Soldano SLO-100 Any Specfic Year or Specs More Desirable

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Six Stringer

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Possibly keeping a look out for a Soldano SLO-100. Is there a specific year or specs that I should be aware of to buy or avoid?
 
Six Stringer":309h5cfn said:
Possibly keeping a look out for a Soldano SLO-100. Is there a specific year or specs that I should be aware of to buy or avoid?
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Nope. Most consistent boutique high gainer made. All 3 that I owned sounded exactly the same. All were 6 yrs or so apart from one another.
Now, I have heard REALLY early models are a bit better. But I've never played one. I also heard models that don't have a loop at all sound even better. Again, never played one of those.
Fantastic amps though.
:rock:
 
Get one with the factory depth mod. The other factory mods (Warren Haynes, SRV, half-power switch, FX loop level, no loop, dual overdrive etc.) are useless IMHO.
 
When I had one, I went a bit bonkers researching them a bit. I think pretty quickly the SLO circuit was nailed down and the component values and transformers and such never changed.

I think I remember seeing that the very early ones used a lot more carbon comp resistors, so perhaps sound different (particularly now as those resistors may have drifted over time). I think over the years they varied the type of filter caps for the power section (radial vs. axial lead electrolytics, etc.), but I think the values remained consistent. And supposedly at some point recently the manufacturer of the orange drop caps changed and some people complained about it, but it's not like Soldano has any control over where those things get made.
 
I've owned 9 over the years, from the '87 I got from Brent Muscat/Faster Pussycat to the '15 I got from a local. With good tubes and biased right, every one of them sounded pretty much the same...very consistent amp. The one I had that was a factory no-loop (4 preamp tubes instead of 5) seemed a tad more "up front" when the masters got turned up, but that's about it. Just an opinion.
 
For what i seen, at some point filter caps changed; from the blue Mallory TC to something else black and radial.
 
Some of the SLO nut-huggers... or collectors will claim that the earliest 1992 or whatever year such amps sound better, but they have all sounded the same to me? Some small circuit and parts changes over the years.
 
Thanks for all the input. I almost bit the bullet on one today. I have my eye on another. Please keep the info coming; snce I have no ther avenue for info.
 
I'm not sure if my opinion is particularly relevant here as I've never played an actual SLO, but I couldn't imagine my Avenger without the depth control! Make of that what you will... it really changes the feel and character of the amp quite a lot, I find it extremely useful.
 
So I have found two. One is a '97 with the effects loop and the other is a '89 with the loop. The '89 is a couple hundred more than the '97.

Which way to go?
 
Do you want one with a loop?
What color are they? I think the snakeskin is a more popular one.
Age of tubes in both?

Everything being equal, they all sound the same. No loop SLO’s do sound different.
 
The '89 is black, no loop. The '97 is snakeskin, with loop. Both have underwent recent tube changes.
 
Regarding the Depth control, I've owned two earlier models without the Depth and currently have a 2018 SLO with the Depth. I have to admit, it is nice to have, especially for low-volume playing. Fills in the lows for a deeper sound. With that said, I do keep it between 2 or completely off. Anything more than 2 becomes too much and into the Recto territory of low end.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about finding one with factory Depth control, as it's a super easy mod that any tech can do (or yourself, really), and it'll be the exact same as if Soldano did it from the factory. As said above, it really helps out when playing at less-than-gig volumes. Just my opinion...
 
I have a stock SLO. I don’t see it needing any more low end than it already has. Especially at volume. The SLO’s booty is Kate Beckinsale. Nice and firm, tight. Any more low end and she becomes J. Lo.
 
I never figured out those x1200 or whatever they are in Soldano cabinets. They sounded bad to me.
 
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