EVH5153 vs soldano 50watters

[guitarman967]

I had a HR50 and it was one of my least favorite amps. Loop was ehhh and it had a gross fizzy high end. Mine also had a really bad ground hum. I brought it in twice. First retube did nothing second helped a litte but not enough to keep it. Sad thing is I hear clips on YouTube that actually sound good. I think I had a bunk unit.

I'd pick a 5153 over a HR50 anyday.
SLO's rule but that's a whole other class of amp.

SLO's are not that different from the Hotrod series. The transformers are different yes, but which ones sound better is a subjective matter. The Merc's are far from crap transformers and the internal components are NOT necessarily downgraded in any shape or form.

The truth is that the SLO while an extremely well built amp is NOT a whole other class better than the Hotrod series. They have more similarities than differences actually.
I feel that this myth is put out there by either the people who shell out the dough for the SLO who need to justify that decision or possibly by Soldano themselves.
Its a double edged sword for them..They dont want customers to necessarily think that the Hotrod series is a substitute for owning a SLO but also dont want to alienate customers who are in the market for a Soldano amp but cant afford the SLO pricetag.

 

[D-Rock]

I had a HR50 and it was one of my least favorite amps. Loop was ehhh and it had a gross fizzy high end. Mine also had a really bad ground hum. I brought it in twice. First retube did nothing second helped a litte but not enough to keep it. Sad thing is I hear clips on YouTube that actually sound good. I think I had a bunk unit.

I'd pick a 5153 over a HR50 anyday.
SLO's rule but that's a whole other class of amp.

SLO's are not that different from the Hotrod series. The transformers are different yes, but which ones sound better is a subjective matter. The Merc's are far from crap transformers and the internal components are NOT necessarily downgraded in any shape or form.

The truth is that the SLO while an extremely well built amp is NOT a whole other class better than the Hotrod series. They have more similarities than differences actually.
I feel that this myth is put out there by either the people who shell out the dough for the SLO who need to justify that decision or possibly by Soldano themselves.
Its a double edged sword for them..They dont want customers to necessarily think that the Hotrod series is a substitute for owning a SLO but also dont want to alienate customers who are in the market for a Soldano amp but cant afford the SLO pricetag.

You're right. My tech had my Avenger open for a cap job and burnt resister swap out. He also had a SLO brought in that he worked on too at the same time. He said the same thing you are saying.

IMO, look for an Avenger instead. Although I haven't played a HR, the Avenger's sound sits between the 5153's high gain aggression and modern somewhat dark smooth tone, and that dry, unforgiving classic warmth Soldano's are known for.