Soldano Hot Rod 50
- Thread starter PUCKBOY99
- Start date
Hot _Grits
Buttery Toneologist
Re: Soldano Hot Rod 50
Just bought one:
mine's a 50+, which has switchable channels with separate gain and masters for each.
-I needed something for my rock project, as my Blue Angel and Vibrolux were taking a bit of a beating at rehearsals. The other guitarist in the band recently got an Atomic head, and we both fell in love with it, so when I saw the 50+ on SOB at my local store, I nabbed it.
Sofar, I love it. It's an incredibly playable amp. It has a very fast transient response, but it's somehow not inhibiting. You just want to play and play. I gigged it two nights ago, and found myself playing very freely. That's worth the price of admission right there.
It has uber gain, but for practical circumstances I run the od channel gain on 1-4. At lower gain levels the amp is quite chimy with the hint of an aggressive edge. I can totally see why players like Haynes, knopfler and Clapton got into soldanos, If you set them up right, they're much more than just a metal gain machine. Pushing the gain further gets you into the George Lynch realm and beyond, which can be fun at times.
It's a bright amp, but not fatiguing. I can switch from my PRS to my strat and not feel like there's an icepick aimed at my head. In fact, it really loves strats. I'd definitely pair it with warm speakers, though. Vintage 30s sound good.
Downsides: the shared eq makes it a little tough to get the optimal clean/lead tone. I find that the lead channel benefits from high presence levels, whereas the best clean tones need much lower presence settings. This isn't a worry to me as I either set the amp up clean or dirty, depending on the gig.
overall, I'm very happy with it sofar.
Just bought one:
mine's a 50+, which has switchable channels with separate gain and masters for each.
-I needed something for my rock project, as my Blue Angel and Vibrolux were taking a bit of a beating at rehearsals. The other guitarist in the band recently got an Atomic head, and we both fell in love with it, so when I saw the 50+ on SOB at my local store, I nabbed it.
Sofar, I love it. It's an incredibly playable amp. It has a very fast transient response, but it's somehow not inhibiting. You just want to play and play. I gigged it two nights ago, and found myself playing very freely. That's worth the price of admission right there.
It has uber gain, but for practical circumstances I run the od channel gain on 1-4. At lower gain levels the amp is quite chimy with the hint of an aggressive edge. I can totally see why players like Haynes, knopfler and Clapton got into soldanos, If you set them up right, they're much more than just a metal gain machine. Pushing the gain further gets you into the George Lynch realm and beyond, which can be fun at times.
It's a bright amp, but not fatiguing. I can switch from my PRS to my strat and not feel like there's an icepick aimed at my head. In fact, it really loves strats. I'd definitely pair it with warm speakers, though. Vintage 30s sound good.
Downsides: the shared eq makes it a little tough to get the optimal clean/lead tone. I find that the lead channel benefits from high presence levels, whereas the best clean tones need much lower presence settings. This isn't a worry to me as I either set the amp up clean or dirty, depending on the gig.
overall, I'm very happy with it sofar.
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Hot _Grits
Buttery Toneologist
Re: Soldano Hot Rod 50
Man, that would be tone heaven. best of old and new.
I've been thinking along the same lines: plexi 50 and hot rod together.
I've even toyed with the iea of pairing it on clean with my vibrolux for clean gigs. that would be killer: the response and tightness of the soldano, with the midrange tone of the vibro. the only thing stopping this is the distinct lack of a roadie. I have a couple of biggish outdoor gigs coming up, though, so I may make the effort for those...
Man, that would be tone heaven. best of old and new.
I've been thinking along the same lines: plexi 50 and hot rod together.
I've even toyed with the iea of pairing it on clean with my vibrolux for clean gigs. that would be killer: the response and tightness of the soldano, with the midrange tone of the vibro. the only thing stopping this is the distinct lack of a roadie. I have a couple of biggish outdoor gigs coming up, though, so I may make the effort for those...
PUCKBOY99
Irish Flagologist
Re: Soldano Hot Rod 50
Yeah, I'm not looking for a high gain monster....my understanding of the HR50 is it's basically a JCM800, so I could expect late 70s to 80s type rock tones............RIGHT???
Reason I'm asking is I've sold off most of the rack stuff I had. The only thing left is the preamp & a guy wants to trade me his HR50 for it.
I have the Edana 45 coming shortly & I thought between that, the HR50 & the little Fuchs ODS 20, I'll have a lot of bases covered quite nicely.
Anyway, thanks for the input fellas! :beerchug:
Yeah, I'm not looking for a high gain monster....my understanding of the HR50 is it's basically a JCM800, so I could expect late 70s to 80s type rock tones............RIGHT???
Reason I'm asking is I've sold off most of the rack stuff I had. The only thing left is the preamp & a guy wants to trade me his HR50 for it.
I have the Edana 45 coming shortly & I thought between that, the HR50 & the little Fuchs ODS 20, I'll have a lot of bases covered quite nicely.
Anyway, thanks for the input fellas! :beerchug:
Hot _Grits
Buttery Toneologist
Re: Soldano Hot Rod 50
I've rehearsed it alongside an 800, and I can tell you it's quite different sounding.
Here's the thing: the gain knob is under your control. All you have to do to get classic tones is run the gain low. Possibly very low. The soldano can do a range of gains very well, especially compared to other amps inspired by it. Granted, it does uber-gain very well, but it's not like the gain knob is broken off at ten. I guess it's a perception thing.
It's the same for me when I use an 800: I always open up the master and drop the preamp gain. otherwise it just sounds fizzy and hair-metal. I'm not a huge 800 fan, but set up that way they can do a perfectly acceptable 70s marshall tone. It's not plexi, but it gets by.
I've rehearsed it alongside an 800, and I can tell you it's quite different sounding.
Here's the thing: the gain knob is under your control. All you have to do to get classic tones is run the gain low. Possibly very low. The soldano can do a range of gains very well, especially compared to other amps inspired by it. Granted, it does uber-gain very well, but it's not like the gain knob is broken off at ten. I guess it's a perception thing.
It's the same for me when I use an 800: I always open up the master and drop the preamp gain. otherwise it just sounds fizzy and hair-metal. I'm not a huge 800 fan, but set up that way they can do a perfectly acceptable 70s marshall tone. It's not plexi, but it gets by.
Hot _Grits
Buttery Toneologist
Re: Soldano Hot Rod 50
I really like mine. I'd rate it as better than any post 800 marshall or other high gain amp I've tried, not only for tone but for range of tones. If you're not too attached to your preamp, give it a whirl...
PUCKBOY99 said:
I really like mine. I'd rate it as better than any post 800 marshall or other high gain amp I've tried, not only for tone but for range of tones. If you're not too attached to your preamp, give it a whirl...
