Help me understand Soldano

  • Thread starter Thread starter BigGuitars
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Funny, both the 3534 and SLO30 just never did what both Bogner and Soldano had hoped
(as well as us consumers) - give a similar experience to the full blown XTC and SLO100.
 
I had a HR25 a few years back and I didn't care for it at all . Flubby and fizzy was what I got out of it , a TS type boost set as a clean boost didn't help the fubby low end. I couldn't get my Splawn plugged back in fast enough . A shame I really wanted to like that amp as a clip I had heard I think from a member here blew me away
 
RaceU4her said:
i still couldnt tell you what the signature soldano tone is, i always ask what albums made the SLO so legendary and the answer never gets answered and turns to talking about the deyoung transformers. then the SLO30 came and it sounded pretty bland to me in all the review videos who were calling it the best amp ever in the title :dunno:
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I wouldn't`t say this album made the amp legendary but they're using SLOs here
 
The SLO is a polarizing amp, for sure. But I think it’s wicked. The loops on the old ones are weird and are a deal breaker for a lot of guys. There’s a cut and thickness in the mids that’s unique to it. It’s no more an “80’s amp” than a JCM 800 or a Mesa Mark series amp. That description is dumb, anyway. Modern metal tones all sound the same these days. No personality or individuality (although that’s probably the configuration and the recording technique more than the amps). I’d consider it a mix between a Hiwatt and a Mesa Mark. When cranked up and in the right configuration, they’re unbeatable, imho. Other amps sound similar because other amps ripped off the SLO’s preamp section and dragon (Peavey and Mesa, looking at you). But I think the Soldano sounds more refined than the amps that came after it and were obviously influenced by it.
 
To answer your questions, I think the SLO is voiced more in the direction for ‘80’s metal, closer to Marshall, but still it’s own thing, some Hiwatt in there like the previous posted said, I don’t think it’s that versatile. It’s clean and crunch is alright, but really just the lead channel that makes it special for some guys. Far from being the best amp ever made imo. Not sure who told you that. Never heard of anyone saying they’re particularly tight either. They’re not, but shouldn’t be flubby either if you know what you’re doing with it. I think some guys mistakenly assume they’ll be very tight since they’re known for having good articulation and they are quite good there, but not the very best ever. They’re a very good amp for the older metal and hard rock stuff, but overrated imo and I, like some others here, prefer a good stock older Marshall with a good overdrive pedal boosting it. As long as you don’t need super modern or brutal, it’s amazingly hard to beat the sound of an older stock Marshall boosted. Still one of the best sounds around

Out of curiosity, what store did you go to that didn’t let you dial in the amp yourself? Doesn’t sound like a great guy to deal with lol. I’ve never had that happen to me at any guitar store and I’ve been to MANY. At least on the east and west coast I’ve been to almost all the good guitar stores there at one point to check out their stuff
 
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When it comes to the “greatest amp ever made” tag line, surely everyone understands that that is purely subjective. Arguing one way or another over something like that is pointless. One man’s turd is another man’s treasure. Where the SLO (at least the pre BAD ones, can’t speak to the BAD ones) is head and shoulders above many, many amp makers is the build quality. They are built like tanks. They’re super reliable and consistent from one build to the next. The old ones had a transferable lifetime warranty. What other amp makers offered that?
 
Mr. Willy said:
When it comes to the “greatest amp ever made” tag line, surely everyone understands that that is purely subjective. Arguing one way or another over something like that is pointless. One man’s turd is another man’s treasure. Where the SLO (at least the pre BAD ones, can’t speak to the BAD ones) is head and shoulders above many, many amp makers is the build quality. They are built like tanks. They’re super reliable and consistent from one build to the next. The old ones had a transferable lifetime warranty. What other amp makers offered that?
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I’m definitely not arguing over build quality. I only judge amps on sound quality, particularly how 3D, complex and organic the tone is. Don’t get me wrong, I think the SLO is a very good amp, just not the very top tier in my opinion. I felt it wasn’t as organic or 3D sounding as some of the other amps I’ve kept, but certainly more so in that regard than the majority of high gain amps. I admit though that I wanna try an early SLO from like the late ‘80’s or early ‘90’s to see if there’s a difference. I know the guys here will probably say they sound the same, but I need to try it and decide for myself if that’s actually the case or not to my ears. I’ve played lots of SLO’s and owned one (from 2001 I think), but haven’t tried earlier ones nor the recent BAD made ones
 
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braintheory said:
I’m definitely not arguing over build quality. I only judge amps on sound quality, particularly how 3D, complex and organic the tone is. Don’t get me wrong, I think the SLO is a very good amp, just not the very top tier in my opinion. I felt it wasn’t as organic or 3D sounding as some of the other amps I’ve kept, but certainly more so in that regard than the majority of high gain amps. I admit though that I wanna try an early SLO from like the late ‘80’s or early ‘90’s to see if there’s a difference. I know the guys here will probably say they sound the same, but I need to try it and decide for myself if that’s actually the case or not to my ears. I’ve played lots of SLO’s and owned one (from 2001 I think), but haven’t tried earlier ones nor the recent BAD made ones
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No worries, man. I hope I’m not coming across as coming directly at you. I really dig the SLO, but I definitely see why others might not. The only thing that really bugs me is when people say it’s just 80’s tone. That’s ridiculous because I’d argue that the JCM 800 was used more than any other amp during that time period for the hair metal stuff. But I have soft spot for 80’s hair metal, lol. It’s ultimately in the hands of the player, though. I’ve heard bar band guys using pedals and a Fender Hotrod just tear it up.
 
Here’s an iPhone clip of my SLO. I was experimenting with a wet/dry set up here. The effect levels are too high, I just plugged it up and went for it, but the foundational tone is right there. If this isn’t high gain, I don’t really know what is.

 
SLOs are amazing, but they are quite unforgiving.
You will not be able to hide sloppy picking or fretting, there will be no "hiding behind a bunch of gain and compression".
It may have a lot of gain (I myself rarely pushed it after 12 O clock), but it sounds awesome. It is definitely in the Marshall vein, but it grinds like nothing else. That Motley record is pretty much the way it sounds. Raw, open, unfogiving, cut through a mix great.
Early Measa Duals had the same preamp, but the power section was weaker, later they made a flubby mess of it, the "Reborn"s are pretty nice.
We have tested the Synergy SLO with the Synergy 5050 with a 2008 SLO100, and it was only a hair of a difference and only top of the high end. The OG SLO was a tiny bit more open. I would not notice it in a mix for sure.
 
Mr. Willy said:
No worries, man. I hope I’m not coming across as coming directly at you. I really dig the SLO, but I definitely see why others might not. The only thing that really bugs me is when people say it’s just 80’s tone. That’s ridiculous because I’d argue that the JCM 800 was used more than any other amp during that time period for the hair metal stuff. But I have soft spot for 80’s hair metal, lol. It’s ultimately in the hands of the player, though. I’ve heard bar band guys using pedals and a Fender Hotrod just tear it up.
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It can for sure do a lot more than ‘80’s, but just not the real heavy stuff imo. This thread though kind of makes me wanna try any SLO again (even if it’s not a very early one) since it’s been a while now since I’ve last played one. To me, any amp that has a lot more gain on tap than 2203 is high gain in my mind regardless if it’s a metal amp or not and the SLO definitely has more than enough gain on tap to qualify. I think a lot of guys who like the SLO would also like the Naylor’s. I love mine and like it more than my ‘79 JMP2203. The Naylor is what the Bogners and Friedman’s should’ve been imo

One thing I’d also add is that I’ve tried quite a few amps that I was told had amazing and super clean build quality, but sounded very uninspiring to me (not gonna mention names out of respect), while there have also been some amps that I was told were really sloppy inside yet sounded great. I only know how to judge what my ears tell me
 
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hammered said:
I wouldn't`t say this album made the amp legendary but they're using SLOs here
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i actually have this on cassette from back in the day. its cool, not "holy shit i need this amp, let me grab $4k+ right now" kind of cool though. i just never really understood where the king of amps thing i see so much came from
 
RaceU4her said:
i still couldnt tell you what the signature soldano tone is, i always ask what albums made the SLO so legendary and the answer never gets answered and turns to talking about the deyoung transformers. then the SLO30 came and it sounded pretty bland to me in all the review videos who were calling it the best amp ever in the title :dunno:
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I had a SLO. I thought it sounded great. But not better than a pretty decent list of amps i have played including the Avenger.
 
Smashedguitarist said:
I had a SLO. I thought it sounded great. But not better than a pretty decent list of amps i have played including the Avenger.
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The Avenger I remember sounding heavier and more in the modern direction, but not on the same level as the SLO in just quality and 3D-ness of tone. The SLO wasn’t my favorite amp ever or ultimately a keeper for me, but I felt still sounded a lot better than most amps I AB’ed it with. Very good amp for sure
 
braintheory said:
The Avenger I remember sounding heavier and more in the modern direction, but not on the same level as the SLO in just quality and 3D-ness of tone. The SLO wasn’t my favorite amp ever or ultimately a keeper for me, but I felt still sounded a lot better than most amps I AB’ed it with. Very good amp for sure
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One thing I will say is I had an early Avenger..maybe from2007 or so. I didn't even know enough to look at the trannys it had. But it sounded a lot different from the latest avenger i had (2019) . Plus a 100 watt avenger is a different animal than a 50. Don't know what you used to AB. I just think the modern voicing and the way the gain was all usable in the avenger, but really only needed to be turned up to 4 (10 or 11 oclock) for a nice metal tone, made it more useful to me than the SLO which was pretty fizzy with the gain turned up much at all. I definitely get the 3D of the SLO. It is definitely a solid amp. Unfortunately, I think it is better left in the 80s, at least for me.
 
Smashedguitarist said:
One thing I will say is I had an early Avenger..maybe from2007 or so. I didn't even know enough to look at the trannys it had. But it sounded a lot different from the latest avenger i had (2019) . Plus a 100 watt avenger is a different animal than a 50. Don't know what you used to AB. I just think the modern voicing and the way the gain was all usable in the avenger, but really only needed to be turned up to 4 (10 or 11 oclock) for a nice metal tone, made it more useful to me than the SLO which was pretty fizzy with the gain turned up much at all. I definitely get the 3D of the SLO. It is definitely a solid amp. Unfortunately, I think it is better left in the 80s, at least for me.
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The Avenger I played was 100 watts and was in the year 2009 when I tried it, but not sure when it was made. I can definitely agree the Avenger is much better suited for heavier styles than the SLO. I remember always having the gain quite low on the SLO for those same reasons. I mostly used it for ‘80’s style stuff. I guess it’s sort of apples vs oranges with those 2, but if the SLO is an orange then it’s a higher quality orange than the Avenger is an apple, but different strengths between the 2
 
braintheory said:
The Avenger I remember sounding heavier and more in the modern direction, but not on the same level as the SLO in just quality and 3D-ness of tone. The SLO wasn’t my favorite amp ever or ultimately a keeper for me, but I felt still sounded a lot better than most amps I AB’ed it with. Very good amp for sure
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Explain to me what exactly is 3-D tone?
 
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