What's a good used price for a Soldano Hot Rod 50?

[darkshadow54321]

I'm talking about the one channel amp...

How does it compare to other Soldanos?

Is it possible to mod it so that it becomes a two switchable channel amp? Is this what the + mod does?

[RiffRaff]

Re: What's a good used price for a Soldano Hot Rod 50?

I was checking ebay (I'm interested in one as well) and two have sold in the last month - one for $600 and the other for $725. The HR50 differs is voiced more for crunch with a tight bottom end, the XL and + models from what I've heard are higher gain than the standard with a bigger bottom end. It's not possible to switch between the hi and low inputs, plugging in to one input disables the other. Hope this answers your questions. The HR50 is a great sounding amp, it's got it's own sound but compliments any type of music where your looking for a plexi/JCM800 type crunch. From what I understand swapping the 6550 tubes out with EL34's offers up some great thick crunch tones as well.

[Gearjoneser]

Re: What's a good used price for a Soldano Hot Rod 50?

$600-$700 is a good deal for a Hotrod 50 (single channel). It's rarer to see a Hotrod 50 Plus come up for sale. That's the 2 channel version, which usually goes for closer to $1000. Soldano also makes the Lucky 13 2 ch. and Decatone, which is similar to a H&K Triamp or Ecstasy. Decatones go for $1500 used.

[mrid]

Re: What's a good used price for a Soldano Hot Rod 50?

It's rarer to see a Hotrod 50 Plus come up for sale. That's the 2 channel version, which usually goes for closer to $1000..

I've always wondered why that is??? I guess the channel switching capability makes it a keeper!

[Gearjoneser]

Re: What's a good used price for a Soldano Hot Rod 50?

MRID. How do you like the Tonemaster? I've always thought the clean channel was stellar and the gain channel is good but could be a little smoother and warmer.
You should buy a few of those 12AX7M's for the Tonemaster. I have a feeling the gain channel would be much better and the clean channel's headroom would probably come down a little. Those amps are so pure, you hear everything...maybe even the sound of your guitar's wood aging. LOL

[mrid]

Re: What's a good used price for a Soldano Hot Rod 50?

MRID. How do you like the Tonemaster? I've always thought the clean channel was stellar and the gain channel is good but could be a little smoother and warmer.
You should buy a few of those 12AX7M's for the Tonemaster. I have a feeling the gain channel would be much better and the clean channel's headroom would probably come down a little. Those amps are so pure, you hear everything...maybe even the sound of your guitar's wood aging. LOL

The Tonemaster was recently replaced with a Mesa Mark IV long head. I too loved the clean channel, but honestly the gain channel was weak. It just lacked sustain, IMO. It really is more of a blues player's amp than a rocker's. Don't get me wrong, it's a great amp, though. Also, the thing had WAY too much bass on tap. It'd make a great bass head!

[LucidInterval]

Re: What's a good used price for a Soldano Hot Rod 50?

I think the XL just has more bass.

[Gearjoneser]

Re: What's a good used price for a Soldano Hot Rod 50?

The Tonemaster was recently replaced with a Mesa Mark IV long head. I too loved the clean channel, but honestly the gain channel was weak. It just lacked sustain, IMO. It really is more of a blues player's amp than a rocker's. Don't get me wrong, it's a great amp, though. Also, the thing had WAY too much bass on tap. It'd make a great bass head!

I think that's why the Tonemaster never caught on like the Vibroking. Everytime I've plugged into a Tonemaster, I've thought the clean channel was huge, but the gain channel sounded harsh, and like you said, had very little sustain. I was wondering how you'd get along with that amp. Remember when Ritchie Sambora was using Tonemasters? That was the worst tone he's ever had. He finally went back to Marshall.

That Mesa you bought is pretty killer. Is it doing everything you expect?
Does Mesa still make that head? It was one of the best ones.

[mrid]

Re: What's a good used price for a Soldano Hot Rod 50?

That Mesa you bought is pretty killer. Is it doing everything you expect?
Does Mesa still make that head? It was one of the best ones.

Yep! I love it! I'm a tweaker at heart, so I'm loving all these little knobs. I put some R9 Shuguangs pres in it and JJ EL34L's running in class A, and I'm pretty happy with it. Mesa still makes the IV, but I could never afford the sticker price on one of these babies new!

BTW...sorry for the darkshadow54321...