Sovtek Tube Midget Mig 50-H Head

Features are adequate. It's a tube head, so there's not many surprises. Low gain and high gain inputs. Master, vol, TMB, presence. That's about it.

Got mine a few years ago, so this isn't a 'honeymoon' type review. Kind of a one-trick pony. I've laved/hated it. Right now I think I've coaxed a beautiful sound from it. I play a Heritage HCM-150, a part-o-caster with Fender custom shop '69 pickups and a mexican tele with a pearly gates HB in the neck and a Tele Little 59 pup in the bridge. I play it thru an avatar 2x12. Pedals are [tuner], MXR micro amp boost, fulltone deja-vibe [unvibe clone], crybaby wah. I play classic rock/blues-rock type stuff. Not a fan of the 'clean' input. Pretty dark, not sparkly at all-- hardly use it. I especially don't hear the supposed bassman sound that other reviewers have pointed out. The high gain input is better, but the bass is pretty overwhelming. I play the thing on vol 2-3 and master 4-5. That's about right for band situations for me. Tone controls are set to match guitars. To me, humbuckers sound best, but the bass has to rolled off quite a bit. In fact a lot, but the sound opens up quite a bit. Even with bass set at no more than 2, it may be too much bass for some. It'll sing with the LP and the tele, and if you roll off on the guitar's vol pot it cleans up nicely. Single coils sound muddy and harsh unless you're clean. To my ears, this thing gets farty bass and becomes undefined as you increase the gain. It may suit some people, but for my sound, there's only a few 'sweet spots' on this thing, and I feel it's taken me quite a while to finally get a sound I like from it. Oddly enough, I've always gotten compliments on the sound since I got it, partly due I think, to what I told them I paid for it. I think for the cash, it's a tremendous bang for buck, esp for a tube amp. [I also don't think it's all that quiet-- I get enough hum from it-- not like a class A orange amp, but enough]

I have to rely on it, I don't have a suitable backup. I haven't had any problems with it, except the stupid plastic jacks they installed on it, one of the rings is cracked. I will probably replace those some time in the future. It's a fairly solid little bugger altogether though.

n/a

Overview:
-sings with humbuckers at the right settings
-not friendly especially to strats
-a few sweet spots for classic rock/blues sounds
-not a bad investment for the money

To no one's surprise, there's not much to the amp. A High Input, a Low Input. TMB tone stack, Master and Gain. 4/8/16 Ohm speaker out. A headphone out i've never used. But even without all the bells and whistles, this thing can be amazingly versatile.

The simplicity leads to one advantage, a pure tube tone. The low input produces a dark clean with a lot of body to it. I play with more defined mids, so you have unbelievably chunky sound. I've played it through humbuckers most of the time, so i can't really comment with singlecoils.

The High input produces a really, REALLY thick overdrive, useful for most any rock application, save for norwegian death metal. But you can get pedals for that.

I plug into the low input with a modded ds-1 to allow me to switch to clean and dirty sounds. I can't comment on how it takes other effects.

It's the purest signal tone you can get.

Can't really say much here. You carry it around, you plug it in, it works. Like gear's supposed to.

There is some cracking when adjusting the pots though.

I've only had to change out the tubes once over the last two years, and that was only to improve the tone. I dropped in some JJ's and this things sounds beastly.

It's built very tough, but if something goes wrong who am i supposed to call?

I don't know if new sensor will service the old amps, but it seems nobody's had trouble with them.

But when i opened mine up, it didn't look too hard to service,

I play through the amp with humbucker equipped guitars, producing a nice, thick, present sound. It'll cut through. I've loaned this amp to a friend a few times, and it sounds great from the stage. It produces a powerful sound.

All been covered. Two imputs, usual tone stack, master volume with a presence control. Three outs for 4,8 and 16 ohm speaker loads.

Low imput is a Bassman clone

High input circuit adds a gain stage and is loosly based on a JCM 800 circuit.

Amp sounds good with either single coils or humbuckers, depending what kind of sound you want.
The low input channel clean is really nice with good tubes. It is dark, so the tone stack usually sounds best dimed. I had a 69 bassman head that I traded in for this head. It does sound like a bassman. Would like to add a bright switch to get more of a fender vibe. Has tighter lows than a bassman IMHO.
The high input goes from blues to metal. Very modern sounding distortion. (5881 power tubes.)
This doesn NOT sound like a Marshall. (JCM800 or otherwise.) It sounds more like an early Mesa, without all the adjustments. This makes complete sense, since it does have 5881 power tubes.
The OD is thick and fuzzy, not upper mid crunchy.

Never had to mess with this amp. My marshall requires annaual pot and connection cleaning. Never had to touch this amp. It just works!

Upgraded tubes once. Helped alot.

WTF?

This amp would be killer if it had a bright switch. (mostly for the clean tones) and an effects loop. Since it has no reverb tank, running time based delays through the pre amp is always kind of crummy. You have to turn the fx levels way down for the distorted tones, then turn them back up for the clean tones. An FX loop would eliminate this.

I run it through a 16 ohm 1x12 marshall cab and an 8 ohm 2x12 marshall cab. Play strats, tele's and pauls.

Oveall, a killer all tube amp for not alot of money.

I have know idea when the amp was made, late 80's early 90's I would guess. No channel switching but the tonal versatility is astounding...clean to Modern Hi gain. No effects loop, no headphone no, does have a 1/4" line out, have not used it yet though. It has a low and high input, they seem to have different preamps / gain stages....low sounds like a fender bassman, high more like a JCM800. I would characterize the tone as very full and meaty. All tube 50 watts, three 12ax7 preamps with 2 5881(6L6) power tubes. Pretty straight forward controls, Volume (gain), Master, Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence. I heard that you could mod it so that both inputs worked via an ABY footswitch, if so that would be a cool feature. Very versatile considering only the one channel and limited controls.

As stated before, the tones of this amp pretty much run the gamut. The low input channel does get a little gritty when you crack it, like said think fender bassman. The distortion on the high channel is not as heavy as Mesa Rectifier, but you can get great lead tones just the same, more mids, think Soldano. I prefer to run it with gain just past 12 o'clock, for that great british overdrive tone. I use all sorts of guitars with it, Gibson SG, Epiphone Dot, Agile LP (P90's), Telecaster (sounds the best). It used to be noisy but I had in checked out and swapped the input jacks for Marshall style grounded inputs, no power buzz now, some noise with single coils, not too bad though.

Seems dependable. I bough the amp an Ebay about 3 months ago. If had a hand made limited edition Pine cabinet. Needless to say the USPS destroyed the cabinet in the mail and broke the high input jack off. I filed a claim and got most of the amps worth back from the USPS in a check. I was going to have a cabinet built, but decides to build my own from a solid Oak board, turned out great, very satisfying. Through all that the amp still work, just needed the high input jack replaced. The amps itself is built like a tank. They may call it Tube Midget, but that thing it heavy duty. I would bring a back set of tubes if I was gigging, cause you can never be too safe.

Sovtek amp division is out of business. Not sure you can get parts besides tubes anymore. These amps are built so well you should not need to call them anyway.

I have been playing 10 years. I mentioned the guitars I own above, I also own a line6 Flextone III Plus, and a Peavey Classic 30 head. As far as Overdrive goes I like the Sovtek the best out of the three. I have three cabinet 212 closed back with Cerwin Vega ER123s, a 212 open back with Cerwin Vega ER123s, and a Freda Mule 210 with Eminence Ramrod speakers. I would try to find another if it were lost or stolen. I love the full range of tones in such a simplistic form. Overall a great amp that offers more tone in a low price range than it's $1500 botique competitors.

Sounds better than any Marshall I have ever owned. And many.

Great vintage Marshall tone heard on any 70's to 80's rock recordings. Pure tone vintage rock. All the way up to Eddie!

Built like a Russian Sub!

N/A

A long time. Many amps. Mostly all of them.

Well, I don't know the year, but it isn't any spring chicken! Its in great condition though. 50 Watts tube! It has a high and low inputs(its only a single channel) a 3-band EQ, volume(gain) and a master. Side note which I think is cool, the LED is sweet looking. Think terminator's red eye! I would rate this area, but there is no need for me it works great! Some people might want to have multiple channels, thats fine if so then this not the amp for you. I know I had to think about it, but I have not had an once of buyers remorse!

Well think Bassman, like the other reviews. The low input is my favorite by far. The high is distorted, high gain bassman sounds. Which sounds good to me, just not what i'm looking for. The clean on this amp is great! The amp is very articulate and responds well to picking dynamics. Stays clean at high volumes too! You can even play almost clean in the high input depending on how you pick.
My setup is a PRS Singlecut w/ a JB in the bridge, stock pickup in neck. I'm running it through an ampeg cabinet w/ 4 vintage 30's.
Before I go any further I must tell you I changed all the tubes out from the old sovteks. This amp uses 3-12ax7, 2-5881. I'm using Tung-Sol tubes now. Wow! They weren't cheap, but I see why. These made a huge difference. Granted, the others were old! The tubes warmed things right up and slightly rounded out the high end and a little more output. The amp has a great clean sound, crank up the gain to about 2 o'clock and it has a real nice warm break up perfect for blues. High input good for rocky stuff, just don't expect a marshall or mesa. Also good if your just looking for a different sound! You can just about get any sound out of it other then real high gain modern sounds. Also, in my opinion this amp sounds nothing like a jcm 800. What the hell are you people talking about!
I play mostly modern type sounds and this works great! just buy a pedal if you want more modern stuff!

I have only had it for about 3wks and It is rock solid! Only thing is the LED is a bit loose.

Well, this would probably be a little tricky. I know sovtek went out of business and I believe that Electro-Harmonics bought them so I guess you'd have to go through them.

I'm giving this amp a 10 because of its value, it is a lot of bang for your buck! 300 bucks dosen't get you close to getting tone in the rest of the amp world. I was about to shell out ten times that for a BOGNER! They make great amps just out of my price range....one day....
The only draw back I can see for people is the fact it has only one channel and that it is only 50 watts! To me this is fine, I don't play huge shows and I like the whole hearing thing and it sound better at low volume than a higher wattage amp. The channels would be nice, but it wouldn't sound this good!

This amp was made in the early 90`s. 4 8 and 16 ohm speaker outputs. It has line out also. It`s not point-to-point. It`s made on a PC board but when the PC board is made correctly like this one then there is no difference between point-to-point and pc board. This amp is very versatile. It covers sounds from clean to hi-gain. It has 2 channels. No channel switching no effects loop no headphone jack. It would be out of sight if it would have channel switching and seperate volumes.
I use it live and in studio. It is said that this amp is 50W but compared to my 50W 69` Bassman(blackfaced) and 50W 74`Vibrolux reverb(blackfaced) then it`s more like 70W. So it has enough clean headroom.
The most useful feature is the master volume. Because it`s so loud then I can use it in lower volumes thanks to master volume. Before I got this amp I was pretty critical about master volume amps because I was a blackface guy. This master volume doesn`t make the amp sound bad at all when used properly but it sounds the best when the master is at max. If it had channel switching and seperate volumes I would have given it a 10. I can get everything out of this little amp in the studio but live I can only use one channel.
When I took it out of the box it was shipped to me I started laughing cause it`s so small and cute =) When I plugged it in I heard a big fat vintage Marshall that had a tweed and blackface Fender(that he had just eaten) smell coming out of it`s mouth.

I use humbucker and single coils with it. Teles, strats, les paul and various hollowbodies. It sounds great with all of them. With single coil it doesn`t get thin and with humbucker it doen`t get muddy. When I switch guitars I just roll some bass down and off we go again. I love it from clean to hi gain. When I combine this with Fulltone OCD I get very nice thick rock lead sounds out of every guitar. This amp sounds good with every guitar I have played trough it.
The sound it produces is something between Marshall and Fender. Defenately more Marshall than Fender. A bit warmer than a plexi Marshall. That`s because of it`s output tubes(2x6L6). So if you want to sound vintage and different at the same time then this is for you.
My heart belongs to the blues although I`m forced to play everything. I prefer fenders for playing rockabilly, country and jazz. The heavyer the music style gets the more I prefer sovtek. When it comes to playing the blues I take a blackface fender and this little thing with me. It`s clean sounds are very good for pop, disco(70`s), funk or blues and everything else that lies in between. Crunch is ideal for blues and rock. Funkier blues, shuffle, Hendrix - you name it. Higher gain stuff is so good that I don`t use any distortion pedals in the studio. Live I'm forced to do so when I need a little boost. This is the first time I could play Zeppelins stuff(I never could find a decsent sound for playing it) It covers EVH sounds too at the High gain channel. I don`t know how well it does metal tones because I don`t have the right speakers nor guitars to do so. If you have played the blues through BF fenders and are looking for a one more really good sound then buy this amp. If you are looking for a classic rock sound(Marshall plexi) then buy this. I have tried the 50W Marshall Bluesbreaker RI and my sovtek puts the it totally into shame. I have also tried the Marshall JCM800 RI and I didn`t get any good sounds out of it at all.
This amp works fantastical with my Roger Mayer classic fuzz. The way I use it is very simple - turn both knobs(volume and drive) to almost max and control everything from the guitar. Feedback notes are very easy to get. When I roll the volume down it goes clearer and less distorted until it`s totally clean. The sounds between totally clean and totally fuzz are not at all fuzzy. They are very clear and bright. These sounds I like the best but if want a lot of noise and feedback I turn the guitar volume to max. If I want I can get the best of Hendrix sounds.
Every effect I use with this amp sounds good including RAT 2 and Crybaby wah but I like especially Fulltone OCD and Roger Mayer classic fuzz.
I like it with the slide also very much. When I take a tele that`s tuned to a open G and has very thick strings on it(14-60) and play all the strings it doesn`t get muddy even in the high gain channel when cranked.
It isn`t noisy at all.
I play the amp through a Peavey 4x10 cab fitted with Reverend alltone speakers. It sounds awesome but I`m planning to build a 2x12 cab fitted with one Tonetubby ceramic and one alnico. Maybe both alnicos. I have to try them more to make up my mind.

As far as I know it is stock except for one speaker output jack and of course the tubes. I got it this way. I have had it for a few weeks now. No problems yet but you never know...

Haven`t dealt with them.

I have been playing for about 8 years. I own a 70`s Peavey Classic 50W hybrid amp that I use as a cab. I have two blackfaced SF fenders(Bassman 68` and Vibrolux reverb 74`). I have a Guyatone Jazz Reverb all-tube amp(about 8 watts) that has the best vibrato I have ever heard(think Ry Cooder) and is fitted with a Weber alnico 12`inch speaker(don`t remeber what model). 2xEL84. This is the amp that I use for small gigs but it can be very loud and fill an avarage pub and have some headroom by doing it. Custom made 7 watt all tube class a amp with 8`inch Jensen speaker. A custom made 2 watt triod head that can be switched to 1 watt.
I have an original Ibanez TS9 that isn`t in my posession all the time. I have Fulltone OCD, RAT2, Crybaby wah-wah, BOSS DD-3, Roger Mayer Classic fuzz.
I have a stock 96` MIJ 54`RI Fender Stratocaster, 78` 68`RI Ibanez Stratocaster, 78`Fender Telecaster, A custom made Fender Telecaster copy(tuned to open G), 80`Greco Super Real Les Paul standard copy(Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates on bridge that I don`t like :P), Vintage ES-335 copy(with 82`Greco Les Paul custom pups), Electro Lap Steel tuned to open D, Washburn prototype hollowbody with bigsby tremolo, 74`Framus Akkerman model and a 70`s Ibanez J-200 copy(piece of junk).
As you can see I buy only things that are cheap and good at the same time with some exceptions(sometimes eBay isn`t that good). Life in eastern europe isn`t so Sovtek is very cheap and very good at the same time. If you want to have a vintage Marshall sounding amp for times cheaper then buy this thing and you wont regret it.

I picked one of these baby?s up from eBay some time ago. From the looks of it I'd say it?s from the mid 90's. This is a two channel amp with a high gain & low gain inputs, a volume, main, bass, mid, treble and presence knobs is all that you get, and more then you need. The lo gain side is a great copy of a classic Bassman, and the high sounds like a hotroded Marshall jcm 800. A smokin combination! The only drawback is that there is no channel switching. And if you try to plug two cords in to the high and low gain jacks at the same time to use a A/B box as a external switch, the low gain channel cancels out the high side. But I downloaded the schematic for the amp and figured out a mod so that a A/B switch box will work. It is a extremely simple mod any one with a soldering iron can do in minutes. If any one is interested email me at: robmeyer.1@netzero.net. I did it to my amp and it works great!
Because the amp came without that feature I had to give it a 8.

I moastly play a hand built peice with two pairs of lace sensors. (two hot golds, one red and a silver).

My style ranges from jazz to art rock and altrnitive,
The low gain channel is not real a clean channel. It ifs verry warm and open rainging from almost clean with just a touch of blue-ish warmth to a light crunch, a great alt rithem channel!
The hi gain side ranges from a heavy crunch all the way up to stratosepheric levels of harmonicly rich, saturated, soul squeseing, paint peeling high gain glory. This is real useable gain too! Not muddy Nu-Metal malarky!

I'm with the rest of the rest of the worlsd on this one. Built like a tank, but was a little disapointed with the plastic jacks. ( they look a bit like sovtek used all the left-over jacks from making Big Muff's)

Sovtek nolonger makes these amps (sigh!), but the origanal exporters
New Sensor corp. is as helpfull as they can be, and will get you scheumatics if you need them.

Go get one while they are still cheep, they won?t be for long!
If it was stolen I would replace it a.s.a.p., this has become my main amp of choice. I also own a Sunn model T, a Vox AC 30 and a Orange 120. Someone once said ?Simple pictures are best " That is why I love this amp. It is simple and intuitive to use, and sounds great (it is hard to make it sound bad other than sucking as a guitarist).

Well i guess on that everything was said, there is just two channels and two inputs feeding them.
Channel Swithing i sadly lacking, but can be built in by any decent "amp guy"
Still i like it the way it is, since I'm a rather "no frills"-musician

Use this with an Epiphone Joe Perry Signature (with Gibson Burstbuckers...).
The only effect i ever use is my Dunlop CryBaby (clearly enough modded for true bypass...). Otherwise it's just guitar -> cable -> amp -> cab.

I've read that this am is useless to use with humbuckers, i don't quite share that oppinion. I recently switched the stock tubes (veeery old Sovtek ones) with shiny new SV6l6GC made by Svetlana. The best 6L6 tubes, so I am told.
Well with those tubes all the bottom mud is gone, all that stays is some relly glorious tone to die for.
There is still by far enough bottom end to even make a Telecaster sound overly fat, but you can really talk about a tight bottom. The mids sparkle, the hihgs are dripping off your ears... It rocks.

-> Removing the tube retainers from the preamp tubes might help, if you have problems with microphonic tubes. These things do more harm than good...

Built like frigging brick. You would relly have to mistreat it on purpose to break it. No problems with the plastic inputs so far.

No customer support, stopped making any amps... Sadly

Frigging cool amp. I guess I'll get myself a second one.

Put in an aggressive tube in V1 and only the best ones you can get a hand on as power tubes, this amp will scream.
And, there is enough gain to use it as a full blown metal amp!!

Another nice thing is, that this amp has "understatement" written all over it. Everyone will laugh at it, but just 'til the very moment you turn it on 2/3 open... :)

This particular amp's previous owner was a Luthier, and apparently worked on amps too, as the low input no longer exists. it has been modified and is now a pot for a pre. it has plenty of crunch, and being a novice player playing down tuned sludge,is more than adequate for my needs. i was looking into an early 1970's SunnO)))Model-T 100w head,but found this to be more of what i wanted in the sound deptartment,and at half the price($250 as opposed to $699)and it is plent loud. i suppose you could always mic it with a knowledgeable sound man at the helm too... que no? the one thing odd about mine is the head is completely woodgrain... no black toltex or B&W name plate.. even the name plate is wood grain and instead of being centered, is set off center in the upper left corner. another thing is that the control panel is brown instead of black... anyone have some info on this?

there is basically no real clean tones, save for at lower volumes, but i only got this 4 days ago, and i am not one for the clean tone (at least not now anyway) the guitars i am using are a '69 Tele Thinline re-issue (which i have yet to try out on it),a Yamaha SBG200, and a '76 Gretsch Corvette Deluxe. the distortion is great. no need for an OD here, just a RE-201 for some reverb and delay (if at all needed)

haven't played with it long enough to say... but from what i have read, they supposedly indestructible

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.

Straight ahead, single channel all tube signal path amp head rated at 50 watts rms. (hmmmm) No reverb, no fx loops, etc. Master vol. eq and presence control. High and low inputs. 4-8-16 ohm outs for speakers, a line out.
I just traded in a 1969 50w bassman head for this one today, so this is based on my first impressions of this amp. (I'll update after I've played it for 6 months or so.)
Like I said, I traded vintage fender for this amp. This thing really sounds very nice. The distortion is very fuzzy with hb's (les paul). My strat with stock singles however sings witht this amps distortion. I wish it had channel switching and stuff, but thats not really that important to me. TONE is ALL THAT MATTERS!
This thing is plenty loud. Compared to my Marshall that is rated at 30 watts RMS with EL34 power tubes, it's a little louder. (And by reviews of the 3203 marshall artist, everyone thinks that amp is pretty loud.) If you have one that is not very loud, take it to a shop dude. It needs a going over.
Dial up the master and adjust the vol to taste, very cool clean sound (much better than the 69 bassman) Warm and tuby. I plugged in my X155 jazz box, and was comping jazz riffs that the bassman used to like to make low farty noises at me for my efforts.

I play a 73 LP custom, an 80's jap strat that has mostly US parts on it now and a DeArmond X155 Jazz box. I don't do FX stuff much. All with the stock pu's. (with a box full of other pu's that I tried and wound up tearing out.) TONE is what matters.
I play everything but country.
This is a single channel tube amp, so if you want clean you have to turn down the master. If you want dirt, you adjust the master to taste.
The clean sounds really good to me. Not twangy fender, but warm smooth clean that drips tone from your speakers like f**ken honey. The normally bright strat pu's are smooth and open. I love the tone.
The distortion is brutal. Almost like "nu-metal" high gain with hb's, but more melodic with the single coils.
This does not sound like my marshall. (I define the marshall sound as in Jethro tull and the Allman bro's.) This dist is much different, but still very cool. Warm, responsive, thick and pretty fuzzy with the hb's. I would think that high output pu's would push this amp into nu-metal territory in a hurry. (if you like all fuzz and not much in the way of tone.)

Seems tough. The pots do not make any noise, and the overall build seems very good. The russians are known for overengineering their stuff and making it very, very robust.

I dunno

I've been playing for a long time. (since like 1984), you do the math. I traded a 69 fender bassman with the gain mod that uses the bass channel as a gain stage and was switchable to the std. config. It didn't have half the TONE that this Mig had. (or maybe I just don't like fenders?) I also have a Marshall Artist 3203, I've had other Solid state stuff that I have gotten rid of over the years in trying to only keep the stuff that really sounds good. (dumped fender, Ibenez and Peavy) I think this amp will be a keeper. I got some old syth's, a bass guitar and a couple of acoustics.
I've been shopping around for another amp that had a nice clean channel for playing, well, clean stuff. (duh) Jazz, whatever, etc. and have played alot of stuff locally, including some of the new modeling amps. I simply couldn't find anything that I liked better or even equal to my 3203 marshall. On a hunch I played this Mig that has been sitting in a local store for a year. I was impressed with the clean tone that this thing put out at pretty high volumes. Then the distortion was a bonus.
I believe that alot of OK sounds are not nearly so good as a couple, or even one really good sound. so this amp fits my ideals very well. I just wish I would have found one of these years ago instead of wasting money on all the crummy amps that I've played.
I would advise anyone to give one of these a listen. They sound great, and cost peanuts. (For the price of a crummy practice amp)
But, TONE is a very personal thing that depends alot on your style. You have to try out different stuff until you find the thing that fits your style by giving you your tone.
nuf said

i'm not sure when the amp was made, i'm guessing early 90's???
MADE IN RUSSIA
not many features but it gets the job done...it has 2 channels
but you can't switch between them unless you unplug you're guitar...
i mainly use the clean channel anyway but i'm sure there is a way you could set it up to switch between the channels??? has a line out and
4,8,and 16 ohm ins??

My setup is Mig 50h head> sovtek 2x12" cab> sovtek big muff(or) boss
DS-2>fender 69 mustang reissue(& epiphone les paul special but i sold it).THe mustang has the lace sensor pickups..single coils...the only time i actually get annoying noise it when the amp its on near a TV....THis amp has a very distinctive thick sound, which at times can be a bit too much but an equalizer pedal will help w/ that..you can get very warm overdrive to a very harsh distortion which sound pretty much like the big muff pedal...i personally like the clean channel the best(tubes)..the feedback with this amp is amazing sometimes suttle and howling and sometimes it just pops in in the right places while playing...the type of music i play is basically emo-core?? with blends of punk rock and new wave(the cure,smiths...)
i give the sound an 8 because i know it could be a bit better..but i still love it...

haven't had a problem with it yet..my friends had a similar sovtek
for about 4 years and has only had to service it about 2 times....
i would definately tour with this amp..

not sure??

i love this amp...i've been playing roughly 5.5 years..i sold my first "big" amp a fender roc pro 1000 to get a Line 6 AX2 2x12 and sold that for this...and i couldn't be happier...i guess if it were stolen i'd look for another(but they are getting harder to find?)..so i might just go for a jcm 900 which is very similar...but cost more...i think if you are looking for a thicker sound for your music(ala weezer blue cd, or smashing pumpkins
siamise..)then this would be a fantastic amp..especially for the $$$
its also great for punk or inde rock...which is what i love...thats all i guess

This is a discontinued model. As indicated elsewhere, it is a 50W head, one channel w/ high and low inputs, no effects or loops, 4-band EQ, gain and master volume. It is a physically smaller version of the MIG60, but you can't really tell the difference in output between the 50 and 60 watt units. The absence of features requires one to use pedals (or more creativity). It is an amplifier in the pure sense of the word.

The amp is surprisingly clear and quiet on both the clean and hi-gain inputs with the volume maxed. However, I find that the variation on each of the EQ pots to be minimal, perhaps only 3db over whatever range of frequencies are affected. which isn't enough for my taste - I've been spoiled by other amps that provide plus or minus 12db across the bandwidths. Aside from the lack of broad flexibility on the EQ, the "tube-ness" of the amp, which uses 5881 power tubes, is wonderful. Neither input is muddy, across all combinations of gain and master, even with the bass turned up, and using humbuckers -- I'd like to test it w/ single-coils at some point. This isn't the best amp for jazz, but it is passable -- you can get pretty clean settings taking out most of the EQ and cranking the master volume. For rock and blues, it is very good, and you can get a broad spectrum of overdrive, especially on the hi-gain input where you can get some nice distortion on lo and high tones at even low volume. You've got to drive the clean input at nearly full gain to get much breakup. The amp was tested with an LP Custom (PAF Humbuckers) and an Epi Wilshire (mini-humbuckers). In sum, for lead, single string or double-stop, it is excellent. At maximum volumes (including pickup volume), my styles of chording (whcih is often all six strings with one or two deadened, even for heavy rock) does sound overly fat --- you just don't get enough decay to get that clarity string-to-string. But I blame this on humbuckers and thicker strings.

I have a backup amp, but don't expect to use it -- the box is overbuilt for the amount of hardware inside. All tubes are well mounted and the wiring appears tight. The small size means I can stick it behind a seat or on the floor easily and not worry about bouncing and jarring. There is just too little inside for anything to go seriously wrong.

One year warranty through the distributor. The company is personable and informative.

For the price paid new, this is a great deal, and I picked it primarily for that reason -- new tube amps of this wattage are ridiculously priced. I may tinker with the electronics to broaden the tonal palette, but aside from that it is a very convenient way to get a range of quality tube sound. I use this "dry" or with a Zoom 505 for some supplemental color and effects.

it's as straight ahead as it gets. i don't like alot of knobs to get in the way of my tone. channel switching would be ideal but the sound of the thing makes up for it.

brutal. bottom end. vintage style distortion. one of the best amps i've ever used. flexible too, it does'nt take alot of dialing to get a good tone and there is a good variety of tones to cull from this baby. if you only play clean, this is not the amp for you.

plastic inputs suck. real easy to break, as i did to one lent to me by a friend. easy to replace though...the one i own now i've only had a few days - no problems yet.

don't know if support is available for sovtek these days. especially in the uk

these little devils pack a punch and i was very happy to find one (in a shop in Zurich - it was the last one they had). i play it with a les paul custom and a distortion/sustain pedal to make it that much more punishing, but that's just me. at the moment i own three different sovtek heads (50, 50H and 100H) and they are all great and unique in their own way. i'll use them for a long time to come.

It's pretty straight and to the point. Hi and Low inputs, volume, master, low, mid, high, and presence. NO effects loop. NO channels switching. NO reverb.

I play a fender strat with a semour duncan jb humbucker. For cleaner sounds I use one of the single coils. This amp has an unbelieveable tone! I highly agree with people that compare this amp with other high end boutique amps. The low does distort even low volumes but its a beautiful sound. It always breaks up very smoothly, giving it a broad range of dynamics. The high input matched with a humbucker can produce a very marshall like sound. It's not suited for metal but it will give you a great punk sound. I use the low input with the master set at about 1pm. This gives a sound very close to a fender bassman. The only pedal I use with this amp is a ibanez analog delay. If you use a lot of effects this is probably not a good amp for you. Not having an effects loop hinders your ability to put any decent reverb sounds through this amp. Even still this amp, especially for the money, is unbelieveable! Try one and you will be surprised.

I've had it for a year with the same tubes and it's held up fine. I play everyday for at least an hour too.

I haven't had to contact anyone yet.

I've been playing guitar for 7 years. I've played through almost any amp you can think of. I would definately buy this amp again! I really do wish that it had an effects loop and more than one channel. But even still you really can't beat this for the money!

Hi and Lo gain inputs on a single channel. Pre-amp and Amp volume, 3 tone knobs plus presence. Three outputs for 4, 8, and 16 ohm cabs. Line out. Class AB 5881 circuit with 1.5 12 AX7. This is a bone-simple-no-frills rock amp.

If matched with good tubes (Svetlana 6L6GCs and your favorite NOS 12AX7s) and a real speaker cabinet, this amp is essentially an old Marshall JTM 45. Celestion Alnico Blues or WeberVST Blue Dogs in a 2x12 cabinet matched up with this amp bring out the best in it. These amps are highly under-rated because they rarely get matched up with good speakers. The Mig-50H is a boutique-level amp that few no about. You could spend quite literally $3,000 to get this tone from an old Marshall (and I have in my day). This is a great amp for people who feel iffy about touring with a collector's piece. Few Sovtek customers probably know enough about tube amps realize what a diamond in the rough the Mig-50H is.

Do yourself a favor and give the Mig-50H the tubes and speakers it deserves. You will not be sorry!

I have never needed a backup. I'd give it a 10 if it had metal input and output jacks.

I wrote an e-mail to Electro-Harmonix asking how to clean up the pre-amp a little. That day, the man who designed the amp replied to me personally and suggested putting in a 12AT7. That, to me, is a "10" on customer service.

There are "emperor's new clothes" boutique amps that can't get anything like this thing's tone. This amp is made just exactly like the amps that command amazing prices in the vintage shops. If you are concerned about tone and not resale value, Sovtek amplifiers are the very best deal going right now in the world. They will be highly collected in yers to come.

I only have one thing to say. For all those looking into getting a head make sure you try this amp out BEFORE buying it. Reviews are cool and all but they aren't your ears. I bought this amp because of the reviews that I found here and I was somewhat dissapointed. This amp is cool but you have to want this sound. It isn't very clean. You break up before you could ever play with a drummer. But that doesn't mean this amp isn't worth trying out. A change of tubes can help that a lot. Also there isn't that much gain. It can get a cool crunch sound but beyond that it just won't cut it. The clean channel doesn't sparkle either. I know it sounds like I hate this amp but I don't. I am planning on adding a "power amp in" jack so I can bypass the preamp. That's where this thing fails. I am hoping the power is clean and I'm sure it is. I usually use pedals or my ADA mp-2 for distortion anyway so I am going to use it only for power and I think it should work out pretty good. SO I'm not upset that I spent money on this thing. It's the cheapest 50 watt tube power amp around. For 250 you cant beat that. Yes it isn't stereo but that's ok. It's good enough for me! Anyway just make sure you hear it before you buy it. or buy it from musicians friend where you get 30 days to try it out. depending on your style you could be happy with this thing.

50watt all tube head, VERY loud!!! I play alternative rock, stuff like pearl jam, and newer rock like Creed, I also play blues and jazz. this amp rocks!!!! HIGH and LOW input, both channels sound great but i always use the clean (low) channel and use an overdrive pedal if i'm playing with dirt. as soon as i get a new bass player i'll be gigging without backup. and its pretty damn versatile for the stuff i play.

i use a gibson SG(humbuckers) and mex strat(single coil) this amp sounds best with humbuckers, but i guess thats cause i hate single coil pickups, but even so, it still souds good with single coil, but that damn hum!!!!! like i said it fits my music perfect. i use it with a cheap crate 4x12, and it stays pretty damn clean, soon i'll be getting a marshall 1960 cab its gonna sound even better.

i WILL be gigging without backup, it seems pretty solid

dont no about the customer support cause i never needed it, but it has a 1 year warranty

ive been playing for almost 6 years, it took me a long time to finally buy this amp, and since no shops cary them i couldnt try it, but after coming to harmony central a thousand times, i finally bought it. why did it take me so long? $249 for an all tube head, i said to my self, this thing must be junk, but i couldnt ignore the reviews for it. i would buy another one right away if something happend to it. this thing kicks marshalls in the ass its half the size, more then half the price, and sounds just as good if not better. the only thing i wish it had is channel switching cause the distortion on this thing rocks. if your looking at the amp, dont hesitate, just get it before their gone. i think they stopped making them

features? there are none, unless you count the eq knobs and stuff as features. very basic amp. not too versitile. would be a little nicer if it had channel switching, but over all I wasn't too impressed with this one.

I play an Ibanez with Dimarzio hummers. I usually use a peavey bandit 112 transtube model with a boss metal zone for distortion. I thought the sovtek might give me a better clean sound and maybe a little different distorted with the metal zone, but I was wrong. I put this amp up next to my peavey and played through both. on the high gain side of the sovtek, it gets good punchy overdrive if you crank the volume all the way. However, palm muting is out of the question. on the low gain end it was almost impossible to tell the difference between the sovtek and the peavey. for a classic rock or blues dude, this would be a good amp. however, my tastes are a bit heavier. my band plays a hybrid of punk and metal, more on the punk side though. we kinda sound like grunge but heavier. for this style, this amp just doesn't cut it.

only messed with it for a few days so it didn't have time to screw up if it was gonna do so

1 year warranty. that one sheet of paper manual doesn't inspire too much confidence

I've been playing about 5 years now and I don't have very much gear. I picked up a good 4x12 cab for way cheap (50 bucks and the speakers sound new) and was looking for a good head with a cheap pricetag. If I decided to keep it, (which I'm not) I wouldn't go get another if it got lost or stolen. I'd be pissed that I spent 250 bucks on it and it was gone, and then I'd just go buy something else. I didn't get to try it before I bought cuz no one carries them around here so I don't think I'll do that again. I read all these reviews several times and now after trying this amp, the only one I agree with is that guy who said these amps are overrated. they ARE overrated

as others have said, this is a very simple, stright-forward head. two inputs, single channel. master volume is a welcome addition over the older mig-50 models. there are no features on this head which will go unused - it provides only what you need to dial up a good tone and nothing else. though it is simple, the use of effects can obviously make it more versatile, which is fine; i believe the most important ingredient of good sound is a great amp - you can worry about further shaping the sound later...

i use the head with a fender big apple strat with two seymour duncans. humbucker sounds are nice and full with plenty of bass response and clear highs. when the pickups are tapped (providing single-coil sounds) a very tube-y round sound is achieved, again with clear definition. though it is a 'one sound' amp, this guitar alone allows me to achieve several very distinct sounds through the head. i run the head through a sunn 4x12 cab, providing plenty of tone and headroom. i set the head for a good clean sound and just use a stomp box (rat) to dirty things up. the head is very quiet and stays fairly clean even at higher volumes using the 'low' input. i have yet to really crank it on the high side, so i can't say much about the head's distortion.

well, i've only had it about a week, so we'll see. it seems quite sturdy. hell, it must be: much to my horror, the sharp-as-a-bowling ball fed ex guy dropped it on the concrete floor of my apartment building hallway, but it works fine and sounds fantastic. i would feel safe playing show without a backup. it's so simple, there seems to be less to go wrong with it.

haven't dealt with them. seems like it would be pretty shady for some reason. sovtek has pretty much phased out every guitar head but this one as new sensor corp. seems to be focusing much more on reviving the electro-harmonix line, so i don't know how easy it would be to get quality service. the warranty duration is one year, but i really don't think i'd ever need it.

for the money, this has to be just about the best amp value on the market today. it is simple, it sounds great and is plenty loud - not to mention extremely portable. i have played for about 13 years (many different styles over the years) and i also currently own a crate vintage club amp powered by EL84s w/ 3 10" speakers. at this price, i'd surely get another if it were ever lost or stolen. i compared many heads and spent a lot of time here on the amp database and just couldn't ignore al of the praise and that low price. get 'em while they still make 'em - you won;t be disappointed.

Two channels, but no switching or dedicated controls. As a result, I never use the dirty channel. No reverb, but that's okay; I never use reverb live, only when practicing. EQ controls do not have much effect. You need to crank the treble and presence to get a good sound.

This amp, played through a Peavey 112SX cab (1 12" speaker, closed back) is somewhere between a Bassman and a Bluesbreaker. It's tougher than the Bassman, but doesn't have quite as much body (when cranked) as a Bluesbreaker. I use the clean channel exclusively, and get dirt from pedals. It's quite loud, and stays very clean, even when dimed. There's not quite as much "character" or "prettiness" as you get from a vintage Fender; perhaps replacing the 5881's with 6L6's would change this. To me, the best amps use EL84's. I just don't think any other tube comes close to that tone.

Only had it a couple of weeks.

The manual ain't too confidence-inspiring.

This thing is my main (and only) gig amp. It fills the bill -- very loud, and reasonably warm. If money were no object, I'd have a couple of Bassmans. But I must say, this is the best buy in an amp I've EVER seen. I'm very happy with it. Also, the blue light looks very neato onstage.

2 Inputs, 3 band EQ, presence, master volume. It's an amp, nothing fancy (look at all the "retro" and "boutique" amps going for mega-bucks with the same features.

When the high sensitivity input is used, rock city. Even with a strat you cannot get a clean sound in the high input. Killer rock sounds, great crunch, EQ is ok, but not spectacular. Able to get a good hot rodded Marshall-esque sound. Using the low input able to get a good (almost Fendery) clean sound

So far, So good, I've only had it for 4 months now, used mostly at practice. But the pots and jacks on mine feel solid, no scratching when turning pots, they feel solid and linear. I really checked this out because of other reviews I've read. Maybe they vary from one to the other

1 year warranty, haven't needed it

I've been playing for more years than I'd like to admit. I have 3 Marshalls (TSL100, 2205, MKII 50w), and old bassman head, a musicman 130 4-10. I normally play a Gibson SG, or a Fender strat. If I needed more versatility out of it, I would buy 2 of them, and an A/B switch. That would still be cheaper than any channel switching tube head out there. The sovtek (at these prices) is a great value, I would recommend you get one while they're still available. I will probably use this on my band's next CD, and use it as a backup at gigs. It gets plenty loud, its compact, it's all tube, and it sounds pretty damn good.

Hi and low inputs, on and standby, low, mid, treble, presence, volume and master volume

This thing tears ass. I was using a Les Paul into high input with volume dimed and master on about three, plugged into JCM 800 cab with 75 watt Celestions...so basically I was going for good crunch/gain tone. This amp delivered it in spades....I have played the JCM 800 head that goes with the cab (it's 2205 50 w channel switching model) and have owened that amp as well as JCM 900s and Boogies and Groove Tubes. For flat out late 1970s/early 80s hard rock or punch crunch this little devil eats them all. Tone was a little bassy but I attribue this to stock Gibson pickups and 75 watt speakers...with some more refined pickups (my Hamers used Seymour Duncans) and 25 watt greenbacks this problem would disappear. I find the tone a little less sweet than on my Carvin X-100B head or than through a Marshall JMP II master volume with tube screamer, but I would buy this over any amp other than those two if I was looking for good straight ahead gain. Match it up with a good 2x12 and a Fender combo for clean/pedals and you're there. This was an older model with metal inputs and switches.

Merely shop demo so n/a

This thing fits in your glove compartment and will EAT any post 1980 Marshall...or Boogie. Shopowner liked its gain better than the $1500 Bogner Metropolitan he played yesterday. I may purchase it as a backup to my Carvin/Marshall cab rig...it doens't have reverb or effects loop by like I said A/B it with a Fender combo for clean.

This amp is a plain straight forward rock/blues amp without any fuss like reverb, effects loop or channel switching. Just the way I like it. It's got that fuck-you attitude to it. It has 2 channels, high gain and low gain. On high gain, you can get fat, bassy, JCM 800 crunch to endless sustain leads (but I prefer using an Boss OS-2 for leads) while the low gain channel offers a Jimi Hendrix type of clean sound (little wing). I use this amp mainly for crunch and lead and I use a Mesa StudioCaliber for clean tone. I use it with a Celestion GH-100 speaker. My main axes are a Fender stock strat plus. The amp is
50 watts with 2 6L6/5881's and 3 12ax7's. But the best thing about this amp to me is its size. It is only 13x8x8 inches but is as loud as any 50 watt marshall.

This amp does not have much features but with this amp's got is tone. Ballsy in your face tone. The tones of this amp can range from Jimi to Nuno to Van Halen. The amp like any marshall sounds good when cranked to at least 4-5. But I think would give it a 10 if I use a 4x12 closed-back cab since I only use a 1x12 open-back cab and tends to lack punch.

I've now been playing for 7 years and am currently building my dream rig. I've got this SOvtek for disto and a Mesa for clean. My guitars are a Strat Plus and a Custom Strat style guitar w/ DiMarzio AirZones With this rig, I can cover all of my styles ranging from Eric Clapton, SRV, Van Halen, to funk. I would buy this over a Marshall JCM
800 any time because it is one-third the size and cost of a marshall and sounds just as good.

I think the amp is of current Russian manufacture. It seems to be all tube. It has two inputs-high and low, 1 channel. It has a master volume, nonreverb. Controls are straight forward, bass, mid, treble and presence. Standby and on/off toggle switches with pilot lights. Metal grille on back. It is very compact. Outputs are 4, 8 and 16 ohm.
The circuitry has been explained as either a copy of an early Marshall or an Fender Bassman, with a Master volume added. It is very compact which is good because my space is limited. Price paid includes $30 shipping.

I have various guitars but have played it so far with a Gibson SG-X (1 pickup) and an ESP LTD M-250. It has an excellent crunch sound on the high input using the master volume. It got the Doobie Bros. China Grove tones right off with the Gibson, with the Master and the Volume at about "1". ESP didn't sound as good, but I am not so sure that guitar isn't "one-dimensional" because of the Korean Duncan Design pickups. Low input is lifeless and sounds muffled. The amp might be good for a crunchy classic rock sound, but probably is not versatile to handle jazz or folksy sounds. I wasn't able to try it before buying since no local dealers sold it.

The amp is new. Some of the components seem questionable. The hardware (handle, amp corners) are not up to Fender or Marshall standards. The amp came with a gouge in the top of the cabinet (probably from shipping) but brings into question how strong the cabinet wood is. There is a lump under the tolex which may be from poor gluing. The metal grille on the back was loose out of the box. Nothing wrong electronically so far, unless the weak sound on the low channel is some defect instead of just poor sound.

I haven't dealt with the manufacturer. Their manual was a little chintzy. The shipping carton was a little thin with no cushioning or styrofoam. I bought it from Musician's Friend (on sale) and told them about the gouge on the cabinet. They offered to either replace it or give me a $30 credit, which seemed pretty good.

I've been playing quite a while. I have a bit of equipment including Marshall tube amps and different guitars from high end to low end. I was looking for a compact amp to give me some rhythm crunch at low volume for practice. I had two 10" Marshall cabs, 16 ohm Celestions. I was able to hook up the Sovtek to one of the cabs. So far it fills the needs of a compact amp which will give a crunch at low volume. I haven't gigged with it. The high channel sounds great without a lot of noise. The low channel is not worth anything. The crunch sound at low volume is superior to my Marshalls, but the clean sound is not there at all. I may need to experiment with different speakers. I would probably buy another one if I lost this one if it was a good price, just for the rhythm sound.

I don't know the year of my head & cab. The head is finger-jointed oak and the cab is finger-jointed pine finished in a light stain. I spent about a year looking at various amps in the $800-$1500 range. What I kept finding was that the ones w/ the simplest circuitry sounded best. When I first saw the amp, at the beginning of that year, I thought it didn't have enough features. Well, I was wrong. No, the amp doesn't have E.L.'s, channel switching or a headphone jack. But, what it does have is serious balls. It would be nice if it had channel switchng, since both the clean and the drive sound good. It has no reverb,chorus or trem. Which is fine w/ me since there are plenty of pedals that do a good job. I don't care for reverb. I use this amp to play gigs in Houston and it has plenty of power.

I play a '76 LP standard and play all types of rock. I let a producer use it to record a local artist and he found it to be the most guitar friendly out of a Marshall JCM 900, Fender Vibrolux RI, and a Fender Hot Rod DeVille. They used hollow bodies, teles, and LP's. This amp is very guitar friendly. I've had no problems w/ noise. I've even changed the tubes w/o a rebias and it sounded great. The sounds of this amp range from very clean & articulate to classic overdrive (low input) to a Blues drive to a teeth kickin' in distortion. I play mine in the high input w/ the volume on about 1-2 and the master on 5-7. This lets me clean up the sound w/ my volume knob and still be able to get a really punchy overdrive. I use a FD2 & a Soulbender for texture changes. The clean channel will start to distort if you have the volume at 5-6 and the master > than 6, or so. The distortion isn't an ear ripping grind, but more of very heavy crunch when set at high gain settings. I'm really eager to see how different tubes will alter the sound.

I haven't had any problems since I bought it in March of '99. Yes, I do use it w/o a back up, but i don't tour. I'm thinking on buying another one for back up. I've taken out the chassi and the work inside actually looks very neat. The construction of the wood head and cab are very strong. The half stack looks absolutely amazing in the wood finish. The cab is built like a tank and is very heavy and very deep, which gets good bass. I e-mailed a very well known & respected amp maker from TX about this amp. He stated he thought they were the most bang for the buck. However, he recommended upgrading the power resistors.

I called to get a manual and owen calimed they didn't have any. I wasn't impressed by him at all. He came across as someone who wasn't really interested in helping me out. I think the warranty is a year. However, i would find a well known amp tech and let them fix any thing that should go wrong. It's a very simply laid out amp. I don't think a good tech would have any trouble fixing one of these.

I've been playing for 13 yrs. If it were lost or stolen I would probably by it again. There's nothing I hate about it. I do wish it had channel switching though. When i play an amp I look for responsiveness. This amp doesn't have the response of, say, a Matchless or Soldano, but for the price I don't think you can beat it. I compared it to a Soldano HR50 which had more string definition, but it was also 3x's as much. I chose this amp for its simplicity, variety of tones, and guitar friendliness. i would like to see metal jacks and a thicker gauged chassi. It would raise the price, but still worth it.

See above!

I play a Ibanez Blazer Costum.
Very good. I play Metal. I don't use the lead channel-distortion, but the low channel, with a KORG AX 30G.
The amp is very noisy at my Sovtek box, noisy enough for clubs.
It sounds well with fuzz, distortion and clean settings.
It distorts a bit at very high volumes.

I have bought the amplifier a couple of weeks ago only.

I haven't got any problems with it.

It's a great amp, for 330 DM ($US 180). Before you buy any expensive Marshall or something else, look at this amp.

Very few features, no reverb or effects loop. 2 inputs, 1 "low" and 1 "high", but these are not switchable; you're in high or you're in low.No complaints, though, as it is what it is.Hey, 30 years ago, all amps were this way, although reverb would be nice, but not really necessary I guess. There's a master volume and that's about it, but this itself doesn't make the amp undesirable.

There are basically 2 sounds: clean and high gain. Clean at moderate volumes sounds quite good when run through the Emminence speaker in the open-back cab which comes as part of my Blues Deluxe combo. Using both sc and hb pick-ups, this head sounds dull in the clean channel when used with a 2x12 closed cab w. Celestion 70W speakers. The difference is remarkable. Now, I say moderate volumes because as the master is turned up more than about 1/4, it becomes very and increasingly noisy. The pot may be one part of this problem but a good clean sound is possible for me only within these certain limitations regarding speaker/cab and limited volume. The speakers used has a great effect on the high gain channel as well. With the 2x12 Celestions, the high gain channel is practically unusable because the sound is just too distorted for practically anything I'd want to play. It sounds like a fuzz-tone with my LP. Through the single Emminince, though, this high channel sounds really good and very useful. This is the sound which people who buy this amp are actually after; sort of early Marshall. Again, the noise factor limits the volumes you'll want to try to achieve. Basically, you can get some good sounds out of it with several footnotes and limitations.

I don't trust it. Within the first week I had it, a plastic nut holding an input jack busted and I mentioned the pots. Its aggravating to have such nickle/dime parts used so that it degrades the entire product.

I put in calls twice to get some info and my calls were not returned. I decided that I didn't need to speak with them all that much anyway, but I came away with a chilly feeling.

I'd heard good things about these and the price was really right. I would not buy this amp again, however. You usually get what you pay for, more or less. These retail for TWICE what I and many others have paid, and I would absolutely recommend AGAINST buying one of these for in the $450 range. Forget it. Sure, there is some good in these, but I'd be willing to sell mine for what I paid for it. The low price is ultimately what is selling these amps IMO and I think that they're being overrated. Make sure you try it through the speakers which you plan to use it with.

This amp had everything I needed (at that point). For modern players I would give a -10 for a blues guy a 7 (no reverb or trem).

It was good strait out the box, like my old 6? bassman head (that I foolishly sold, sniff). On that I would give a 7-10 rating but I bought this baby to hot rod.

I would never use this amp without a back-up! The input jacks are just too flimsey. Then again an old one with up graded parts.....

never had deal with them

I would only buy a old one & I would also sugest the same to all my guitar playing brothers (& sisters). I bought mine thinking it would be the perfect vehicle for hot-rodding so the new p.c. board they used was a bummer. The second bummer was the jacks!!!! I am convinced those plastic jacks are the WORST jack known to all mankind. You could take one to a south american indian and even though they have never seen a jack let alone eletronic equipment (most of them) they could probably feel the cheese aura from the jack. Well,actually this isn't the real problem because half the people like their amps stock but you take a sucky jack & shitty pots (did I forget the pot also really suck) shock mount them to the board, and have it so you can't even up grade to better parts! AAAARGH! So my gutar bretheren take heed take heed and seek only the phenolic 50s , you will be much better off because of it. The End
P.S. Sovtek, If you're lisening the pots and jacks are fine and p.c. board too just leave space for those who like to up grade to better stuff and oh yeah dump the shock mount,it sucks hard.
P.S.S. rating: - googol for the new shit and maybee 10 for the much missed phenolic 50s

The features have been covered in previous reviews.

When I first got this amp, I had to try it out at low apartment-level volumes. It sounded very mediocre. Flabby and "farty" bass on some settings on my strat. Recently, though, I put in a set of Rio Grandes in my strat and I got to try this amp out in a very large room. The screamed! I loved it, lots of great-sounding bass and ballsy crunch. You really need to turn it up to get a good sound. I suppose that that's always the case, huh? The clean sounds on the low-gain input stayed pretty clean at most volumes, at least with a strat. Very quiet as well. At low volumes, the treble is sort of muffled. I don't know if this is inherent to all tube amps, as this is my first. I have not tried this amp out with a humbucker equipped guitar.

Seems very reliable.

The "manual" is cheesy. Just a paper with some basic guidelines, I think. but hey, what kind of a manual do you need for an amp this simple? The warranty is one year, I think.

For $275 new, this is a fantastic value. I don't know of any better head I could have gotten new at this price.

The amp is pretty versatile , you can get a sparkly clean tone or a Marshall Crunch and many things in between. It has no effects loop and is only one channel but who needs stuff like that whe n you have a great sounding amp like this

This amp suits my style (punk rock) very well. This amp is not noisy at all in clean mode and hardly noisy overdriven. It has apretty good variety of sounds but usually use its Marshall-like overdriven sound. The clean input distorts very little at high volume. The distortion is great it has Ultra high gain. I usually use it with the lead pickup in m y guitar

It seems pretty sturdy, I've only had it for a short time so I have to see about that.

I would buy this amp over and over again. I got it for $229. These amps are the best deal on a tube amp on the market and some of the best sounding.

Minimal Features: bass, middle, treble, presence. There is no effects loop or fancy crap on this baby, just awsome tone.

this amp must be a best kept secret. The tone is very marshallesque, pure valve sound of a jcm800 not like the shitty jcm900 marshalls with the horrible solid state distortion sound. This amp has heaps of volume and crunch and balls for such a small unit and the price is dirt cheap.

It's circuitry and construction is so simple, what can go wrong?

Haven't had to deal with them

Only one sound, but it is an outstanding sound. I would buy this again in an instant. Anyone looking for that famous marshall crunch would be stupid not to check one of these babys out first.

This is a very versitale little amp. It has separate gain and master volume. When used with little pre-amp overdrive it has a clean Fender Twinish sound. When it is driven hard it has a warm Marshally sound and packs lots of bottom end and crunch. I found the noise levels to be very low and am pleased with the way the whole unit feels.
It lacks an effects loop (what can one expect at this price?) but it has a line out 0 watts 200 amps.
I use this amp with a Mesa 2 x 12 half open cab w/ Celestion Black Shadows. It is great in the clubs and gets lots of stares and remarks. People can't get over how much sound comes out of a tiny rig. 3 12AX7s and 2 5881s are its heart. As for the comments that these have crappy switches, maybe earlier ones, but this one has nice solid steel toggles as well as edge protectors on the case. The tone knobs are a high grade bake-a-lite. The amp has the look and feel of a newly manufactured antique. It has great style and tone. I love it.

I play a fusion of punk and blues and this amp is great for that.
It is very quiet overall. The clean channel is almost silent at high volume settings.
It is pretty much two overall tones as I said earlier. Clean is sorta twinish, overdriven is marshally. You can dial in some interim flavor with the preamp gain.
Not to any large degree...I mean this IS a tube amp, but overall, this is a high quality little bugger. I think it is the amp equivilent of a VW Bug. Ugly to the point of being cute and very stout with a big heart.

I haven't had this that long, but from what I have seen and having had it apart (I can't help myself...I was the kid who took all his toys apart and put them back together) it is very simple. A couple of fat-assed coils, 3 pre-amp tubes and two mains. A few assorted capacitors and diodes...yee haw! There ain't nuthin' to get broked!

Haven't been on that ride yet...hopefully it will be an E-ticket

Yes...I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.
I love it's tone and can't help myself...it is so damn cute...I want to get my mom to knit it a little sweater and hat.
It compared very nicely for me to some used Marshalls I looked at as well as some Fender heads as well as combos. I like the fact that for under $440 I got a brand new head that has good sound on both ends of the spectrum and lots of good middle ground.
I wish it had an effects loop. I may add one. It ain't hard.
Anything else I'd like to share? Uh...I hate hair rock...punk rules

Nice tube amp. Can get a great variety of sounds, lots of warmth, low gain channel will play clean.

Acceptable noise, nice crunch, lots of bottom end. Will play loud.\ I play a wide variety of material and like the versatility of the amp and the warmth of the tubes. It has been used a lot for a year now and has been very reliable. The plastic jacks, light, etc., are easy to break, but also easy to fix.

Stone reliable.

I would buy it again because it is a lot of amp for the price. I have heard amps that I like as well, or better, but not for anywhere near this price.

This is not a versatile amp. It is really a one sound amp.

While its a "one sound amp" it is great at what it does. It is very very warm sounding. The Tube midget model 50H produces a wonderful crunch or a smooth tube overdrive. Its only problem is that its difficult to get a clean sound out of it. Any guitar will overdrive the preamp even in the low-gain channel. This is OK by me as it suit the stuff I play. The 50H has an awesome sound for slide work.

*very* reliable

I will be buying another Sovtek amp.