Just received my Sovtek Midget 50H....

3StringGuitar · April 1st, 2006, 03:44 PM

**Edit**
Ok so I just received this amp about 20 minutes ago and have been playing it for about 15 minutes, aside from a stratchy pot or 2 and a little rust it seems like it's in amazing condition. I'll hopefully be able to do a tube swap in the next few months. Not sure of the preamp tubes but the power section is 2 Sovtek 6L6's, they look original so I'm guessing the preamps are original too. First thing I noticed was this sucker is HEAVEY! The two trannies look like they could take a beating lol.
On to sound. So my set up is a Gibson Melody Maker RI, Carvin 4x10 cab loaded with Jensen C10Q RI's. I played straight into the head with no effects. Now mind you haven't gotten a chance to crank this baby, it gets LOUD fast. I never knew 50 watts could be so loud. Either way I'm in love with the low gain channel. I've never played thru either a bassman or a JCM800 so I can't really comment on wether the high and low sound like them. The high does have plenty of gain though. The low with the pre cranked has a nice growl to it that a distortion or fuzz would compliment very nicely. The EQ honestly doesn't seem like it does a whole lot to the over all tone of it. I find I like most amps with the treble and mid cranked and the bass around 2 or 3 o'clock. The Pressence knob seems to almost act as a treble boost of sorts. With the at 0 it almost seems like it makes the amp slighly muddy and with it at 10 it's alot more definded. Mind you I've never had an amp with a presence knob on it so maybe that's how it's supposed to work? I'm itching to get inside this thing and see if I can find a date anywhere in it. I know it's been moded at least once, all the jacks and switches have been changed to metal ones. I'm the 3rd owner of it. Either way it runs seemingly quiet, like I said I haven't cranked it yet. I'll hopefully be able to invest in some JJ's soon. One quick question tho, there appears to be a voltage pot in the back for 100, 120, 230 and 240. Is this in fact a voltage switch? What exactly does it do?

....off ebay :) This will be my first real, quality tube amp. I owned a Pro Jr. for a while and like it but needed something more to go with my 4x10 cab and I think this is the ticket. I've played one or two Sovtek amps in the past and loved them, neither were the Midget, but it gets a great review and everyone seems to love them. With the rising price of them too I think I got a good deal on it. I do think it was modified tho, all the jack and switches are metal and I believe stock ones came plastic. I'll keep you all up to date when I get it and such, give you a quick review. Hopefully by then I'll have my Stratocaster back. As it stands now my set up is:
Gibson Melody Maker RI > Boss FX-3 > Sovtek Midget 50 > Carvin 4x10 w/ Jensen C10Q's.
Between the 6L6 amp, 10" Jensen's and P-90 I should be pretty darn close to the "Jack White, garage rock" tone.
Anyone have any thoughts on all this? :D

Scott S · April 1st, 2006, 03:56 PM

Grats! I know of a semi-local band that uses a Midget-50. Decent sound, from what I could hear. :)

3StringGuitar · April 2nd, 2006, 01:19 AM

Heh thanks :) I'm wondering if anyone knows of a mod I'm looking for. It was mentioned by a reviewer on Harmony Central. I guess, stock, you can't a/b the high and low, he said thier's a mod for it but never emailed me back about information so I'm hoping someone on here knows about it. Maybe it's not even worth it? I was hoping to kinda go from a clean to crunchy sound by a/bing it.

Scott S · April 2nd, 2006, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3StringGuitar

Heh thanks :) I'm wondering if anyone knows of a mod I'm looking for. It was mentioned by a reviewer on Harmony Central. I guess, stock, you can't a/b the high and low, he said thier's a mod for it but never emailed me back about information so I'm hoping someone on here knows about it. Maybe it's not even worth it? I was hoping to kinda go from a clean to crunchy sound by a/bing it.

I saw a couple people mentioning it. Here's the schem for the stock circuit, should be pretty easy to mod: http://www.blueguitar.org/new/schem/sovtek/mig-50h.gif

3StringGuitar · April 2nd, 2006, 03:51 PM

Thanks for the circuit layout. Maybe I'll try running it past my brother to see if he can come up with a mod for it. I'm not to privy on that sort of thing.

Tim Armstrong · April 2nd, 2006, 04:00 PM

In the past, I had great results with a simple $20 DOD A/B pedal. I still use it to switch from my amp to my tuner...

Cheers, Tim

3StringGuitar · April 2nd, 2006, 04:55 PM

I actually own one of thoes. Problem is, altho I haven't personally tried it on this amp yet is that it's wired so that you can only use one input at a time so it doesn't allow for A/Bing it. I know there is a mod for it out there tho, I've heard a few people talk about it but so far I haven't found any info on it. Ultimatly it might not even be worth doing. Thanks everyone though :)

Edit...Would anyone have any ideas how to date one of these amps?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sovtek-Tube-Midg...QQcmdZViewItem

Deacon Blues · April 4th, 2006, 10:46 PM

pedal should get you there easy enough.

3StringGuitar · April 5th, 2006, 12:13 AM

Thanks, yeah once I get it in hand I'll try hooking up an A/B to it. Like I said tho everything I've read/been told an A/B won't work with the amp. I know there's a mod to cure this, I just can't seem to find it anywhere.

Scott S · April 5th, 2006, 12:22 AM

Tim and Deacon, study the schematic a little. If I'm reading it right, plugging anything into the low-gain channel will break the circuit on the high-gain channel so it won't work no matter where the A/B switch is set.

I'm not sure how I'd rewire that, short of installing a relay to manage the connections.

Tim Armstrong · April 5th, 2006, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott S

Tim and Deacon, study the schematic a little.

I'm flattered that you think I can read a schematic!!!

:D

Cheers, Tim

3StringGuitar · April 5th, 2006, 12:43 AM

I'm with Tim on this one. I have a brother who knows this stuff pretty well so I'm hoping maybe he can. Someone on Harmony Central in a review said it was an easy fix. I emailed them but never got a response :( Thanks for letting me know how the circuit works though. Maybe I can ask around. I don't know any good techs in my area and well won't be living here much longer anyways.

"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!"

There's the quote so it does sound like it is in fact an easy mod. I'll try contacting him again I suppose.

Scott S · April 5th, 2006, 02:43 AM

Be sure to let us know how the mod goes, 3string. :)

The amp looks almost exactly like a Bassman circuit (rectifier aside), except that the Bassman uses each half of the first 12AX7 to power two inputs (for a total of four). Here, the other half of the 12AX7 is used as an extra gain stage. When you plug into the low-gain input, you're essentially bypassing the first gain stage and heading straight for the second.

If I were Sovtek, I would've built a low/high gain footswitch into the amp and just had one input jack. That's how we all assume it should work.

But did they consult me first? 8)

3StringGuitar · April 5th, 2006, 02:40 PM

Thanks for explaining the cirtcuit a bit. Yeah all the reviews say the low is like a bassman and the high like a JCM800. I'm looking forward to pluging in and cranking it though

I'll be sure and do a little review on here, I should be getting it by Monday I believe.

Pierce · April 7th, 2006, 02:57 PM

the midget's are a nightmare to work on...

3StringGuitar · April 7th, 2006, 04:05 PM

Any reason? I haven't actully ever seen a picture of the guts come to think of it.

3StringGuitar · April 10th, 2006, 06:35 PM

Ok so I just received this amp about 20 minutes ago and have been playing it for about 15 minutes, aside from a stratchy pot or 2 and a little rust it seems like it's in amazing condition. I'll hopefully be able to do a tube swap in the next few months. Not sure of the preamp tubes but the power section is 2 Sovtek 6L6's, they look original so I'm guessing the preamps are original too. First thing I noticed was this sucker is HEAVEY! The two trannies look like they could take a beating lol.
On to sound. So my set up is a Gibson Melody Maker RI, Carvin 4x10 cab loaded with Jensen C10Q RI's. I played straight into the head with no effects. Now mind you haven't gotten a chance to crank this baby, it gets LOUD fast. I never knew 50 watts could be so loud. Either way I'm in love with the low gain channel. I've never played thru either a bassman or a JCM800 so I can't really comment on wether the high and low sound like them. The high does have plenty of gain though. The low with the pre cranked has a nice growl to it that a distortion or fuzz would compliment very nicely. The EQ honestly doesn't seem like it does a whole lot to the over all tone of it. I find I like most amps with the treble and mid cranked and the bass around 2 or 3 o'clock. The Pressence knob seems to almost act as a treble boost of sorts. With the at 0 it almost seems like it makes the amp slighly muddy and with it at 10 it's alot more definded. Mind you I've never had an amp with a presence knob on it so maybe that's how it's supposed to work? I'm itching to get inside this thing and see if I can find a date anywhere in it. I know it's been moded at least once, all the jacks and switches have been changed to metal ones. I'm the 3rd owner of it. Either way it runs seemingly quiet, like I said I haven't cranked it yet. I'll hopefully be able to invest in some JJ's soon. One quick question tho, there appears to be a voltage pot in the back for 100, 120, 230 and 240. Is this in fact a voltage switch? What exactly does it do?

Scott S · April 10th, 2006, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3StringGuitar

Ok so I just received this amp about 20 minutes ago and have been playing it for about 15 minutes, aside from a stratchy pot or 2 and a little rust it seems like it's in amazing condition. I'll hopefully be able to do a tube swap in the next few months. Not sure of the preamp tubes but the power section is 2 Sovtek 6L6's, they look original so I'm guessing the preamps are original too. First thing I noticed was this sucker is HEAVEY! The two trannies look like they could take a beating lol.
On to sound. So my set up is a Gibson Melody Maker RI, Carvin 4x10 cab loaded with Jensen C10Q RI's. I played straight into the head with no effects. Now mind you haven't gotten a chance to crank this baby, it gets LOUD fast. I never knew 50 watts could be so loud. Either way I'm in love with the low gain channel. I've never played thru either a bassman or a JCM800 so I can't really comment on wether the high and low sound like them. The high does have plenty of gain though. The low with the pre cranked has a nice growl to it that a distortion or fuzz would compliment very nicely. The EQ honestly doesn't seem like it does a whole lot to the over all tone of it. I find I like most amps with the treble and mid cranked and the bass around 2 or 3 o'clock. The Pressence knob seems to almost act as a treble boost of sorts. With the at 0 it almost seems like it makes the amp slighly muddy and with it at 10 it's alot more definded. Mind you I've never had an amp with a presence knob on it so maybe that's how it's supposed to work? I'm itching to get inside this thing and see if I can find a date anywhere in it. I know it's been moded at least once, all the jacks and switches have been changed to metal ones. I'm the 3rd owner of it. Either way it runs seemingly quiet, like I said I haven't cranked it yet. I'll hopefully be able to invest in some JJ's soon. One quick question tho, there appears to be a voltage pot in the back for 100, 120, 230 and 240. Is this in fact a voltage switch? What exactly does it do?

Neat! Most people don't realize that (all other variables aside) 50 watts is only 3dB quieter than 100, not "half" as one would assume. The voltage pot is so that you can take the amp to other countries and be able to deal with their power supply. I'd leave it on 120.

BTW, Fender/VOX/Marshall-style tone controls interact with each other, so as you twist the knobs, it's not exactly doing what it does on your stereo: http://www.pentodepress.com/tonestack.html

Good luck! Take some more pictures, post some soundclips...

April 1st, 2006, 03:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
3StringGuitar Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 623	Just received my Sovtek Midget 50H.... Edit Ok so I just received this amp about 20 minutes ago and have been playing it for about 15 minutes, aside from a stratchy pot or 2 and a little rust it seems like it's in amazing condition. I'll hopefully be able to do a tube swap in the next few months. Not sure of the preamp tubes but the power section is 2 Sovtek 6L6's, they look original so I'm guessing the preamps are original too. First thing I noticed was this sucker is HEAVEY! The two trannies look like they could take a beating lol. On to sound. So my set up is a Gibson Melody Maker RI, Carvin 4x10 cab loaded with Jensen C10Q RI's. I played straight into the head with no effects. Now mind you haven't gotten a chance to crank this baby, it gets LOUD fast. I never knew 50 watts could be so loud. Either way I'm in love with the low gain channel. I've never played thru either a bassman or a JCM800 so I can't really comment on wether the high and low sound like them. The high does have plenty of gain though. The low with the pre cranked has a nice growl to it that a distortion or fuzz would compliment very nicely. The EQ honestly doesn't seem like it does a whole lot to the over all tone of it. I find I like most amps with the treble and mid cranked and the bass around 2 or 3 o'clock. The Pressence knob seems to almost act as a treble boost of sorts. With the at 0 it almost seems like it makes the amp slighly muddy and with it at 10 it's alot more definded. Mind you I've never had an amp with a presence knob on it so maybe that's how it's supposed to work? I'm itching to get inside this thing and see if I can find a date anywhere in it. I know it's been moded at least once, all the jacks and switches have been changed to metal ones. I'm the 3rd owner of it. Either way it runs seemingly quiet, like I said I haven't cranked it yet. I'll hopefully be able to invest in some JJ's soon. One quick question tho, there appears to be a voltage pot in the back for 100, 120, 230 and 240. Is this in fact a voltage switch? What exactly does it do? ....off ebay :) This will be my first real, quality tube amp. I owned a Pro Jr. for a while and like it but needed something more to go with my 4x10 cab and I think this is the ticket. I've played one or two Sovtek amps in the past and loved them, neither were the Midget, but it gets a great review and everyone seems to love them. With the rising price of them too I think I got a good deal on it. I do think it was modified tho, all the jack and switches are metal and I believe stock ones came plastic. I'll keep you all up to date when I get it and such, give you a quick review. Hopefully by then I'll have my Stratocaster back. As it stands now my set up is: Gibson Melody Maker RI > Boss FX-3 > Sovtek Midget 50 > Carvin 4x10 w/ Jensen C10Q's. Between the 6L6 amp, 10" Jensen's and P-90 I should be pretty darn close to the "Jack White, garage rock" tone. Anyone have any thoughts on all this? :D

April 2nd, 2006, 04:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
Tim Armstrong Moderator Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Berlin, Maryland, USA Age: 49 Posts: 10,262	In the past, I had great results with a simple $20 DOD A/B pedal. I still use it to switch from my amp to my tuner... Cheers, Tim __________________ http://www.moodswingers.org

April 4th, 2006, 10:46 PM	#8 (permalink)
Deacon Blues Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Northern New Mexico Posts: 498	A Morely A/B/Y pedal should get you there easy enough. __________________ This is the age of the expanding man.

April 7th, 2006, 02:57 PM	#15 (permalink)
Pierce Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: skull island Posts: 471	just a heads up.. the midget's are a nightmare to work on...

April 1st, 2006, 03:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
Scott S Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: SW CR IA US NA PE Age: 28 Posts: 1,916	Grats! I know of a semi-local band that uses a Midget-50. Decent sound, from what I could hear. :)

April 2nd, 2006, 01:19 AM	#3 (permalink)
3StringGuitar Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 623	Heh thanks :) I'm wondering if anyone knows of a mod I'm looking for. It was mentioned by a reviewer on Harmony Central. I guess, stock, you can't a/b the high and low, he said thier's a mod for it but never emailed me back about information so I'm hoping someone on here knows about it. Maybe it's not even worth it? I was hoping to kinda go from a clean to crunchy sound by a/bing it.

April 2nd, 2006, 03:51 PM	#5 (permalink)
3StringGuitar Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 623	Thanks for the circuit layout. Maybe I'll try running it past my brother to see if he can come up with a mod for it. I'm not to privy on that sort of thing.

April 2nd, 2006, 04:55 PM	#7 (permalink)
3StringGuitar Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 623	I actually own one of thoes. Problem is, altho I haven't personally tried it on this amp yet is that it's wired so that you can only use one input at a time so it doesn't allow for A/Bing it. I know there is a mod for it out there tho, I've heard a few people talk about it but so far I haven't found any info on it. Ultimatly it might not even be worth doing. Thanks everyone though :) Edit...Would anyone have any ideas how to date one of these amps? http://cgi.ebay.com/Sovtek-Tube-Midg...QQcmdZViewItem

April 5th, 2006, 12:13 AM	#9 (permalink)
3StringGuitar Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 623	Thanks, yeah once I get it in hand I'll try hooking up an A/B to it. Like I said tho everything I've read/been told an A/B won't work with the amp. I know there's a mod to cure this, I just can't seem to find it anywhere.

April 5th, 2006, 12:22 AM	#10 (permalink)
Scott S Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: SW CR IA US NA PE Age: 28 Posts: 1,916	Tim and Deacon, study the schematic a little. If I'm reading it right, plugging anything into the low-gain channel will break the circuit on the high-gain channel so it won't work no matter where the A/B switch is set. I'm not sure how I'd rewire that, short of installing a relay to manage the connections.

April 5th, 2006, 12:43 AM	#12 (permalink)
3StringGuitar Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 623	I'm with Tim on this one. I have a brother who knows this stuff pretty well so I'm hoping maybe he can. Someone on Harmony Central in a review said it was an easy fix. I emailed them but never got a response :( Thanks for letting me know how the circuit works though. Maybe I can ask around. I don't know any good techs in my area and well won't be living here much longer anyways. "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!" There's the quote so it does sound like it is in fact an easy mod. I'll try contacting him again I suppose.

April 5th, 2006, 02:43 AM	#13 (permalink)
Scott S Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: SW CR IA US NA PE Age: 28 Posts: 1,916	Be sure to let us know how the mod goes, 3string. :) The amp looks almost exactly like a Bassman circuit (rectifier aside), except that the Bassman uses each half of the first 12AX7 to power two inputs (for a total of four). Here, the other half of the 12AX7 is used as an extra gain stage. When you plug into the low-gain input, you're essentially bypassing the first gain stage and heading straight for the second. If I were Sovtek, I would've built a low/high gain footswitch into the amp and just had one input jack. That's how we all assume it should work. But did they consult me first? 8)

April 5th, 2006, 02:40 PM	#14 (permalink)
3StringGuitar Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 623	Thanks for explaining the cirtcuit a bit. Yeah all the reviews say the low is like a bassman and the high like a JCM800. I'm looking forward to pluging in and cranking it though I'll be sure and do a little review on here, I should be getting it by Monday I believe.

April 7th, 2006, 04:05 PM	#16 (permalink)
3StringGuitar Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 623	Any reason? I haven't actully ever seen a picture of the guts come to think of it.

April 10th, 2006, 06:35 PM	#17 (permalink)
3StringGuitar Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 623	Ok so I just received this amp about 20 minutes ago and have been playing it for about 15 minutes, aside from a stratchy pot or 2 and a little rust it seems like it's in amazing condition. I'll hopefully be able to do a tube swap in the next few months. Not sure of the preamp tubes but the power section is 2 Sovtek 6L6's, they look original so I'm guessing the preamps are original too. First thing I noticed was this sucker is HEAVEY! The two trannies look like they could take a beating lol. On to sound. So my set up is a Gibson Melody Maker RI, Carvin 4x10 cab loaded with Jensen C10Q RI's. I played straight into the head with no effects. Now mind you haven't gotten a chance to crank this baby, it gets LOUD fast. I never knew 50 watts could be so loud. Either way I'm in love with the low gain channel. I've never played thru either a bassman or a JCM800 so I can't really comment on wether the high and low sound like them. The high does have plenty of gain though. The low with the pre cranked has a nice growl to it that a distortion or fuzz would compliment very nicely. The EQ honestly doesn't seem like it does a whole lot to the over all tone of it. I find I like most amps with the treble and mid cranked and the bass around 2 or 3 o'clock. The Pressence knob seems to almost act as a treble boost of sorts. With the at 0 it almost seems like it makes the amp slighly muddy and with it at 10 it's alot more definded. Mind you I've never had an amp with a presence knob on it so maybe that's how it's supposed to work? I'm itching to get inside this thing and see if I can find a date anywhere in it. I know it's been moded at least once, all the jacks and switches have been changed to metal ones. I'm the 3rd owner of it. Either way it runs seemingly quiet, like I said I haven't cranked it yet. I'll hopefully be able to invest in some JJ's soon. One quick question tho, there appears to be a voltage pot in the back for 100, 120, 230 and 240. Is this in fact a voltage switch? What exactly does it do?