SLO100 effects question

[Twisteramps]

Biggest issue I had with using a lead boost with dumbass soundmen, was that they'd have me almost at redline I guess, I'd hit the boost (I just used an Intellifex patch with direct signal boosted a bit), the soundguy would probably see it lighting up too much red on the meter, and pull me down in the mix, and then forget and LEAVE me down in the mix when I was done with my solo.

Happened ALL the time...

Aaaggh....

I guess I've been lucky - the few times we did gigs with provided soundguys, I always gave them my normal level and then showed them the 'boost' level, and tweaked it slightly per their instructions. Most soundguys in my area hang out by the board for the first few songs, then you see them off hitting on chicks or getting drunk.

Pete

[jgcable]

I would offer the opinion that if you absolutely need a boost for an SLO you use something into the front end. Volume pedals and boosters do fine through the front and many are designed to be used as such.

That said, I have never used a boost of any kind in all my years with an SLO. Even in situations with two guitar players it does fine without a boost in terms of cutting. If you are playing in a one guitar band you definitely don't need it. If you are playing in a two guitar band the two of you should be working together to play off each other and make adjustments on the fly when the other is doing his thing.

The best case for this is to have the soundman adjusting for you as you come in and out of leads through the house system.

My personal opinion is that nothing should ever be put through the loop of an SLO. It does your tone no favors regardless of how transparent the manufacturer of the effects unit in question claims to be or what line level it operates.

If you do your homework and compare your tone with given effects through the front end and through the loop you'll discover what I have (unless, of course, you like it better LOL). I like the raw tone of the SLO without any effects but if you need them for live work you're stuck.

If you end up experimenting let us know your results. I'd be curious to hear your opinion!

Bret

I certainly appreciate your response Bret but I couldn't disagree more.

#1. Putting a boost in front of an already overdriven amp only adds gain. The tiny amount of volume boost isn't enough for a solo to cut through a live mix with another guitar player.
#2. Counting on a soundman to boost my solo's... are you kidding me!!
Unless you are a professional act with a traveling on the payroll soundman and a guitar tech standing next to him.. you will never find a soundman that is on the ball enough to boost your solo's. I am in an original act. None of these guys have ever heard our songs. Most of the time.. we don't even have a soundman.
#3. A volume pedal in front of your amp acts exactly like the volume control on your guitar. No boost there bro!
#4. Time based effects in front of an amp.. especially delay.. don't work either. If you notice.. the repeats clean up as they trail off. Nasty.
#5. I talked to Bill from Soldano and he recommended the G-Major or an Intellifex. He also told me a low impedance volume control will work in the loop for solo boost.
I do agree that from what I have read.. the SLO sounds the best with nothing in the loop. Unfortunately for me.. I absolutely need solo boost (at least 6db), delay and chorus so I am going to be forced to put a processor in the loop.

[jgcable]

I just got my factory Soldano logo for my SLO clone. $18.00 shipped directly from Bill at Soldano. COOL.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

i feel that if you and your other guitarists sound is good. you don't need a solo bost. each of you should cut through enough to hear what the individual is doing.

[jgcable]

i feel that if you and your other guitarists sound is good. you don't need a solo bost. each of you should cut through enough to hear what the individual is doing.

My other guitarist currently doesn't use boost for the few solo's that he does. I can barely hear his solo's. I am going to try no boost with the SLO to see what happens next time at band rehearsal.

[slo100]

I am only telling you things have that worked/not worked for me in the past. A good quality clean boost into the front end has worked fine. I am not saying add an overdrive device that boosts gain into the front end. I only run my preamp at 12 o'clock so a clean boost worked fine when I was testing it but it never got incorporated.

I am not a touring professional by any means but the fellow we have watching the board is great at adjusting levels for solos and tapping in delay times and EQ'ing things. We have our own full PA and guy who knows us and our stuff. Works for me, your results may vary if you rent a PA or play places with house staff.

I have tried an Intellifex, Replifex, Quadraverb, Midiverb, and a few others I can't remember and not been happy with anything in the loop. So I live without delay. I guess I should clarify that when I play the SLO live it goes out without anything because that amp is only used for gigs/jams where I stay on one channel and rock out....the Bogner gets used for the cover band where I actually use channels and effects and I run a delay/reverb through the loop of that amp...it is a parallel loop vs. series. For the SLO I go the old school route and use the volume knob to give me that half-ass clean sound like I used to do with my 2203 back in the day. I have been playing a 1977 Les Paul with P-90's recently so it works especially well with that guitar.

I have never used a volume pedal in my life so I guess I assumed it gave you some boost at full throttle...sorry about that. My feeling is that I am not totally saturating my preamp gain as much as others may be. I am going for the Warren Haynes tone these days vs. Warren DeMartini so it is a different world.

I have been fiddling with my SLO and various effects/devices for over 10 years now...it is the the only amp I have ever played consistently for that long! I am just trying to share my experience and what I've learned...didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. If you don't believe me come on over to the house! :-)

[Twisteramps]

I am not a touring professional by any means but the fellow we have watching the board is great at adjusting levels for solos and tapping in delay times and EQ'ing things. We have our own full PA and guy who knows us and our stuff. Works for me, your results may vary if you rent a PA or play places with house staff.

Bret, buy that man a beer on me next time you play. I can't imagine how cool it would be to have someone watching the board so closely. You can't even pay people to do that around here...

Pete

[hippietim]

Pete, here's the promised pics of the Lumos.

First, a few shots after I yanked it from it's home:







Last night I transplanted the Lumos into a rack chassis. It also has the guitar and MIDI feed through from the front of the rack. I moved the Lumos level and LED to the front. I busted the little LED holder when I was taking (yanking) it out of the Hammond box it was in.

[Twisteramps]

Nice job rehousing it! Where'd you get the rack enclosure?

Pete

[hippietim]

Nice job rehousing it! Where'd you get the rack enclosure?

Pete

Thanks. I got the rack enclosure from Mouser. It's a cheap BUD enclosure. This is the first one I've done so I didn't want to spend big $$$ only to screw it up. If I stick with this for a while I will get a box from Lansing Enclosures - they are about $65 but better made.

One thing though, don't try and think about tip/sleeve/shield and switching jacks and stuff at 4am - because you'll end up wiring the shield to the tip and the inner wire to the sleeve. Look at the "thru" wires and you'll see what I did. D'oh. It's dead quiet but still I'm an idiot. I'm going to redo those because it's just gonna bug me. I need to go get an LED socket thingee at Radio Shack anyhow.

[hippietim]

Here's the BUD box at Mouser - under "Small Aluminum Rack Mount Chassis & Covers"

http://www.mouser.com/catalog/629/1552.pdf

Here's the Lansing box:

http://lansing-enclosures.com/main/graybox/a-style/details.html

[slo100]

That's pretty cool. I can see it now, Pete is going into the rack effects business.

You could powder coat that easily with some labels it it'd look pro.

Love the home-brew stuff!

Pete we keep our sound guy well oiled. It is nice having someone like that. If I could just figure out how to get him to help load in and out now...

[Twisteramps]

That's pretty cool. I can see it now, Pete is going into the rack effects business.

You could powder coat that easily with some labels it it'd look pro.

Love the home-brew stuff!

Pete we keep our sound guy well oiled. It is nice having someone like that. If I could just figure out how to get him to help load in and out now...

Not me going into the rack business, Tim is! I am working on a fun rackmount amp project though -6V6 powered, attenuator, few more interesting tweaks too.

Pete

[hippietim]

trust me, this thing doesn't look pro. i'm a hack at this stuff but it amuses me so i do it anyhow. i did bust out the p-touch and put some labels on it though

[jgcable]

I am only telling you things have that worked/not worked for me in the past. A good quality clean boost into the front end has worked fine. I am not saying add an overdrive device that boosts gain into the front end. I only run my preamp at 12 o'clock so a clean boost worked fine when I was testing it but it never got incorporated.

I am not a touring professional by any means but the fellow we have watching the board is great at adjusting levels for solos and tapping in delay times and EQ'ing things. We have our own full PA and guy who knows us and our stuff. Works for me, your results may vary if you rent a PA or play places with house staff.

I have tried an Intellifex, Replifex, Quadraverb, Midiverb, and a few others I can't remember and not been happy with anything in the loop. So I live without delay. I guess I should clarify that when I play the SLO live it goes out without anything because that amp is only used for gigs/jams where I stay on one channel and rock out....the Bogner gets used for the cover band where I actually use channels and effects and I run a delay/reverb through the loop of that amp...it is a parallel loop vs. series. For the SLO I go the old school route and use the volume knob to give me that half-ass clean sound like I used to do with my 2203 back in the day. I have been playing a 1977 Les Paul with P-90's recently so it works especially well with that guitar.

I have never used a volume pedal in my life so I guess I assumed it gave you some boost at full throttle...sorry about that. My feeling is that I am not totally saturating my preamp gain as much as others may be. I am going for the Warren Haynes tone these days vs. Warren DeMartini so it is a different world.

I have been fiddling with my SLO and various effects/devices for over 10 years now...it is the the only amp I have ever played consistently for that long! I am just trying to share my experience and what I've learned...didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. If you don't believe me come on over to the house! :-)

When I get my SLO I will certainly be picking your brain. Thanks for all the great info.