Soldano SLO vs Friedman BE100

[eljodon]

I have a Marsha HBE/BE with the usual suff and I find myself using it mostly for rhythm than lead. I tried the SLO but never recorded with it, but I think it cuts more for the leads than the Marsha. I usually end up using my Plexi/JCM800 for leads than my Marsha mainly because the upper mids are more prominent(1.5 kHz to 3kHz). Just get both and call it a day! LOL!

 

[NOE_1942]

BE100 FTW

 

[guitarmike]

I have a Marsha HBE/BE with the usual suff and I find myself using it mostly for rhythm than lead. I tried the SLO but never recorded with it, but I think it cuts more for the leads than the Marsha. I usually end up using my Plexi/JCM800 for leads than my Marsha mainly because the upper mids are more prominent(1.5 kHz to 3kHz). Just get both and call it a day! LOL!

This Saturday will be my first gig with the BE, I am interested to see how it cuts with a full metal band. Church was fine, the other guitar player has a Fender twin, the sounds compliment each other and when I turn the bass up I could bury the bass player.

 

[TrueTone500]

SLO100 all night long!

 

[SLOgriff]

SLO sucks....get a Bogner!

 

[IntenseJim]

Obviously power tubes are different (5881/6L6 vs EL34's). But both are farely popular and straight forward rock amps being toured with by some big names! Has anyone owned both and compared these amps? I already know what an SLO can do (crank the master and it stays tight and just blossoms...). Are these amps similar in tones at high volumes/low volumes? So many other amps (beside the SLO) start to "fart out" when cranked up.

Old thread but I received a new Friedman BE-100 about 1-1/2 weeks ago* with the footswitcheable clean-BE-HBE and VH voice on the front which is subtle. Rear has the ubiquitous Fat, C45, Sat and 1/2 power switch. New line out is provided. You know I have more Soldano amplification than anybody sanely needs including an SLOr.

To answer the question, they are very dissimilar in tone at low to medium volumes.
In a nutshell, the Friedman is darker than the brighter SLO; the SLO sounds tighter.

(I haven't cranked either of them. We do have geological faults around here and I don't want to test them. Although I could end up with lakefront property if I do. )

-Friedman BE/HBE channel cleans up much better and is more dynamic with response to pick attack and volume knob compared to the SLO OD channel; compared to the SLO crunch channel they are similar in such response but the Friedman gets the nod.
-Friedman has more gain on tap.
-Friedman gets all kinds of Marshall tones from Jimi to Blackmore to VH Roth-era to Aldrich and Steve Stevens.
-SLO has more of the 80s tone as it's basis that you RTers know all about. Later era Gary Moore, Lynch, Crue, etc etc. IMHO the crunch channel gets a wicked hybrid Marshall -Fender OD tone not unlike some well known Clapton/Skynyrd and SRV recordings.

Neither can cop the sound of the other; having both is not redundant but is over the top insane for a guy like me.
This Friedman BE100 amp is similar to the OD channel of the SS100 and unless I AB'd them back and forth side by side like a gear nerd (which I did in Van Nuys), I don't think I'd appreciate much of a diffference between the gain channel of the BE and SS.

SPEAKERS:
At the moment I am preferring the BE100 with my 2x12 loaded with Scumback H55 +H75LDC over my J75 and M75 cabs.
The Soldano sounds great with any of them.

*Why did I buy it? I ordered the BE100 at the October LA Amp show when I was still gigging and wanted an Aldrich/Reb Beach era-Whitesnake VH -Steve Steven's style hot rod Marshall-esque amp. The amps are great fun but I'm not gigging anymore so I feel like the prototypical douche playing these professional worldy beasts of an amp at home.

 

[aftec]

I tested them side by side with their own cabs. The SLO has an upper midrange bark completely missing form the BE. The SLO is stiffer and less forgiving. Probably better for bands with 2 guitars or arrangements to cut through. Check Mötley's Corabi record.
The BE is a lot more refined and laid back. A lot more bottom end, and less bark. A highly refined modded Marshall sound. The Fat and C45 switches on the back are amazing. It sits in the music well, but if the arrangement is not done properly it will not cut through like the SLO.
Be would be my choice.

 

[rupe]

*Why did I buy it? I ordered the BE100 at the October LA Amp show when I was still gigging and wanted an Aldrich/Reb Beach era-Whitesnake VH -Steve Steven's style hot rod Marshall-esque amp. The amps are great fun but I'm not gigging anymore so I feel like the prototypical douche playing these professional worldy beasts of an amp at home.
[/color]

The answer to your dilemma is to start gigging again!

Great review/comparison...I would love to add an SLO to my Marsha. I'm thinking it would be a huge sounding complimentary 2 amp rig.

 

[mmolteratx]

SLO sucks....get a Bogner!

Or better yet, get both. Though I keep getting distracted whenever I have the cash for an SLO and buying something else. Currently rocking a 100B with DeYoungs, and I think an SLO would go great with that. I've played the SLO extensively and a couple Friedman mods. The mods were cool, but for me, I like the Bogner voicing better for a thick rhythm tone and the SLO better for a tight, cutting lead.

 

[IntenseJim]

The answer to your dilemma is to start gigging again!

I now work swing shift hour 3pm - 1am including every other weekend's nights... hard to be in a band with those hours and half of the weekends committed to work.
But I get to ski > 100 days/year and SUP and mtn bike every day so life is still pretty good.

 

[Jofipe]

Just get a Slostortion through the simple clean on the BE and you are set

 

[gbsmusic]

Ive played so many amps including the Friedman amps and the SLO is the amp that I always come back to. I have always said and always will say its the best I have ever heard. The BE and the HBE are great amp's but they dont live up to a SLO!! Just my opinion.

 

[gbsmusic]

Rock God we kind of like them too

 

[Ventura]

*Why did I buy it? I ordered the BE100 at the October LA Amp show when I was still gigging and wanted an Aldrich/Reb Beach era-Whitesnake VH -Steve Steven's style hot rod Marshall-esque amp. The amps are great fun but I'm not gigging anymore so I feel like the prototypical douche playing these professional worldy beasts of an amp at home.

I can help you with this, Jim. Just send it to me - free up that guilty, douchebaggery sense of pain and send it to me.

You'll feel better skiing and SUP'ing in no time

 

[IntenseJim]

I'm too depressed to even move because nobody included me in those Soldano photos above.

 

[se7en]

Have had both and prefer the BE by far. I liked the SLO for lead, but that was about it.

 

[iggs]

I had the SLO as well as Ecstasy 101b and now have the BE-100, both the SLO and XTC are sold. (also had Fargen 800 MkII, VHT 50CL ... etc)

All those amps are amazing in their own right and it's easy to get a great sound out of them, they are different and by no means "better then" the other ...

SLO: always wanted one so I finally got it a few years back. The first one I bought came straight from the factory (bought it at L&M in Toronto) and then it went straight back because the transformer was making such a loud mechanical buzz that the whole head-shell was vibrating. Bill from Soldano and the guys from the store didn't think it was much of a problem and while it sounded good and I do know that transformer hum (most likely induced due to an issue with laminates) is not a big deal ... still, for an amp that costs that much it was not right (PS ... the transformers were screwed in tight and there didn't seem to be any shipping damage) ... I got a replacement at the store and this one still had buzzing trannies but very slight so I took it anyway.
Sounded great when cranked ... was amazing live and set really well in the mix .. but ultimately I didn't feel I liked it as much as I thought I would, it wasn't as in-your-face as I like my amps to be and didn't have that immediate fast attack I was looking for. The low end was lacking and didn't seem to "move" as much air as I'd liked it to. Also ... I felt like the gain past 5-6 on the dial just compressed more and lost definition. Crunch channel with gain wide open was the best sound I got out of that amp ... for my taste.

XTC: I just recently sold my XTC and as fantastic as that amp is, again ... I just couldn't really get it to where I was 100% happy with it. Always was just a little nasally and "boxy" sounding ... for my taste anyway.

We play REALLY loud in rehearsal and live so not being able to open these amps up is/was not a problem.

BE: I got the BE-100 mid March this year and as soon as I cranked it ... that was it. No fiddling with knobs required ... it was exactly what I was looking for.
BE input, gain around 6-7 on the dial, bass, treble at noon, mids a bit past noon, presence a bit less, master at noon ... Bogner straight with V30's ... and that's it.
Huge crunch with tons of tight bottom even with my Grosh strat with single coils (DiMarzio Areas and Injector). Very fast attack with zero flub no matter how fast I pick or if I'm playing power or full chords. Cuts in loud live mix perfectly. Just huge sounding amp.

PS ... RE: the buzzing SLO transformer, recently I tried a HR50 in the store and as soon as I turned it on it was buzzing and the whole head shell was vibrating ... the SLO they had was totally quiet.

 

[SBlue]

I do own a SLO and Marsha #008. They are both great amps.
I've always thought the SLO sounded like a modern/high gain Marshall would like to sound.
Interesting enough, when I have guests and they try some of the amps here for the first time, they always have the same impression about the Marsha, SLO and Dual Recto. Marsha is the old school traditional high gain, DR is the modern, guttural high gain. The SLO sits right in between them... not as growly as the DR, but more than the Marsha.

 

[se7en]

Hmm...I find more growl and swirl in the tone of the BE100 than the SLO...The SLO is smooth and not very gritty like a Marshall. I always thought the Soldano products had more of an American take on things than anything British in the midrange. In fact, I think Mike Soldano said the SLO was based off the Fender Bassman, which was based off a General Electric circuit.

 

[PlayAndersons]

SLO sucks....get a Bogner!

Or better yet, get both. Though I keep getting distracted whenever I have the cash for an SLO and buying something else. Currently rocking a 100B with DeYoungs, and I think an SLO would go great with that. I've played the SLO extensively and a couple Friedman mods. The mods were cool, but for me, I like the Bogner voicing better for a thick rhythm tone and the SLO better for a tight, cutting lead.

You are 100% correct in thinking that a 100b and SLO go well together. Its stupid good...