finally played SLO

B

bubucci

Well-known member
Hi,
i was fortunate to play SLO for first time. It is very rare amp in Czech republic and my buddy from Slovakia have one and I have chance to go thru its paces. I played almost all Soldanos... Decatone, Hot Rods 50/100, SL60, X99, SLO30...but never SLO. This one is an older version without depth mod.
Phenomenal amp! It definitely has some mojo going on. It is quite bright amp but has some warmth at same time. It is not the tightest amp by today standards but balance of gain on OD channel and bass knob helps a lot for metal playing. Push some OD/TS in front and it fix the rest of 'problems'. My testing guitar was LP Heritage80 with Throbak MC-102 in the bridge.
Crunch channel is a gem in this amp. I like it on SLO-30 and HR100+ but it feels more dynamic and powerfull on SLO100. There is also spot on volume around 5-6 where amp take his second breath or gear and powersection add some magic...
I spend around 2 - 2,5 hour playing the amp and both me and my buddy observed it sounded better after aprox. 30 min. Maybe halucinations :)
Damned I want this amp but those prices are ridiculous these days. 3500 Euros for used MKII, 4150E for new one and 4500E for MKI. Anybody with SLO in EU and wants to part with it ? :)
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Great amp. I liked it (2002, 2012 versions) but once I boosted it I loved it. Not the tightest amp but once boosted it was tight enough for me. Clarity and pushes air with the best of them.
🤟
 
I loved the ability to sound like good old Marshall on crunch channel and 'modern' Marshall with US voicing on OD channel. But still those two channel fits perfectly to each other.
 
Yes, you describe well why guys like them. Great amps. I have myself an 1989 SLO. With the right vintage tubes it gets even better (more receptive to tube swaps than most other amps I’ve had, particularly the pre’s). The SLO is cool because it has a smoother sound, which I normally don’t like, but still mean at the same time. The only other things really I tend to like that are also smooth yet mean are my Klon and blues speakers, which sound amazing with my SLO btw
 
I always wanted to try some big tube amps running European 220V. I go to Europe all the time, but I've only ever played friends' guitars through their small practice amps. I think I saw an SLO at The Music Store in Cologne last time I was there, but I didn't want to crank it up in the small amp room there, as there was no chance of my buying it there. However, they did have a killer deal on a Marshall Astoria combo. But shipping would have killed me.
 
Still have not tried an SLO myself, in fact the only Soldano I have seen in the wild is the HR25 I own. I hope to get to try at SLO100 at some point, new or old.

I thought the HR25 might replace my Marshall 2553 silver jubilee, but like both amps too much for that to happen. I do see alot of debate on if the SLO100 has to be cooking to give up the goods. So you mentioned 5 to 6 on the volume to breath, but how does it do at around 90dB volumes, do you miss the magic after you have heard it cooking?
 
I think the SLOs I owned sounded great at 2, 3 or more. Better louder but still very good at 2. Same with any Wizard, Marshall..
 
I thought my SLO sounded great at low volumes for years UNTIL we got a gig at a huge outdoor venue, where everyone brought full stacks. Stage volume was no issue and I had it on 6 or 7. Totally different amp at that volume. Night and day. Oh my, it was glorious. But it was loud.
 
I mix my dry Slo100 with axfx/mesa dual 50/50 and it is unbelievable tone. Not sure why I continue to look and buy shit. I just cant help it.
 
I play my SLO at home volumes all the time and enjoy it a lot. Of course it gets better with volume, like every single big iron amp I've ever played. Frankly, it transitions better than most between the two, but there's no substitute for getting some serious volume to give that beautiful acoustic feedback with the guitar strings.

Since I have a dedicated studio space in the basement, my home volume isn't as low as a lot of people's bedroom volume. Still, it isn't stage volume either.
 
I have a '98 snakeskin SLO and agree with what has been said. I would like to add a Fryette Power station has been a great investment in regards to controlling the volume and for having another loop option.
 
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