NAD Soldano Hot Rod 25

[jlb32]

Finally pulled the trigger on one a month or 2 ago. The honeymoon phase is over and I'm loving it more and more by the day. The overdrive tones are just amazing and even the Normal channel sounds incredible. The baby SLO reference seems pretty close IMO when I played them side by side. Definitely has more of a SLO feel than a Hot Rod feel IMO, even though I do think the Hot Rods sound great also. Great for bedroom volumes and a great gigging amp also. Definitely loud enough for any gig. It also doesn't loose it's tone when cranked like a lot of other smaller wattage amps I have tried. Can't say enough about how great of a amp it is. Definitely would recommend it to anyone.

 

[RG955TT]

Yup, mine's a keeper too.

 

[charvelstrat81]

wow that sounds way better than my 5153 mini!
Now i got to sell the mini and add cash and get one of these!

 

[RG955TT]

It does sound better, clearer less congested and not overly gainy or too saturated compared to my EVH. I've heard a couple of 5153 mini's live too and they sound this way, overly gained out and too saturated where they lose a lot of detail. I think the HR25 excels in this area, fat meaty with plenty of gain but clear, the high notes just pop out so nice on chords. I really dig mine. Selling off my Mesa Mini Rec too, this just does it all better.

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

I wonder how the HR25+ compares with the Mesa MkV-25

 

[charvelstrat81]

I wonder how the HR25+ compares with the Mesa MkV-25

I love both but the HR 25 has more of a rodded marshall quality i like more.
I would like to own both of course!

 

[sjk]

I wonder how the HR25+ compares with the Mesa MkV-25

I love both but the HR 25 has more of a rodded marshall quality i like more.
I would like to own both of course!

You have played both or heard both to know you love them? The used prices on the Soldano have come down to reality finally and I would like to try one.

 

[jlb32]

When I was buying mine it was between the Mark V 25 and the Soldano Hot Rod 25. I tried them both. For me the Soldano won easily which is why I was willing to pay more for it. The Soldano is much more articulate, fuller, clearer and beefy sounding to my ears. The Mesa has way more modes and options but there were only a few I thought sounded good. The rest just seemed to be filler. I didn't hate the Mark V 25 (I know a lot of people love them) but IMO it did have that smaller amp tone where the Soldano has that big bottom end and fuller tone. To me the 5881(6l6's) and bigger iron in the Soldano are what makes it much different than other lower wattage amps.

Maybe me already owning a Mesa Mark IV made the Mark V 25 sound somewhat underwhelming but it just didn't hit me like the Soldano HR25 did.

 

[charvelstrat81]

I wonder how the HR25+ compares with the Mesa MkV-25

I love both but the HR 25 has more of a rodded marshall quality i like more.
I would like to own both of course!

You have played both or heard both to know you love them? The used prices on the Soldano have come down to reality finally and I would like to try one.

My bud has the mesa and i heard several clips of the HR 25
and hands down for me even just going by clips the HR 25 gets my vote.
Like i said it has the more rodded marshall tone i go for.
The mesa is more modern sounding to me.

 

[sjk]

I wonder how the HR25+ compares with the Mesa MkV-25

I love both but the HR 25 has more of a rodded marshall quality i like more.
I would like to own both of course!

You have played both or heard both to know you love them? The used prices on the Soldano have come down to reality finally and I would like to try one.

My bud has the mesa and i heard several clips of the HR 25
and hands down for me even just going by clips the HR 25 gets my vote.
Like i said it has the more rodded marshall tone i go for.
The mesa is more modern sounding to me.

So the mark v 25 is pretty good then? Lots of forum hype, maybe it's legit. Does it sound small compared to your 5153 50 watt?

 

[LPMojoGL]

The Mesa has way more modes and options but there were only a few I thought sounded good. The rest just seemed to be filler.

I've thought that about every Mesa I've owned except the .50 Caliber +.

...but IMO it did have that smaller amp tone where the Soldano has that big bottom end and fuller tone.

And that's how I feel about nearly every el84 amp i've owned.

 

[charvelstrat81]

I wonder how the HR25+ compares with the Mesa MkV-25

I love both but the HR 25 has more of a rodded marshall quality i like more.
I would like to own both of course!

You have played both or heard both to know you love them? The used prices on the Soldano have come down to reality finally and I would like to try one.

My bud has the mesa and i heard several clips of the HR 25
and hands down for me even just going by clips the HR 25 gets my vote.
Like i said it has the more rodded marshall tone i go for.
The mesa is more modern sounding to me.

So the mark v 25 is pretty good then? Lots of forum hype, maybe it's legit. Does it sound small compared to your 5153 50 watt?

I would not say it sounded small, i heard it through a 4x12 with V 30's and it kicks ass.
it is just a different flavor.

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

The HR25 sounds big until you play a 100w amp right after. That's what convinced me to return mine. Don't get me wrong, the tones were stellar, but I found myself missing the bigger grunt of a 100w amp.

 

[charvelstrat81]

The HR25 sounds big until you play a 100w amp right after. That's what convinced me to return mine. Don't get me wrong, the tones were stellar, but I found myself missing the bigger grunt of a 100w amp.

yeah i should have specified that i did not directly compare it to a higher watt amp
I am sure if you plug into a SLO right before or after you may not be as impressed
same with the mesa.

 

[jlb32]

When I played the HR25 (before buying) I played it and a SLO at the same time. That's what impressed me about the 25. The HR25 sounded huge, as did the SLO. I'd compare it to playing a 50 watter versus a 100 watter. There is some difference but to me they both sounded great back to back.

I have my big wattage amps. The HR25 is a great compliment to those and works great as a gigging amp also. The 25 watts is super loud if you want it to be.

 

[jlb32]

The HR25 sounds big until you play a 100w amp right after. That's what convinced me to return mine. Don't get me wrong, the tones were stellar, but I found myself missing the bigger grunt of a 100w amp.

That sucks you returned yours. Your clips were a reason I really wanted to try the HR25 which in turn I ended up buying one.

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

believe me I loved the tones, as good as it sounded, I always was wondering how much better the HR50 might sound...or the SLO

 

[coolfeel]

Nice amp!

 

[jlb32]

believe me I loved the tones, as good as it sounded, I always was wondering how much better the HR50 might sound...or the SLO

To me the HR25 sounds more SLOish than Hot Rodish. To me they all sound very good though. Like I said, playing the HR25 and the SLO side by side they sounded very close. The thing I liked more about the HR25 was the lower watter. The SLO is pretty much all preamp unless you get it insanely loud. With the HR25 you get to into the power section at much better volumes. I read Mike has always built around preamp distortion but wanted the HR25 to be able to push more into the power section without killing small animals.

 

[jlb32]

Finally pulled the trigger on one of these a few months ago. Really loving it.