Sovtek is a brand of

vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied. The type kn ...

owned by Mike Matthews's New Sensor Corporation and manufactured in

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. They are often used in

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

amplification and include versions of the popular

12AX7 12AX7 (also known as ECC83) is a miniature dual-triode 6AV6 vacuum tube with high voltage gain. Developed around 1946 by RCA engineers in Camden, New Jersey, under developmental number A-4522, it was released for public sale under the 12AX7 ident ...

EL84 The EL84 is a vacuum tube of the power pentode type. It is used in the power-output-stages of audio-amplifiers, most commonly now in guitar amplifiers, but originally in radios. The EL84 is smaller and more sensitive than the octal 6V6 that was ...

EL34 The EL34 is a thermionic vacuum tube of the power pentode type. The EL34 was introduced in 1955 by Mullard, who were owned by Philips. The EL34 has an octal base (indicated by the '3' in the part number) and is found mainly in the final output st ...

, and

6L6 6L6 is the designator for a beam power tube introduced by Radio Corporation of America in April 1936 and marketed for application as a power amplifier for audio frequencies.J. F. Dreyer Jr."The Beam Power Output Tube" New York: McGraw-Hill, ''Ele ...

vacuum tubes. Many of the vacuum-tube amplifiers in modern production are factory-fitted with Sovtek valves. Originally, Sovtek guitar amplifier valves were claimed to have been descendants of earlier wartime Russian-made components and carried blast proof capabilities. This, however, was later dispelled as urban myth, attributed to a sales person who promoted early product at music industry trade shows worldwide. In the 1990s, Sovtek also manufactured tube amplifiers at factories in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, and

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

. Several models were offered for guitar and bass. Sovtek brand speaker cabinets fitted with US-made Eminence speakers were also offered. At the same time, Sovtek manufactured variants of several effects pedals already manufactured in New York City, USA by

Electro-Harmonix Electro-Harmonix (also commonly referred to as EHX) is a New York City-based company that makes electronic audio processors and sells rebranded vacuum tubes. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. It is best known for a series of gu ...

, another company owned by Mike Matthews. Sovtek released versions of the Electro-Harmonix

Big Muff The Big Muff Pi (π), often known simply as the Big Muff, is a fuzzbox produced in New York City by the Electro-Harmonix company, along with their Russian sister company Sovtek, primarily for use with the electric guitar. It is used by bassists a ...

and Small Stone pedals. Those pedals, along with the Bass Balls pedal, were later manufactured in both the US and Russia, under the Electro-Harmonix name; manufacturing in Russia was later discontinued. Sovtek was used only as a brand name for vacuum tubes distributed by the New Sensor Corporation.

References

{{reflist Vacuum tubes Guitar amplification tubes