Sovtek Mig 50

Not sure of the exact year, but I think this is a mid-late model. I got this on craigslist after searching for a good deal on one for a couple months.

This is a very minimalistic, bare-bones amp, and I love it for that. The mig 50 pushes 50w using 3 12ax7 preamp tubes and 2 6L6 tubes in the power amp. It is a pretty loud 50w, I have played small-medium size gigs with it without having to turn it has 4. Amp has two channels (rhythm and lead), volumes for each, TMB stack and presence knob.

I got this amp because I have been looking for a nice raw plexi/bassman type tone, and after a lot of research I decided this amp would fit my needs perfectly.

I use this amp with a '72 Fender Telecaster Deluxe reissue (mainly), but have also played it with my '83 Gibson Sonex 180 Deluxe and a '64 Kent Videocaster. I play punk/indie/classic rock and get distortion using 2 homemade pedals. One is a modded germanium fuzz face, and the other is a modded MXR distortion +. I also use a crybaby wah. I plug into both channels using the Y-cable setup (sounds best this way). I'm running it into a 2x12 Avatar cab (vert. style) with 1 Eminence GB128 and 1 Eminence V12.

When I first bought the amp, the mid control pot was busted, the rest were scratchy, and only a few seemed to actually do anything to the EQ. I replaced all of them with off-board alpha pots (stock values) and high quality wire. The EQ is now much more responsive. Typically I set the bass to 3-4, roll back on the mids 2, treble at 7, presence at 8ish (though it is very hard to hear the presence impact the tone.

This amp needs to be played pretty loud to sound good, but sounds awesome! At band practice I usually run channel 1 at 3.5 and channel 2 a little higher at 4. This is a bassy amp, and I like a lot of bass, but I still find it necessary to roll back on it. The first channel is much bassier, and the 2nd channel is has more treble and breaks up a little sooner. They both seem to break up even sooner with the y cable.

The amp stays very clean until you turn it to 1 or 2 oclock where you get that natural tube breakup/distortion/compression. Depending on your action, you can get it to start breaking up around 10-11 o'clock. Many people compare this to a Marshall JCM800, but it is definitely very clean, moreso than a plexi, too. The 6L6's give it a Fender feel, much closer to a hot rodded bassman, but still very unique. Cleans can get fenderish and chimey, and when it starts to break up it gets very gritty and raw. It also has a hint of some sort of full, natural echoey/reverb sound that I really love. Huge depth of tone were talking about here.

Around 1pm is this amps sweet spot, but it's typically a higher volume than I need to use, but the amount of crunch and breakup you get can be easily controlled with your volume knob and pick attack. You can really go from soft strumming to hard and go from clean to dirty very smoothly, and then kick on an overdrive and it sounds very natural. Still, at the volume I play at it stays very clean until I really dig in, then I get some good transition dirt.

This amp work really well for my style of music. With my setup I get really great clean and distorted tones for indie rock. It has a really superb warm clean tone that works well as a pedal platform.
I play stuff like fugazi, joy division, sonic youth, replacements, husker du, pavement, velvet underground and I've really had a good time sculpting my own unique sound with this amp and my homemade pedals.

I really like the tones I get from it with my tele- the gibson can be a bit bassy, I usually need to adjust the EQ when changing guitars. I should mention that your guitar's tone knobs will also greatly impact the sounds you can get. Your guitar's character really shines through. Before this amp I was a believer of the "tone knob always on 10" school of thought, but no longer.

It still has the Sovtek tubes in it (they sound pretty good), and I'm not sure how many hours are on them. I'm looking forward to getting it a nice new set of tubes and a rebias. I think with some EHX or JJ's this amp will easily be able to compete with boutique style amps that are going for $1000+. Some hotter, higher gain 12ax7s will probably sound really great, too.

If you compare this amp to all other amps, regardless of price, it is probably more like a 9. But, there's really nothing better for the money so it gets a 10.

I am the 3rd owner of the amp, and the guy I got it from has had it for the past 10 years. It has never given him any issues outside of those cheap broken pots.

I never gig with a backup probably because I am stupid, but I think this amp is built like a tank, and I feel comfortable relying on it.

Bring it to a good amp tech, or DIY. Those are about your only options

For $275 I couldn't ask for anything more. These amps are going for a lot more than that all the time, and for good reason. This amp delivers a killer unique tone that works for lots of different kinds of music (indie, punk, classic rock, blues, pop). It takes pedals really well, and stays quiet at high volumes. It's got the basic features you need to get a straight up clear, crisp tone.

If it were stolen or lost, I would probably try to find another one for a good deal like this, but I doubt I would be able to. I would maybe try to track down a cheap silverface bassman head. I was choosing between this amp, a fender bandmaster, silvertone 1484, and this amp's cousin the mig 60. I was on a budget and I needed power and some clean headroom, so this one was the best match for me. I'll be hanging onto this guy for a while.

I also own a Epiphone valve jr head that I play through an Orange PPC112 cab for practicing in my apartment (the Mig 50 is really loud and sounds sort of bland at low volumes, but is beautiful for live/band situations). These are both great affordable amps, but are pretty different.

I can't exactly remember what year my MIG 50 was built, but I believe it was the late 80's.
I felt compelled to comment on the amp now because there seems to be so much interest in tube amps, and even the values of the Sovteks are going up.
When I bought mine I was told it was designed to be directly comparable a JTM 45. Baloney! What it sounds like to me is a silverface era Super Reverb, of course without the benefit of reverb. It is very harsh. Someone said in an earlier review than anyone that compares this amp to a JCM 800 obviously never played a JCM 800. I totally agree. This amp has its own character and it would be up to the individual to decide if they like it. I decided I did not.
Plenty powerful, but the tube sockets are fragile and mine even arced.

Harsh. That is the only way I can think to describe it. Even my DS-1 and Tube Screamer pedals didn't hit it off with this amp. Like I said before......think post CBS silverface Fender amp with 45-50 watts output. I gave up on the amp within about three months and bought something else.

Tube sockets arced almost immediately, then eventually the rest of the guts started to shake loose. Add to that the ultra compact chassis tends to cook the innards like an oven. The only company I know of that ever managed to get that much stuff in a tiny cabinet was Mesa, and that is a major difference in component quality right there. A fan would have been a good idea.

A local tech fixed mine twice, the first time as a favor to the dealer, resoldering the loose caps was mine to pay for. I really don't know if Sovtek was in the loop or not.

This is year 46 for me on-stage. I'm a cover tune lead guitarist (primarily all sorts of loud music) and have been through a lot of gear. My reviews are an attempt to share what I have learned by way of my many mistakes, and conversely, by lucky strikes too. The MIG was a pointless exercise.
Again, if a sterile, harsh tube sound (which actually sounds like old-school solid state to me) is your cup-o-tea, or if you are a tube snob (someone who thinks tubes always produce a superior sound to solid state) then this amp may be for you, but find one cheap so you can unload it without losing your shirt, because the value of these is riding on the coattails of the new wave of popularity of better quality tube amps. I promise you, if you want the JCM 800 or 900 sound, or the Plexi vibe, or any of the other classic, warm tube sounds you dream of, save your allowance and go buy something you really deserve. I eventually ended up with a Mesa I played through for about seven years and I think I really got my money's worth, but it was pricey! It pays to be patient.
I got what I paid for when I bought my MIG for $250. My Line 6 Flextone III plus sounds much better.

Pretty much as basic as it gets. 50 watts, TMB stack with a volume for each input and a presence control. Everything you need to get a classic British sound, though.

Basically I bought this amp as I heard it was the poor man's Plexi. Does a pretty good job of the tone I anticipated; the bass is a bit much sometimes though. I play it mostly with a Les Paul Classic, though the Telecaster will be used on it for clean recordings.

This is an amp that begs to be played loud. Mine had the master volume mod installed before I bought it. I'm probably going to have it removed. It sounds classic and gritty; if you want a smooth sound, avoid this amp or throw a smoother sounding OD in front. You won't get a smooth sound plugging straight in, though. There are definitely some sweet spots on both volume controls. The EQ is next to useless; only the mid and bass controls seem to do anything.

There are several tricks you can do with this amp. One I favor is running an overdrive in front of an ABY. Then you can have one input mixed lower, one higher, and be able to overdrive them both or flat out run both inputs jumped together. Very sensitive to picking attack. There is a sweet spot where you can pick lightly for your cleans and strum hard for your dirty sounds. Its not even necessary to roll off on the volume. Just digging in affects your tone greatly with this amp.

I bought it for a few reasons. 1) As a tube backup. For the price, its hard to beat. 2) As a good doom/stoner rock sound. It fulfills both duties very well.

Not too worried about it; its worked fine as long as I've had it and it'll primarily be a backup anyway. I've had problems with the two fuse system before in British sounding amps so I'll always carry the fuses just in case. It'd be stupid not to anyway.

Good luck. Its so old I'll just take it to my local tech if there are problems.

Of the amps of this style that I've owned (Laney AOR, JCM800) this one holds up just fine. Very classic sound. Just plug in and go. You don't really need to use any of the tricks I do if you have the opportunity to play loud. That being said, I truly believe that the MV mod is not the way to get a better sound out of this. I think you'd be better off using an OD instead.

I compared it to the Laney AOR 50. I like the Mig better because it doesn't have all the push pull boosts. Its a little more straight forward.

For the money its a great find. Definitely try it before you buy it though. Some people will find the grit annoying. I like to turn it up to where its gritty, then back off a bit. Overall, worth the money. If stolen I'd look for a new one. It all comes down to bang for the buck.

Mine is circa 1994, as is the 2 x 12 Sovtek Speaker cab with Eminence Speakers (16 ohm). Two inputs (Russian words ala Low & High), Bass, Middle, Tone, Presence.
This is a follow-up review after owning it for about 3 months.

OK...after the Honeymoon was over...I learned that, with a good set of tubes with a rebias, and some elbow grease...this amp will have many guitar players stumped because its got it's own unique killer tone.
Yes...Tone is subjective...but do yourself a favor; If you find one for under $500 bucks, hand over the cash, walk away, and try not to bust out laughing, because the dude that sold it to you doesn't know how collectable or valuable this 50 Watt Beast is, due to it's unique...and very cool tone.
It's clean...it's dirty...it loves pedals (Zendrive,Fulltone). And that's all you can ask for in an amp. My Fender tech....a tone snob...finally admitted, that when this amp is set up right "it rocks". This from a guy who builds amps, is regarded as one of the top Fender BF repair guys in Nor-Cal, and techs for pro's!
I have a Dr.Z, '65 BF (original), Mesa Boogies, and this amp is in the same class.

Don't know when the amp was built, but it looks like cira late 1980's, early 1990's, from the research I've done. Very "Plain Jane": 2 Inputs (in Russian) that I believe translate to Rhythm and Lead, 2 Volume controls, 1 Treble, 1 Mid, 1 Bass and 1 Presence, Stand-by and Power. A single 4, 8, & 16 ohm speaker output.

50 LOUD watts, 5881 tubes with 12ax7 pre's, black tolex. The guy I bought this from was using for a Bass, and through a 2x10 cab. His band said the amp was too loud!!!

I use custom strat, tele and LP style guitars (MJ engineeering), as well as the real deals, with a Gretch 6120,a nd a Music Man Super Sport with MM-90's, for a full sound arsenal. The amp is surprisingly quiet using either channel on it's own, but together (in the recommended y-cable set-up), it's a little noisy at high gain settings

I'll tell you right now, while this amp is not the "cat's meow" but it's THE most under-rated amp on the market. For a few hunder bucks, it smokes amps in the $1000-$1500 price range. The clean is damn near Dr. Z-ish, and with y-cable set-up, you can gnarl ala Marshall, or clean up Fendery, with just the roll of your volume control. Also, you'll actually find the use of your guitars tone knob plays a huge role in the variations of sounds you can achieve.

Only owned for a month now, but the previous owners have taken great care of this thing. My amp tech, a Fender guru, was a little snobbish about this amp at first. But he stated, and I quote; "when the amp is set up right, it ROCKS"

Uhhhh...anyone speak Russian? Better have a good amp tech, and buy a case for her!

I'm an old gear hag, player and appreciator of music for the past 35 years. I set this amp up in my home studio, and tracked a great tone, with a Heil PR40, and it kicked butt! No..it doesn't have a reverb, but even through a Boss DD, it sounded really good.

If you find one of these for under $500, buy it. I found that they are increasing in value (even though I bought it for the unique sound), at more than double what I paid. If you can, get the Head, so you can match it up to speakers you like. I'm, using Mesa EVM's & EV SRO's, and the guy I bought it from is having remorse!

I live within 20 minutes of both Mesa and K & M, so I'm a bit spoiled amp wise...not that that matters.

It's pretty limited. There is no gain channel and no master volume.

Whoever compares this to a jcm 800 has probably never played a marshall in their entire life. It has a very bassy dirty growl but when played at low volumes it has a beautiful clean. The downside of this head is that it's stuck in one type of tone, dirty. Changing the settings really does little for it. Which could be a good thing or a bad thing. My favorite thing about this amp is that it is LOUD, like a good quality head should be. Playing a medium venue i'll usually have this cranked at 2 and it will over power the PA.

The thing is built like a tank. The knobs and switches are pretty crappy though because they are made out of plastic. You can trust that this amp will give you little problems though.

There is none haha.

Great amp if you know what kind of sound you are going for. It is pretty much is a very over driven amp, it's hard to avoid that. So it's great for sludgy rock, punk and just over all loud in your face music. If your trying to do something technical it's probably not the head for you.

Two inputs (high and low). Bass, mid treble, presence controls. No master volume. Simple controls aren't for everybody, but the Sovtek covers what I need, so it's good with me. Oh, and all tube - hooray!

Tubes are a wonderful thing, and this amp sounds really nice. I mostly use a Brian Moore guitar with dual humbuckers that coil tap, and use almost all the different options (neck, bridge, both, single coil, humbucker). It's a warm but not mushy sound, with decent headroom for cleans, and it takes pedals nice. I play alt rock / hard rock (Coheed & Cambria, Hum, King's X) and it works well for me. It has a plexi vibe to it, and it's a great little head!

Never had a problem, built like a tank!

No support.

OK, this amp is a really nice - it's well built and sounds excellent. Is it not as full featured as other amps, but it's a great little amp, especially for the money!

who needs knobs

radrad amp. easy too use. warm, bright, great jcm ish distortion. Paired with an orange 2 X 12 cab it sounds great (especially with a tele). At low volumes it can be hard to tune in great tone and distortion since it is a master volume amp and all...but theres an easy fix...THD hotplate or a good distortion pedal...pro co rat or jekyll and hyde are neato.

broke once....but i dropped it on some stairs so i'll chalk that up as my fault.

great...cheap

everyone else has outlined the features so i wont go into that - i DID get a morley a/b/y box to split / jump the channels and it does produce a better tone I ALSO noticed that if EVEN one of the two jacks was no signal I could slightly affect the tone especially at lower vol levels in a good way by tweeking it.

others here have said think JTM 45 / BASSMAN yea thats right FOR SURE i also managed to get a "super reverb" sound BUT that involved - a tube screamer followed by a ibanez compressor followed by a dan electro "reel tape" echo pedal and it took a while - also if you get one of these and are not happy with the tone - think about a speaker swap before you dismiss it. this thing loves my strat and also sounds very very very very good with my paf equipped tele.

dont know

local tech how good / cheap is he?

amps are like gems you have to polish it out - might need speaker swap / tubes? / totally recommend tube screamer in front - a compressor behind the tube screamer allows for more vol control lower levels for soundmen and the reel echo a big sweetener for me -
- i got this because of the reviews here - it was big fat warm and round right out of the box but lacked a little sweetness to my taste - i wasn't sure the tone was gonna be a sweet as i had hoped for - but after redoing my pedal board / speakers eminence texas heats 4x12 (i was chasing a more of the fender sound & took a few hours to break in the speakers)- it is NOW... ALL THAT ! bottom line EXCELLENT PLATFORM TO FIND YOUR SOUND WITH - fantastic value - this amp is worth more like $800 i paid $400 i wonder how long that will last - remember when you could get a SF FENDER TWIN for $400

3x12AX7, 2x5881, blendable normal/bright inputs, no preamp gain, no master volume, no reverb, no effects loop, no problem, no sh*t

For best results, use a Y-cable into both outputs with NO pedals (except a tuner if you must), into an 8 ohm 2 x 12 cab. It doesn't seem to like 4x12 cabs so much. Both volumes must be beyond the halfway mark.
Sadly, real world conditions, noise-level laws etc will rarely make it possible to use as above, but trust me it's worth holding onto for those rare, happy occasions when you can.

Ne'er a problem, gigged, recorded etc. I'm reasonably careful. Runs VERY hot. Give it time to cool down before transporting and don't chuck it about. Should be ok.

Funhouse. Powerage. Overkill. If any of those album titles mean anything to you, you will love this amp.
Saw two of them finish on Ebay recently for $269 & $370, respectively.
Still a bargain after all these years.

Easy to dial in.
I Y cord the 2 channels for some great tone.

First the bad. The pots suck & should all be replaced
on every Mig 50. Maybe the input jacks.
That's the only problem with these amps.
I've owned the Mig 50H & Mig 60.
I loved the Mig 50H & didn't like the Mig 60 as much.
The Mig 50 is a different animal. This Head is awesome
when you split the channels. Very much like a Plexi,
the Treble channel is too bright & the normal channel is too dark.
Together they rule!
There's also some killer harmonics that no other amp has.
I owned one of these a couple years ago & never split the channels.
My mistake!

My other Sovteks had some issues.
Like cutting out during shows & other fun
crap that used to happen.
I'd take them to my amp tech & they'd fire right
like nothing was wrong.
I'll deal with the problems because I dig the tone.

NONE!

I'm down to an SG Jr. & Les Paul Special w/P90's.
A Dr'Z 6545 & this Mig 50. My tone is second to none no matter
which amp I plug into. The Mig 50 isn't the clearest / transparent
amp on the planet, but it delivers a very unique killer tone.
I bought it to use as my backup amp. There's something about these
Sovtek heads that makes it happen for me. I recorded 2 CD's with my Mig 60 & Mig 50H (10 years ago). The tone wasn't "to die for", but it sat in the mix like no other. Sometimes I think it really doesn't matter what the hell I plug into as long as I believe in the Amp. These Russian Amps are great sounding.

Prices are going up!! They really do sound like a Plexi / Bassman.
There's a little Bandmaster in there also (a little).
They do have their own tone.

Buy a Y cable & let it happen

Mine is an early model with the misspelled "presense" control. You've already read multiple descriptions of the "features" of this amp. It has everything I could want...except reverb.

This amp sounds great at any volume but starts to be a lot more fun when you crank it up to anywhere past 1 o'clock. I've used it with all of my guitars and haven't had a bad experience. Finding the right speaker set-up (for me) was a bit of a challenge and after trying a few I settled on an open back 2x10 with Fender blue alnicos. I like it.

I don't use this amp as much anymore because of the Volume Police but I've been inside and even though its a combination of PC board and some wiring, the construction is good and repairs if necessary could be done by any good tech. I would and have taken it out many times without a backup.

I've had this amp for a long time. Some years back I had some problems with a couple of pots. At that time New Sensor was still servicing them. They went through the amp, fixed the problems and re-tubed it for $50.00 plus shipping. Too bad they're not still doing that.

I've been playing longer than I care to admit (I should be a lot better than I am). I own eight guitars and six amps. It is not likely that I will buy any more. The MIG50 is a great players amp. If you are a guitar, cord, amp, no pedals kinda person you can't go wrong with this amp and they can be had for a fraction of what you'll pay for a JTM or Bassman.

I bought the amp because I was looking for a new amp and saw this at a pretty good price. I had owned a Mig 60 before and it sounded great, just not my style, so I went with this. I like the sovteks because they're simple- volume treble mid bass and presence. The 4/8/16 ohm outputs were also a nice touch.

I play a telecaster through it and I use an open back Avatar cab with 1 vintage 30 and 1 g12h30. I used to have a 4x10 Marshall but being a fairly bassy amp, the cab farted out a lot. I play a lot of rock influenced music, like post rock, math rock, ect. It suits all my styles perectly. If I need more distortion, I just crank the amp. It is capable of clean sounds. It breaks up around 6 or 7 which is fairly loud. When the sound is down, it's just like a Bassman. People have said this is super loud, but I think it's about average for a 50 watt. It was definitly louder than my 50 watt Bassman though.
The first channel is darker and deep, with nice bass. The second channel is brighter, with much less bass.
I have not used any guitar besides my telecaster with van zandts. It get's pretty noisy with the bright channel, but I think that is more of a pickup thing.

I've owned it for about 6 months and haven't had a problem yet.

I mostly bought this because I was looking for a new amp and saw the sovtek at a great price. I am really impressed with it, it's a fantastic amp, and I'd have a hard time parting with it. If it were lost or stolen I might look into a bandmaster reverb or twin, I'd like the reverb and vibrato, but I am very content as it is.

Just a correction to my post(the last one). Amp is NOT PTP wired...it does use a cuircut board design....good workmanship!

Others have covered features! I like the simple layout of non-master vol amps...they got it right way back then. I find that the amps with all the bells and whistles just complicate things and often muck the sound up!
Sooo...this amp has what it needs to deliver! Old school players should love it. I give it a 10 (minus the versatile part) based on the fact that it's plug in and go...instant tone that no one could bugger up!

I am a power amp distortion guy and play faily loud to get that...I found that both channels break up fairly fast(a bit past half way).Channel one is voiced darker and smooth, more fender like...it will break up nicely much like a BF Fender...I roll the mid and bass off and it becomes bright and punchy.Channel two is a lovely grinder with more of a Marshall voice and gain stucture. It really depends on what guitar I use when picking the channel.
One test for me on any amp..is...the plug in and go thing! When I plug in with guitar only ...it either has it or it does not! This one has it big time.
I coaxed some nice blues stuff with a (1969 and a 1961)stock strat and found great sounds for SRV, Chris Duarte or Jimi stuff. Les paul sounds on the second channel yielded good classic hard rock styles(black Crows,Ac/DC etc)Chords ring with chimmy high end and a tight focussed botton end.
Loud? Many reviewers say "very loud" Not really..it's a typical 50 watts...very usable volume...it's enough with out excess!
Some also have mentioned "headroom"...not a whole lot if you play at louder volumes...it stays together up to about 5 or 6 on channel one.

I do really like the touch sensitivity with this one...big factor for me!

As one guy(studio engineer) mentions...it is hard to make the amp sould bad. I agree...totally idiot proof regardless of the players level!This amp sings!

I am an Ampaholic....Thirty plus years of performing .... I own (and have owned)a bunch of nice 60's and 70's amps(fenders,hiwatt,sound city,vox,carlsbro...on and on...)this one is right up there with the best!

PTP wiring and an easy circuit to understand...always easy to fix if need! Build quality looks solid!

Gone...if you own older tube amps you need to learn to work on them!

Well...58 reviewers give it an overall high rating... and 9.6 on sound...it deserves it too!

I like the small box it is in...compact little tone machine...well suited for blues, modern country and classic rock.

Prices are climbing some on these amps...around $350.00 - $400.00. Still dirt cheep! Any kick ass tube head for under 5 frog skins is a deal!

This one is a keeper for sure and won't return to the sea of the bay(ebay).

No pre gain . Just simple volume, treble, mid, bass and presense.
wish it has a pre gain. but who cares. Just use some pedals.

Fender humbucker strat with Seymore duncan Invader Humbucker in the bridge > Boss MT-2 metal zone > DOD Death metal > Boss BF-2 Flanger(Japanese) > Boss PH-3 phase shifter > Danelectro Cool Cat chorus > BOSS DD-3 Digital Delay into the Sovtek mig 50

I used to use a Peavey Triple XXX Head. Now, im trying to get rid of the thing after I got the Mig 50.
To my ears, a Metal Zone with a Mig 50 beats the crap out of any tone the Triple XXX could make.
The triple XXX has cleaner highs , but its not worth the trade of the Brutallity and absolute versatility (especially if you like to use pedals) of the Mig-50...

And I CAN get a warm blusey tone out of the Metal zone. I just roll back on the volume knob, the tone knob and use the single-coil neck pickup.

Or I can just crank up the Volume to get that natural old fashined overdrive. For this purpose I wish it had a pre-gain. but it is a small imperfection.

Its old and russian, they don't build em like they used to

Does the soviet union even exist anymore??

I have been playing for 10 years , have tried all kinds of amps, all kinds of pedals ect....
the Sovtek is a SIMPLE and elegant design.
Get yourself one of these, a few pedals for drive.
OR, just crank up the volume knob (if your neghbors don't mind) and screw pedals.

the only reason im giving it a 9 is the lack of pre-gain

already covered. Straight forward with little to go wrong.

Had it for a year now. Just Awesome!

It will do old Fender (think bassman) and Marshall (think JTM) sounds, as you like them. T

his one is my favorites heads. It loves pedals and stays articulate at all levels. Cuts through ANY mix!

I retubed mine with EH in the pre section and Sovtek KT66's for power. What a difference. Tons of headroom, quiet, with a sound that is just overall pleasing (clean and when pushed to the max with a good all tube rack preamp & pedals).

It is the main amp for soft rock, hard rock, and metal . Versitle for most any type of sound (when using pedals) for playing and is great when the cab is miked for recording.

Still kicking butt. Some may worry about the switches, but heck their still working fine as well. Someday they will go, but not too worried.

If you have multiple amps, this is one that you will want to add. If you are looking for an amp that performs and will hold it's own against amp cost many times more, this is it!

my mig was made in the late 80s or early 90s it was made in an x-soviet military factory in St.petersberg ,russia

the plastic switches need to be replaced with steel ones
and i would also like to replace the knobs with steel telecaster type knobs

the sound i get out of this amp are really good

i use a boss ds-1 and a ibanez pt-9 phaser
i have a strat and a gregg bennet lp copy

this amp i can defintly rely on i have bought spare fuses (wich cost next to nothing) after i blew a fuse but apart from that nothing major has happend, original tubes still

new sensor handles sovteks tube distribution
but that is all, i have not found any site that has an official sovtek amp link or anything, perhaps it would be easier to find technical support for the sputnik.

i want a marshall 1960 lead 4x12 cab, i played the sovi with a freinds and it sounded incredible

4 eq knobs (including Presence), 3 speaker ouputs (4, 8, 16 ohms), 2 inputs, 1 great sounding amp

I usually use a Fender Jaguar, or a '72 Deluxe tele through this thing. I really love the tones I get from the jag when I'm just picking around. A very clean rock 'n' roll machine. I also use tons of pedals and the tone is still great. I'm usually running this through a Univox 6x10 cab which has an amazing clean sound, but sometimes I borrow my friends Marshall 1960 4x12 to get some real heavy tones. A great amp for just about any style music I play through it. I'm in a 90's alternative/noise band (pixies, sonic youth type stuff), a funk band, and a jazz/noise band (mars volta meets radiohead) and this amp is the only one I need.

Ever since my friend Mark fixed it up I have yet top have a problem in the past 8 months. At least 3 practices a week, and 4-5 shows a month and not one problem.

I've got the best amp guy there is. Who needs tech support when you can say that!!!

I've had my fair share of amps, but this is my favourite. I really like the simplicity of it, and the headroom is superb. I once recorded with my amp in the bathroom turned all the way up and had no distortion at all unless I hit an open E chord. I usually use this amp paired with a Fender Prosonic to make a nice stereo rig. Of course this thing is so loud that I usually get yelled at by sound guys at smaller clubs.

Very simple amp. 2 inputs, 2 volumes, treble, mid, bass, presence. 4, 8, 16 ohm speaker outs. Why would you need anything else?

I just had mine switched over to run on Electro Harmonix El34s so my review will be a little different from the previous ones. This amp is very responsive to your guitar. For straight ahead rock this thing rules. The El34s add a big meaty feel to the bass tones. The highs are shimering and clear. This amp does not get muddy at all. If you are looking to play heavy metal or anything with a very high gain the EL34s are not the way to go. For classic rock to chunky alternative, this is a great way to acheive those tones.

I bought this amp broken so I never got to test it with the usual 6L6s. The diode in the bias supply had blown out or was not functioning, so it would burn up any tube you put in it. I believe that they come with plastic inputs and switches but somewhere down the line mine were switched out to metal ones except for the standby switch. When I had it fixed I had it switched over to a metal one. If you would like to tour or take this amp anywhere I strongly suggest getting that done. Other than than those things this amp is a heavy beast. I doubt any natural thing could break it. Defenetly built like a tank.

Unless you speak Russian and get a hold of someone who used to work for New Sensor you are absolutly on your own.

I payed 150 for it. I payed 20 for the new tubes, and another 85 to get the work done. so in total I spent 255 dollars just getting it running and how I wanted it. Once you get this thing going I don't think you'll ever look towards any other amp for that price. If you have the chance to pick one of these up defenetly go for it.

Volume I (Input I -- Normal), Volume II (input II -- Bright), Presence, Bass, Mid, Treble. Interactive volume knobs, passive eq. 4, 8, 16 ohm speaker outs. Lots of headroom. I don't use the bright channel at all. I've used this amp live many times and in sessions. Plenty of power for any professional situation.

I like that it has a good clean tone with lots of headroom. Great for running your favorite pre-amp/processor into.

I've used all types of guitars with it... stays really clean with a strat. This amp is well suited for all styles because of its amazing low end output. The low end can be easily dialed off, contrary to some ignorant review earlier -- try the bright channel??? Duh! Or stay on the normal channel and turn Volume II to 12 o'clock (interactive volume controls as previously mentioned).

EQ-wise, these amps are great for people who don't know what a good sound is -- I'm a session engineer and I hear bad tone from good equipment all the time... Hard to get a bad sound out of this amp because the tone controls are very restrictive -- like on an old Marshall.

A very quiet amp that is great for sessions. Really, no internal gain, at least not on mine. Very loud, clean, punchy sound! Very easy to modify with fx or preamps... and this amp works well with every stomp-box or pre-amp that I've run into it.

If you are planning to use this amp live, either be very careful when transporting or replace the plastic on-off switches. Also, power amp tubes will last 3 to 6 months of moderate to heavy gigging.

The amp did a thermal shut on me once at a gig... had it too close to a wall without any air circulation... moved it forward a bit and it worked fine. Hasn't done that ever since. A small fan would probably be a good idea :).

n/a

I've been playing a long, long time. I currently own many tube amps and have owned or extensively used many Marshall, Mesa, Fender, H&K, Peavey, Randall, Trace Elliot, Laney and some others that I can't think of at the moment.

If lost or stolen, I would probably get another. I have several amps to choose from that are all great, top-notch amps, so I wouldn't be in dire straights. I do love it's small size and big sound, so, I think for sure I would get another in time.

I love its simplicity. I love that it hasn't a bad sound in it. Again, I love that it is compact. I love its sound and low end.

I hate the plastic on-off switches -- you really must be carefull when transporting it.

Compared to other products: Most of my other amps have an onboard gain circuit. This one does not, but I like it most if I want to use a distortion pedal like an Ibanez SM-9.

Overall, for what it is, it is great. The tone is awesome and very accepting of things put in line before it. Great for beginners or novices in that its passive tone knobs will not let you dial in a bad sound... yet top-notch sound quality for any pro musician as well. These used to be cheap. Now they're getting expensive! That MUST mean something -- not to mention a near 10 over all sound rating here at HC.

Just enough features. who needs more. bass mids trebs, I can't think of any more sounds than that............

BIG rock n roll sound! I'm running it out of greenback and it sounds amazing. Not a good amp for someone looking to use all kinds of effect pedals. I plug straight into it and it sounds amazing. You'll never get thins sound out of an effects pedal. Throw them away.

Never had a problem........ you need a quality amp guy in your repertoire.

No idea....... probably impossible to find.

The best amp I've ever owned. I'll never sell it. Even for $1000. I've got a good amp guy, Dan Russel in Detroit, it's gonna last forever. It might not be for everyone though. It's BIG Rock sound. I have EL34's in it. It blows everyone away. If you find a good deal on one, buy it.

features schmeatures,,input,,speaker out in several ohm loads simple eq section thats it baby,,its only rock and roll but i like it.solid wood no tolex very cool.

i use a dearmond m-75(another out of production unappreciated instrument)with set neck harp tailpiece and big old humbuckers with gibson vr-10 strings.4X12 marshall cab.a touch muddy but nothing annoying..good clean sound especially with tremolo.extremely versatile overdrive,,if you want a little dirty ala the stones to nice thick overdrive it does it.not to metallica fans...buy a pedal.
to all marshall fans HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

has never given me problems yet.even after a marathon jam session of about 5 hours playng full bore.

none,nada.zero. oh well.my other favorite amp is an old music man so im used to it

ive been playing for about ten years.ive had an assortment of different amps,,peavey delta blues,music man 100RD,and played thru variuos marshalls,fenders,crates etc..this amp has the most honest sound of them all.no pretentions just great sound.if i can afford another i will buy it.cant improve on it.if you want fender clean buy a fender.if you want super overdriven distortin buy a marshall or crate.if you want boutique tube amp sound for cheap,,BUY THIS.

Great amp. I have been playing it for about 7 years. Two channels (low and high). I used to wish that there was a way to switch between them ( there isn't ) until I realized that I never use the clean channel (low) anyway . So who cares .

I was lucky enough to get the original 4x10 sovtek slant cabinet with it . I play telecasters and I was always happy the way this amp sounded with them . I play in an original rock band that varies in styles (Cheap Trick ~ Social D). As you know teles can be a bit noisey due to the single coils and don't get me wrong I love em but I just wanted a bit more out of them so I put duncan little 59s in the bridges recently. LOUD, LOUD, LOUD, BIG AND LOUD !!! As I said before I never use the clean channel and You can set the gain anywhere from classic rock to shred .

This is a beefy little amp . My only issue was the plastic jacks . I broke one right before a gig and had to borrow an amp from a buddy . I have since replaced them andhave had no other issues. I've done plenty of gigs with it as my only amp and will do plenty more.

NOPE !! From what I understand there is none available . But hey, what guitar player doesn't have "that guy" that fixes all his stuff ?

To be honest I started as a lead singer and you know how that goes , next thing you know you're a guitar player . I have been playing off and on for 15 years , 7 years steady . I wanted an amp with a great,cutting , big tone . I love that I was able to adjust the tone to get exactly what I wanted . Just the other day after we took a break and the amp was nice and warmed up I had to turn it down because it was drowning out the lead guitarist's Marshall. No lie , eating it up. I almost sold it so I could buy a Hot Rod Deville that a friend let me try out . The deal fell through and I am SO glad . If for some reason I ever NEED to have a clean channel I would rather buy a seperate amp and use an a/b pedal than get rid of this amp .

Was made in the mid 90'. This amp is a REALLY clone of the old Marshall Plexi. No master vol, No FX loop, two inputs (low, high), two vol. for each channel, low, mid, highs, Prescence, 4, 8, 16 Ohm Speaker outs, build like a tank. To use both inputs gives great flexibility. To muddy? turn the low input vol down and the high vol up, dont forget trebels and presence. Still to muddy? Check your old guitar strings or go to the doctor.

I'm using a PRS Swamp Ash guitar. Both single coil sounds and humbuker are great thru this amp. This beast gets really LOUD ! Around 6 o'clock settings you get amazing distortion. Use a booster and you are in tone heaven at lower volume. Split the guitar signal with a chorus etc. and use both inputs to get REAL 70' sounds like Led Zepplin, Clapton etc. The bass kills every mesa boogie I've been playing thru. The Sovtek rules!

Never had a problem. Build like a tank.

Out of production. So no support.

I'm playing for 25 years. I recomand this product to everyone searching for real tube tone. Use some pedals and paly every music style you're up to. This amp delivers !