Sound City 50 Plus

I have owned this amp for many years. Late 70's. Traded a little, tiny, fender combo to the original owner whom had owned it for 10 years. Couple of different channels but I use the normal channel. I crank all the tone controls and stand out of the way of the speaker for fear of losing what little hearing I have left. I wish it had a master volume control but it really breaks up nicely at higher volumes making it a not too missed item. I have never done anything besides pull the tubes and shake all the rust out of the chassis. Vacuumed the tube holes out. Put it back together with the original tubes and marveled, and still do, at its' guts and tone.

I use an original 1959 Danelectro DC single P/U guitar. I have to stand a long way away from the amp and can not push it because of the intense reverb. Awesome for really clean blues. Then I have a 1976 Gibson ES-325 with mini humbuckers that make this amp sound like my Matchless for 3 grand less. I also use an American made strat with absolutely no complaints. I run my am in stereo with a Tech 21 trademark 60. Give it a touch of delay and let 'em rip. Blues/rock/latin/whatever. It just plain sounds wonderful. Did I say it is really loud?

It started sounding a little weak. That's when I got the bright idea to clean all the rust from the chassis. It seemed like a logical thing to do. It sounded like a brand new amp when reassembled. Now I do that every 12 months. I may change the tubes, someday, but really have no reason to yet. I better knock wood.

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What can I say. I will buy any and all that anyone wants to sale. E-mail me at treadstone71@accessatlanta.com for cash for your 50 plus,50R and 120's.

This amp was made in the late sixties I suspect. It's wired point to point but not in the linear fashion like Hiwatts. Never the less, it is very simple inside. It has two bridgable channels, normal and brite and standard three pot eq. It has some of the best tone I have ever heard. It doesn't distort until you hit 7 or so on the volume because there is not master. I was going to install a master and actually ordered a kit to do it from Torres Engineering but then I just tried using my tube driver pedal which has 12AX7 in it and it sounds so damn good, I don't think it's necessary now. You can play with the knobs all you want because every sound is good. The tube arrangement is excellent. It came with old Siemens tubes which I have heard of but have never seen. I took them out though to save them and put in a couple of tesla users. The tube setup is as follows: 2 EL34 power tubes, 3 12AX7 preamp tubes, and I 12AT7 inverter. When I bought it, there was a fourth 12Ax7 being used for a phase inverter and it sounded BAD!!! Check yours now! If it is a 12AX7, replace it and you will be happy. I gaurantee it. Groove Tubes reccommends using their 7025 preamp tube. It is a direct replacement for the 12AX7 but is made in Europe and most closely resembles the specs of the original tubes. I think I believe them in this case.

There are some interesting features on this amp that I have never seen on other amps. It has switchable outputs for 4,8,16 ohms and it has a voltage selector that is truly radical. It has four settings: 105,115,220 and one other I forget. World tours were taken into consideration when this built. It also has a sensitivity swith on the back and a ground switch. The sensitivity swich makes a huge difference. It seems to cut the power by almost 50 percent. If the switch is set to high, there is the "Sound City Buzz" that everyone is talking about but on low, it is really quiet. I am thinking of messing around with some grounding options to see if I can get rid of it as it is of the 60 cycle variety.

I play an SG and ES 340 through this amp and it's a match made in heaven. I play maximum R&B style blues. I play loud and raunchy. This amp has guts. Massive power in the low range. It makes a 4x12 sing. I mean really sing. It is a very throaty marshall sound that makes you want to strike A major chords all damn day. The feedback is sweet and magical. The amp is very responsive and works with you and your style. The damn thing is alive I tell you! The fact is, you can't make this amp sound bad. You could easily use this for a bass amp. The mid range is thick and pleasant, not flat sounding and the treble is very smooth and round that sounds great turned all the way up. This is the only amp that I have done this with. You cut your power significantly by holding back on the tone controls. For what I play and the Gibsons I use, you would probably want to run it with the tone controls at 10. A far cry from the Carvin X60 that I own which sounds shrill and glassy and you have to fiddle with to get any palatable sound out of.

This amp has some quirks. There is an abnormally loud buzz on the high sensitivity setting that I have heard many people report. This could be old capacitors or just funky wiring. It really doesn't bother me too much though. Other than that, after 30 years this thing is going strong. Many other amps have come and gone in that time. The only ones left from that era were the ones that were built to last forever if maintained. This thing will take care of you as long as you take care of it. The head itself is heavy due to the partridge trannys and big caps. The box is rock solid too. One thing, old english electronics tend to corrode over the years so it would be worth examining them and replacing any funky wiring.

Sound City is long gone.

I would buy this amp again in a heartbeat. I am looking for another.

I think my amp is a '72. I bought it dead mint in 2000 for $250. Not a feature loaded amp. Don't let the low score in this category fool you. This amp kicks ass. Has the only feature any amp really needs...Tone! This is your standard 4 input amp with normal and bright channels (non switchable). The only feature that it could use is a presence control, but I really don't miss it.

I own several cool amps including two 70's 100 watt Hiwatts, Marshall JTM45 and Plexi reissues, A Fender '59 Bassman reissue with a Hoffman point to point wired Bassman circut board and a tube rectifier, a Fender Prosonic head with matching Tonemaster cab, an Orange OR80, and several others. I play mostly American Fenders and Hamer USA's. For pedals I use mostly Fulltone, Visual Sound, Electro Harmonix, and Klon.

The Sound City 50 Plus is a real low cost gem! I think of it as sort of a poor man's Hiwatt. It has a hint of Hiwatt vibe (the 50 Plus uses Partridge transformers like the Hiwatt) and a bit of Marshall RAWK! The more you turn the 50 Plus up the better it sounds. If you like agressive Brit clean, this is a great amp. Put a Fulldrive 2 in front of this thing and stand back. Also, the Budda Phatman tube overdrive sounds great with this amp. I found that the Phatman didn't sound so hot with other amps I have, but it seemed like it was made for this amp. However, any good overdrive will sound awesome with this amp.

If you're a guitarist on a budget, get a Fender Bassman head for your clean and a Sound City 50 Plus with an overdrive in front of it for your dirty channel and a/b the two. You will have classic American and Brit tones for not a lot of cash. No the 50 Plus is not a JTM45 or a 50 watt Plexi, but when was the last time you saw one of those amps for around $150 to $300? This is the best British amp in it's price range PERIOD! Compared to other amps in this price range this amp gets a 10 for sound quality. Compared to other amps in say the $500 to $1500 range it's an 8

Seems well made. I havent had any problems with it. It's old so I wouldn't use it without some type of back up as a general rule. However, If I didn't have a backup, I wouldn't be too concerned as long as I had a good tech check it out.

Dallas Arbiter had beed dead for quite some time. Get a good tech.

When I think about the fact that I paid only $250 for this amp in totally mint condition I get very happy. Never have I been able to get so much sound and playability for so little dough. If it were lost or stolen I would buy another if I could find one. I doubt I would be able to find one in the shape that mine is in.

My amps are early year. I have (3) 50+ heads linked together and bridged. They stuff quite a bit of sound into a pair of 'city 412 cabinets. The first one I bought in a pawn shop years ago for $35. The store owner told me to "beware" as it may have peanutbutter inside it. Not so. It was, and still is, the loudest one I have. After that , I slowly started my collection. Now, I play in a poured concrete wine cellar with an array of pedals and wouldn't trade a thing.

I have several axes. Some of which I made and some store bought. My favorite is a late 80's Japanese Kramer that I paid $125 ( best money I ever spent). It rocks best with this equipment. I mix the pedals at low level to acheive the cranked-up sound and then use the amps as slaves. As the volume increases, so does the sound. And like wise, the hum appears to dissapate. It's a nice set up.

Unfortunately, the age of these amps prohibits me from attending gigs with them. I'm nervous that to replace them might be impossible. And, these are real history that my kids may care about.

I've just recently learned that Sound City once had an array of gear. I thought they were strictly amp people. This dosen't change my love for the critters, just my knowledge. If you can find a head for reasonable money, buy it. They're so "no frills" that what you want is what you get.

The amp dates early 70s. I bought in 1976 used because I could not afford a Marshall at the time. This amp has two channels, which I would recommend that you blend together with a y-cable. The tones controls are bass, middle and treble. There is a sensitivity switch on the rear panel which pushes the output tubes a little harder. I converted the sensitivity toggle to a foot switch. 4-8-16 ohm switch. These amps were the precursors to HiWatt. 50 conservatively rated watts and louder than most of us can bear to stand over any length of time. 2 EL34 and I believe 5 12ax7s. Marshalls only have 3 12AX7s

I use a Les Paul Custom with a DeMarzio super distortion in the bridge position. The amp is great for anything from Jethro Tull to Gin Blossems. I continue to be particularly impressed with the sustain you can achieve. All you have to do is turn all the controls all the way up with the exception of the bass control. I use two power brakes, one a Sholtz and the other an old Altair through two 2X12 marshall cabinets loaded with 16 ohm vintage 30s. Each brake adds its own distinct character and tone to each cabinet.

Have not had a problem with it since I purchased it used in 1976. My initial ignorance with regard to tube replacement caused my only problems with the amp. I keep a regular stock of Groove Tube EL34s. I request the tube hardness between 3-4 as this gives killer sustain(1, being the most distorted and 10 the cleanest).

None. The company went belly up years ago. But if you get one in good condition you won't care or need service.

This is a killer amp to use for rock and Holdsworth fusion tones. A little hard to get clean but who cares. I have 4 other amps, preamps for clean tones. I have been playing for 24 years and haven't found an amp that can totally replace it. I own a 1987x as a backup. The only thing I have thought about adding is an effects loop. You can find these amps if you search the used musical gear websites. I would highly recommend the purchase. I still buy used ones when I can find them in good shape.