Having gone through over 3000 vintage amps just to know what is possible is just a small part of my experience, and I provide ALL the necessary information in a complete manual. As always I will be available for customer support to walk you through the process.

Right to the heart of the matter, let’s talk about the amplifier that has created such a buzz in the harp community and is now rapidly catching on for guitar players as well. Based on a vintage Western Electric circuit design, I went through extensive research and development on this product. The key to any amplifier is TONE, something we have brought to the table with every amplifier we have built. With this new amplifier, we have the huge tone balanced with strong on-stage volume and projection that will reach the whole audience. With the detailed manual explaining all the variations of tube substitutions, the player can now understand what and why they are changing setups, whether it is a certain mic they want to dial in or the room in which they are playing. Once you have taken the pants off as many original tweed amps as I have, you begin to realize the whole final product is a synergy of its individual parts, and their relationship to achieving the final outcome, yes, TONE. So let’s break down the parts of this amp to get a better picture why this is such a unique custom product.

CHASSIS

Every chassis is meticulously point-to-point wired, one at a time, by one single technician. We currently have a team of superb techs who make a consistently excellent product meeting our high quality controls and expectations. I supply the exclusive parts such as our custom wound transformers, tubes, and Astron and similar style paper in oil capacitors ( ** To my knowledge we are the only company in the world today using these military NOS style tone beasts for production ). **See the section “Capacitors” for more detailed information. The builders then assemble these parts and the chassis comes back to me completed. I assemble the amp, set up the tubes for harp, bias the amp to idling perfection, and make sure EVERY amp I ship has been fully tested and harped on before it leaves. All baffle board nuts have been hit with a hardener to prevent them from coming loose and rattling. The logo has a piece of double sided tape plus screws to avoid rattling as well. DETAILS are what you will find in every corner of this unique, versatile, and user-friendly amplifier. No matter what your level of knowledge is concerning tubes and amplifiers, you will excitedly learn how to change your amp to fit all your needs. The infinite combinations for small - mid rooms, large rooms, or outdoors could all be just a few tube swaps away, depending on your own personal taste.

** New crystal mic FAT channel mod **

For all owners who do not have this mod or have not received a letter concerning the change, please contact me for details. What we have done is take the unused bright two channel input, and made a modification to it to enhance crystal mics, or even any mic that is a bit sharp. The impedance matching input will add more bottom end, fullness, and depth... everything you wished they had from the beginning. It will not affect any of the already tremendous tone you are getting from the amplifier or how it is used stock, just an added bonus. Controlled magnetics, reluctances, dynamic mics, and crystals, can all be used in the normal one channel. Everything is fully detailed and illustrated in our comprehensive, twelve page customer manual, the guide from Sonny Jr. to you for a wealth of knowledge about this amplifier and amplifiers in general. Thanks to my partner, Dr. Kay King, for the photography, design and production of this unique manual. Customers are amazed when they receive it, as many have bought other boutique amplifiers with absolutely no explanation as to how to dial in your amplifier for harp. Well, I guess that may be because no other company is led by a professional harp player who thinks like a customer, not an owner.

Transformers

The brain of the amp, and heart and soul comes from the components of the chassis. We start with the transformers which are made specifically for Sonny Jr. to Triad specifications of the original 8087 power and 45249 output transformers. I have original vintage transformers that I continuously test my Four-Tens against to make sure we are right on. The full bottom end, the ringing mids, tone projecting highs, and sustain all are maximized due the high quality of these components. Our transformers are made right here where they were 50 years ago, in the heart of the Midwest, where the metals and construction are consistent with the time-tested high quality. NO foreign countries making our product to cut cost. Not here, NEVER.

Capacitors

After extensive testing of the yellow Astron metal polyester capacitors used in the original tweed amps, I realized these caps, while being touted as one of the keys to the original’s tone, leaked voltage badly and most were out of the standard 10% tolerance for the stated value, which is not optimal for consistency. They are susceptible to the elements of heat and moisture which will make them vary in tolerance and not work up to full potential. What I doggedly searched for and found is Astron paper-in-oil style capacitors, New Old Stock, built to military specifications in a glass sealed type casing from the early 60’s, just as they were when they came off the line. We also use Sprague Vitamin Q and similar brand paper in oil capacitors, which for 50 years has been the style used by audiophiles to get the most accurate reproduction of sound in their very high end equipment. They are impregnated in oil, rolled in paper, and hermetically sealed to maintain their consistency over long periods of time. Each NOS capacitor is tested before installation using a Sencore LC103 capacitor analyzer, testing under voltage. These caps give the truest replication of the 50’s vintage sound. I will have similar brands for the continuation of this exacting tone quality for a long time to come. All other parts, resistors, electrolytic capacitors and other parts of the chassis are of the highest quality for tone and reliability.

Speakers

When I initially started this project and decided to build an amp with four ten inch speakers, I experimented with a wide variety of speakers available today. Through extensive testing using mainly my ears, the best overall package for bottom end with crispness was blending a variety of speaker types together. We use the Weber version of the P10Q on top, one speaker having a smooth cone which gives a warm smooth sound, and the other using a ribbed cone, for more bite and attack. For each of the bottom two speakers I use a large ceramic Eminence which just fills the house with bottom end and fullness. The combination of all these tonal qualities brings a richness that is unique to our amplifier. A virtual WALL of sound emanates from this amp and can literally shake like thunder when hitting full chords, provided you have the air to bring it out.

For guitar I just change the tube setup and biasing as these speakers absolutely KILL for guitar. You only need the bass set on less than 5 to get the desired thump and fullness.

Cabinets

What was good enough for the original is good enough for me-- finger-jointed pine cabs with the proper baffle board for resonation. When you want to make a chord shake the room, you can; when you want to punch a single note, it’s there. We then finish them in a unique custom blended lacquer that our customers are proud to own. And, the thick leather handles will not deteriorate like the originals did.

Tubes and Setup

The way the amplifier performs is a product of what value tube goes where, the bias of the power tubes, and sag of the rectifier. For harp players, I have listened to all your wants, and set up the amp that is a good baseline for headroom, projection and tone. You can then work from the full twelve-page manual which tells what, why, where and how you can alter your tone. Whether you know what a tube is, what a tube gain value is, it doesn’t matter. The manual has been really thought out to be used by someone with no knowledge of tubes, circuits, or any aspect of an amp. Sure we want to sell you a fish, but I also want to teach every harp player how to fish. When you become a Sonny Jr. owner, you become a part of our family and benefit from the knowledge of a harp player/musician of over 30 years, who is by most standards insane in his quest for tone and customer satisfaction. I have sold literally thousands of amps to harp players worldwide, and value everyone’s input and desires. You don’t get a sales rep, and I will never change my standards of practicing business. I enjoy working with players all over the world and of course we are happy to set up for 120 or 240 volts.

Synergism

Webster defines it as:

The interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements, contributions, etc.

I truly believe in my heart the combination of all aspects of this manufacturing process puts this amplifier in a league of its own. With the strong backing of endorsers like David Barrett of the School of the Blues, Sugar Ray Norcia, Paul Lamb, Mitch Kashmar, and Westside Andy, just to name a few, I am pleased to be a part of making your goals obtainable. As I will always tell you, what you put into this amplifier is what you will get out--all the potential is there, and then some. So don’t get mad at me when you can now hear every note you play☺ We can address all aspects of the harmonica player's needs from effects pedals, to microphones, how to mic an amp, or whatever it takes.

****** I will make this disclaimer! I will never stop pushing the envelope and am continually working on new ideas. If an upgrade to the existing amplifier becomes available, all SJ owners will be contacted.

In Summary

Please check all the various links with the site, as I will be offering parts for sale that will be in limited supply, updates on reviews, Sonny Jr, news, and hopefully can do a review of an amp a month. Considering that I have owned at least 3000 of them, I think I have enough material. I look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Sonny Jr.