Great thread about the SLO on the gear page

[sled]

The simple mod I mentioned over on TGP definately does help get a fuller tone at lower volumes and makes the amp respond much better at realistic gig levels.

Are you referring to the LDR change or something else?

 

[Giga]

The simple mod I mentioned over on TGP definately does help get a fuller tone at lower volumes and makes the amp respond much better at realistic gig levels.

Are you referring to the LDR change or something else?

I think he meant the resistor between the treble wiper and the mastervolume

Giga

 

[Bronco]

Hi guys,

I'm everywhere....lol.....I love this shit as much as any of you and I'm blessed people allow me to make my living doing it.
I also found it cool to be able to have that discussion on TGP and it remain productive.

The SLO is a very interesting amp and I personally love it. It's a product of passion, not a.n.other modded Marshall, in fact it has more in common with a Fender Twin than it does a Marshall....lol....I believe Mike intoduced people to the true hard rock abilities of the 6L6 tube.

The thing you have to bear in mind is this amp is designed to be run bloody hard, unless you are playing to at least 1500 people and on a big stage, you will very unlikely ever get the best out of it. It's a stadium amp basically. Even though it has a reasonable high amount of preamp gain, the biggest tones always come from balancing an amps preamp and power amp at the right level for the design. This is especially true for the SLO. Most guys use way to much preamp gain and the amp sounds bright and thin. Sure it's easier to play, but who wants that...lol....we like to feel like we're working right ? !! That master has to be cranked on these amps and the preamp backed off. Only then will you truly hear an SLO at it's best.
Trouble is despite nearly every guitarists love of loud 100W amps (myself included), those that gig know the reality of their situations rarely allow the use of this level of volume. Those that do insist on cranking a 100W amp in a 250 person room may think it's cool, but everyone else will just think you're a pretentious dickhead stuck in the 80's....lol....I've seen it too many times. The simple mod I mentioned over on TGP definately does help get a fuller tone at lower volumes and makes the amp respond much better at realistic gig levels.

As for the scoop and deep mods. I don't personally like them. Guitar lives in the mid range frequency arena, it always has and always will. Sure in the bedroom jamming for YouTube shred vids the amp may sound massive. When playing a single instrument on it's own, absolutely, the wider your frequency range, the bigger it will sound. Put it on stage with other musicians and you not only loose your critical frequency band with scooping but you tread all over the bass player with the Deep mod. The Deep mod also affects the critical interaction between the power amp and the speakers. Mush, mud and a loss of clarity are the result as well as that feeling you can never get loud enough to push a solo depite thae fact your are diming the amp.

I also feel the 12L is the best speaker for the SLO. THe SLO has ultra fast transients. It will find cone cry in a lesser speaker. To check for cone cry, play at a high volume with a slightly dirty tone and try some bends on the B string around the 13th to 17th fret. If certain notes sound like they are splitting in half....you have found cone cry. It's nasty as all hell unless you are someone like David Torn who could find an artistic way to make it musical.

AWESOME AWESOME post...thanks for stopping in man! As a guy who just got his first SLO, this is great insight.

Hello Bronco,

i don't think you know this, but I serviced your amp before you bought it. Take care of that baby. It is one of the earlier ones and it sounds great. I agree with Alan that the EV12L is the best speaker with that amp. I can imagine how great it would sound with a StoneAge 2x12C loaded with a couple of EV12L Classics! Amazing!

When it comes time for tubes, call Soldano and get what ever he recommends! Trust me, this is the way to go...

Right on man...thanks!

 

[Carol-AnnAmps]

The simple mod I mentioned over on TGP definately does help get a fuller tone at lower volumes and makes the amp respond much better at realistic gig levels.

Are you referring to the LDR change or something else?

I think he meant the resistor between the treble wiper and the mastervolume

Giga

100K between treble wiper and master.
Reduces loading and maintains the frequency response much better, which varies a lot in the stock setup. THere are other methods that are even better but they get more complex and bang for buck, you def. can't beat the one resistor !!

Don't be tempted to do PPMV mods, they are hateful on most designs and especially so on an SLO (almost poetic).

 

[Digital Jams]

Hi guys,

I'm everywhere....lol.....I love this shit as much as any of you and I'm blessed people allow me to make my living doing it.
I also found it cool to be able to have that discussion on TGP and it remain productive.

The SLO is a very interesting amp and I personally love it. It's a product of passion, not a.n.other modded Marshall, in fact it has more in common with a Fender Twin than it does a Marshall....lol....I believe Mike intoduced people to the true hard rock abilities of the 6L6 tube.

The thing you have to bear in mind is this amp is designed to be run bloody hard, unless you are playing to at least 1500 people and on a big stage, you will very unlikely ever get the best out of it. It's a stadium amp basically. Even though it has a reasonable high amount of preamp gain, the biggest tones always come from balancing an amps preamp and power amp at the right level for the design. This is especially true for the SLO. Most guys use way to much preamp gain and the amp sounds bright and thin. Sure it's easier to play, but who wants that...lol....we like to feel like we're working right ? !! That master has to be cranked on these amps and the preamp backed off. Only then will you truly hear an SLO at it's best.
Trouble is despite nearly every guitarists love of loud 100W amps (myself included), those that gig know the reality of their situations rarely allow the use of this level of volume. Those that do insist on cranking a 100W amp in a 250 person room may think it's cool, but everyone else will just think you're a pretentious dickhead stuck in the 80's....lol....I've seen it too many times. The simple mod I mentioned over on TGP definately does help get a fuller tone at lower volumes and makes the amp respond much better at realistic gig levels.

As for the scoop and deep mods. I don't personally like them. Guitar lives in the mid range frequency arena, it always has and always will. Sure in the bedroom jamming for YouTube shred vids the amp may sound massive. When playing a single instrument on it's own, absolutely, the wider your frequency range, the bigger it will sound. Put it on stage with other musicians and you not only loose your critical frequency band with scooping but you tread all over the bass player with the Deep mod. The Deep mod also affects the critical interaction between the power amp and the speakers. Mush, mud and a loss of clarity are the result as well as that feeling you can never get loud enough to push a solo depite thae fact your are diming the amp.

I also feel the 12L is the best speaker for the SLO. THe SLO has ultra fast transients. It will find cone cry in a lesser speaker. To check for cone cry, play at a high volume with a slightly dirty tone and try some bends on the B string around the 13th to 17th fret. If certain notes sound like they are splitting in half....you have found cone cry. It's nasty as all hell unless you are someone like David Torn who could find an artistic way to make it musical.

One of the best posts I have ever read.

 

[some dude]

I always like reading these threads. The SLO is an important amp in the rock/metal world... even if most guitarists will never actually play through a SLO they are likely to play through one of it's derivatives (Recto, 5150, etc). None of which would've happened without the original design.