Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

[Guitar Toad]

I've been comparing Clapton's live tones from two of his live albums: Just One Night and 24 Nights. Both are great albums...I like the 24 Nights tone much better. My understanding is that he used Soldano Amps along with the Gold lace sensor pickups. The 24 Nights kinda tone is what I want with my strat.

The SLO-100 ($3400) with a Soldano slant 4x12 cabinet ($1000) is a $4500 package. I'm just don't need to or want to spend that much. That would be my dream set up. Then if continued dreaming add a '65 Fender Blackface Super Reverb and a '65 Princeton Reverb and my lifetime dream package would be complete. It is New Years Eve...it's a good time to dream ain't it?

I'm putting my shopping list together for the new year...I want an amp head with a 2x12 cabinet. I've seen the Soldano Astroverb and it is very attractive. The Astroverb is $1099 and is probably worth every penny. However, I'd like to get a <50w head + 2x12cab for under 1k. Is that a reasonable budget? I've never personally played a Soldano but it they're good enough for EC and Knopfler, then I'm sure they're good enough or me. I know that some of you would say save until you can buy what you really want. That's good advice. We'll see how the job market treats me over the next few weeks.

Is my budget reasonable? I'm probably gonna need to settle for a Laney or maybe I which I hear great things.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

Maybe a yamaha T series...T50 or T100

 

[jmh151]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

I love that tone also. It's also the amp EVH used live for some time...

The cheapest way to get a Soldano SL-100 tone on a budget?? Get a Line 6 amp or modeler. It does a great job on the SL-100, as well a Mesa Dual Rectifier...

That's the closest you'll get without buying a Soldano SL-100

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

The SLO lead tone is amazing for sure. Knopfler is on to Komet amps now I believe, although he has whatever he wants at his disposal.

$1000 for a decent tube head AND 2x12 is probalby a strech. It can be done, but you'll have to make compromises on either the head or the cab at that price. Avitar probably builds the best 2x12 for the money, and you can get one of those loaded for just under $400 I believe...so that leaves you $600 for the head. Will $600 give you your dream head? Only you can answer that.

Do you want a one channel head, or a two channel? I prefer 2, but am getting ready to experience a one channel on a regular basis hopefully in the next few months. I think something with really nice cleans is a must, and then go from there. Getting your dirt from the amp is nice and preferable (at least to me) but there are so many good distortion units out there that your choices are almost unlimited.

If you get something with good cleans, look at investing in a used Boss GT-6. I bought one new for $399 about 4 years ago, and it's the single best investment in amp/pedal gear that I've made. It has a Soldano SLO 100 amp model that is PHENOMONAL. It's my favorite patch in the whole pedal.

The Soldano Decatone is supposed to be a great amp also, but slightly more than your budget. Maybe a Hot Rod 50+?

At this point I'm just rambling.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

Oh- the combination of the lace sensors and midrange booster on Clapton's signature strat are also a big part of his tone played through the Soldano

 

[Guitar Toad]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

Ya I realize that I'm NOT gonna get my dream rig my budget. But, Hopefully I can get a usable set up. I'll give the HotRod 50+ a look. I may have to go with a combo and later get a nice extension cab to go with it.

I'll see if I can find an early Yamaha T-50. Yamaha didn't make them the way he designed them. But the early ones were closer than the later models. I didn't know Soldano designed anything for Yamaha...thanks I learned another nugget of info from Christian. Thanks

 

[Guitar Toad]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

Oh- the combination of the lace sensors and midrange booster on Clapton's signature strat are also a big part of his tone played through the Soldano

I was wondering about that very thing. I realize that I'm not gonna sound just like EC. I would like to try a set of those Gold Lace Sensor pups to see what they are like.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

Todd,

Maybe I should have said more...

The T series Yamaha amps were designed by Mike Soldano and while they are not exactally like an SLO-100 I have gotten some very good (and very SLO type) of tones out of them. I think a t series woudl be a far better choice for the tone you are looking for than a Laney or a new Traynor or a just about anything else I can think of right now.

They were 2 channel amps (channel switching) with built in reverb (very nice verb IMO). They have 2 completely seperate tone stacks (one for each channel) and one or 2 push/pull features.

There was a 100 watt head and a 50 watt 1x12 combo that I know of...if you want a head get the T-100 and a cab and roll with it...both channels have a master volume so you can can lots of different tones at different levels.

The last T-100 on Ebay sold buy it now for $450, and the last T50 combo sold for less than that! at that price you could snag a head and a 2x12 cab from Avatar with your choice of lots of different speakers for under a grand no problem.

 

[Guitar Toad]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

Todd,

Maybe I should have said more...

The T series Yamaha amps were designed by Mike Soldano and while they are not exactally like an SLO-100 I have gotten some very good (and very SLO type) of tones out of them. I think a t series woudl be a far better choice for the tone you are looking for than a Laney or a new Traynor or a just about anything else I can think of right now.

They were 2 channel amps (channel switching) with built in reverb (very nice verb IMO). They have 2 completely seperate tone stacks (one for each channel) and one or 2 push/pull features.

There was a 100 watt head and a 50 watt 1x12 combo that I know of...if you want a head get the T-100 and a cab and roll with it...both channels have a master volume so you can can lots of different tones at different levels.

The last T-100 on Ebay sold buy it now for $450, and the last T50 combo sold for less than that! at that price you could snag a head and a 2x12 cab from Avatar with your choice of lots of different speakers for under a grand no problem.

After you posted I googled and found this Ask Mike Soldano. MS apparently wasn't real happy with what Yamaha did with his design. But it's encouraging that he says they can be modded back to his design.

Thanks for the additional info on those amps. I'll watch ebay and see what I can find. If I could find a T-50 or T-100 for under $450 then I would be half way there. That would be very cool.

 

[devastone]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

I've had a T100C and a HR50+, I would go with the HR50+ or HR100 if you can swing it. The Yamaha(s) and the Soldano(s) are great sounding amps, I don't think you would be disappointed with either. All of them are derivatives of the SLO design, the HRs are basically SLOs with more economical parts, not cheap, just mass produced parts instead of some of the custom ones.

Any of those would get you closer than a modeler IMHO, as long as you can play at a decent volume, none of them are bedroom amps.

 

[Dan-ola]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

I had a T50 combo and Soldano will still work on them and answer questions as well, guess since his name is associated he will support them. Sweet amp man, that is one I really miss, especially the crunch tones!

Dano

 

[jerryjg]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

the only question I would have is, even though Saldano is supposed to be a great amp; have you tried the Bogner, Matchless, Mesa, Bad Cat ..even Peavey and Randall or many of the other custom builders? They are all high gain amps, and it gives you a bit of latitiude as far as price and availability. I have heard that the Bogner Shiva is a great amp, but the Ubershall is about the best.

 

[Aden]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

for 2x12s keep an eye on ebay, I regularly see Avatar 2x12s loaded with various speaker types sell for between $200-$300, I got one myself for $215.

 

[Osensei]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

Try the Mesa Boogie Lonestar series next time you go to a shop. Let me know what you think of those.

Don't get too hung up on gear man! A lot of cats play what they play and say what they say cuz the equipment mfgrs pay what they pay! LOL! It's like you can't play basketball like Micheal Jordan unless you wear Nike! LOL! Your tone is more about the way you touch your guitar, how you put phrases together. In other words, its about how you speak!

The equipment helps, but only so much! Without soul what can the equipment do for you? It would be a real shame for you to invest many thousands of dollars in guitars, amps and gear only to be blown away by some cat playing an old funky Fender Mustang on an old ricketty Blackface! LOL!

 

[joelap]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

Don't get too hung up on gear man! A lot of cats play what they play and say what they say cuz the equipment mfgrs pay what they pay! LOL! It's like you can't play basketball like Micheal Jordan unless you wear Nike! LOL! Your tone is more about the way you touch your guitar, how you put phrases together. In other words, its about how you speak!

The equipment helps, but only so much! Without soul what can the equipment do for you? It would be a real shame for you to invest many thousands of dollars in guitars, amps and gear only to be blown away by some cat playing an old funky Fender Mustang on an old ricketty Blackface! LOL!

Quite possibly the post of the century.

Christian, I almost forgot about those T series amps. One of these days I'll snag one up. I'm sure there's a way to mod them to SLO-100 specs somehow... maybe the iron wouldnt be as good but possibly make the circuit the same?

 

[devastone]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

the only question I would have is, even though Saldano is supposed to be a great amp; have you tried the Bogner, Matchless, Mesa, Bad Cat ..even Peavey and Randall or many of the other custom builders? They are all high gain amps, and it gives you a bit of latitiude as far as price and availability. I have heard that the Bogner Shiva is a great amp, but the Ubershall is about the best.

His budget is in the $1K range, Bogner, Matchless, and Bad Cat will all be well over $2K used. The Uberschall is the best metal amp that Bogner makes, but he's looking for Clapton tones, that would be more in the Shiva, or better, the Ecstacy range, but still, $1500 for a used Shiva is a good deal.

I started to say Randall won't do Clapton tones either, but if you can find a Randall RM50, that might get you into the ballpark with the right modules. I would still say the HR series is the closest thing you'll find in your budget, and they sound great, I'd take one over a new Marshall or Mesa any day and you can find them for pretty good deals on de bay. Just for reference, I've owned JCM800s, JCM900s, a Recto, a Mark IV, Laneys, Riveras, ADAs, Kashas, a Yamaha T100C, and a Soldano HR50+. I've also played through new Marshall, 30th Anniv, and a Bogner Ecstacy. My current amp is probably the favorite one that I've owned, a Trace Elliot SpeedTwin H100, they go on ebay pretty cheap, if you can find one, definitely snag it, it will get the tones you are looking for (forgot to mention the Trace earlier). The Ecstacy is nice, but not worth the $2500 - $3500 to me, I think the Trace sounds as good, or close, haven't spent that much time with a Bogner. My next favorite amp that I've owned is the HR50+, and I can honestly say that I'm not a Mesa guy.

I think I've found my "life" amp, although I still get nostalgic for a simple single channel old Marshall sometimes, the Trace does those tones and lots more. The bass player I've been working with says I should be buried with it.

Try the Mesa Boogie Lonestar series next time you go to a shop. Let me know what you think of those.

Haven't tried those, they may be in the tone ballpark, still out of the original budget.

Don't get too hung up on gear man! A lot of cats play what they play and say what they say cuz the equipment mfgrs pay what they pay! LOL! It's like you can't play basketball like Micheal Jordan unless you wear Nike! LOL! Your tone is more about the way you touch your guitar, how you put phrases together. In other words, its about how you speak!

True to a point, Soldano doesn't hand out SLOs though, I'm pretty sure even EVH and Clapton had to buy thiers. Not that dropping $3500 on an amp is a big deal to them. But you're right on about phrasing and such.

The equipment helps, but only so much! Without soul what can the equipment do for you? It would be a real shame for you to invest many thousands of dollars in guitars, amps and gear only to be blown away by some cat playing an old funky Fender Mustang on an old ricketty Blackface! LOL!

Very true, but sometimes inspiration comes from tone, it can be a chicken or egg thing.

*LAST EDIT* Also remember that your speakers and cabinet are at least as important as the amp. I've had some killer amps that sounded like dogs through a crappy old KMD 4-12 with 35W small magnet Celestions, I went through some nice amps in my younger days before I figured out what the real problem was.

<$0.02,
Roger

 

[Guitar Toad]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

Try the Mesa Boogie Lonestar series next time you go to a shop. Let me know what you think of those.

Don't get too hung up on gear man! A lot of cats play what they play and say what they say cuz the equipment mfgrs pay what they pay! LOL! It's like you can't play basketball like Micheal Jordan unless you wear Nike! LOL! Your tone is more about the way you touch your guitar, how you put phrases together. In other words, its about how you speak!

The equipment helps, but only so much! Without soul what can the equipment do for you? It would be a real shame for you to invest many thousands of dollars in guitars, amps and gear only to be blown away by some cat playing an old funky Fender Mustang on an old ricketty Blackface! LOL!

I hear you. I very likely would get the real deal SLO-100 and I still wouldn't sound at all like EC. But that wouldn't be a big surprise.

and wanting to be a modern variation of a bluesman and wanting a Soldano IMHO is a bit of an oxymoron (unless your name happens to be Eric Clapton). I would rather have that ricketty old amp. If a guy shows up to play and brings a SLO-100 with him, he's really gotta prove that he's worth having that awesome amp. Me, I'm not that good and I'm not sure that I want that kind of pressure. That's kinda why I want to go the budget route. Maybe I'll find a ricketty amp that's worth lugging around.

Thanks to the knowledgeable bro's on the forum through this thread I have better info for finding a deal on an amp that will fit my tonal goal.

His budget is in the $1K range, Bogner, Matchless, and Bad Cat will all be well over $2K used. The Uberschall is the best metal amp that Bogner makes, but he's looking for Clapton tones, that would be more in the Shiva, or better, the Ecstacy range, but still, $1500 for a used Shiva is a good deal.

I started to say Randall won't do Clapton tones either, but if you can find a Randall RM50, that might get you into the ballpark with the right modules. I would still say the HR series is the closest thing you'll find in your budget, and they sound great, I'd take one over a new Marshall or Mesa any day and you can find them for pretty good deals on de bay. Just for reference, I've owned JCM800s, JCM900s, a Recto, a Mark IV, Laneys, Riveras, ADAs, Kashas, a Yamaha T100C, and a Soldano HR50+. I've also played through new Marshall, 30th Anniv, and a Bogner Ecstacy. My current amp is probably the favorite one that I've owned, a Trace Elliot SpeedTwin H100, they go on ebay pretty cheap, if you can find one, definitely snag it, it will get the tones you are looking for (forgot to mention the Trace earlier). The Ecstacy is nice, but not worth the $2500 - $3500 to me, I think the Trace sounds as good, or close, haven't spent that much time with a Bogner. My next favorite amp that I've owned is the HR50+, and I can honestly say that I'm not a Mesa guy.

I think I've found my "life" amp, although I still get nostalgic for a simple single channel old Marshall sometimes, the Trace does those tones and lots more. The bass player I've been working with says I should be buried with it.

Haven't tried those, they may be in the tone ballpark, still out of the original budget.

True to a point, Soldano doesn't hand out SLOs though, I'm pretty sure even EVH and Clapton had to buy thiers. Not that dropping $3500 on an amp is a big deal to them. But you're right on about phrasing and such.

Very true, but sometimes inspiration comes from tone, it can be a chicken or egg thing.

*LAST EDIT* Also remember that your speakers and cabinet are at least as important as the amp. I've had some killer amps that sounded like dogs through a crappy old KMD 4-12 with 35W small magnet Celestions, I went through some nice amps in my younger days before I figured out what the real problem was.

<$0.02,
Roger

Nice post Roger. I'll watch to see what the Trace Elliot SpeedTwin H100's go for on the 'bay. There have been lots of quality speaker/cab threads. I'll sort through them and see if I can glean the information that I'll need.

 

[TattooedCarrot]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

I'm going to say a 5150 modded by Trace at Voodoo Amps or by JerryP at FJA mods.

 

[Osensei]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

I have friends, associates as well as some idle passers by that will swear that my tone coming through my little Marshall MG15DFX practice amp is exquisite. It cost me every bit of $200 or less (don't remember exactly) at GC. :chairfall

I agree! When I hear myself through this cheap little amp, I'm amazed. I realize that it's just a practice amp and is in no way gig worthy. But I can imagine how much better my sound would be coming through a gig worthy amp once I have it dialed in and I've become accustom to it!

My tone is established. I don't need someone's brand name (Soldano, Boogie or whatever) to solidify that fact. Yeah, there are better amps that I will acquire in the future. But the fact that I sound good now without them helps me keep things in perspective.

You have cultivate a BS detector if you wanna be able to determine how much is show and how much is go! I guess Eric Clapton wasn't about **** till they started making Soldanos and Bogners and ****! :chairfall

 

[Mephis]

Re: Dream tone (Soldano SLO-100) but on a budget

You have cultivate a BS detector if you wanna be able to determine how much is show and how much is go! I guess Eric Clapton wasn't about **** till they started making Soldanos and Bogners and ****! :chairfall

Clapton just used fenders and marshalls, back in the day, that soldano and bogner spend all day trying to remake.

Don't take it as an insult but I use an MG15 at guitar lessons and the only thing I find usable is the clean channel. Get out to GC and try some stuff, you'll be very suprised.