Soldano SLO 100 your thoughts

[pittbull]

Need some of your thoughts on the Soldano SLO 100, Thanks

 

[Drinkingdeath01]

Amazing. Best sounding non-Marshall that still sounds very Marshall like, if that makes any sense. Lol. Very tight and articulate. The note definition is fantastic. Love mine.

 

[pittbull]

I’m thinking about owning one

 

[Sapient]

Best head in the world!! No doubt get one ...or two!!!









whatever

 

[pittbull]

This is just my opinion I believe the first time Edward Van Halen played a Soldano SLO I believe it was the sound he was looking for when his Marshall plexi started to fade thats the sound he wanted back in his Marshall plexi .

 

[Derek S]

Love mine, never parting with it. Warren Haynes, George Lynch, Joe Satriani, Van Halen, Gary Moore, etc...all used/use an SLO...yet all sound totally different with the same amp - it's only a one trick pony if you're not capable of getting more than one tone out of it. It's an iconic amp honestly. Not trying to sell any one on it, just saying, I've played, owned and sold many, many high gainers and only two stopped me dead in my tracks and put a stop to even thoughts of needing a new amp, the SLO and the XTC.

Added bonus: the SLO sounds way better than some would have you believe at lower volumes, especially if you're into clean boosting with a pedal. It DOESN'T have to be rattling the windows to sound amazing. I have tons of clips that prove it.

 

[StrummerJoe]

The SLO 100 is an amazing amp. Unless you want to do mid-scooped thrash.

For everything else it's an asskicker.

Eric Clapton used one. SRV was having one modded for him before he passed that Mike keeps locked away.

@Derek S is right. It's not the amp that's the one trick pony.

If you have the opportunity, means, and the deal is right it's a no brainer in my book. Also, the risk is low. If for some reason you don't get along with it the resale is high, especially for the early ones.

And you're right, @pitbull - EVH did like the sound of the SLO100. So much so that many refer to the original Peavey 5150 as an SLO knock off. There was a lot of SLO 100 on the F.U.C.K. album, along with his Peavey 5150. He went with Peavey for their ability to produce on a larger scale than Soldano.

 

[StrummerJoe]

Love mine, never parting with it. Warren Haynes, George Lynch, Joe Satriani, Van Halen, Gary Moore, etc...all used/use an SLO...yet all sound totally different with the same amp - it's only a one trick pony if you're not capable of getting more than one tone out of it. It's an iconic amp honestly. Not trying to sell any one on it, just saying, I've played, owned and sold many, many high gainers and only two stopped me dead in my tracks and put a stop to even thoughts of needing a new amp, the SLO and the XTC.

Added bonus: the SLO sounds way better than some would have you believe at lower volumes, especially if you're into clean boosting with a pedal. It DOESN'T have to be rattling the windows to sound amazing. I have tons of clips that prove it.

Yep! And that's one more amazing thing about that amp. It's like that because the gain is mostly generated in the pre-amp.

I have only had opportunity to play through an old friends quite some time ago. Fire breather.

One of these days...

 

[TheToneDig]

SLO100 is a top-shelf amp with a price tag to match. If I was shopping for a Sunn Model-T which comes at a nice price tag used, I would consider a SLO because they can do that whole sludge sound at low tunings no problem.

What the SLO has going for it is that it is a single channel high gain amp. Like the EVH 5150III it can sound overdriven but unlike the EVH it doesn't use channel switching but an overdrive switch. That's the sort of engineering that gives it the edge over the EVH 5150III (despite the EVH also having a different tone). Single-channel amps tend to have the engineers design the amp for that channel as opposed to two or more where the engineers may be required to make trade-offs with each channel sound so they can have the three in one. Some players think that splitting channels up like that isn't really going to get the best from an amp for the type of tone they are chasing. The SLO can do that.

The downside is the price tag obviously. I mean a SLO30 is the same price as a 100W Diezel amp. So you really have to know that the SLO is indeed for you. I like it because it reminded me of a Sunn. That's no small deal for an amp to do that.

 

[MGW1GTR]

In my experience a lot of the SLO tone comes from the "Preamp Tubes" though the power tubes make a big difference, I've tried various 6L6 types and the 5881 are the best sounding. Almost every time when someone says "it sounds buzzy or uninspiring" 90% of the time I see the user put "JJ ECC83" Straight across? of course it's going to sound "harsh" and there's also a difference playing Live or in a bedroom (or Music Store). The SLO is hugely effected by Tubes more so than many other High Gain amps that can utilize or adapt to different brands (Chinese, Russian etc.) easier to tube the amp.
That's where you can "Individualize your own tone" including cabs & speakers...

It also requires a player to be "Top of their game" to be able to control the guitar and articulate every last note, slur, picking, comping and "Digging into the strings" it's where the expression "tone comes from his hands" generally the difference from a Blues to Jazz player.
One plays "Even order picking and the other Dynamics" (Scales, arpeggio's, melody technique). Of all the amps I own, the SLO is my "All-Time Favorite" (my customized BE-100 would come-in second) I also have these other amps that I love for they're particular voice....

 

[StingRay85]

SLO-100, best amp ever made?

 

[MGW1GTR]

Here's is a cool video with Alex Skolnick in the studio playing one of Queen songs, using a SLO (YouTube video probable through an iPhone?)
he gets some great tones whether aggressive or fluid emotional string bends, shows versatility in the player.

 

[Derek S]

^^ Agreed about the feel of the amp, especially when playing individual notes and that articulation factor the SLO is known for...it's the most touch sensitive amp I've ever played, especially paired with the right speaker. And so weird, just like mantrasky, my old Friedman was really amazing in that dept as well (touch sensitivity when playing lead stuff), and being mostly a lead player, that's a huge deal for me. Not bashing other brands and models, etc, we all just like what we like when we experience it. I love Marshall amps too, would be all over a late 70's era stock JMP if one fell into my lap to cover all things low to mid gain crunch and blues...but for high gain, gimmie my Soldano!

 

[StrummerJoe]

SLO-100, best amp ever made?

I don't know about that. Depends on what your end goal is and what you want from an amp.

The efects loop could have been better. Not a deal breaker for me, but some have complained.

That said, still a damn fine amp that I really really want!

 

[pittbull]

Effects loop on the new 2020 Soldano SLO 100 have been updated for the better

 

[Matthews Guitars]

I would not turn one down if one fell into my lap at a good price. They're a legend in their own right, for good reason.

Definitely the SLO-100 is a bucket list amp.

 

[Zado]

SLO-100, best amp ever made?

Hard to say, but very distinctive sounding indeed.

Funny enough: the SLO was said to be irreplicable due to its DeYoung trafos, and nothing could compare to it, not even the closest clone. Now those Trafos are not made anymore, and the new ones still sound like a SLO.

 

[pittbull]

Heyboar are making the transformers for the Soldano SLO now

 

[Zado]

Exactly.

 

[Trelwheen]

I've never heard one in person, but what I've heard out there sounds pretty damn good.

If one comes floating by within my reach at a reasonable price I will definitely give it a rip....

Meanwhile I've got my feelers out for a Friedman Butterslax. I've gotta see for myself what those are all about