Sound City SMF Head

This is a Sound City SMF head. I do not know what SMF stands for, but my bandmates started calling it the sexy mother f*$%r. If anyone knows what it means, let me know.
2-channel (clean and dirty), mid 70's, all-tube (8 EL34), all British, 150 watt amplifier with master volume. It has 3-band eq, bass, mid, and treble, also has a presence knob. Very clean, very loud. The gain on the dirty channel can be adjusted to give you a beautiful sparkly clean tone. This amp does not have very many features, all have been listed in previous reviews, but I'd say its extremely versatile because the clean tone is so great (and with that as a basis you can do anything). Would be great with reverb tho.

I play a late 90s Gibson SG through either a Boss distortion/overdrive or Big Muff Pi with a myriad of effects depending on the band. This amp suits any style really, I've been using it in a band that uses fairly saturated distortion and it cuts through really well without sacrificing any of the bass frequencies. The clean tone doesn't distort at high volumes, as long as your cabinets can handle it (you need at least 2 enclosures). I don't use the channel switching because i prefer pedal distortion to the built-in distortion, although the built-in distortion sounds great, just doesn't really suit the band i'm in right now. This amp has virtually no noise at any volume, at least none that my ears can hear. Again, very very loud. I give it an eight because I have heard better clean tone, but definitely not as loud.

This amp looks like it was well taken care of, I only bought it a year ago but I haven't needed to do anything to it. It looks like it was recently retubed, which must have been expensive (8 EL34s, 5 preamp tubes). I'd say this is the most reliable amp that I've ever owned (except for my dual-rectifier). The chassis looks really solid and is well ventilated so it doesn't get too hot. I always bring a backup live because you never know what could happen. BUT, I don't foresee any problem with this amp other than an act of god.

I don't think they exist anymore. But if they did, I'm sure they'd be very nice.

I've only been playing for 11 years but I've managed to accumulate an obscene amount of vintage equipment. Fender Bassman, an old '59 Gibson combo, 70s ampeg V4, others, and recently a 70s Marshall Super Lead. I like them all, but none of them have master volume so they distort at higher volumes. The SMF is crazy loud, and extremely clean, so my problem was solved. If it was stolen, i'd have to scour the universe, or ebay, for another one. I'd have to say that this has to be one of the best kept secrets in the world of amplifiers, but would have been great with a spring reverb for slide work.

Loud and Clean

Loud and Clean

Very Loud and clean

It still works with original EL34s (25+ years isn't bad)

Ha, ha

This is a great British amp.

Too heavy for small gigs - and you need two cabinets to get it to switch on even!

Unlike the other Sound City heads I have read about the SMF has a lot of features including the elusive Master Volume. It is a 2 channel amp with foot switching between the clean and dirty channels (separate pre-amp volumes for clean and dirty channels with a dirty intensity knob). One low gain input, one high gain. There is 4 band EQ; bass, mid, treble and presence. On the rear there is a 600 ohm balanced output jack, slave in and out jacks, foot switch jack, ground flip switch, 4 speaker cabinet output jacks (must use at least 2) and variable output inpedance and input voltage plugs.

In their ad in Guitar Player, Sound City touts the amp as a 150 watt RMS versatile touring amp and I think they succeeded. It can handle any voltage, any speaker cabinets and has good EQ section. The only additional feature I would have liked would be an effects loop but the slave in and out may function as such, I am not clear as to how they work and do not want to damage anything trying it. I use the amp in my living room and in recording studios, yes it has PLENTY of power.

The amp has 8 EL-34 power tubes and 5 pre-amp tubes. Two of the EL-34s are used in an intermediate stage and not part of the output stage hence the 150 watt rating. It cost a bundle to retube this thing!

I use a Zoid Light Guitar with PJ Marx high output pickups mainly. I also use another Zoid with Seymour Duncan pickups. I generally go for a "classic" hard rock tone similar to Ronson, Page, Townsend. It fits the bill perfectly. My friends who like metal use a distortion box in front of it since it does not get the really edgy metal kind of distortion they want. The clean channel is very clean and you can make it very loud and still maintain the clean sound. The only pedal I use is a Morely Volume/Waa and it really works well. You can tune specific notes for feedback by adjusting the pedal, very good for Ronson style sound. The amp is a little noisy but I have yet to bias and hum balance it. Also some nit wit cut off the ground terminal on the power cord. I think proper adjustments and grounding will quiet it right down.

I have had no problems. The amp was manufactured around 1974 so I cannot vouch for the years beween then and when I bought it 1994. It seems sturdy and reliable. I do not gig with it but if I did I would bring a back up due to the age of the amp. I recently put in new Groove Tubes and I believe the amp is now under biased as it seems down on power. I cannot find a schematic for this model, other than the Guitar Player ad I have seen no information on the amp.

There is no official customer support as the company has long since expired. Any good tech who can fix Marshalls, Hiwatts and Oranges could handle repairs.

I have been playing off and on for about 20 years. I think of all the 60s and 70s vintage amps this is the best. I used to have an Orange 120 without master volume and that is a big issue with me. I like it loud but without pre-amp volume controls an amp is not very practical. I would choose this over even the Oranges due to the increased features. I am not fond of Marshalls, if I couldn't find a better vintage amp I would settle for one but they are # 4 one my list.

If it were lost I would definately buy another, if I could find it. I don't think they sold many in the US since even the guys at Groove Tubes have not heard of this model. I wish I could find the matching speaker cabinets.

Overall I think this is the best amp of it's era. It has the features, sound and sturdy construction I desire. It came at the end of the era so it has many features modern amps have.

One last feature, the logo. On the face of the amp is screwed a 3 X 5 X 1/2 thick inch cast aluminum SMF logo. Everyone always asks what it stands for. Obviously Super Mother F@#$er! It's big, it's loud, it's heavy and it has the best logo ever.