A servo motor control circuit for a video signal playback apparatus including a wave-shaping circuit, a speed error detector, a first filtering circuit for filtering torque ripple components of servo motor speed error signals characterized in that the gain in much higher in a low frequency band than in any other frequency band, a second filtering circuit for attenuating the low frequency gain of signals output from the first filtering circuit, a phase error detector, an adder, and a motor controller, resulting in a decrease in low frequency band phase distortion and a decrease in the time required for servo motor stabilization.