Is the slo all it’s cracked up to be ?

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stratjacket said:
For my 2 cents, I play everything from 80’s metal to modern metal with my SLO and think it sounds great, love it.
I’m either dense or deaf, can someone list an example of what the SLO can’t do as far as metal?
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From my experience its the wa the bass responds and the voicing of the low-end. The low-end is not as clear and fast as some other amps its more off a fuzzy kind of sound, its fluffy and furry...HAHa I dont know how else to explain it. I know some guys gonna get all butt hurt but Im not the only one who has found this to be the case. Again , its a great amp and has an iconic tone.
 
I've played death-metal (amongst other things) with mine for a long time. Staccato riff like Fear Factory or djenty grooves like Meshuggah etc. are no problem either. Works well for me. But now that death-metal is an old thing, maybe the SLO is not suited for sounding like some Polyphia or other nintendo-like/video game "modernish" things.
 
I've owned three SLO 100 amplifiers... 2 x heads and 1 x rack. Not my thing. Not a fan of 6L6 power for rock. Most "modern metal" players are using so much preamp distortion, that 6L6 power may be the preferrable option. e.g. MESA/Boogie. Those guys are more like bass players vs rhythm and/or lead. They solo, but that's not lead playing. The exception to this, is jazz playing. 6L6 power is perfect for jazz and country.

6L6/6V6 for clean.
EL34/EL84 for edge and distortion.
 
GJgo said:
I also never heard a SLO clip that wowed me, and then a couple months ago I had the opportunity to trade for one. I played it at band practice, at volume, and IMMEDIATELY got what all the fuss is about. The tone & feel are phenomenal, it cut the mix like a knife, and the power section is huge.

My band does 80s-90s style metal, punk, thrash etc.. After practicing & playing a gig with it I came to realize that in my opinion the SLO is one of the best amps ever made for rock & things like that. However, for metal, even with a boost, it was just too loose in the ass so I moved it along.

P.S. I have a mint Wizard MTL in the classifieds right now..
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This I get.

The SLO's I've played loud in the room have always sounded gigantic, even modern, and felt great, just everything you'd want out of a high gain amp.

However, I have never heard a recorded or mic'd SLO that came anywhere close to the recorded high gain metal tones of the best metal amps around, like the Recto or 5150 series amps.

SLO's have always struck me as an ultra-modernized Plexi, in a sense. They have modern headroom and a lot of preamp gain like a proper modern high gainer, but their low end is very soft and fuzzy like a Plexi. Think early-mid Van Halen or generic 80's glam/crotch rock. Great for big open rock chords and solos, not so great for tight and percussive rhythm work.

Conversely, I've never been much for 5150's in the room. I always thought they sounded weird. However, put a mic in front of them and they're some of the most massive sounding amps around. I think they're some of the best amps for tight high gain recording ever made.
 
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the4thlast1 said:
From my experience its the wa the bass responds and the voicing of the low-end. The low-end is not as clear and fast as some other amps its more off a fuzzy kind of sound, its fluffy and furry...HAHa I dont know how else to explain it. I know some guys gonna get all butt hurt but Im not the only one who has found this to be the case. Again , its a great amp and has an iconic tone.
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I assume you're talking about the OD channel, and I'd agree. IMO that channel is strictly for leads. Well, it actually holds articulation pretty well for open chords and such too, if you want.

For anything metal, I treat the SLO like an old Marshall 2203. Use the rhythm channel, on crunch, turn up the crunch and then kick the front end hard with a boost. It's plenty tight when you do that in my experience. If there's a complaint about the SLO for metal, it's more that it's a bit smoother (more refined, nicer, too nice?) in the mids on that channel.

The power section is plenty tight for anything, so just me aware of what/how you're feeding it. I'd probably agree that there are other amps I'd go to first for straight up metal, but the SLO will definitely do it.
 
Mark Skid said:
I've owned three SLO 100 amplifiers... 2 x heads and 1 x rack. Not my thing. Not a fan of 6L6 power for rock. Most "modern metal" players are using so much preamp distortion, that 6L6 power may be the preferrable option. e.g. MESA/Boogie. Those guys are more like bass players vs rhythm and/or lead. They solo, but that's not lead playing. The exception to this, is jazz playing. 6L6 power is perfect for jazz and country.

6L6/6V6 for clean.
EL34/EL84 for edge and distortion.
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EL34 and EL84 are great if you're getting distortion from the power section. However, if you want distortion from the preamp, then you want the power section to be clean to maintain articulation, so that's where the 6L6 really does better IMO. It really depends on the entire package.
 
the4thlast1 said:
From my experience its the wa the bass responds and the voicing of the low-end. The low-end is not as clear and fast as some other amps its more off a fuzzy kind of sound, its fluffy and furry...HAHa I dont know how else to explain it. I know some guys gonna get all butt hurt but Im not the only one who has found this to be the case. Again , its a great amp and has an iconic tone.
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I’m more curious than anything. I don’t have stock in Saldono/BAD and it’s totally cool with me if everyone else does not like the SLO for X. I’m not going to try to change anyone’s mind or feel stupid because I like it.

What I meant by examples is list a song or band that that the SLO can’t do or not do well. For example, I like to jam some new Powerwolf with my SLO and it works well, but that’s probably not the type of music music folks are referring to. Are we talking Cattle Decapitation, Lamb of God or what??
 
My main gripe with the SLO, is that it's too filtered for my needs. It doesn't exhibit the harmonic overtones that are typical of a Marshall or VOX. Playing in the 'feedback loop' is where it's at for me... If I weren't into that, the SLO would likely be a favored amp.
 
As expected pages of words,...The best mids and harmonic structure period. Use headphones!


 
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stratjacket said:
I’m more curious than anything. I don’t have stock in Saldono/BAD and it’s totally cool with me if everyone else does not like the SLO for X. I’m not going to try to change anyone’s mind or feel stupid because I like it.

What I meant by examples is list a song or band that that the SLO can’t do or not do well. For example, I like to jam some new Powerwolf with my SLO and it works well, but that’s probably not the type of music music folks are referring to. Are we talking Cattle Decapitation, Lamb of God or what??
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Yes : Lamb of God would be a good example of a tone that the Slo would not do that well. It can do it sure but not ideal in my opinion. Its mostly how the low-end responds.
 
Zado said:
But the SLO do sound great, it's just not the best amp for some genres that might require less balls, less organic sound, ear piercing high mids and essentially every tone definition that a couple of decades ago would have been used to describe an ugly sounding amp. But the Soldano IS a spectacular sounding amp, and let me be a dick to everyone here, there's no "my EvH 5153 is far superior and less pricey lol" here, the EvH just fits modern music better, just like a Fiat Panda 4x4 gets the upper hand going off-road against a Lambo.
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"Am I out of touch? No, it is the children who are wrong."

"It's not that my SLO is worse, it's that people want worse guitar tones." Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?

We all have ears, we've all heard and played the SLO, and we've made our judgements. It's a great amp for what it does but sorry dude, it's just not that great at proper modern high gain tones. Again it's a great amp for sure, but when you mic it, its bottom end is fuzzy and loose, and the character is all wrong for a tight modern high gain sound. It doesn't have as much balls as more modern amps. Also the word "organic" as you used it doesn't mean anything. What, specifically and exactly, does the word "organic" mean to you besides "better in a way I can't describe because I simply want it to be better even though it's not better in any measurable way" ?
 
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Maybe we all have ears (not that sure about that), but we sure have different ears.
 
I'll chime in, I play a lot of metal. I think the SLO-100 is fantastic. I think straight in it is great for rock and all that. I keep a boost on mine and it gave up the goods in the metal department. It has a lot of cut and will never have a ton of low end like a recto, but it is a different tool. I also usually cut a lot of low end when I track in guitars to give space for the bass and drum kit to sit anyway so it isn't hurting what I am looking for. With a boost on it it can absolutely do heavy.

For what it's worth I have it directly next to my Omega Granophyre and Wizard MTL II and a IIC++. Wildly different amps, but I could make any work for a tight aggressive sound (the soldano just requires some shit in front of it)
 
I had one years ago. It was magnificent at leads IMHO. Get it loud and add a splash of delay ina wet/dry rig, and I've never heard anything better. But I guess I prefer a more Marshall-attack for rhythms, as I always just played a 2204/SD-1 and sold the SLO. I thought the SLO crunch channel was too dark compared to a JMP/JCM sound.

Looking back on it, I'd be interested in trying one again with the depth knob (mine didn't have one) and boosting it to see if it could cop that 5150 metal tone but still also do the great SLO thing on leads.
 
The heaviest music I’d use an SLO for would be the 2nd Metallica album RTL and would need a boost still. Like others said you “could” play heavier stuff with it, just not ideal for that. For anything mildly overdriven to RTL it’s a really great amp. For cleans to low-gain it’s still pretty meh imo. This will make me sound like a corksniffer or pretentious D-bag but imho I think the ‘89 SLO I have is a great amp, but the ones I’ve owned or tried from the early 2000’s and 2010’s were to me “very nice” amps, but not amazing. They still all have the same SLO voicing, but the ‘89 is tighter, clearer, punchier and more open

It makes most of my other amps sound like they’re underwater. Not a ton of bottom end, but imo doesn’t come off lacking either and certainly has plenty of balls, just not suited for the heavier styles for the same reasons others mentioned (mostly for it’s low end response and rubbery attack). One thing also about the amp is that of my all my stuff it is surprisingly one of the most responsive to tube swaps. Put either a winged c 12ax7, rogue Chinese 12ax7 or jan Philips ecg 12ax7 and it gets a lot tighter and punchier. Still to me wouldn’t make the cut for modern metal, but maybe for some it could. Also the early silver letter Sovtek 5881’s (not the old military ones, which sound worse IME) also can make the amp tighter and better, although the powertubes that really had the best tone in it were hands down the JAN Philips ECG 5881’s (best overall 6L6 types for high gain imo). Point is it’s an amp that can actually be shaped a lot by that stuff. Still wouldn’t be my first choice for heavier styles, but can almost get there with that stuff and the right pickups, speakers, etc.
 
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Racerxrated said:
One thing I’ll add; the only amps that get that killer “bloom” at higher volumes are a Wizard, vintage Marshalls(2303/4/5/10, 1987/1959), Naylor, C+, and SLOs. Other amps sound killer and get louder; but that bloom doesn’t happen…they just get loud. For me it’s a completely different power amp response that is unique.
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I get amazing bloom at low volume with Wizard amps and the D60 the way I set them up. I'll get flamed for this, but I actually prefer the low to moderate volume tones I get on these amps most the time as opposed to cranked tones. Just sounds better to me :dunno: I will say however that I use pretty non-conventional settings and additional signal chain components to get there. I'm not a plugged straight in guy.
 
cardinal said:
I had one years ago. It was magnificent at leads IMHO. Get it loud and add a splash of delay ina wet/dry rig, and I've never heard anything better. But I guess I prefer a more Marshall-attack for rhythms, as I always just played a 2204/SD-1 and sold the SLO. I thought the SLO crunch channel was too dark compared to a JMP/JCM sound.

Looking back on it, I'd be interested in trying one again with the depth knob (mine didn't have one) and boosting it to see if it could cop that 5150 metal tone but still also do the great SLO thing on leads.
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Definitely has a very different attack from Marshall’s. I always felt the SLO’s have kinda this rubbery feel/attack that I was never crazy about, but still overall love mine. It’s funny because for the most part it is quite a bright amp, but those Marshall’s typically will still have a brighter crunch like you said
 
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