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Jack Luminous
Well-known member
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Mr. Willy
Well-known member
Lynch Mob - Wicked Sensation
Scorpions - Crazy World
Killswitch Engage - Holy Diver
Van Halen - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (there a a handful of tracks that aren’t SLO)
High on Fire
Gary Moore - Live at Montreux (1990)
Ratt - Detonator / Reach for the Sky
Eric Clapton - Journeyman
Gov’t Mule
Not 100% on this one, but it sounds like definitive SLO to me:
Warrant - Dog Eat Dog
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Jack Luminous
Well-known member
LOL I just posted some pics, didn't bother linking all the videos, thank you man !
Mr. Willy
Well-known member
No problem! Those were what I could remember off the top of my head.
Forgot about this one:
Vai used a rack mounted SLO during the Sex and Religion time period. He also used them pretty exclusively during the Whitesnake SOTT tour 89-90.
thiswaythatway
Well-known member
The SLO was one of those legendary amps I kept reading about in the early 90's and I started saving for one thinking it could be the last amp I ever owned. I saw one at a GC and after trying it I walked away thankful I didn't have to waste 3k on it. It's got a great reputation and built like a tank, it just wasn't for me.
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harddriver
Well-known member
That's me with every Mesa Boogie that I bought, 2000 Dual Recto and a Mesa Mark III+ with the R2 mod. I'm just a Marshall guy. I loved Petrucci's tone and Ty Tabor's Recto tone as well a SLO tone. Played an HR100 at a music store and it definitely wasn't for me.
EVH's live tone at Cabo Wabo opening was absolutely killer Soldano SLO on the stage.
EVH's live tone at Cabo Wabo opening was absolutely killer Soldano SLO on the stage.
rstites
Well-known member
The SLO is, at its heart, a heavily modified Marshall 2203. The rhythm channel is the exact same topology and you can see the DNA right there. You can also hear the DNA and similarities when you play it. Likewise, the lead channel is very much a 2203+1 topology that is seen in many of the extreme Marshall modifications. Mike just did both of those better than anyone else and combined them.
That's not to take away from what he did because he tweaked every single gain stage and the tone controls, but you can still see the 2203 right there. He went the tighter power section that pretty much all high gain amps go for. (If you try to tweak classic Marshalls up to high gain amps, they'll tend to get mushy because the power section doesn't have enough definition. You can get around that partially by just sticking with 6550 or 5881/6L6 tubes, but the SLO goes further.)
At the end of the day, I still think of a SLO as the super hotrodded version of a Marshall 2203. It covers the same ground and does similar things, just with a bit lower, smoother voice and a built-in lead boost. If you like one, you'll like the other. If you don't like one, you won't like the other. Whether the SLO's extra features are worth double the price to the 2203 to someone is a worthy question.
RaceU4her
Well-known member
What album for you is iconic Wizard or Cameron tone ?
i couldnt tell you what albums wizards and camerons are on, i dont see people calling those amps "iconic" and "the king" like i see people everywhere referring to the SLO though. im not trying to be an asshole, i just never understood what the amp was the king of except price point. no one sees eric, eddie and motley crue and thinks SLO.
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Mr. Willy
Well-known member
I do. It depends on the era, of course. But all three of those guitarists I associate with the SLO. Mick Mars more than the others. He’s been using a SLO as the centerpiece of his rig since the 90’s.
Donnie B.
Banned
Well-known member
Excellent post and I agree.
BigGuitars
Active member
I honestly think Ratt Detonator is a terrific album. Shame Shame Shame is a killer song. Probably Soldano tone at its finest
glpg80
Well-known member
I don’t dislike a SLO, matter of fact I wish I owned one instead of a 5150 II. However I don’t see the justification for the 4k price. My bogner 101B is also based on a modded 2203 platform and literally half the cost. I’d also argue with a better clean channel and a channel dedicated to the 2203 and not only does it stop there, but has both high input and low inputs with the assignable plexi mode. Different amp? Sure. But realistically it’s just really hard to justify the SLO cost for such a one trick pony. 4k is a lot of damn money and I need more out of something than build quality and rare transformers at that price range.
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RockyStar
Well-known member
Are you being belligerent or just an ass? You know the history of the amp and that it has been on countless records. You know it has been used by countless notable musicians and studios/session people. You know (or should) know when it came out it was all the rage and raised the bar for what was available at the time.
If you don't like it, that is great! You found what works for you so stick with it. No need to be pissy towards others or downplay what the amp is just because it may not be your thing.
Carry on...
Smash
Hack
To be fair, I think he is less saying that the amp sucks and more saying that the amp isn't iconic. It is Iconic in hype but not reality. I had the amp for a couple months. I didn't keep it longer cuz it couldn't justify it's position. It is a good amp. And a lot of people like it, and that's fine. But it isn't a modern metal amp. And It had a historically bad loop. It was worth the hype in 89 when it was on the short list of amps with cascading gain. But it is a high quality 5150. Some people want that. Others don't. I think that paying 4k plus for a pcb amp is a little ridiculous. If I do, I better be blown away by the sound. I did and I wasn't.
Mr. Willy
Well-known member
Peavey ripped off the design of the SLO as did Mesa Boogie. I don’t think the 5150 is anywhere near the same league as the SLO. That being said, I’d choose a 5150 over a SLO for metal. The SLO was never designed to be a “metal amp.” It’s more high brow and sophisticated than that. I mean, it doesn’t take a “tone monster” to become iconic metal tone, see Randall solid state and Marshall Valvestate amps. Some of the most iconic metal albums were cut those types of amps. When it comes to the 4K price tag, the market determines what people will pay for things (when the government stays out of the market, that is). People have been paying high prices for SLOs ever since they rolled off the line. It’s always been very interesting and curious to me how some guys seem very offended, almost hostile, to the cost of this particular amp. It’s fascinating. Things cost what people are willing to pay for them.
Smash
Hack
Yeah. I don't think many of us are hostile towards it or the price. I think we are just stating our opinion. I think most of us were able to buy used and try and flip it for the same price because of that hype. The problem is that when you have played it and actually listened to it with an open mind, you are confused about all the things you hear over and over about the amp. You start to wonder if maybe something is wrong with your ears. I play metal, but I play some hard rock as well. I think that the modern metal amps are voiced better for both and designed a lot better feature wise. That is why modern metal amps drive the market. There are very few of us that are playing death metal. We aren't driving the market. But the amps we choose will wipe the floor with a lot of the old amps that people repeat the same statements about to their local guitar center rep hoping that he nods in agreement so they can feel like one of the cool kids. Also, just because dipshits set the price doesn't mean we have to accept it. There are a few of us trying to give people that haven't played the amp a little grounding so they aren't going and buying a brand new one that they lose their ass on in a few months flipping when they stop hearing people's words and start hearing the amp. That said, I loved the amp when I had it. But it was obsolete and couldn't hang with amps 1/2 it's price. If it were my only boutique amp, sure, the search may have ended with it. But it wasn't, and it didn't.
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SkaakS
Member
One of the things I love most about my old school SLO is how incredible it sounds at low volume. I could see that being sure to the darker nature of the tone, but for me it's better than any amp in that 100 watt range at that. I just love that I can play it at bedroom volume or stage volume and get more or less the same amazing tone. 100% agree about the underrated crunch channel as well.
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RockyStar
Well-known member
Your comment shows me where you went wrong...lol. Soldano is the foundation for boutique amps. In an earlier post I addressed the loop. Soldano isn't a high quality 5150. The 5150 is a low quality Soldano. Funny how you compare the two but the Soldano was before the Peavey and Mesa amps. Your measuring stick and talking points are all off kilter and that is ok. You dislike the amp, good for you. Play what you like but NOTHING you say will change what the Soldano amp is and its position in history. That is cemented forever. Is it my go to amp? 95% of the time, no. That doesn't change what it is and where it stands.
Smash
Hack
Yeah. I don't want to start a pissing contest. It is obvious that the RECTO and 5150 were post SLO. But don't forget that Mesa was before the SLO and Soldano was modding mesas the whole time that he was building his amp. I think if you read all my posts on this thread, I never say anything about not liking the amp. I constantly say I like it, as a lot of people on this thread do. Doesn't change the fact that it is overrated. Overrated doesn't mean bad. Just means overrated.
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RockyStar
Well-known member
Nor do I but saying the amp is overacted is bollocks. Anybody can say anything about anything....doesn't make it correct. Again, who was the first of the three? Soldano, I rest my case.
So if the Soldano is indeed overacted, then the Mesa and Peavey must REALLY BE OVERATED since they are knock offs...lol. Soldano isn't metal but the 5150 is a metal masterpiece. We can go round and round on all this stuff. I find it comical actually. Certain folks trying to make the originator of the boutique amp industry into the Nickleback of amps.