I want to try a Soldano....

[StratTom]

I've been reading up on these and hear some good things but I have never seen them in a shop. Anyone know any places in the Philadelphia area that would have them?

Thanks!!

 

[chcjunior]

I had to make the road trip up to Olyphant, PA when I bought my Soldano. It's about 90 miles from Philly.....but it's up the northeast extension so it's a nice scenic drive getting away from the city.

www.magdonmusic.com

 

[Oldslowhand]

And I thought that Olyphants were only to be found in Lord Of The Rings:22:

 

[mrfjones]

they are really hard to find, but worth the search.

 

[chcjunior]

they are really hard to find, but worth the search.

You got that right! On a side note, I'd call ahead to any store that is listed as a Soldano dealer. I called two that were dealers, but didn't have any in stock since they keep inventory levels on these amps somewhat low.

 

[shred-dog]

you try it and you'll buy it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gearjoneser]

I like most of them, but if I were to buy one, I'd go for the
Hotrod 50 XL Plus. XL means it has the mod for extended low
end, and Plus means it's two channel.

Once you're into SLO 100 money, I'd start looking at other stuff like Bogner, Diezel, Komet, ENGL. I'd love to find an SLO 100
for $1400. Great amps, but a bit overpriced at $3000.

 

[chcjunior]

I like most of them, but if I were to buy one, I'd go for the
Hotrod 50 XL Plus. XL means it has the mod for extended low
end, and Plus means it's two channel.

That's the amp I've got and I'm real happy with it. The ONLY thing I have to work around is that the XL option pushes the bass really hard when I'm playing clean. I'll probably have Voodoo Amps put in a depth control on that option. For the time being I use the open back panel on the Avatar cabinet which pulls the bass down a tad.

 

[Gearjoneser]

That's the amp I've got and I'm real happy with it. The ONLY thing I have to work around is that the XL option pushes the bass really hard when I'm playing clean. I'll probably have Voodoo Amps put in a depth control on that option. For the time being I use the open back panel on the Avatar cabinet which pulls the bass down a tad.

It sounds like your amp suffers from the same thing the DSL 50's
do. Bass boosts only sound good on the OD channel, almost
NEVER the clean channel. That's the ONLY flaw I can find with
the Marshall DSL's. I wonder if DSL's can be modded, so the bass boost only effects the OD channel. The DSL clean channel sounds best with it OFF. It sounds like the Soldano has that same issue. At least Mike Soldano is a design genious, so he
could probably make your amp function any way you want it.
He might even be able to tell you a quick, easy solution for modding it yourself. My next amp aquisition will probably be a Soldano Hotrod. I'm mad at myself for not winning one I was looking at on Ebay a few weeks ago. It went for $700 and was a mint Van Nuys original with a signature on back.
Right now, I'm one block away from Soldano's old shop by the Van Nuy's California airport. Bogner is about 5 miles away.

 

[chcjunior]

I wonder if DSL's can be modded, so the bass boost only effects the OD channel.

Bro, that's a great idea that I hadn't considered. I LOVE the XL option when I'm pushing the high gain....but would love to have it off when it's on clean. I'm checking into that.

 

[Gearjoneser]

I wonder if a Marshall tech would know how to mod a DSL so the bass boost only effects the OD channel?

The DSL is a great amp, but that one design flaw bugs me.
The DSL's clean channel sounds woofy with the boost on.

 

[Jonny R]

I saw a nice 16 watt Soldano - one of a run of 100 - in a shop near me. It was a pretty reasonably price compared to the rest of the stock too.

But I didn't have the money unfortunately. Would have been a great little tone-monster that would be really easy to transport too.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Has Soldano ever used EL-34's in any of their amps?
I've never seen one without 6L6/5881's.

I'd love to hear what a Soldano sounds like with EL-34's.
It is a highgain amp company, afterall.

 

[chcjunior]

Has Soldano ever used EL-34's in any of their amps?
I've never seen one without 6L6/5881's.

I'd love to hear what a Soldano sounds like with EL-34's.
It is a highgain amp company, afterall.

Same here. I'd love to hear what my Hot Rod would sound like with E34L's versus the 6L6's.

 

[shred-dog]

i just got a hot rod 50 and emailed soldano and "bill" said they can do the depth mod for $150 that is the XL mod but you can turn it off on with a knob (that goes to 11 ! ) mike doesn't care for the XL mod himself because of the booming bass on the clean channel !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Marcel]

That's the amp I've got and I'm real happy with it. The ONLY thing I have to work around is that the XL option pushes the bass really hard when I'm playing clean. I'll probably have Voodoo Amps put in a depth control on that option. For the time being I use the open back panel on the Avatar cabinet which pulls the bass down a tad.

often hear about the clean channel problem.... But i don't care about this...
I read something the XL Mod add bass and lower mids to the clean channel. I can't remember alright but it was something special about clean channel and XL Mod.

 

[lastwinj]

Has Soldano ever used EL-34's in any of their amps?
I've never seen one without 6L6/5881's.

I'd love to hear what a Soldano sounds like with EL-34's.
It is a highgain amp company, afterall.

if you have some laying around, put some in the amp. wont hurt it. the bias will be a bit cold, and the heater current requirements will go up with el34, but should be fine.

germ