Sonny Jr. is taking time off to attend to ongoing health issues and business operations of SJHA are currently suspended.

We appreciate the outpouring of support from the harmonica community and hope that you will continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

The Cruncher is AMAZING! The tone is amazing! The notes just JUMP out. I just barely hit a note and it’s propelled outward like a rocket. It’s as if I’m freeing the notes and they are flying out.

I say the Cruncher offers terrific response to a harp player and that response allows you to play so freely that it’s like magic. I can’t explain what if feels like to suddenly have so much freedom. It has to be experienced to fully understand what I mean. The Cruncher plays like a finely tuned Italian race car that charges ahead with the slightest tap of the gas. The Cruncher is just plain HOT!

Besides the wonderful fat big hot tone, the Cruncher is beautiful to behold with the custom lacquer finish cabinet. Take a look inside and the wiring and the circuitry are a thing of beauty–-way above and beyond anything I’ve ever seen before. You know you’re looking at an intelligent labor of love that is built to play the blues.

And to top it off, Sonny is a great guy who understands blues and the blues harmonica and its players. He is extremely helpful and sympathetic. I can’t imagine any harp player not being overjoyed with the sound and the quality of the Cruncher.

I was so proud and so happy and so confident with The Cruncher at the recent Blowout. Every night I got great comments on my tone and how it stood out. I’ve never felt this good about an amp in my life!!! Thanks a million. I look forward to a great touring season with it this year.

The Avenger

Man oh man, Sonny! The Avenger is a work of art. I didn’t even take the time to read your setup advice……I just couldn’t wait to fire her up and blast.

I absolutely love the Avenger. Thanks a million times for all the effort you put into it. I’m glad you’re a man of vision because this is the wonderful result of your vision and hard work.

You’re the best!

December 2010

I’ve been touring most of this year with my own band and also as a member of Cyndi Lauper’s band and I don’t think I can put into words how much I appreciate the Cruncher and Sonny Jr.

I’ve used either The Cruncher or The Avenger in a quiet duo setting, in bars, clubs, ballrooms, and outdoor festivals and its killer tone can always reliably be heard. I’ve played through a LOT of amps over the 40+ years I’ve been touring and I honestly can’t think of an amp I like better than a Sonny Jr. I get LOTS of praise from people regularly about the sound of the Sonny Jr.

There’s a lot of good amps out there, but, in my opinion a Sonny Jr amp can’t be beat. I love the tone and the response so much that when I’m home, I keep a Sonny Jr in my office and every day I just HAVE to turn it on and play through it to feel that tone and how the notes just jump out.

And Sonny is a great guy to work with. He’s put his heart and soul in searching for the ultimate in tone for harmonica. I trust him totally. Just thought I’d pass this on to you.

The Sonny Junior Cruncher is the first boutique amp that has mastered the beautiful warm top end and the fat bottom of the best vintage tweeds. Search no longer, this amp will inspire!

The Sonny Jr. Cruncher is now my favorite amp……I feel inspired to play my harp through it like no other amp I own. It even rivals my original ’59 Bassman. The advantages are in the consistency and great tone I’m getting from the Cruncher.  It’s like you can sail on it & navigate the sound a certain way that makes it SO easy to change your tone to what you’re looking for at that moment.

The warmness of tone, edge and bite–when needed–make this amp a must for harp players who enjoy the classic 1950’s Chicago blues harp sound. I’d say that it’s closer to Little Walter’s sound then anything I can think of.  I look forward to bringing it to the gigs!

The Avenger

Got the Avenger–plugged it in–IT ROCKS RIGHT OUTTA THE BOX! It’s pretty tough not to be able to get a GREAT tone outta this! I had a great tone at a whisper or a scream. I think you found the Holy Grail, Sonny. Congrats! I’m looking forward to playing it this weekend.

I have been playing blues harp through tube amps for 40 years. Out of the literally hundreds of amps I have used, one occasionally will have that special quality of tone and presence that inspires me to play my best and most soulful. Everyone who has heard me play through the Sonny Jr. Cruncher has been impressed and moved by its sound.

I recently debuted the Cruncher at JJ’s Blues Club here in town……got many curious and blown-away harp fans. Dave, the sound guy of some years at the club, was floored. He said it was the best tone he ever mixed and concluded, “this one’s got the magic!!”

I am proud and enthusiastic to be endorsing this great line of amps! ]]> http://sonnyjr.com/gary-smith/feed/ 0 http://sonnyjr.com/sugar-ray-norcia-rhode-island/ http://sonnyjr.com/sugar-ray-norcia-rhode-island/#comments Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:39:13 +0000 admin http://local.sonnyjrharpamps.com/?p=160 http://sugarrayandthebluetones.com
sugarharp@cox.net

I have learned through years of experience, that playing the harp too hard through an amp that doesn’t respond to your efforts does very little to improve your technique and overall sound. The Sonny Jr. Four Ten produces a pure quality of tone and volume that is rich, heavy and fat, which enables me to hear and feel the nuances and subtleties of my playing, and in turn gives me more freedom to play creatively. This exciting and versatile amp inspires me and my band on each and every gig.

Update – Design Modification Package

Hey man I just came in after messing with the amp. Holy crap! First I put in the new speaker and played it with the original panel but using your tone settings and it sounded frigging great. After I put in the new panel, it jumped out of its skin! I normally would not crank up the treble that high (it’s on about 4 1/2 – 5) but when I do now, it screams. I actually knocked a picture down off the wall with the thunderous vibrations! I’m going to have to cool it and wait for my gig.

I used the amp Monday but it was an outdoor event with about 700 people in a park. Sometimes it’s hard to get a good harp sound in these situations but the amp cranked on stage. My bass player commented about it and I had not told him about the change yet.

Good job Sonny….you weren’t kidding. This is the best harp amp I’ve ever played!

UPDATE: I have now had a chance to play with the Super Cruncher. The tones out of that amp are phenomenal! The volume presence is definitely stronger than its cousin, the Cruncher. It roars, to use your term, and the harp sounds are sweet, even at low volumes. I am a convert, and I look forward to using it at my gigs! The bottom notes are so powerful! The high ends are also amazingly clean and warm. Would be curious to see how it sounds in the studio! I am converting my second Cruncher this week.
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I have been playing with the Cruncher for a couple of months now. I took it on the road to places like Buffalo, NY; Mishawaka, IN; and Lawrenceville, PA; as well as within the Chicago area where my band hails from. Everywhere I perform, I meet harp players drooling about the tone I get out of that wonderful amplifier. Even my band mates have commented on how awesome the Cruncher sounds. While I have always enjoyed playing through my Fender Bassman and Fender Super-Reverb amplifiers in the past, I must say that the Cruncher brings on an even sweeter dimension.

You get an amp that sounds like it came out from the 1950’s….warm and fat tone even at the lowest of volumes. I get virtually NO feedback to speak of. Even when adding reverb and delay. This amp has a unique LINE-OUT option which can be connected directly to a PA system. This amplification process remains faithful to the actual speakers output! I have tried Line-Outs from other amps before – especially the Fender Super Champ (from the early 1980’s) – and I repeatedly noticed that the harp tone and overall tube sounds were never faithfully duplicated. Not true with the Cruncher. It is simply an amazing amplifier.

I have found THE ultimate and most versatile amplifier. Never thought I would ever find one that could recreate Little Walter sounds. Yet here it is. I recommend it without reservation!