ELK Miyuki EB 202 S Head

features: Spring Reverb and Tremelo volume and tone controls 2 channels 2 inputs high and low gain? per channel.
This is about the ELK Guitarman 50, built in the early seventies. It has the same features as the Guitar/Bassman 60. I bought this amp on a flee market about 15 years ago for 35 guilders (=about 16 euro's) it was in a bad condition but the tubes looked allright and matched the setup in my VOX AC50. Original this was a combo, but some previous owner transformed it into a top. I didn't expect it to work.When I got home I couldn't wait tryin' to put it to work, and much to my surprise it worked very well, when I connected it to my Kustom speaker cabinet (one 15" speaker) only the tremelo and the reverb did not work (no reverb tank inside) I used this amp for many years in my studio (not on stage because of the weight) It sounded better than the VOX! The sound is really great in combination with my 70's strat and I can also use it in combination with my P-bass. After replacing the rectifier for a proper one the trouble began......... I waisted 2 pairs of EL34's before takin' it to a good repairman. Since a few months I got it back and man, I love the sound of this amp!!!!! I also got a reverb-tank from an old Fender P60 and screwed it in place it's just what I needed for the right sound.
I whish it would have a presence control..........

As I wrote above: great, great great! nice clear tone and whem the amp is warming up it get even better. Sometimes it hisses a little but most of the times it's as quiet as can be. It's got a bluesy warm sound and played at the right volume you don't need anyeffects but a wah-wah! With the bass guitar it's got a LOT of punch and a good bassy sound. With the Strat: crystal clear if you want.
when the amp is played at high volume you can hear that the transformer is too small.

I only use it in my studio for recordings and sometimes I lent it to other guitarists for recording. This amp is too rare for gig's.
It has a simple circuit (point to point) and not too many features ( what's not in it, can't go down) and in 15 years it broke only once by putting in another rectifier............
Now I must get the tremelo working which shuld not be too difficult (could it be a tube?)
It has been for service 1 time: a proper bias regulator has been built in, a few capacitors have been replaced and 2 new EL34's....
This means ??? 150,- in 15 years

The ELK company does not exist anymore............

I play for more that 30 years and i love old stuff.
my gear: Fender 70's strat with c-neck, Fender P-bass with split Dimarzio pickup, Fender Jazz bass fretless, Les Paul short scale bass, Rickenbacker 4001 stereo bass, Cimar acoustic steel string '75, 12 string acoustic, Lindsey acoustic steel string 1933, Hanika classic '65 and many more ****.
Amp's: ELK guitarman 50 Vox AC 50 GEM 10(Italy) all tube amps.
Drums: REMO quadura, Pearl export, Trixon

If it were stole or lost I would try to find another one for the beaty of its sound........
I prefer this amp compared to the VOX

If there is anyone who knows more about this great amp, please contact

Payed it 225euro's, with 2 home brewed cabinets containing 1 speaker.

i have the same amp as the previous reviewer, exept i have the TWIN 50 amp from elk. It has the same basic configuration, 2 channels with 2 inputs each
reverb and vibrato on 1 channel, and the other clean No channel switching. Its a fairly simple no nonsense 50watt full tube amp, so its FRICKING loud, even with the crappy home brewed cabinet i have. I mostly use it at home, but plan on using it for gigs. its old, and i dont need extra features, but i know some of you guys do, so i'm giving it an 8.
normally operates on 110 or 117 volt, but mine does it on 220, so i think at some point someone put a newer transformer in it.
i live in belgium, hence the 220 volts.

Ok, i havent found many reviews about this amp that discribes the sound. Well, for me, its just what i need, a very warm tube tone, with a lushy surf reverb. when clean, its really clean and full sounding, maybe a bit too much high's, but thats probably because of my crappy speakers.The reverb, can be pushed in some serious surf stuff, very nice tone. It can be subtle as well as really almost over the top. For me, its surf heaven.
I use a egmond typhoon, from 1965 to play over it, its a jazzmaster model, and imho, a very nice vintage guitar.This combination, for me, leads to a sound with a lot of mojo, and surf.
Ok, to be honoust, it does cracle, it does pop and hiss, but its not too bad for such an old amp. I do have to fit a new ground wired plug in, i think that will make a huge difference. But if your into vintage stuff like me, you'll love it. hiss stays at same level all the time, once you play, you can barely still hear it.
Its perfect for me, and would be sweet for about any musicstyle, just need the right pedals. I seriously can not tell you how much i like it. I was always crazy about my Dan armstrong combo, but this thing just blows it away.

hard to say, i havent used it much, so i'll tell you guys later. The previous owner told me he only used it from time to time, and it needs a cleanup, but its running strong none the less.

No customer support, elk is long gone. But you can find some more info on elk amps on DrTube's website, including a schematic.
if anyone has some nice info about them, let me know, i'm more than interested.

I have been playing for about 9 years now, i have a kustom lead III (very underrated transistor amp) a dan armstrong 60 watt combo and a gem mars (italian transistor from the 70's). I play on an 1965 egmond typhoon (dutch) and a otwin handmade semi accoustic jazz. I also own a few other less famous brand guitars from the 70's. I played on a lot of famus brands, guitars as well as amps, but i just love less known vintage guitars and amps. I just cant spend that much money on something that doesnt sound the way i want it to. But hey, thats another discussion.
I really love the vintage tone out of this amp. And the way it looks, its like a fender, but its not, and thats what makes it cool to me. for that kind of money, it was a bargain. If it were stolen, i would torture the thief ;) and find me another one.
well, any info on these amps is welcome: tom_667@hotmail.com

ELK Twin Amp 60 Guitar and Bass Guitar Amplifier
June 2005 By: Skipp May

Another garage sale special finds its way home with me in June 2005. The ELK Twin Amp 60 caught my eye because from a distance it appears to be Fender Bassman head. Upon closer inspection the ELK Amp reveals quite a bit of history along with a missing power transformer. Yes, I paid too much for the remaining chassis, which appears to be in pretty fair cosmetic and physical condition (less the removed transformer). A quick trip to the web turns up a few posts from various folks asking mixed bag questions about ELK and their respective models.

ELK Amplifiers were made in Japan my initial guess would be some time during the mid 1970?s. The rear label and serial plate from my ?musical instruments amplifier? show MIYUKI IND. CO. LTD. Tokyo Japan. An additional rear mounted metal plate has the same manufactures information along with ?Guitar Amplifier?, the serial and model EB 202 S numbers the numbers being stamped into the plate. Other web posts indicate the ELK Amplifiers were made by

At this time I?d rather not write pages of history about the many cloned or knock-off copy guitar amps offered through the years. The ELK Twin Amp 60 appears to be made using the Fender Bassman theme in a similar size cabinet. I would normally expect to find this type of amplifier built as a solid-state unit whereas I would not really get excited about becoming the owner of said boat anchor. A quick peak inside the rear of the amplifier shows it to be pretty much an all tube circuit. Of course there is no tubes in place making the restoration that much more difficult. There are five small 9-pin and 3 large octal (8-pin) inline tube sockets. Two of the large octal sockets are probably for the push-pull audio outputs with the remaining for the power supply rectifier. I would assume one or two of the smaller 9-pin tubes are used for the available reverb and vibrato functions.

The front panel is set up as a non-switched separate or parallel two-channel amplifier. The first reverb vibrato channel controls on the panel left (to right) side are reverb, volume, bass & treble. The second normal instrument channel controls are volume, bass & treble. The two remaining panel right side located knobs control the vibrato speed and intensity controls. Both channels have standard ? inch phone jacks marked 1 & 2. The remaining right front panel indicator is the classic jewel red power on lamp. The remaining controls and jacks are rear mounted.

A quick tour of the rear panel from left to right: power cord, 3 amp labeled fuse holder, 100V to 117V (line voltage) slide switch, power - standby switches, speaker ? ext speaker jacks and RCA-jacks for vibrato & reverb controls. The cabinet and upside down chassis mounting are the same as the classis Fender Bassman head. There is a cabinet internal mounted reverb tank.

Restoration of the amplifier to reliable operation will require a bit of circuit reverse engineering, new tubes and some minor improvements. Most of the web posts regarding ELK amplifiers mentioned failed power transformers. I can easily understand why the transformers fail after viewing the restricted cabinet airflow and the small footprint (size) of the now open hole in my chassis.

As time and interest allows, I?ll update the above information when possible. If you have any information regarding ELK amplifiers or would care to contact me and exchange simple notes, I?d appreciate hearing from you. The final results of this and my many other projects can be found on my www.radiowrench.com/sonic web page.

Cheers,
Skipp
skipp025 at yahoo.com
skipp025@yahoo.com
www.radiowrench.com/sonic

Not working... yet

ELK appears to have undersized the power transformer used in their tube amplifiers. The limited number of web posts I can source indicate the transformers often fail. The obvious fix is to replace the transformer with a proper size, mounted on an adapter plate along with a small fan to circulate cool air through the chassis. I have read posts from people with ELK Amps still going strong.

ELK Miyuki of Tokyo Japan is long out of business.

This amp will live again as time allows me to fix it. It's a rather neat amplifier, similar in size to the Fender Bassman Head, all tube with vibrato and reverb. Features not found on the bassman...