Sovtek Tube Midget Mig 50-H Head

To inputs!!!! no bollocks

The clean " Low input" sounds dark and emphasices the middle freq.! i've even used this for recording jazz ( scofield sound ) , BUT THIS AMP IS NOT ABOUT SOUNDING CLEAN!!!!1111

The overdrive ( High input ) is just FAB. Thick open and mean, nut to saturated!!! BUT!!! I've only been able to achieve a good sound out of this amp, by using my '51 tele!!! Humbuckers makes this amp sound mushy, to much uncontrollable bottem-end!

BUT WITH THE TELE!!!!! WHAT A SOUND!

I have had two tube midget now, but they just seem to brake down!!
They are more expensive to repair, than to just buy a new one!!!

???????????

Has the basic features found on any GOOD tube amp... Volume, Mast, Bass, Mid, Treb, Presence, standby, 4/8/16 ohm out, line out. This amp has the tone to die for, absolutely incredible so you will not miss any features you feel you also need.

Absolutley incredible. The two ch (2 inputs) are based on the Fender Bassman and Marshall JCM800? so I'm told. Sure sounds like it. My tone search days are over.

Built like a tank, except the plastic input jacks... just be careful.

n/a

I'm 43, been playing for years and still have quite a collection of Fender, Marshall, and Vox tube amps (in addition to a few others). This thing is the best kept secret!! I'd get one while you still can as the tone is simply incredible!

this is a follow-up to my previous review...i've been using this amp with a boss gt-5 running into the low gain input, and then into a marshall jcm900 1960a cab.....lovely/amazing/wonderful/need i go on?......i want another one, or 2 more, or 5, ar however many i can find.

one thing that bugs me is this: mine has a yellow front panel, and none of the ones i see for sale in stores, or on eBay match it, and no one else i've talked to has ever heard of one like it...they're all black....perhaps this one is unique?.....who can say?.....


anyway, i now officially love it, and will absolutely buy another one....wanna sell yours?

Already stated below, so I'll pass. Let's say the essential is there!
I give it a 5 only because of 1 detail: you can't use both low and hi inputs at the same time, or switch between them with an A/B pedal. So, no input switching or blending possible :-(

I've been using the Mig50H for about one year now. I already got a Mig 50 that I mainly use for clean/crunch sounds, and I was looking for an amp for more distorted sounds. Boy, have I found it!!!

I play on it with a '91 Fender telecaster, an '89 Les Paul Junior, a '69 Gibson SG, and a De Armond Starfire (if you find one of these, buy one!). Cabinet used: Sovtek 2X12 (tried it as well on an open back fender 2x12, with consistent results).

The low-input channel gives a nice clean sound for all guitars (of course, with humbuckers, better keep the gain knob down!), less chimey than 'fender clean' but nicely warm. Increase the gain, and the crunch side will build up very very nicely, reminiscent of Marshall tones (think ACDC) though not completely: this amp really has a sound of its own!!!
High-input is for distortion only, don't expect clean here (that's why I regret so much the impossibility to switch input!!). Very powerful and solid tone here, lots of definition and punch. Amazing!!!

One point though: take the time to adjust the EQ before making up your mind, especially the bass. The amp seems to need rolled-off bass freqs, especially with humbuckers. Once you get the right setting (and you will at the end of the day), it really is top-class tone here.

Solid as the russian fighter jet is was named after, bla bla bla...

no support.

Been playing for about 10 years. I also own a MIG 50 and a Fender 70's Champ (for recordings mainly). The Midget covers the distorted part of the sonic spectrum, and sounds really cool as well on teh clean front. If it were stolen, I'd try to find another one. Actually, I'd like to have a second one!
I compared it with various JCM 2000 and JCM 900 marshalls, as well as different Boogies. Honestly, not even considering the price, the Sovtek suits better my playing and gives me the tone I want.
I put a 10, cos it's indeed a fantastic value!
If there's a way to switch between the inputs, let me know !!!!

the features have been listed ad nauseum here...no need to add anything

it's a decent sounding, if somewhat unique amp...i don't really hear the "marshall" sound everyone keeps talking about....i have a vareity of spaeker cabs, and feel certain that i'll find the combination of stuff that suits my ears...plan to use a distortion pedal with it, as the "high gain" stuff doesn't quite have the range i need.....

seems very rock-like, but i haven't logged many hous with it yet...we'll see......

n/a

this was a new-old-stock store demo in cherry shape...i wanted to ckeck out sovtek for a long time, but had never seen one....i opted to buy it based on the price, and the reviews...and, the fact that i wanted to get back into tubes, but found the prices ridiculous....bought it at ram-z misic in brownsburg, indiana

The lay-out is pretty puristic, like in the old amps, especially Mastervolume-Marshalls: Single channel, two inputs, Vol, Master, 3-Band-EQ and Presence. So there is no reverb and no loop - but: This is not necessarily a bad thing! After a while most people find out, the "shorter" the signal-path, the more lively the sound (compare some so called boutique-amps). Unfortunately no input-switching...
Good features some more expensive amps do not have are: Input-Voltage selector (110 to 240 V), three separate speaker outs (said to be more wear-resistent than a rotary switch), Mouser pots and Sovtek 5881 WXT tubes which belong in the top shelf of the 6L6-family. Apart from that, one should be aware that the "LOW" input compares to the "HIGH" input of many other amps and that the "HIGH" input of the Sovtek is for non-clean exclusively!
I give a "6" because the given features are standard now for 40 years and definitely not a revolution.
By the way: Everyone who doesn't play stadion-rock and can't seem to get along with 50 watts has a problem (not a musical one...)

Since I play mostly "jazz con funk" stuff I stay with the "LOW" input - for me the true revelation. Surprisingly few people pointed out, how good the "clean sounds on the edge of break up" are, when the amp is fed with a single coil - in a way VOXy.
Well, it took quite a while for me to find out, too: When I got the amp 4 years back, I tried to get good cleanish sounds with a Humbucker from the "HIGH" input by turning down the Volume pot... Completely wrong way here, but I didn't spend enough time with the MIG 50 H to realize that. I moved house and left the amp behind for the following 2 years. Meanwhile: I bought a Rob Allen Tele (a rare find in Germany) and installed a hybrid of P 90 and Strat-PU in the neck position (Lindy Fralin does a PU like this and calls it P90 Alnico). In the bridge position is a Duncan standard P90. And then one night, coming back to my old home, I tried this guitar with the Sovtek and was struck: Brillant! The sound is full, sweet and direct - absolutely happening!
Volume at 11 to 12 o'clock, EQ to taste (it really sculptures the sound, unlike Marshall) and off you go. The good thing with low distortion is, you can put reverb in front of the amp! With my Guyatone MicroReverb I get excellent results. The "LOW" input at higher settings delivers very good crunch sounds as well.
The "HIGH" input delivers any reasonable kind of overdrive/distortion for most any style of music. In both cases the sound is neatly controllable with the guitar volume.
Nevertheless, this is not a bedroom amp. Like in the old days, the sound opens up when you are about to leave behind the neigbour-friendly outputlevels...

This amp is put together very tidily: No silicon glue but straps for the capacitors, heavy wiring, huge transformators, lots of space for service in spite of the small package. Everything seems to come out of the 50s or 60s, i.e. rugged and promising. Since I do not torture my equippment I can only assume that this thing will last a long time. I made it my main amp for the band rehearsals and it never let me down so far.

The amp is built no longer, I never tried to contact Sovtek or Electro Harmonix.

I started out with classical guitar as you were supposed to in the 70s... been fiddling around with electricity for 20, seriously for 15 years.
I found back to the MIG 50 H after 3 years of unjustly neglecting it when I started playing a single-coil-guitar. This combination to me is truly great. Some review stated the Hendrix clean sound as a reference and I could not agree more.
Recently you see people shelling out 200 or 300 $ for a TS 808!!?? I would say these guys were better off spending the money for an amp like the Sovtek MIG 50 H. Should this amp vanish I would surely try to get one again. Harmony Central defines a "10" in the "overall rating" category as "fantastic value" - and this it is.
(Amps I owned: Marshall Bluesbreaker, Fender "evil" Twin; other amps I will keep: Rivera K 55 Top, Groove Tubes Soul-o 45 Top; Amps I will probably sell: Mesa/Boogie Blue Angel 1x12, Fender '67 Bandmaster Top)

50 watt bassman clone no extras

the only way to use this amp is clean with pedals or a differnt preamp
sounds like a twenty dollar distortion pedal when uoy try to overdrive it.

I cannot speak for all of these amps seeing as at least mine was comprised of mainly floor parts very few componets were to spec some may sound better than the one i play through

Run an EQ and OD pedal into this unit and you can get some amazing tones. This amp is voiced pretty dark, so bright pu's sound better when playing straight. For HB's (PAF's), you almost have to cut the lows before going through the gain stages. You don't need to boost anything, just cut the lows.
A good quality OD pedal using only the tone and volume as a signal boost works really well.
Have not tried changing the Sovtek tubes out to something better. (Not groove tubes, they are cheap chinese junk!) Every GT I ever bought sounded bad and didn't last long. (yes, I rebiased too.)
Playing through a Marshall open back 1x12 with a Celestion speaker.
Clean sounds very fenderish. (bassman) except it doesn't get loose and farty bottom end when you turn up the volume.
Distortion sounds like a cross between old boogie and old marshall.
(which I guess means it sounds like a mod'ed fender since both amps were developed from the bassman circuit.)

Nice amp. If you like tube amp tone, you should grab one of these while they are still around. Don't let the straight tone freak you out. Cut some of the lows before the gain stages and this amp sweetens up nicely. I have no idea how this sounds through the sovtek cab. I played it through my Marshall closed back 2x12, and it has too much bottom end. I prefer it through the open back 1x12 marshall. It sounds alot closer to the old mesa sound than a marshall sound. Either way, it sounds sweet and I'm glad I bought it.

I dont really know when this amp was made but i do know it is awesome...The amp gives you a very good "marshally" tone. I typically play christian rock, southern rock, and jazz, but naturally a marshall type amp isnt made for jazz. I wish this amp was channel switching but it just has the hi and lo inputs. It is a straight master volume amp with a four band EQ. The tubes really lay down an awesome tone. I am a plug it in turn it up guy so i rate a basic amp like this an 8.

Right now i am using a Hamer Vanguard(p-90s) and it mates well with this amp. The tone of this amp is all of the "bang for the buck" that you could ever wish for. It is really one the most amazing deals i have ever come upon. Distortion really reminds me of an old marshall super lead.

This amp is built like a brick house and amazingly powerful. I've gigged without a backup many times.

Never dealt with the company....Dont think i will ever have to.

These heads are amazingly good deals and with absolutely knock walls down with their marshall-like tone. The head will blow away most amps made today, price tag and sound. You can get a great tone with this amp and i dont think many will be dissapointed.

Umm i dont know too much about when the amp was made. I got it from a guitar shop in my neighborhood. But it was in a good shape a lil dusty. Umm This amp is straight and to the point. No reverb, no effects loop, no channell switching features. If your not to particular about things like this, then you can fall in love with this amp. But it doesnt come with those nifty extras some of todays high priced amps come with.

This amp is badass i think. I got this amp when i fell in love with the all tubed sound, and out of love with that shitty solid state sound. My math teacher in my school told me about these amps, he told me they will give you that well sought after marshall tone. So i went out and got one. When i got it home and played it, i thought it sounded like shit. Weak ass distortion, i really didnt pay to much attention to the low gain channell im not a clean freak. If i go clean in a song im playing with my band, if its clean its good enough. Im not picky with that. But when i first played it out of my mexican strat, it sounded like shit. In order to get a really creamy sound out of this amp, it has to be pushed with really hi output pickups. I found this out when i brought a cheap ibanez, and replaced the stock pickups with dimarzio super distortions. Well when i was home alone, and decided to pull my sovtek out my closet one day(by then i brought a jcm2000 another lovely amp and i really had no use for the sovtek anymore)i played the dimarzios through, and i was blown away at the tones this thing was coming out with. Very thick and creamy waves of distortion not too trebly and broken, but it had its bite at the same time. And i used it out of an avatar cabinent(another great piece of equipment)with G12H30 speakers, and u couldnt get a better sound out of it. This amp can recreate the distortion tones of just about any marshall in my opinoin, although my jcm 2000 kicks its ass in the second lead stage of the ultra gain channell. It just oozes gobs and gobs of gain. But i hardly ever use the second lead stage on the 2000, and if i do the gain is at like 4 or 5, im not a distortion freak, i like tight mids, sweeping lows, and some high end, not much some. And the sovtek can do that, and do it if not better, just as good as any marshall, if its put under the right condidtions. A good pickup system, coupled with good speakers, and u can get a really badass tone out of this bitch. And all of that can be aquired for cheap, probably cheaper than it would be to go out and by a new marshall. I spent about 650-700 bucks on my whole setup with the sovtek, and 1200 something for just the marshall head. And then another 800 on my mesa cab. Thats alot of money for a 17 year old, i had to make mad big macs to get the dough for all that. But my steup i use iwth the sovtek is just as good, and is dammm sure cheaper.

Now hears the kicker with this thing. The amp is tough, but the hardware is really crummy. Cheap flimsy plastic around the inputs. I remember i was playing a show with my band, and i jumped in the air NFG style in the break of one of our songs, and i jerked the input a lil, and the plastice nut around it broke. And i was fucked the rest of the show, and had to borrow a piece of shit crate gx-1200. But i solved all of that by replacing the plastic nut, with more sturdier ones. And i use a airline wireless system, which doesnt fuck up the tone of the amp like some wireless systems do. But i dont really gig with this thing anymore, i use it for practice at my drummers house, and i use it for gigs close to his neighborhood. Theres a few local clubs around his house and we play there often, and i can just walk my shit over there. My avatar 2x12 cab has wheels, and i can roll it with the lil sovtek on top. But for larger gigs, outta area, i bring my marshall jcm2000, and mesa recto cab. Cause it just looks cool, but i can seriously recreate the same sound im looking for with my sovtek and avatar. Just smaller, and uglier. They are two ugly pieces of equipment i must say.

Never spoke to sovtek, so i wouldnt know.

Well if this amp was ever stolen id hunt down the bastard, and lose my foot in his ass. I would definatly go out and try and find another one of these amps if i ever lost it. This amp is most definatly worth every penny and then some i paid for it. Like i said before under the right conditions u can get an awesome sound out of this amp. Its probably one of the best amps ive had the privelage of playing out of, and i own a jcm 2000 which is also an amazing amp. But in comparsion in tone, price, size, the sovtek kicks its ass. And at 50 watts it can be played just about anywhere. And you can push it to the max and get some sick ass tones.