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Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta :)

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  • Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta :)

    Ok, no clips. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] We spent a lot of time A/B/Cing stuff, and came to the following conclusions, or at least I did:

    1) The Vetta is a great sounding amp, but it ain't a soldano. In a mix live, or in the studio I think it would do the trick, but playing one amp at a time in your face, it just doesn't have the complex tone the SLO or even the HR has. I might have been able to dial it in a little closer with some post eq on the amp and a little compression, but I was more interested in the SLO vs HR.

    The SLO is a better sounding amp. No doubt. It has a more hifi 'clarity' and string definition. Also has more high end, but it's not icepicky like a Fender, or irritating like some amps. Wonderful wonderful great sounding amp.

    However, the HR held up EXTREMELY well. Mine sounded thicker than the SLO, and had more warmth, most likely the XL mod in action. At times we had the bass to 0 and it was about as bassy as the stock SLO with bass on 6, at least at moderate volumes. (loud bedroom playing/anger people in the house, but not in the neighborhood)

    Some of the tonal differences are likely from the XL mod on the HR, and also the tubes used, possibly. To get the same ballpark tone as the SLO, we had to give it quite a bit more presence and treble, and cut the bass considerably. Also wasn't quite as gainy as the SLO, but this could have been the tubes also. The high end on the HR was nice but trashier sounding than the SLO. A good comparison would be a 60s muscle car (the HR) vs a modern high performance car. The HR still has as much clarity as any high gain amp I've owned, and gets this great aggressive 'snarl' to it.

    Question is... is it worth twice as much? Right now, it isn't for me, but I'm going to see how the HR does at practice first, and then possibly at a gig. One thing that does keep me from buying any really boutiquey amp like an SLO or Bogner is that I hate getting my gear 'smoked out' from playing bars... I would almost rather keep the HR, and save up gig $ for a bit and then buy an SLO to just use at home.

    I think that some people might actually prefer the HR over an SLO on tone alone, IF they wanted something that was thicker and had a little more trash in the high frequencies. I prefer the SLO, but the HR is still a keeper.

    Pete

  • #2
    Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

    Here's an interesting take on the differences between the HR and the SLO: I've had all three HRs, virtually in a row, before I bought my SLO so I was very well versed on what they can do. I had the HR50+ when I got my SLO and spent the better part of the first week comparing them. At first I didn't hear much more than about a ten percent difference between the two.
    But then I put the HR away and concentrated on learning the SLO. After that week I pulled the HR back out and man, what a difference.

    The moral of the story? The HRs are badass amps and are built like other makers "boutique" amps are, and can hold their own in every way.

    But the SLO takes time to tweak, and it's still mack daddy. Are the differences enough to justify the price? I honestly don't think so. But that didn't stop me from loving mine...when I wasn't hating it!

    As an aside, I played an HR with the XL mod...and hated it. YMMV!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

      I used to own a Deccatone (the SLO with all popular mods) Yeah right. Not even close to the flagship. Anyway, when I owned that, I compared it to an HR50+ a friend had, and an SL60 which a friend had, and now with the SLO, the SLO is the only way to go as far as Soldano goes. Although, if you can find an SL60, it's a sick amp. No channel switching though. So if you're not sure how to use the volume pot on your guitar, it's not the amp for you.

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      • #4
        Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

        I had both 50+ and SLO and tried with a same cabinet.
        These are same brand amps but very different.
        I liked both but I prefered SLO.
        SLO sounded so much alive.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

          Another thing, the SLO (to me) is not an "at home" amp. It needs to be way cranked up to sound good. I wouldn't worry about bringing it to a gig at all. It's built like a tank, but better! The potentiometers are sealed so the "smoke" you speak of can't hurt it! I've been doin' gigs with it for a few years now and has been zero trouble.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

            I just don't like the idea of subjecting really nice gear to club gigs that pay $300-$400 a night. Not saying that the HR50+ isn't nice, it is a great amp, but just thinking of subjecting an SLO to that kind of abuse makes me sad. If I had one, I'd probably just bring it to higher paying or outdoor gigs.

            I'm not real sure I like the XL mod either... I talked to Bill Sundt at Soldano about it, and he offered to mod the amp for $150. I talked to James Peters about the XL stuff, and he gave me enough info over the phone that I'm going to mod mine with a depth control - this way I can not only take the XL mod totally out, but also adjust how much. I'm also going to tweak the low end to my liking also. Total parts cost is going to be about $5, and I'm going to install the control where the line out volume is so I can put the amp easily back to stock and not drill the chassis.

            The guy who dialled in the SLO and the HR for the comparison is a boutique amp nut, and really good at bringing out the best in an amp. I also briefly got to mess with his Engl Powerball and Bogner Uberschall... also got to play with an Ecstacy 101B and Shiva at his house too in the past. Dang, I love having guitar playing friends with cool gear!

            Pete

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

              [ QUOTE ]
              Another thing, the SLO (to me) is not an "at home" amp. It needs to be way cranked up to sound good. I wouldn't worry about bringing it to a gig at all. It's built like a tank, but better! The potentiometers are sealed so the "smoke" you speak of can't hurt it! I've been doin' gigs with it for a few years now and has been zero trouble.

              [/ QUOTE ]

              I didn't mean I would worry about in from a reliability standpoint... just that I hate getting cigarette smoke stains and smell in my gear.
              Pete

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

                interesting. I may have to pick up an HR50 or 50+...maybe it will prolong my desires of a 101b [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
                shawnlutz.com

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

                  Here in New York, smoking in bars is illegal now. (Thanks New York you @#$%^)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

                    Everyone here has really good points. I have never played a HR50 with the xl mod but from the sounds of it I would probably not like it. I like the Bass on my SLO at 6. No lower and no higher. If I had the HR with the mod than I would have the bass on 0 I guess. The clips Pete posted sounded great. It really sounded close to what I am getting out of my SLO with the exeption of the more open brightness. I don't know how else to describe it but I think all of you that use the SLO past or present know what I am talking about. I would like to find a good deal on a HR50 without any mods. Just a single channel to mess around with.

                    Great review. Great clips.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

                      [ QUOTE ]
                      Everyone here has really good points. I have never played a HR50 with the xl mod but from the sounds of it I would probably not like it. I like the Bass on my SLO at 6. No lower and no higher. If I had the HR with the mod than I would have the bass on 0 I guess. The clips Pete posted sounded great. It really sounded close to what I am getting out of my SLO with the exeption of the more open brightness. I don't know how else to describe it but I think all of you that use the SLO past or present know what I am talking about. I would like to find a good deal on a HR50 without any mods. Just a single channel to mess around with.

                      Great review. Great clips.

                      [/ QUOTE ]

                      Thanks man. According to James Peters, the XL mod is easy to put back to stock or make it variable. One bad thing about it - *all* HR series amps build since 98 or so have it.

                      Pete

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

                        Pete, if you ask Bill he will email you schems all the SLO mods including both the Warren mods, Depth, and others.

                        Good review. I was expecting something much worse!
                        www.sandimascharvel.com

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

                          [ QUOTE ]
                          Pete, if you ask Bill he will email you schems all the SLO mods including both the Warren mods, Depth, and others.

                          Good review. I was expecting something much worse!

                          [/ QUOTE ]

                          Bret - I asked, Bill wouldn't share them. The most help he gave was that the XL mod was 'different than the values printed on the circuit board'. James Peters asked Bill about some of the mods too at one time, especially the SRV one, since James' roomate at the time had an SLO. Bill wouldn't let him have that info either.

                          Bill seemed to want to sell Soldano's amp modding services, which is fine - they are a business, not a charity or anything. However, I hate shipping amps, and doing without my amp for at least a week or two was out of the question.

                          If you have any of these, I'd love to see em... [email protected] is my email if you'd like to pass em on. I read stuff on older usenet postings about Bill freely sharing mods/etc... maybe Soldano's policies changed.

                          Pete

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

                            I have them all either in email somewhere or I may have paper fax copies. Have to check my files.

                            Since the SLO has the warranty (that you so clearly disparaged in another thread ;-)) I think they want to be the ones working on the amps to avoid conflicts with warranty work & modifications. Just a guess. This is the first I have heard of him not being forthcoming with the mods.

                            I used the depth mod on my Super Bass and it sounds great. I love the character and tone of the SLO as-is and don't feel the need to monkey with it so I have let it be. It already has the Haynes mod which I seldom use.

                            I'll find them and get them to you soon.
                            Bret
                            www.sandimascharvel.com

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Soldano SLO vs HR50+ vs Vetta

                              [ QUOTE ]
                              I have them all either in email somewhere or I may have paper fax copies. Have to check my files.

                              Since the SLO has the warranty (that you so clearly disparaged in another thread ;-)) I think they want to be the ones working on the amps to avoid conflicts with warranty work & modifications. Just a guess. This is the first I have heard of him not being forthcoming with the mods.

                              I used the depth mod on my Super Bass and it sounds great. I love the character and tone of the SLO as-is and don't feel the need to monkey with it so I have let it be. It already has the Haynes mod which I seldom use.

                              I'll find them and get them to you soon.
                              Bret

                              [/ QUOTE ]

                              Thanks Bret. The only thing I disparaged about the warranty on the SLO was that it doesn't cover the transformers... and that's most of the cost of an amp. I was perusing their website, and it did say that covering the transformer was at their discretion, which does sound much better to me than "not covered at all".

                              Pete

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