Dr.Mavashi
neonderthalotonalogist
Ok, so out of a blue I found out that I have a rehearsal on Thursday and first day, out of two, studio recording session on the 20th. So I went to San Fran GC for some strings and picks. That place looks weird, never saw so little guitars there in almost 16 years that I’ve been going there. Stratocaster inventory was pretty pathetic. I mean, only one Super High Way Strat … But looks like they had more amps than guitars. I saw Blackstar amps, LineS/Bogner stuff, and some other names I’ve never heard of before, and looks like I saw two of every Mesa that there is. Of course, there were also mandatory JCM800 RIs, Vintage Moderns, JVM, Hendrix Plexis RIs and MGs. But I was there for Soldano, really. So first I’ve tried an SLO with the normal/bright and overdrive/normal switches, or something like that, no depth knob. I was not impressed, nice – but kind of dull, like a strat with tone knob off to 0. Then I’ve tried Avenger …. That was pretty darn good. Almost loved it. Really nice, delicate, I would say elegant and ecsquisite high gain tone. Responsiveness was great, really flexible Gain knob, depth knob was a super variable or a complement to offset the Bass/Presence relationship. But two things bugged me. First why does it have to be a 100 watter, the thing is ridiculously loud, you would not even turn it up past 3 o’clock in the club! Why not make a 50 watt version? Second for as good of an amp it was $1899 for a head with no cleans? I mean my Laney AOR pushed with Spina TS9 can get 90 percent of the gain of the Avenger and it offers a phenomenal clean channel!!! SLO’s cleans were blah …. Nothing to write home about really, and that thing was close to 4K !!! I walked out proud of my AOR once again, and really puzzled about the fact that SLO’s circuit (and an Avenger is really a simplified SLO circuit with a depth knob) suppose to be very close to 5150’s circuit - but I just can’t hear it, to my ears Avenger was much more of a delicate, less harsh refined high gainer than a wall of doom 5150 …. That’s it for the rant.
