Do I need a Soldano?

[espquade]

Good man that’s a real friend. When everyone thinks you’re crazy you need that 1 homie who knows you are & is just as crazy as you. He’ll always be there.

I am never the best voice of reason for acquiring new gear because I always say if your wanting it then you should get it as life is short so get what you want and if you don't care for it you can always sell it. Sadly this doesn't apply to marriage...

 

[gudbrand]

I am never the best voice of reason for acquiring new gear because I always say if your wanting it then you should get it as life is short so get what you want and if you don't care for it you can always sell it. Sadly this doesn't apply to marriage...

Yeah... but the flipside is realizing you have too much gear and life is too short to enjoy it all. Or even maintain it all.

 

[Omnipotent1]

Yeah... but the flipside is realizing you have too much gear and life is too short to enjoy it all. Or even maintain it all.

Did you say…. Too… Much… Gear… BLASPHEMY!!! Not even my wife has made such a comment..

 

[VonBonfire]

Did you say…. Too… Much… Gear… BLASPHEMY!!! Not even my wife has made such a comment..

I had to regulate the wife's guitar purchases as she is the greater GAS offender in this house. Finally got her down to 3 acoustics. In the meantime I've tried out a lot of acoustics, LOL.

 

[gudbrand]

Did you say…. Too… Much… Gear… BLASPHEMY!!! Not even my wife has made such a comment..

I'll play fifty scales as penance.

I had to regulate the wife's guitar purchases as she is the greater GAS offender in this house. Finally got her down to 3 acoustics. In the meantime I've tried out a lot of acoustics, LOL.

My wife plays bass and never even plugs in the one drive pedal I got her.

 

[rstites]

They can also do the heavy chugga chugga but it isn't their forte. You need to use the crunch channel with a boost, or turn the gain down below 5-6 on the lead channel and turn the master volume up or else its a loose, farty mess for that style of playing. If you want satisfying chugging in your bedroom it's not going to deliver it.

The crunch/rhythm channel is where you want to be for everything rhythm to my ears. That channel gets a wonderful mid-gain sound, but it also takes pedals really well and agreed that's needed for anything heavier. The lead tone is great, but that channel is always a bit weird for rhythm sounds unless you're playing high gain inversions up the neck or something like that to my ear.

As far as the other main amps, like the hotrods, they are literally just modded 2203/2204s with an added gain stage, so if you like 2203s 2204s you'll probably like them. Do you think a 2203 can do high gain metal?

The single channel HR50 and HR100 are indeed 2204/2203 with the standard Soldano mod he'd been doing to Marshalls for years. They have two inputs just like those Marshalls and sound far more like a gained up Marshall . The two channel HR50+ and HR100+ are the SLO preamp so do sound much closer to it. Both are great amps.

The other "type" of amp that soldano does is the astroverb, which is like their version of a fender amp with a soldano style lead channel bolted on. They sound great clean, and the gain channel suffers a little for it, but is still quite good. I would say this is the only amp series they do that can't really do "high gain metal" but idk I haven't played the new astroverb.

If you can find one, the Lucky 13 was the Soldano attempt at a Fender clean as I recall. I've never seen/played one, so no idea how good they were. (I'm probably not the first person to make judgement on classic cleans anyway!)

 

[Omnipotent1]

I had to regulate the wife's guitar purchases as she is the greater GAS offender in this house. Finally got her down to 3 acoustics. In the meantime I've tried out a lot of acoustics, LOL.

You my friend married well. Now tell us which acoustics you have, & which ones your favorite I have a buddy who’s been really dedicating himself to learning guitar. Recently gave him my last acoustic (Guild D4NT) a few months back.. That guitar was with me for 16 years but I’m a sucker for people getting bit by the bug lol.. Been on the hunt for another.

 

[VonBonfire]

You my friend married well. Now tell us which acoustics you have, & which ones your favorite I have a buddy who’s been really dedicating himself to learning guitar. Recently gave him my last acoustic (Guild D4NT) a few months back.. That guitar was with me for 16 years but I’m a sucker for people getting bit by the bug lol.. Been on the hunt for another.

Currently it's cut down to a Martin D-18, an Iris OG (I think that's the model), and a Japanese Cortley Dove copy. All three of those are excellent. I have a japanese Hohner 710 jumbo.

The Japanese laminates are easily the best deal for the kind of money you pay, easily 95%+ tone-wise of their name brand brethren. I think she has $300 into the Cortley and I paid $350 for the Hohner. She had a Hohner HG-320 which is a D-41 copy and quite a nice guitar but she wasn't playing it and she even made a little money on that one.

If I tried to make a list of all the acoustics that have come and gone it would be incomplete, because I can't remember them all. Probably between 15-20 guitars in the last 15-20 years.

My personal favorite was my '63 Gibson LG-1 that I paid $150 for to a kid who wanted a Takamine, lol. Pure blues machine. Rang like a bell. Foolishly sold it to afford a 2k National Tricone, which I sold because it was too heavy and the nickel finish was a hassle to keep clean after playing. Her favorites are the D-18 and the Iris.

 

[Omnipotent1]

Currently it's cut down to a Martin D-18, an Iris OG (I think that's the model), and a Japanese Cortley Dove copy. All three of those are excellent. I have a japanese Hohner 710 jumbo.

The Japanese laminates are easily the best deal for the kind of money you pay, easily 95%+ tone-wise of their name brand brethren. I think she has $300 into the Cortley and I paid $350 for the Hohner. She had a Hohner HG-320 which is a D-41 copy and quite a nice guitar but she wasn't playing it and she even made a little money on that one.

If I tried to make a list of all the acoustics that have come and gone it would be incomplete, because I can't remember them all. Probably between 15-20 guitars in the last 15-20 years.

My personal favorite was my '63 Gibson LG-1 that I paid $150 for to a kid who wanted a Takamine, lol. Pure blues machine. Rang like a bell. Foolishly sold it to afford a 2k National Tricone, which I sold because it was too heavy and the nickel finish was a hassle to keep clean after playing. Her favorites are the D-18 and the Iris.

I’ve never tried a Hohner or an Iris. I’ll keep my spectacles open. Old friend of mine had a tiny Gibson acoustic (can’t remember the model) but it was built for a midget & damn did it sound amazing.. They’re underrated in the acoustic world (surprisingly) I found “The One” a few years back at guitar center.. It was a used Martin OMC-16E.. Just connected with that thing.. An older gentleman walked in while I was playing it.. Gave me some kudos after I was done. Buddy I was with wanted to go look at Bass guitars, but I couldn’t take my mind off the OMC. Said I have to go back & check it out again… When I was walking back the old man was in the check out line buying it… I don’t even think he strummed it because I walked back in like 2 minutes.. I learned a valuable lesson that day but hey some old dude out there has a gem… I’m sure he’s happy

 

[VonBonfire]

I’ve never tried a Hohner or an Iris. I’ll keep my spectacles open. Old friend of mine had a tiny Gibson acoustic (can’t remember the model) but it was built for a midget & damn did it sound amazing.. They’re underrated in the acoustic world (surprisingly) I found “The One” a few years back at guitar center.. It was a used Martin OMC-16E.. Just connected with that thing.. An older gentleman walked in while I was playing it.. Gave me some kudos after I was done. Buddy I was with wanted to go look at Bass guitars, but I couldn’t take my mind off the OMC. Said I have to go back & check it out again… When I was walking back the old man was in the check out line buying it… I don’t even think he strummed it because I walked back in like 2 minutes.. I learned a valuable lesson that day but hey some old dude out there has a gem… I’m sure he’s happy

Sounds like your buddy had an L-00, those are pretty small axes. Gibson is kind of my go-to for blues tone but jmho after trying a lot of acoustics...I don't take anything seriously until it's ten years old at which point it's just starting to open up tone-wise. At 20 years old it's starting to hit it's full stride, so I never even consider buying a brand new one.

The Hohners were Yairi Alvarez made copies of Martins and Guilds. The real sleeper is the HG-370 which is a solid wood D-45 copy. I think the rest of them were laminates to some extent, but japanese laminates have few equals, and make great sounding guitars for very affordable. Look closely when shopping as later guitars were also branded Hohner but were made in Korea and China rather than Japan. 70's and possibly early 80's era is what we are talking about. Some of them suffer from blushing in the finishes...

The Iris is a hipster guitar. Overpriced IMO for something that has minimal appointments and a bolt on neck, but they do sound really good. For my wife's voice it's a good match and that's what counts.

I know how you feel about the OMC getting away....I had the same paranoia level trying to get my hands on this 335, crossing my fingers all weekend that someone with a brain and $ didn't grab it before I got back. But she's all mine now!

 

[Shreddy Mercury]

Well shit, turns out he also has a Brit Tone SLO clone with KT88s and 2 Brit Tone 4x12 cabinets. The plot thickens... lol

 

[VonBonfire]

Well shit, turns out he also has a Brit Tone SLO clone with KT88s and 2 Brit Tone 4x12 cabinets. The plot thickens... lol

KT88's and 6550's will bring the neo-soul clean tones. This could be your empire strikes back moment against fusionbear.

 

[PDC]

I always say if your wanting it then you should get it as life is short so get what you want and if you don't care for it you can always sell it.

I am sort of in this camp as well, at this particular time in my life. And to be clear, 2025 was not a 'banner' year for my practice. But in the last 12-18 months, my wife and I have lost friends from high school or college to cancer. We aren't taking any 'stuff' with us when they call our number. If guitar and gear still makes any of the hair on your arm stand up, get it. Life really is short.

 

[VonBonfire]

Life really is short.

This seems like a good time to say that life isn't as short with a stacked heel boot from Carlos by Carlos Santana.

 

[Omnipotent1]

I am sort of in this camp as well, at this particular time in my life. And to be clear, 2025 was not a 'banner' year for my practice. But in the last 12-18 months, my wife and I have lost friends from high school or college to cancer. We aren't taking any 'stuff' with us when they call our number. If guitar and gear still makes any of the hair on your arm stand up, get it. Life really is short.

My condolences to you, your family, & your friends… May music help restore some of the joy in all of your lives. You can only physically take it with you.. like Dimebag, Chuck Berry, Bob Marley, crazy Pharaoh’s etc… but never spiritually…

 

[Omnipotent1]

This seems like a good time to say that life isn't as short with a stacked heel boot from Carlos by Carlos Santana.

That extra inch can really stack some confidence I opt for Chelsea Boots myself.. Currently strutting ALDOs but I’m thinkin bout copping some of these… or potentially the Black Suedes. I’m a suggestive shopper, & your bad influence has persuaded me..

 

[cragginshred]

Yes, everyone needs a Soldano.

Truth be told, I sold my SLO100 almost immediately because it sounded like shit unless it was making my ears bleed from the volume.

You know there is a system volume on the loop right?
Put that at 2 o'clock and you can get the tubes cooking with moderate hearing loss Lol!!

 

[cragginshred]

I sold mine when I got the Friedman Jose. No other amp needed ever! The Slo is bad ass but has more of a lower mid voicing as does the Wizard's
The Jose is 'the 80's tone' with ALL the mids no other Friedman has.

 

[Geo]

You know there is a system volume on the loop right?
Put that at 2 o'clock and you can get the tubes cooking with moderate hearing loss Lol!!

The SLO had one in the early 90's?

 

[cragginshred]

The SLO had one in the early 90's?

No from about 10 years ago,.. same circuit but better.