OMG...just got done playing my Avenger with the kids napping

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AmpliFIRE

AmpliFIRE

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Yes...I'm still in the honeymoon phase, but this amp continues to impress! I played at WHISPER volumes with an SD1 and a H&K Replex out front and couldn't believe the tone I was getting. The amp just sounds HUGE at all volumes. The overall tone of the amp is exactly like a 6L6/5881 amp should sound, but there are plenty of upper mids to give you that Marshall flavor. I haven't been this smitten with an amp since I got my Cameron XTC :inlove: ....but that amp can't compare with the Avenger at low volumes.
 
I almost bought one of those instead of the 5153. Considering how much I don't like the 5153... yeah I should have went with the Soldano. I've played most of the Soldano line up and owned two models, the SLO and HR50+XL. I'm kinda surprised you boost it. Soldanos have a healthy amount of gain built in. But yeah I guess to get into liquid territory... I want to try one of those at some point. Mike Soldano said that the different Tranny makes it compress quicker than the SLO, which for metal is probably a good thing.
 
yngzaklynch":18uflsnt said:
I almost bought one of those instead of the 5153. Considering how much I don't like the 5153... yeah I should have went with the Soldano. I've played most of the Soldano line up and owned two models, the SLO and HR50+XL. I'm kinda surprised you boost it. Soldanos have a healthy amount of gain built in. But yeah I guess to get into liquid territory... I want to try one of those at some point. Mike Soldano said that the different Tranny makes it compress quicker than the SLO, which for metal is probably a good thing.
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This one was a bit more than your standard Avenger, but worth every penny IMO. It honestly reminds me of a beefier sounding JCM 800 without the ice-pick highs. I don't boost it ball the time (it truly doesn't need one), but it adds a bit of clarity at SUPER low volumes.

I'm wondering how the Replex out front is going to sound when she's cranked up a bit. I'm trying to give my ears a bit of a break, so I'll experiment with that later this week.
 
I know Mike offers an FX loop option nowadays. If the delay doesn't work out front and you come to find its a keeper you could always send it to him for an fx loop mod.
 
yngzaklynch":2k48tyc4 said:
I know Mike offers an FX loop option nowadays. If the delay doesn't work out front and you come to find its a keeper you could always send it to him for an fx loop mod.
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I think I might just bring it to my tech to install the Metro-loop. Soldano's loops suck from what I've heard...
 
Man I feel ya. I am loving my Avenger soooooooo much right now. And like you, I love it with or without a boost. Such a big, thick sounding amp. I want another one.
 
Does your Avenger have something that isn't stock? Just wondering since you said it cost a little more.
 
guitup":2kb0prvc said:
Does your Avenger have something that isn't stock? Just wondering since you said it cost a little more.
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It has the SLO Transformers
 
I absolutely love mine. At low volumes it kills. The 5881 is the one. Fat Sound gets the EL34 one. Don't do it! The 5881 are made for this amp. Is the SLO not as dark. My Avenger is a tad dark. I love it though. It has made me consider getting a SLO.
 
Oh, I see. I wonder what difference the DeYoung vs. Mercury Magnetics transformer make soundwise?
 
guitup":3ngh6k0t said:
Oh, I see. I wonder what difference the DeYoung vs. Mercury Magnetics transformer make soundwise?
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The tranny in the stock Avenger compresses quicker
 
Here is an e-mail I got from Mike Soldano. Start at the bottom and ready up...



Hi Jim,

No, the Avenger has the same gain as the SLO, but because of the different output transformer in the power amp, it does sound a bit more compressed at lower volumes. This might be what your friend was hearing. To be even more manageable at lower volumes, I'd recommend the 50 watt Avenger rather than the 100.

I hope this helps!

Michael Soldano
Soldano Custom Amplification


----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Thompson
To: Info @ Soldano
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 1:02 PM
Subject: Re: Avenger


Mr. Soldano thank you for your reply. I have owned the HR50+XL 2x12 combo and the SLO /Depth mod in the past. This was before I had a 6 month old baby. Now that I have a little one I was wondering if the Avenger was a little more manageable at lower volumes?? A friend that tried the Avenger next to the SLO said that the Avenger sounded better than the SLO at lower volumes and seemed to have more gain. Does the Avenger have more gain than the SLO?

Thank you for your time.

Jim
 
I've had an Avenger with the DeYoung (SLO) transformers, and two SLO's. The Avenger was a great amp no doubt, but I found it got very compressed once you got the gain up around 2:00 or so. I mean like you were just hitting a wall. A boost like an SD-1 or 808 got it more saturated without that over-bearing compression, but of course it then sounded and felt boosted, which not everyone digs.

I really did like it, but felt the SLO was just better all around - able to get gainier without the compression and able to get a wider range of tones. The Avenger just didn't have the 'Wow' factor that the SLO did either. For the price the Avenger is very hard to beat but IMO the SLO is definitely head and shoulders above it.
 
Rufus Leaking":1s2cmo8h said:
I've had an Avenger with the DeYoung (SLO) transformers, and two SLO's. The Avenger was a great amp no doubt, but I found it got very compressed once you got the gain up around 2:00 or so. I mean like you were just hitting a wall. A boost like an SD-1 or 808 got it more saturated without that over-bearing compression, but of course it then sounded and felt boosted, which not everyone digs.

I really did like it, but felt the SLO was just better all around - able to get gainier without the compression and able to get a wider range of tones. The Avenger just didn't have the 'Wow' factor that the SLO did either. For the price the Avenger is very hard to beat but IMO the SLO is definitely head and shoulders above it.
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I've got the gain exactly at 2:00 right now, and I agree that anything more is definitely compressed sounding. The amp does need some volume to sound great without a boost. The SD-1 as a clean boost does the trick perfectly at low volumes to make it sound like it's cranked (if that makes sense). I'd love to a/b this amp with an SLO.
 
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