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what soldano's do you like more, slo 50's? slo 100's? what sounds better? has anyone played another model of these amps?

I'd probably want the Hotrod 50 , Lucky 13, or Decatone 3 ch amp.

They all sound a little different, with the Reverb O Sonic being the most retro sounding amp.

I like Soldano stuff, but I'd have to spend a day comparing them, before I'd buy one. Some I've plugged into seemed a little bright and cold at moderate volumes. They're definitely amps that sound best cranked up.

I liked the HR 50 that I played through-


Originally Posted by GearjoneserSome I've plugged into seemed a little bright and cold at moderate volumes. They're definitely amps that sound best cranked up.

That's the reason I got the Rivera Chubster. I simply LOVE the Soldano Hot Rod Plus I own.....but.....it's got to be LOUD before it sounds sweet.

Chcjunior, what's the gain like on the Chubster? A lot of people are saying it's one of their favorite Riveras.


Originally Posted by GearjoneserChcjunior, what's the gain like on the Chubster? A lot of people are saying it's one of their favorite Riveras.

It's got more than enough gain....alot like a hot rodded marshall. The amp is probably the closest you can come to the Fender and Marshall in one.

gives the clean of a fender and the OD of a marshall


Originally Posted by DesertRosegives the clean of a fender and the OD of a marshall

That's pretty much it.

Nice thing is, Blackface and Bassman sounds are available with the mid shift..and the ninjaboost can take them over the top. You can almost dial in a bluesbreaker sound.

Gain channel is (without the boost) basically like mid 70's Mashall MV amp (JMP) with more pre-amp gain available if wanted. The tone is not plexi like, nor is it quite as ballsy as an 800. With the gain boost on, it's basically sounds like a modded 2203. Tons of gain available.

reverb is so-so..nothing fabulous...nothing horrible.

Great Amp GJ. And I'm speaking of with stock tubes. I'm sure some really good aftermarket ones could make it even sound better.

BTW, I think the *key* to the great tone of the Chubster (besides it's good circuits), is the cab. It really opens up the amp, and adds some closed back like punch. It sounds big for what it is.Sorry for the hijack

Philthis, I remember you were looking at Bogners and loved those. Maybe a Shiva combo would be a good choice, if you want to spend more. There's a killer used one in a roadcase right here. I wish I could pull the trigger on this, but I'd have to part with some serious gear to cover the $1900-2100
from : localhost/cgi.ebay.com/Bogner-Shiva-EL3...QQcmdZViewItem

With regard to the cleans on the Hot Rod 50 . I have good cleans now since I had it modded at Voodoo Amps. Before the cleans were useable, but I didn't have much love for 'em. I also had to get a depth control added for the XL option. Once these two changes made I was real happy with the Soldano.

got to say i had an eary HOT ROD #36 and it was awesome but i picked up an AVENGER w/kt66's man this thing just kills so fat/ballsy ! not thin or bright and it sounds good at low volume and gets better the louder it gets ! man i gotta try a chubster it sounds like it is really cool .

shred dog, you should do a good review of your Avenger. I didn't know you bought that.
It sounds like you dig it.

joneser i love the AVENGER ! it is a stripped down SLO no loop/slave/channel switching . it is just like the SLO's that mike made for george lynch the ones that say MR scary in the serial # box . single channel with the depth mod for extra fatness ! and man that and the kt-66's it is great big fat rock tone for days !!!! i love it . simple like a 2203/2204 marshall with more gain .

Ain't no such beast as a SLO 50.

I've never played a SLO but I've owned a Decatone and a HR50. Their OD tones were quite similar and probably the my favorite Marshally high gain tone. I sold the HR50 because I don't care for single channel amps (I bought it for a crazy low price). The Deca went on the block because its cleans were just okay and the crunch channel was too compressed for my taste.

I've also owned a Yamaha T100. Though it was designed by Soldano, IMO it didn't hold a flame to the real thing.



Sorry to hijack this thread, but my Line 6 has a setting modeled after a Soldano X88R. It sounds great. What is this animal and do they still make 'em?


Originally Posted by JammerMatt

Sorry to hijack this thread, but my Line 6 has a setting modeled after a Soldano X88R. It sounds great. What is this animal and do they still make 'em?

It's a rack preamp. No longer in production.

I went to Guitar Center, Studio City, Ca. today. I made a beeline for the best stuff they had, and spent a few hours on the Soldano Avenger with a PRS McCarty, LP Std, and strat. Pretty cool amp! It's definitely along the lines of a 1 channel SLO. I was mostly playing ZZ Top/Alice and Chains type riffage, and the amp really does metal good. It kind of reminds me of a Mesa Stiletto or Krank Revolution........all good metal amps.

The coolest tone I got was when I plugged a VH Charvel [white/black stripes) into it, and played stuff like 'Unchained and Dem Bones.quot;

Shred-dog, how much did you pay for the Avenger. The one I played was around $1579.
I don't know what tubes it had in it. Are the KT-66's the regular Avenger tube set?

If any guys out there are looking for a blistering highgain amp head, the Soldano Avenger is pretty awesome!

Yea, I've been listening to clips all day of soldano stuff... You want late(ish) EVH tones? GET A SOLDANO!

I have massive gas to get their Supercharger GTO preamp-in-a-pedal. But man... that's alot of money, heh!