I find it odd so many of the BAD SLO-100's are for sale used literally new in the box.

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I had one of the newer ones too and there was nowt wrong with it other than me likely using it wrong. compared to the early HR50+ I had, the BAD SLO was 'more' amp in all regards.

I did feel that it's a bit of an acquired test even though it sits in the modded Marshall tone territory. Something about how the lows and highs sit felt rather different to me vs previous amps I was accustomed at the time.

What I find interesting is that the (few?) people that have the OG Mike ones hold on to them and have done for years. One might take this as evidence that the amp itself in any of its permutations, old and new, is a good amp and it's the market, consumer habits and whole music scene that's shifted. Buy new one on credit, find it's too much of an amp for church or small club, can't make it sound better than plugin when home recording so return for refund.

I cringe a bit with OG 2nd hand prices vs 2nd hand BAD ones. that's probably bc I cannot discern transformer tone in a mix, DeYoung or other ones.
 
From a different perspective, I think a lot of it may have to do with the fact that the SLO-100, to get it to sound good, is WAY LOUDER than most people can handle. They end up playing at house volumes where the amp is underwhelming. There are only a couple amps I've played that I really caution potential buyers about the volume- the SLO100 and the Mark IIB Coli.
 
Catthan said:
I had one of the newer ones too and there was nowt wrong with it other than me likely using it wrong. compared to the early HR50+ I had, the BAD SLO was 'more' amp in all regards.

I did feel that it's a bit of an acquired test even though it sits in the modded Marshall tone territory. Something about how the lows and highs sit felt rather different to me vs previous amps I was accustomed at the time.

What I find interesting is that the (few?) people that have the OG Mike ones hold on to them and have done for years. One might take this as evidence that the amp itself in any of its permutations, old and new, is a good amp and it's the market, consumer habits and whole music scene that's shifted. Buy new one on credit, find it's too much of an amp for church or small club, can't make it sound better than plugin when home recording so return for refund.

I cringe a bit with OG 2nd hand prices vs 2nd hand BAD ones. that's probably bc I cannot discern transformer tone in a mix, DeYoung or other ones.
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I don´t think the prices of the originals have just about anything to do with the sound of them, regardless if there is an actual difference or not. With that said, they´re actually a lot cheaper now compared to when Mike was just retired. Seemed like people snagged them at any cost for a while there.
 
It’s probably the most well known high gain amp, that’s the hardest to play without owning one.
 
GJgo said:
From a different perspective, I think a lot of it may have to do with the fact that the SLO-100, to get it to sound good, is WAY LOUDER than most people can handle. They end up playing at house volumes where the amp is underwhelming. There are only a couple amps I've played that I really caution potential buyers about the volume- the SLO100 and the Mark IIB Coli.
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Yup.....I bought an Orange 212 cab off a guy who demod it for me using a SLO....holy crap that amp packs a serious whollop!
 
napalmdeath said:
My experience with the 30, twice. Tried to like it, couldn't.
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Its so interesting how our tastes vary because it was one of the tightest yet warm/rick/harmonic amps I've owned and you know I need TIGHT fast attack. Headroom and balls...yeah lacking, but played through a 212/412/dual active sub rig...really satisfying tonally. The low end for me was so tight but not that too tight thong so many modern amps have to where it gets sterile. It was perfect tight boosted...still had the juice.
 
Techdeth said:
How different is a pre Bad from a new one ?
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From what I gather - it is a different amps now. Version 2.0 if you will. Some improvements were made (DC heaters, FX loop, some mods also standard now), some substitutions were made to address the OG parts unavailability. Some changes were made to make it more cost effective and mass production pipeline friendly, more in-line with the BAD supply chain capabilities.
 
GJgo said:
From a different perspective, I think a lot of it may have to do with the fact that the SLO-100, to get it to sound good, is WAY LOUDER than most people can handle. They end up playing at house volumes where the amp is underwhelming. There are only a couple amps I've played that I really caution potential buyers about the volume- the SLO100 and the Mark IIB Coli.
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I assume you have never played a non master volume Marshall or Hiwatt?
 
Epiplatys said:
some substitutions were made to address the OG parts unavailability. Some changes were made to make it more cost effective and mass production pipeline friendly, more in-line with the BAD supply chain capabilities.
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Do you have a source for this?
 
tallcoolone said:
I assume you have never played a non master volume Marshall or Hiwatt?
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Never played a Hiwatt. I've played a pair of OG JMP 1959s but they were MV modded. That said I did crank them and didn't find them any louder than any other good 100W amp. IMO Marshalls have the perception of insane loudness compared to other 100W amps mostly from where the upper mids sit (in a good place) and how the human ear reacts to these mids, not as much from actual measured decibles. This is why a 100W Marshall may be able to out-compete a 150W Mesa in a live mix- it's the EQ, not the power / volume. Unlike our ears, The decibel meter I've found to be less concerned about EQ.

IME the SLO100 and Wizards are abnormally POWERFUL for a 100W amp. They move air like a 150W amp, which takes power to do. Similar to why bass amps have to be many hundreds of watts.
 
GJgo said:
Never played a Hiwatt. I've played a pair of OG JMP 1959s but they were MV modded. That said I did crank them and didn't find them any louder than any other good 100W amp. IMO Marshalls have the perception of insane loudness compared to other 100W amps mostly from where the upper mids sit (in a good place) and how the human ear reacts to these mids, not as much from actual measured decibles. This is why a 100W Marshall may be able to out-compete a 150W Mesa in a live mix- it's the EQ, not the power / volume. Unlike our ears, The decibel meter I've found to be less concerned about EQ.

IME the SLO100 and Wizards are abnormally POWERFUL for a 100W amp. They move air like a 150W amp, which takes power to do. Similar to why bass amps have to be many hundreds of watts.
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The SLO is definitely explosive. Hits you very hard. My JCM 800 2203 will do a similar thing....123+ dB will do that.

But, my Hiwatt DR 504 50 watt head is by far the most brutally loud amp I've played....insane loud.....never measured the db but it shook the walls so much that stuff would fall off of shelves!! could not imagine how loud the Hiwatt 100 Watters are.....no wonder Pete T lost his hearing....
 
GJgo said:
Never played a Hiwatt. I've played a pair of OG JMP 1959s but they were MV modded. That said I did crank them and didn't find them any louder than any other good 100W amp.
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I have an SLO100 now and honestly I don't find it terribly loud for a 100w amp. Does it sound best when breathing sure but my Royal MSG100 would completely drown it out side by side.
 
GJgo said:
Never played a Hiwatt. I've played a pair of OG JMP 1959s but they were MV modded. That said I did crank them and didn't find them any louder than any other good 100W amp. IMO Marshalls have the perception of insane loudness compared to other 100W amps mostly from where the upper mids sit (in a good place) and how the human ear reacts to these mids, not as much from actual measured decibles. This is why a 100W Marshall may be able to out-compete a 150W Mesa in a live mix- it's the EQ, not the power / volume. Unlike our ears, The decibel meter I've found to be less concerned about EQ.

IME the SLO100 and Wizards are abnormally POWERFUL for a 100W amp. They move air like a 150W amp, which takes power to do. Similar to why bass amps have to be many hundreds of watts.
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You gotta play the PTP early ‘70’s 100w NMV Marshall’s. IME the ones after or before (‘60’s) don’t have the power or thump like my 1972 SuperLead 100, but I prefer the tone of the ‘60’s ones. The later ‘70’s one aren’t so great IME. It’s not just about its uppermids. Even if I dial it in really dark it’s still one the loudest and hardest hitting amp I’ve ever played to this day along with the 100w vintage Hiwatt’s. I’ve had 3 SLO’s (including a 1989). They’re powerful vs most amps, but nowhere near those 2 when I’ve compared and the Hiwatt doesn’t have those strong upper mids to trick the ear. It has hollow mids like Wizard’s and Fryette’s. It’s just plain loud and shakes the room like crazy in a way that the coliseums couldn’t do either (including the b to c+ one I had). The most powerful sounding and room filling high gainers I’ve had have been the Beta, Hell Razor KT150 (both amps 680 PV unloaded), Rev 1 Uber and Blueface
 
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The improvements on the B.A.D SLO Mike Soldano wanted to do those improvements more the five years ago now there done
 
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