Diving into the deep end... Soldano SLO + CAA Classic Plus?

[white buffalo]

I heard that the depth mod is now standard issue on all new SLO's and is silkscreened onto the chassis as opposed to just having a label. Does anyone know which year he started incorporating this into all SLO builds?
Getting a used SLO and sending to Mike for a once-over ($80), depth mod ($175) and fx loop bypass ($350) plus shipping really brings the cost up and has me wondering if for a little more I should just order a brand new one. It's more than I was looking to spend, but the idea of getting a brand new one with all the work done right out of the factory really appeals to me. FWIW, Mike said he doesn't think the fx loop bypass mod is worth it as it's expensive and a lot of work (they essentially have to rebuild the amp)- he mentioned something about the tone being pretty much indistinguishable when at a certain volume/gain level, but did acknowledge there's a sonic difference on certain settings. Really hard decision for me to make...
Are there certain years/eras considered better for SLO's or have they all pretty much been home runs? It's a very expensive amp brand new so I'm just weighing options...

 

[Dave L]

The depth mod is mostly useful for low volume playing in my book, if you´re going to be using it with some volume I wouldn´t bother. Plenty of low punch at that point. But I guess it makes sense it´s standard now, since people can´t or won´t crank amps like before. Like the Whomp switch on the newer Custom Audios.

I´ve never heard that any eras are better or even noticably different. It´s supposedly the same amp since 1987, even if I seem to recall there have been small revisions. But as with everything, the early ones sound better on the Internet.

 

[fusedbrain]

Just my opinion, but the depth mod on an SLO is a waste of time.
I run the bass at 6 on my SLO and it punches and thumps like a MOFO at any volume.
I also don't find the frequency range and the way it it boosts the low end all that complimentary to the SLO tone.
Depth mod can be great on some amps. SLO ain't one of em.
YMMV

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

Yep... starting this year, maybe a month or so ago... all new SLOs now have the depth mod stock. I suppose you’d have to special order one now to get one without the depth mod. It is silkscreened on the chassis. No more og “stock SLOs”.

I do prefer it w/o the depth mod as the SLO has enough low end & bass as is.

 

[white buffalo]

One other thing I forgot to mention was that Mike's personal SLO doesn't have the clean channel- it's crunch only. There's an SLO online that has the crunch channel only and already has depth and fx bypass mods done to it, so I'm sort of tempted, but I'm wondering if I'd be missing much not having the clean channel. What do you guys think? Might also make for a harder sell down the line, I'm not sure. It's tempting though. I'm planning to run the SLO with the CAA OD100 Classic Plus, as mentioned in my OP, for cleans and medium crunch. Depth mod is an on/off, right?

 

[Racerxrated]

One other thing I forgot to mention was that Mike's personal SLO doesn't have the clean channel- it's crunch only. There's an SLO online that has the crunch channel only and already has depth and fx bypass mods done to it, so I'm sort of tempted, but I'm wondering if I'd be missing much not having the clean channel. What do you guys think? Might also make for a harder sell down the line, I'm not sure. It's tempting though. I'm planning to run the SLO with the CAA OD100 Classic Plus, as mentioned in my OP, for cleans and medium crunch. Depth mod is an on/off, right?

Is that one online White? If it is that's Craig(Cecilbag) here on RT, and I believe that one used to belong to Steve K. I think it's a Dual Lead channel version if that the same one. I think Depth on 10 is out of the circuit?
I'm like a few others, didn't care for the depth mod myself. Stock all the way for me.

 

[white buffalo]

One other thing I forgot to mention was that Mike's personal SLO doesn't have the clean channel- it's crunch only. There's an SLO online that has the crunch channel only and already has depth and fx bypass mods done to it, so I'm sort of tempted, but I'm wondering if I'd be missing much not having the clean channel. What do you guys think? Might also make for a harder sell down the line, I'm not sure. It's tempting though. I'm planning to run the SLO with the CAA OD100 Classic Plus, as mentioned in my OP, for cleans and medium crunch. Depth mod is an on/off, right?

Is that one online White? If it is that's Craig(Cecilbag) here on RT, and I believe that one used to belong to Steve K. I think it's a Dual Lead channel version if that the same one. I think Depth on 10 is out of the circuit?
I'm like a few others, didn't care for the depth mod myself. Stock all the way for me.

Yes, it's the white one. It says overdrive only model- not sure about dual lead channel.
I hear a lot of people talk about getting a great sound by boosting the clean channel, so I'm really in a dilemma here.
That said, I'm sure Mike knows what's good and his personal one is overdrive only. Decisions, decisions...

 

[Racerxrated]

One other thing I forgot to mention was that Mike's personal SLO doesn't have the clean channel- it's crunch only. There's an SLO online that has the crunch channel only and already has depth and fx bypass mods done to it, so I'm sort of tempted, but I'm wondering if I'd be missing much not having the clean channel. What do you guys think? Might also make for a harder sell down the line, I'm not sure. It's tempting though. I'm planning to run the SLO with the CAA OD100 Classic Plus, as mentioned in my OP, for cleans and medium crunch. Depth mod is an on/off, right?

Is that one online White? If it is that's Craig(Cecilbag) here on RT, and I believe that one used to belong to Steve K. I think it's a Dual Lead channel version if that the same one. I think Depth on 10 is out of the circuit?
I'm like a few others, didn't care for the depth mod myself. Stock all the way for me.

Yes, it's the white one. It says overdrive only model- not sure about dual lead channel.
I hear a lot of people talk about getting a great sound by boosting the clean channel, so I'm really in a dilemma here.
That said, I'm sure Mike knows what's good and his personal one is overdrive only. Decisions, decisions...

I think the SLO sound is the lead channel, liked it much better than boosting the clean/crunch. But you can't get a bad tone out of that amp....IMO.

 

[Racerxrated]

I should add that the depth didn't take away from the tone, but I'd mostly leave it off. I had 2 with depth and one stock. I found enough low end in it either way for my needs.

 

[IntenseJim]

DEPTH MOD
I rarely use it but when I do, it's to fine tune the low end more than make it huge. Ie, on the CLEAN/CRUNCH channel, roll the bass down but the depth up for a 'different' low end feel and tone. But I certainly agree it's mostly superfluous.

 

[Dave L]

One other thing I forgot to mention was that Mike's personal SLO doesn't have the clean channel- it's crunch only. There's an SLO online that has the crunch channel only and already has depth and fx bypass mods done to it, so I'm sort of tempted, but I'm wondering if I'd be missing much not having the clean channel. What do you guys think? Might also make for a harder sell down the line, I'm not sure. It's tempting though. I'm planning to run the SLO with the CAA OD100 Classic Plus, as mentioned in my OP, for cleans and medium crunch. Depth mod is an on/off, right?

Does it only have the overdrive channel, or do you mean it doesn´t have the clean-crunch switch on the normal channel? That crunch mode is a great complement to the overdrive channel, by the way, it really is a different voice compared to some amps where the two gain channels are very similar. The clean mode does a lot of things very good too but doesn´t quite get into the pure blackface Twin territory most guys love.