Novik Red Bear MKE 60 Review

History: Gibson USA. Decades as musician, recording, producing. Play guitar, bass, organ keyboards, vocals. Song composition, arranger. Recording engineer.

Purchase: Got the MKE 60 in a trade from a bass player who needed a bass amp.

What I Like About This Unit: The MKE 60 has an unusual yet highly usable tone. It's a different sound from the regular amps commonly used like Marshall. Perhaps like a blend of Marshall and a Soldano.The bass response is strong on this amp and attenuation is key. A great tube sound of another quality. Has basic features like preamp, master, trebel, middle, bass and presence. A dual input with diffferent impedances and a sensitivity switch that alters the gain and can be controlled remotely by an external foot switch. Takes pedals well on the input. It has an effects loop that uses tube circuitry and with a db switch for sends to pedals. Impedance outputs for 4, 8, 16 ohm speakers. Good ventilation with metal screens. Cabinet well made.

What I Do NOT Like About The Novik Red Bear MKE 60: The company is now deffunct as Gibson dropped the line. Parts are hard to find. It uses unusual tubes made in Russia. No company support and Gibson did not retain parts or schematic information. Does not take distortion pedals or wahs on the efffects loop.

Red Bear MKE 60 Quality: Hard miltiply plywood cabinet, corners, sturdy feet and handle. Point to point hand wiring, all tube. Tube holders on all tubes.

Summary: Great amp for a different tone. Takes humbuckers as well as single coils. Gets a good sound at low volumes. Good sustain on power chords, cleans up well with volume roll off on guitar. Pedals like this amp

Rating of this product: 5

This Novik Guitar Amplifiers Review Submitted By: Amp hunter

Date: 2008-03-13