Soldano SLO 100?

[ToeKnee]

The SLO has to be my all time favourite amp! I don't currently own a real one but it's on my list.

I compared my clone side by side with a friends real one and you really can't tell them apart.

I agree with said points regarding the loop but it can be changed.

In the past I've had it set at 0dB rather than +4dB to make it more pedal friendly.

I'm currently moving the effects loops to be post MV and adding a bypass switch as the amp sounds different without the loop and its the way Mike Soldano prefers them.

It's definitely an amp that has inspired a lot of other manufacturers too.

[electricfurnace]

After saving for ages and selling a load of gear I got my SLO a few months ago secondhand. I wouldn't have paid £3K for a new one, but I paid £2k for a used one. Having been through loads of different amps in my quest for tone (Peavey 5150, 5150II, Framus, Mesa Dual Rec, Cornford, JCM800's old and new, Marshall JMP's....), hands down the SLO tops them all, in my opinion. I simply can't see me buying another amp again. Whereas before I'd have an amp for a few weeks then be looking elsewhere again.

The gain is phenomenal, and does not hurt the ears at higher volumes like my 5150's used to. It can be agressive but smooth at the same time. Lead tone is great. The master vol is great too - sounds good on 3. Of course, sounds alot better when you get it above 6 - very loud though!

FX Loop is a pain - I only run a Rocktron Hush in it which is line level, so it's ok for me. If you want to run pedals in the loop you will need a line level shifter or have it modded.

Trick to get a good clean sound is to run the clean channel master almost all the way up, and control the vol with the clean preamp control. Woks alot better then. Not the best clean sound, but very useable.

Channel wise, you have the high gain SLO lead channel, and the clean channel also has a crunch switch - this isn't footswitchable though, so you've got a two channel amp basically.

Tech help is great from Soldano too - Mike Soldano's no 2, Bill Sundt, always answers emails personally.

I've had the depth mod done to mine which adds some oomph but isn't really needed once the master is above 4.

However, £2k is alot to spend on an amp, and you might be happy with something like a Jet City or a Peavey 5150. My bias-modded Peavey 5150II was an awesome amp, but the Soldano topped it.

It's the components which set the SLO above other Soldano's - in particular the DeYoung transformers which are massive and mil spec.

If you bought one, I don't think you'd regret it.

All of the above i simply my humble opinion, mind! Each to their own!

[cosmiccarrot]

I compared my clone side by side with a friends real one and you really can't tell them apart.

Seriously mate I'm not doubting your build ability, choice of parts and final clone amp but that takes a lot of balls to claim that you can't tell a soldano SLO apart from your amps built in Wakefield

[digitalscream]

Interesting post from somebody on UG:

Here is the official explanation of the soldano/jet city kingdom with my thoughts added in as well.


Soldano Super Lead Overdrive - King of the Castle. 100w 2 channel 6l6 based amp. 5 12ax7s. Clean channel has a clean/crunch switch that is not footswitchable. Clean channel uses 2 gain stages, crunch uses 3, overdrive uses 4.

2 things make the SLO special in the lineup.
-DeYoung Transformers. These transformers were specially designed by Mike from O'netics. These transformers are not available for private sale. Mike Soldano will not sell them to you. They are typically only found in the SLO and sometimes in other Soldano amps. These were probably the cutting edge of ultra-linear audio transformer technology at one point. Many believe these are responsible for the slo sound.
-Rack level effects loop. The fx loop in the slo is only for rack effects. Stomp boxes sound sound.

Soldano Decatone - 3 channel amp based on the slo. Independent /pre-amp volume controls for all 3 channels. Shared EQ Pedal level effects loop.
-The difference between this amp and the slo is that this amp does not have the DeYoung transformers. 3 independent channels means a longer circuit path from point A to point B.

Avengers - Currently the avenger series comes in a variety of different flavors
1. Avenger Plus 50/100w. Basically the slo without an effects loop and without DeYoungs. Avengers are split between using Mercury Magnetic transformers, Hammonds, and custom transformers that Mike has designed for the Avenger. Much cheaper then the slo. Voiced a bit differently.
2. Hot Rod Avenger 50/100w Just the slo overdrive channel with an effects level loop. Same transformers as the Avenger +.
3. Hot Rod Avenger + XL - discontinued. 2 channel Avenger with a depth knob and an effects level loop. My buddy has this amp with Mercury Magnetics transformers. It probably sounds the closest out of all the amps I've heard to the slo but it is voiced a bit differently.

Lucky 13 50/100 - This is a vintage voiced Avenger +. It's got a dirtier clean channel voiced midway between the slo clean/crunch and the overdrive channel has 20 percent less gain then the slo. Its also got reverb standard.

Atomic 16/Astroverb 20. Slo preamp paired to 2 el84s.

Reverb-o-sonice/Blues city 44. Grab and go combos. One has clean/crunch the other is a single channel with a wide range gain knob.

Jet City Line up

JCA20H/Combo - Atomic 16/Astroverb 20 made in China with oem level components and transformers. Combo has reverb.

JCA100H/Combo 50H. Hot Rod Avenger +. 2 channel, effects level loop, combo has reverb.

JCA5212RC - Lucky 13 Combo. 2 Channels, dirty cleans, slo overdrive -20%. Reverb. Effects level loop

Comparison: If we can assume that A. components are important and that B. transformers have the greatest overall single influence on sound then it can be stated that C. Nothing sounds like the SLO. Mike does not allow the DeYoung SLO transformers to be sold and he uses the thickest pcb board and best components for the SLO. He also looks over every SLO himself before they are sold.

However, in the past Mike did release and mod Avengers with the DeYoung transformers. I've never played one but everything I've heard has led me to believe that these sound amazing. They don't have the highest quality parts like the SLO does but they are far simpler in circuitry, the one channel version at least). It is possible to find HR Avengers, Avenger +, HR Avenger +XLs with DeYoung but it is very very rare.

The Lucky 13 really sounds nothing like the SLO. It's got it's own voice. Much less modern, much more hard blues to classic/early metal.

I don't know how any of the other slo amps sound.

Jet City.

The Jet City amps sound very very close to their respective SLO counterparts. The only thin that's different is that instead of MM transformers or Mike's custom standard line transformers they use mass produced transformers and parts that were picked out by Mike and supplied by an Asian distributor. So, in terms of quality they are 2 steps removed from the SLO. That applies to the 100h/50h/100 combo. Now the 100 combo has reverb which means there's another step in the circuit path. Reverbs are known to suck some gain from the overall circuit.

The 50combo is based on the lucky 13 and is one stepped removed from the Lucky 13. So we can assume that it has 20 percent less gain then the slo and a dirty clean channel with reverb. I'm actually really excited about this.

JC20H/Combo - These are the farthest from the SLO. However, they are probably closer to the Atomic/Astroverb then the JCA50/100 are to the Avengers. Mike designed this amp to allow people to get a good mix of power tube/preamp distortion at gigging levels. Depending on how you run the volume/gain you should be able to get a variety of tones that the SLO and the Avengers simply don't offer. The 100w amps were not designed with power tube distortion in mind. The DeYoung was utilized to provide the highest amount of headroom and power tube saturation without causing the power tubes to break up. This is important because a 4 or 5 stage preamp gain provides a signal that would usually explode the power tubes. Remember though that the SLO came out in the 80s. A lot of other manufactures have utilized the innovations in the SLO to develop amps with similar characteristics.

The Jet Cities sound good. Mike oversaw the development and sourcing of parts for them. The schematics are nearly identical to the schematics that Mike uses for the Soldanos. 90-100 percent in most cases. The only deviations are where parts, size, or efficiency concerns necessitated alteration. You can see some of that when comparing the Avenger schematic to the JCA 100 schematic.

Awesome other stuff. "Clones" of the the DeYoung transformers are available for sale through O'netics. They aren't exactly like the DeYoungs but are a step above the MMs and customs that Mike usually uses. Reviews have said that a simple transformer swap easily brings the other amps to the level of the SLO. It's not cheap though. A full set of C3C/O'Netics PT/OT/Choke costs about 550+Shipping. The OT by itself is about 240.

I would love to have a Lucky 13 or JCA5212Rc and drop some O'netics in there.
There's also a harmony central thread that shoes that the JCA20H might be one of the best platforms for modding ever.

That's all. JCA>Blackstar>Bugera>your dad.

If true, this is quite interesting - I didn't realise that the DeYoung transformers were only for use in the SLO, so not even the other Soldano amps.

[ToeKnee]

Seriously mate I'm not doubting your build ability, choice of parts and final clone amp but that takes a lot of balls to claim that you can't tell a soldano SLO apart from your amps built in Wakefield

It wasn't just me that said it.

There are subtle differences but id say its 99% there.

However my amp has since changed a little as it's a bit of a bug once you start modding.

[ToeKnee]

Interesting post from somebody on UG:



If true, this is quite interesting - I didn't realise that the DeYoung transformers were only for use in the SLO, so not even the other Soldano amps.

Theres a little bit of misinformation in there.

The Deyoungs are made only for Soldano now. But they aren't made by O'netics, Mike approached Bud Purvine asking if he was interested in making transformers for the SLO but the deyoungs were designed by a friend of his that had passed so he didn't want to tinker with them out of respect. He does make transformers for the majority of other Soldano amps though.

Theres a post by Bud on the subject somewhere ill go dig it up,.

[ToeKnee]

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/...rs-and-the-SLO