I personally like the distorted sound of the Rebel much more than SL2. SL2 was just too smooth sounding too me. It didn't have enough bite to it. The Rebel on the other hand has tons of bite. It's a very meaty raw distorted tone. With tube blend knob, you really do have a ton of options. It cleans up rather well too. The other guitar player in our band (Gino on the forum) has a Rebel and it slays live. He was getting compliment after compliment on his tone at a gig on Saturday. The Rebel is no joke.