Sovtek

If you love to rock out these things are nothing short of epic. Russian built, point to point wiring and phenomenally loud. I had trouble for years finding a 4x12 that could handle this beastie. Peavy 5150 quad works, a 4x12 Behringer 400W works well but I recently purchased the correct Sovtek 4X12 which is rated at a whopping 600W. It makes sense now that Marshall 1960A's are hopeless with this amp. If you can get one, buy it. These should be worth well over $2000 aud. Rare as hens teeth, single channel super amp. Highly recommend.

If you are like me you have probably tried many different tubes over the years. I had a bad experience with Sovtek 12ax7 tubes in the past and found them to be very unmusical. The experience left a bad taste in my mouth for the name for years. A few years ago I took the advice of a trusted retailer who called them "One of the finest 12ax7 builds I have seen in modern production." I replaced the tubes in my preamp with them and was simply shocked at how good they really did shine. The main differences in this line of 12ax7 are denoted by the LPS in the name. It refers to the use of long plates and a spiral wound filament. These tubes produce a very rich tone across the useable frequency spectrum and are designed to reduce hum in an AC circuit. It is a quality tube in a preamp or for use as a phase inverter. Just be sure to order a tube with balanced triodes for the PI slot, but that goes for any tube in that position. The only downside to the tube is inherent to the long plate design. If you are using them in a combo where they will be subjected to high vibrations they may develop micro phonic problems quickly. They function well in all applications I have tried them in. In a clean channel they sound full and warm, while not being muddy. The mids are complex and satisfying. The highs have just enough shimmer to make them pleasurable, not harsh like some older productions from Sovtek. These tubes do especially well in a high gain situation and seem to go a bit farther than most other brand. They seem to compress a bit less and as a result offer more useable gain while retaining their tone. I find the lows to be well defined under these circumstances. The mids are well balanced, and the highs very complimentary neither smooth or harsh but just right to my taste. There are many fresh new builds available today that I will eventually get around to trying. Many of them are from the New Sensor Company which owns a lot of the branded tube companies we now have available to us. The quality from their plants has risen over the years, which is good news to all of use tube amp users. With that being said I will always have some Sovtek 12ax7LPS tubes in my tube locker whether or not they are in my amp or not. They have proven to be a valuable component to me over the past few years and is the tube I use as "the bar" when I preview others.

I first read about this amp in Guitar Player Mag, and then found one in a music store for $180, and have never looked back. I've got many amps, and this is not the one I enjoy playing quietly--it's 'quiet' (wife-friendly) tone sounds a bit flat. However, when you connect it to a 2x12 with Vintage 30s, crank it up at least half way, and run a quality humbucker-equipped quitar into it, you are in sonic heaven. This thing absolutely smokes! It really is inspiring--great tight bass, incredible crunch, more balls than a bowling alley--and only $180. The thing breaths fire when you turn it up. Like I said, it sounds a bit flat when played quietly. Almost like a "cardboard" tone, if cardboard could have a tone. Granted, this is compared to my other amps, which include a MusicMan HD 130 (another great loud amp, but clean), a Fender Vibro King, and a Fender Bassman reissue which are tone Gods when played below ear-spliting volume. But when cranked, the Sovtek takes the tone throne. I am always truely impressed with it. Tough as nails. Great bang for the buck. Doesn't do much, but if you want to Grunge-out like Neil Young at a big volume, this is a super amp. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com