Soldano Hot Rod 25 post MV effects loop... What's the deal?

[67Mopar]

Re: Soldano Hot Rod 25 post MV effects loop... What's the deal?

It is my dream amp, but unfortunately one I will never own. The best-sounding amp I've ever tried "in the flesh" was a HR50+ (I've never had the pleasure of cranking an SLO), and getting that sound in a 25 watter seems like a dream come true. They are, however, rather expensive, and Soldano has, for some time, been neglecting the European market, so finding one used now that Mike is retiring isn't likely to happen.

Awesome amp! When I sold my SP-77/Rocktron rack system, I purchased a Hot Rod 5O+ w/cabinet. Wait... I purchased the HR 1OO+, then decided on the 5O+. I liked the 5O watt a lot better. Why I sold it, I have no idea? I moved to MESA D/R that didn't come close to the HR5O+ attack and chunkiness. The Dual Rectalfire sounded like a loose version of the SLO1OO. Once that amp began to fail, I sold it. For whatever reason, I went back to Rockman rig. I know... What the F was I thinking there?

Boring, but this is how crazy it got... I traded the Rockman 2x12 amp for a Seymour Duncan Convertible, which actually kicked-ass! Once the preamp modules began to cook, I sold it. Then I purchased a Bedrock amp which was a POS! Worst amp I've ever owned. From there it was Fender Prosonic, Bogner 1OOB and 1O1A, Cameron modded Carlsbro Top 1OO, VOX AC15 and AC3O, Hayseed 3O, Traynor YBA, Cornford MK5O, MK5O II, Hellcat, RK1OO, Rockman again (WTF?), Kemper, Fender Tweed reissue, back to Cornford MK5O. Holy sh!t! I finally settled on a Marshall SJ 255O and Ampeg GVT15H and 5H. I still get to play through a Cornford MK5O, but it's not really my amp.

 

[Sirion]

Re: Soldano Hot Rod 25 post MV effects loop... What's the deal?

Not bad! I've settled on a Marshall JVM205C as a decent substitute. It doesn't sound quite as glorious to my ears, but it is excellent for conjuring different generations of Marshall tones, and is chock full with excellent features (save an fx loop with significant design flaws). Yes, it is a combo, but it has side handles and is therefore possible to move.

Did you buy a Soldano cabinet as well? If so, what were your thoughts on them? They never seem to have won the same acclaim as the Soldano amps...

 

[67Mopar]

Re: Soldano Hot Rod 25 post MV effects loop... What's the deal?

Not bad! I've settled on a Marshall JVM205C as a decent substitute. It doesn't sound quite as glorious to my ears, but it is excellent for conjuring different generations of Marshall tones, and is chock full with excellent features (save an fx loop with significant design flaws). Yes, it is a combo, but it has side handles and is therefore possible to move.

Did you buy a Soldano cabinet as well? If so, what were your thoughts on them? They never seem to have won the same acclaim as the Soldano amps...

Yes, I purchased a matching black 4x12 cabinet. That may have been the worst sounding 4x12 I ever owned. What I learned from that cabinet, is that thin wall cabinets resonate too much, which kills the address. Dull and lifeless sounding. Cornford cabinets are the same, only worse. As long as you keep the volume low-ish, you're okay. Crank it up, and the tones turn to mush!

 

[Joey Voltage]

Re: Soldano Hot Rod 25 post MV effects loop... What's the deal?

It was done to balance the send levels between the two channels. There’s a huge discrepancy between levels of the two channels particularly the clean setting and the od, so much so that if you don’t set the levels well enough going into the loop and you tried to use an effect like a delay, you would get a huge level shift on the delayed sound when switching channels. It’s a big problem on the original slo. Masters pre loop also allow more user control with send level. Putting the loop before the master is only really good for single channel amps. It can be done well if you fine tune fixed preset level for each channel, but but it leaves you with less control over the levels afterwards.

Granted the even better thing to do would have been to put an additional global master after the loop in addition to leaving the channel masters pre loop where they are. It’s an easy modification to do, but will destroy the value of the amp if you drill into the chassis.

 

[67Mopar]

Re: Soldano Hot Rod 25 post MV effects loop... What's the deal?

Granted the even better thing to do would have been to put an additional global master after the loop in addition to leaving the channel masters pre loop where they are. It’s an easy modification to do, but will destroy the value of the amp if you drill into the chassis.

This sounds like what Mike was/is doing to rectify the SLO 1OO loop.

 

[Joey Voltage]

Re: Soldano Hot Rod 25 post MV effects loop... What's the deal?

There are so many more complicated things you could do if you wanted to like install a level servo, and automate it like a vca compressor would, but most would find it unnecessary for something most people view as a relatively simple thing.