Iāll say this and leave it be - longer post, so scroll on by if you donāt want to read, haha.
<rant>
Every guitarist is much better off because builders over the decades have borrowed, copied, been inspired by, etcā¦other designs. Do they all sound the same? No, and thatās what matters.
Too many guys look at designs on paper, read a schematic, and subsequently listen with their eyes instead of their ears. Did the Marshall sound like a Fender? No. Does the Recto sound like an SLO? No. Does a 5150 sound like either of them? No. Thereās a lot more that goes into how a final product sounds than what you see on paper, but thatās all some people want to focus on because people love to be offended online.
Some builders and manufacturers - like Randall Smith and Mesa - had much more business acumen, put out a variety of products, listened to what players wanted, and changed with the times. Itās why they had tremendous success while others had modest success by comparison.
Letās look at Soldano for example since itās everyoneās favorite talking point. Soldano dropped the SLO and within a few years of its release was charging around $3200 by the early ā90s with a (not good) loop and line out. Thatās $7200-$7400 current day money. He also released the X88 preamp, a concept that Soldano got from Bob Bradshaw. We donāt talk about that though. Bob approached Soldano with the preamp concept (not circuit), had them build them, then Soldano had a successful product that was essentially Bobās idea. Meanwhile Soldano sold them to Bob for just a hair under retail, so Bob made no money on them despite bringing the concept to Soldano. But, thatās apparently cool. Anyway.
The Dual Rectifier comes out priced around $1200 compared to the $3200 of the SLO. It was originally targeting the Sunset strip crowd, but Mesa saw times were changing and listened to player feedback. Within around 1.5 years of release, Mesa had already went through 5 revisions because itās what players wanted. Meanwhile, the Soldano remained unchanged.
The Rectifier was arguably the most successful and iconic amp of its time. It owned the airwaves in the ā90s and early ā00s. Mesa still evolved the line and the 3 channel version was born, which also went through 4 revisions in the first couple of years. Meanwhile, 15+ years later, the Soldano remained unchanged. They also had virtually nothing that wasnāt a spin off or variation of the SLO.
By 2010, Mesa evolved the Rectifier *again* based on player feedback. Countless options added, revisions made, etc. Meanwhile, nearly 24 years later, the Soldano remained unchanged.
By the time Soldano was sold, it was 32+ years since the release of the SLO. The Recto was on its 14th-15th revision and its 3rd major iteration and adapted to countless changes in the musical landscape. The SLO hadnāt changed at all, but still cost more than double what the Recto did. What else did Soldano do that was significant during those 30 years? Not much. The amp and circuit stubbornly was kept the same despite user tastes changing numerous times, and in Soup Nazi fashion, you either liked it as-is or moved on. The more years that passed, the less value and options you got for the money as other amps advanced.
While Iām glad Soldano had that 1 cool idea 35+ years ago, that doesnāt breed long-term success or mean you have business savvy. If you refuse to change, adapt to player feedback, or even try to expand your product line beyond - basically - cheaper variations of your 1 amp idea, then what should you expect? You saw the success others were having. You saw the changes in the music landscape. You had literal decades to do R&D and make other amps. Donāt bitch and complain because companies like Mesa continued to evolve and listen to players, expanded their product portfolio, and sold countless amps for it.
Complaints about Mesa having success vs Soldano because an amp has a similar preamp section but sounds completely different would be like Marshall complaining about all the British style manufacturers, or Vox complaining about Matchless in the ā90s, or Fender complaining about Marshall, or etc. If you donāt like it, then stop bitching and whining and make an affordable product that appeals to a wider user base. If you want to stubbornly keep your product the same, then youāll forever be a niche product for a niche crowd.
This isnāt a knock to Soldano. I have an OG SLO right beside me as I type, and theyāre great amps. But cāmon. If some of these Mesa critics spent even half as much time over the last 35 years listening to what players want and doing R&D on new designs for new offerings as they did acting personally aggrieved and offended, maybe they would have moved as many amps as Mesa over the years.
</rant>
Agree, disagree - donāt care. Just my $0.02 on the āIām offended because others created something similar to my idea but had more success than meā crowd.
