What's so great about Soldano amps?

[Guitar Toad]

How do Soldano's amps differ from Marshall, Hiwatt, and other Marshall clones?

Do you love Soldano amps? Are they just a boutique alternative to Marshall? Are they Dumble wannabees?

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

i have very few SOLDANO experience.
I hear nothing common with Marshall ,and it's the only Amp that is so sensitive to dialing on eq knobs.
i don't like the voicing for my needs ,but it really ripps!
I never played it clean!

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

How do Soldano's amps differ from Marshall, Hiwatt, and other Marshall clones?

Do you love Soldano amps? Are they just a boutique alternative to Marshall? Are they Dumble wannabees?

From what I understand they are nothing like a Dumble, they were the first truly souped up Marshalls, whereas a Dumble is more like a souped up Fender.

I know I love to hear Warren Haynes through one! :6:

 

[ErikH]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

Soldanos are the only boutique style amp that I GAS over. I first heard them when George Lynch used an SLO-100 with Dokken in the late 80's. Then Eddie recorded most of For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge with one.

I played through a SLO-100 once and about shat myself when I heard how I could hear everything I was doing. It was so crisp and clear yet a crunchy and thick wonderful tone.

They are one of the first truly souped up Marshalls. That's what Mike used to do before coming out with his own line. The way I look at them, they're boutique, but they're not, and I say this because Mike was doing this before the whole boutique craze exploded like it has today.

 

[Guitar Toad]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

I see. Soldano are amps the really require you to have good chops. Expert players need only apply.

From what you say Erik, they must have some awesome, rich, singing harmonics. That sounds richly appealing.

 

[ErikH]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

I wouldn't say they require you to have good chops but they will make you work to have better chops.

Since I can't afford a real one myself, the closest I'm going to get for now is a modelled version, which lucky for me my Vox AD50 has a model of. It's pretty darn accurate to the early SLO's too.

 

[Guitar Toad]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

I wouldn't say they require you to have good chops but they will make you work to have better chops.

Since I can't afford a real one myself, the closest I'm going to get for now is a modelled version, which lucky for me my Vox AD50 has a model of. It's pretty darn accurate to the early SLO's too.

Erik, dude you could build one if you wanted.

Soldano's little Astroverb Single-Channel Amp 20 watt Head sure looks cool. I'll bet it sounds great. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Soldano-Astroverb-SingleChannel-Amp-Head?sku=489109 but it is a bit pricey.

 

[ErikH]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

Erik, dude you could build one if you wanted.

Soldano's little Astroverb Single-Channel Amp 20 watt Head sure looks cool. I'll bet it sounds great. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Soldano-Astroverb-SingleChannel-Amp-Head?sku=489109 but it is a bit pricey.

LOL, thanks for the vote of confidence but I'm not quite ready to build an amp...LOL. But if I do, you can bet your @ss it'll be based off a Marshall.

I haven't tried the Astroverb. Couldn't tell ya what it sounds like. I'd like to know myself.

 

[brisk]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

I had Lucky 13 and probably the best clean I've heard.

Never had a chance to go over 6 in dirty channel, which is required to sound best. So it's gone.

 

[devastone]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

I had a HR50+ once that I had to have after playing though another guy's HR50. I wish I still had it, I think I traded it for a Mark IV and that was a mistake. The Mark IV is a nice amp, but I'm definitely a Marshall guy. That said, I really like my Trace Elliot SpeedTwin head, but it almost has too many bells and whistles for me, the Soldano was a very straight up amp.

 

[jeremy]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

ive played a bunch of soldanos a friend of mine used to have a slo which is the one you want. big rich tone with loads of sustain, good clairty that like others said will make you want to clean up your playing. the astroverb is cool but doesnt have the gain of the bigger ones.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

Chiming in with what others have said, I'll add that Soldanos are amps that you have to "play" like an instrument. They become part of the whole rig, or an extension of the guitar. It's not that you must have chops, but more like if you DO have chops, you can make those amps say a lot of different things without ever touching the knobs. You can take a guy who's used to playing through an ADA or modeller, and the Soldano will kick his butt. It'll either make him sound lousy, or it'll be a perfect match. To me, it's like an old LP Junior with one P90, or a vintage Tele. You have to know how to play it to get the most out of it. The same time that it's clear and articulate, it's also very raw and unrefined in the wrong hands.

 

[devastone]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

The guy who's Soldano I first played through came to try out for a band we were trying to put together. Anyway, he shows up with a Marshall 4-12, a Soldano HR50, a Strat, and proceeds to pull out a POD. I stared in disbelief! He plugs into the POD, then runs it straight into the front end of the Soldano. We played through a few songs, well sorta, and yep, his sound was terrible. So, at the end, I asked if I could plug straight into his amp, wow, it killed! He looked at it and said he didn't know it could sound like that. After that I sold my Rivera and looked for a HR50, I couldn't afford a real SLO.

The Hot Rod series are basically the same circuit as the SLOs, they just use cheaper components. The components are still better than most manufacturers use, and the Hot Rods do sound great, about 85 - 90% of the way to a SLO, but that last 10% costs you.

 

[ErikH]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

If you want a real fight on your hands (no pun intended), play a Tele through a SLO-100. :laugh2:

 

[Reckless Abandon]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

I played one once at a guitar center. I always play many different pieces of gear at thos eplaces. The SLO was all I played that day. I was in love. Rich sustain, thick but articulate. I wish I could have cranked it. Dead on late dokken and late Ratt. I can not afford one though so I am stuck with my vox model of the slo. Pretty close but my experience was limited.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

Hotrods and SLO (Super Lead Overdrive) are basically a souped up highgain amp with 6L6's, rather than EL-34's, so it doesn't exactly have the woody Marshall tone. It's closer to a 5150, and actually the 5150 was sorta modeled after Soldanos.

I think Soldanos are very well made amps that sound great, but I haven't found them to be my sound. I still like British gain, rather than 6L6 gain like Mesa, Rivera, and Soldano. Even still, I wouldn't hesitate to own another one, just to have it. I had a Hot Rod 50, which I sold fairly quickly. One Soldano I really like is the Avenger, since it's basically the SLO lead channel only, but sounds a little thicker. I liked the Lucky 13 and Decatone I heard too. Never heard an Astroverb.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

I have a Hot Rod 50 plus. As GJ says, they aren't really a marshall tone, though the hot rods sound a bit more marshally than the SLOs.

My hot rod is a very articulate amp, and needs to be cranked to sound it's best. I run mine with the master dimed and the preamp on about three, which gives a nice, chiming medium drive tone. Speakers play a major part in making a hot rod sound great. I find v30s to be a very good match.

Personally I find soldanos to be very easy amps to play. I'm currently tossing up whether to hold onto mine or move towards a more JTM45-style amp for a darker, more 70s kind of sound. I'm also thinking of fitting el34s to mine as an experiment.

The astroverb does a very good job of getting the soldano thing happening at lower volumes. Probably the ultimate bedroom shredder amp.

 

[Young Angus]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

The guy who's Soldano I first played through came to try out for a band we were trying to put together. Anyway, he shows up with a Marshall 4-12, a Soldano HR50, a Strat, and proceeds to pull out a POD. I stared in disbelief! He plugs into the POD, then runs it straight into the front end of the Soldano. We played through a few songs, well sorta, and yep, his sound was terrible. So, at the end, I asked if I could plug straight into his amp, wow, it killed! He looked at it and said he didn't know it could sound like that. After that I sold my Rivera and looked for a HR50, I couldn't afford a real SLO.

HAHAHAHHAA HOLY POTATOES BATMAN! He actually put a POD through it, god that would have been hilarious :laugh2:

 

[taphappy]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

SLO-100 is the best amp I ever played.

 

[Diamond Dave]

Re: What's so great about Soldano amps?

SOLDANO AMPS GO TO ELEVEN!!