Soldano SLO

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Tim, did you keep you Quickrod?

[hippietim]

Tim, did you keep you Quickrod?

nope

[kmanick]

Get an Engl SE already

[Robert Burns]

Umm...this thing is kind of cool so far.

The clean channel is surprisingly good - particularly if you set it to crunch and back the gain way down.

The overdrive is pretty good - it's too muddy at reasonable volumes though - almost like a mild fuzz box. You have to crank it WAY TOO FUCKING LOUD to get the good stuff.

It sounded good with the Marshall JCM 900 4x12 w/75 watt Celestions and the Port City 2x12 cab with V30s. The Avatar 4x12 with V30s was not good. The Avatar 4x12 is probably seeing it's last days around here - it really is too boxy sounding and just needs to go away.

Guitar-wise I just used my PRS SC245 and my JEM. Surprisingly chords sounded better with the JEM and single note stuff was better with the SC245 - that's much different results than I'm used to with those two guitars. The single in the JEM actually sounded pretty good but I still need to try a Strat and Tele through it.

I also want to try it with an attenuator and maybe swap some tubes around.

I have a sneaking suspicion this SLO will not last long though. I still think there is a Suhr OD100 Standard+ in my future.

I ran across a Diezel Herbert with a Columbus foot controller for a decent price - hopefully that will be here by this weekend.

I'd also like to try a 5150 III.

I'll say one thing for you...your trying everything! Man, that's a revolving door of cool gear! From what ive read, an Attenuator is
mandatory, yes? Or you soon will be deaf.

[lynchfan6]

Wow,,,I'm surprised....I find my SLO to be the least buzzy of any amp I've owned....very smooth and liquidy and so toneful. Maybe you are running it too "bright"...when I first got my SLO, I was using too much treble and it can be harsh. Try the EVH settings he used with his SLO......treble at 4, mids at 3, bass around 8, presence around 5. Overdrive gain around 6 or 7. When I use these settings through my Marshall cab with Eminence V12's and GB12's,,,,it is it for me, the sound I've always wanted.....really smooth and liquid gain just gushing with harmonics and tone. And I've never got so many compliments on my sound as I do with the Soldano. But then again, we all hear and like different things in our own way. When I had Celesion G12T75's in my cab, it was a bit different sound.... Best move I ever made was swapping those out.

[TheUntalentedOne]

I love Soldanos . Have too many , including the SLO . Just out of interest Tim , have you tried a Decatone . It sounds great but and has a different sound than the SLO , HR family .

[horns666]

I don't think Tim will like the 5150 III..I would be surprised if he does. I like it better than a Recto, but that's not saying much. I don't think he'll like Engl either.

I thought the JSX was one of the better amps I've tried at a store in a while...but you don't see one at my house. If I needed to grab an amp in a hurry I'd take the JSX over the classic 5150, Carvin Legacy and 5150 III without a doubt. 5150 would be my second choice, then 5150 III..the Legacy would be last. As far as tone in concern, I'd have to go with the SLO over said amps..but I'd need to slam the front with a good stomp to get by...or just grab a VHT.

I still would love to try the Deizel. But, I couldn't be happier with my Bogner..so it doesn't concern me to be honest.

[hippietim]

So I spent more time with the SLO today. With a THD attenuator set to -8db I could get the good stuff at a reasonable volume. Bass and Mids around 6, Treble around 4-5, Presence 2, Gain 6, Master 6. It sounds really great. The problem is that at that level the clean channel has no headroom.

Another observation I made today is that the SLO does not react as well to guitar volume changes like the Suhr, Splawn, or Legacy do.

The tubes are GT6L6 and a mix of GT (2) and Sovtek (the rest) 12AX7s.

The effects loop worked great with my Eventide Eclipse. That's no surprise though because the Eclipse has a lot of level control at each stage. The signal coming out of the loop is very hot even with the level way down so it was no surprise that pedals sounded like complete butt.

I have a 5150 III and a Deizel Herbert coming this week. If the Soldano is still here it will be a fun matchup

Bill - I would not take a JSX over a Legacy. I actually liked my Legacy - it's a pretty dark amp though. Definitely not suited for newer metal unless you've got a stomp box. But the Legacy can go to Marshall territories that none of those you listed can. I could see liking the JSX Ultra channel for newer metal but the other two channels were pretty blah.

[Shawn Lutz]

Tim, try a 101B or a VHT 50 CL when the SLO, Herbert and 5153 are outta the mix...curiuos to see how you feel about them as those two never left my amp stable after getting them

[hippietim]

A buddy left his 101B Classic here for a couple weeks. It was very good but not quite what I was looking for. I had the Legacy at the time as well. I know this is sacrilege but I was able to coax better tones with the Legacy. The Bogner was substantially more versatile though.

I have since played through a regular 101B and really like the second channel on it. The cleans were only fair though. The 3rd channel was decent but that second channel really shines. Oddly, I thought the 3rd channel sounded best with the plexi switch on at fairly low gain.

How does the 50 CL compare to using the GP3 with a 2/50/2? I really like the 2/50/2 but really thought the GP3 was pretty bad.

[xDEATHSTARx]

Get an Engl SE already

I have a engl se el34 and its my favorite amp, there's so many awsome tones in it.

[xDEATHSTARx]

I have a 5150 III and a Deizel Herbert coming this week. If the Soldano is still here it will be a fun matchup

i have a herbert also and i love it, i had a 5150III and it sounded great in a band situation and it was a nice amp.
if you ever want any info on amps you can pm me anytime.
i own a engl se, herbert, and mesa roadtser and i used to own the following amps.
uberschall rev. blue
xtc 101b
slo with depth mod
splawn quickrod
cobra
vh4
HERBERT
powerball
savage 120
invader 100 and 150
single, dual, and triple rectifier
6505 and 5150 III
vht d120
vht ul
zakk 2203
slash 2555
and a few other amps i cant think of right now.

[horns666]

Tim - When John and I tried the Legacy it did remind me of a darker Marshall tone. In all honesty, the guy at the store did say there was something wrong with it.

As far as the JSX..I went directly to the ultra channel of course. The tone I go for is somewhere in the Nevermore / Arch Enemy but still in early VH, moderm metal tones. As you know, I don't play blues, classic rock or anything remotely "pretty" sounding. With that said, the JSX handled everything I threw at it. I could see why Satch would like that amp because it has a very smooth gain structure, with plenty on tap to execute the toughest harmonics. I got some pretty sick "Cemetary Gates" squeals with ease. Heh, If you were there with me, I think you'd agree that we got along nicely ..especially if we tried the 5150 III afterwards...maybe you'll like the 5150 III , it has a dark Marshall-like tone with enough gain to work with. It's much more suited for classic VH tones than the 5150/6505 ..but so is the JSX

The JSX could be a one channel amp for all I care..but that fits my needs. You're a more versatile player than I , therefore you require a versatile amp, or you could A/B I suppose. John C at GC stated the JSX was based on the XXX..Peavey used that as a base and Joe tweaked what he didn't like about the XXX. I know Joe did use 5150's for a short time...that was either right before or after he used blue 30th anniversary Marshalls.

[horns666]

xDeathstarx..very nice toys there..I was just peepin' at 'em.

I owned a few amps in my time, and I'm old. I've owned a Uberschall for approx 6 years now. The only complaint I had at high volume levels was a midrange "honk" I was getting with the stock JJ preamp tubes. With some good advice from The tube store I installed 6 matching Tug Sol. This not only remedied the obnoxios "honk" but it gave me more output, lows, along with noise that required me to adjust the gate on my G Major. I like as much gain possible while retaining definition to execute classic VH...which I do. I go for a very heavy "tone" somewhere in the ballpark of Nevermore/Arch Enemy..

I always wanted to try a Cobra and a Deizel..I've tried just about everything else. Since you owned these amps, what is your opinion of the Uberschall among these high gain boutique amps. Versatilty is NOT important with me..I just go for heaviest tone possible (no stomps)! I've been VERY happy with my Uber, am I missing something not being able to try amps mentioned above?

Oh BTW , welcome..

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Tim, get the Marshall Vintage Modern with matching cab. i think you'd end up keeping it. but its got to have the matching cab.