Question about Soldano Hot Rod 50 Plus...

[PhloridaMan]

So, I had a trade offer today for my Splawn. Guy about an hour from me has a Soldano Hot Rod 50 Plus. I don't mind that it's only a 50 since I don't play out anymore and it's mostly just for home recording, however it is nice to jam with friends when I have the opportunity. I know a 50 will generally hold it's own with a 100 watter in a jam situation nicely.

My question comes down to this... The demo's I can find on YouTube really are limited for the 50, the only solid one I can seem to find for the line, is by Ola playing the 100

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS8glIrZqlc

My general styles of music range from Killswitch Engage type stuff, all the way to The Acacia Strain and sometimes I'll back it way down and play Govt Mule or Alice in Chains...

To anyone with these amps, will it cover this range well? And, is the clean side of the amp actually usable? I have to make a decision rather quickly on it so I figured I'd post up and see if anyone has experience.

Thanks!

 

[Racerxrated]

I had a HR 100+, clean was good IMO. Less Marshally than your Splawn but you can boost it with any TS type or EQ to get more Marshally. Little more of an organic tone IMO than the Splawn, which have their own thing going on. Really great amps IMO, and my only experience with a Splawn was an EL34 Nitro but I'd take the Soldano over it.

 

[PhloridaMan]

I had a HR 100+, clean was good IMO. Less Marshally than your Splawn but you can boost it with any TS type or EQ to get more Marshally. Little more of an organic tone IMO than the Splawn, which have their own thing going on. Really great amps IMO, and my only experience with a Splawn was an EL34 Nitro but I'd take the Soldano over it.

My Splawn is the EL34 The big thing I don't like about the Splawn, is it seems more open and loose than what I prefer and it seems to lack the saturation I really like (either that or I'm just an idiot, which is always possible). I really liked my old EVH 5150 III which is my reason for wanting one again. I like a saturated, tight and focused amp. My Framus Cobra and EVH 5150 III were the two favorite I have ever owned out of many as well as probably 12 6505s and 5150s ive owned. .

I've never played or heard a Soldano other than in that Ola video. I kind of just stick to what I have and that's what it is.

When it comes to cleans, I hate the Splawn clean. It's sterile to me and doesn't have any life to it. I prefer a more Fender type clean.

 

[paulyc]

I know a guy that prefers the Hot Rod pluses to real SLOs...both the 50 and the 100, I've played several SLOs and a few pluses and I didn't like any of them, but I'm probably in the minority there. I have played a bunch of Splawns and owned 2, not my cup of tea either. I don't think either a Soldano or a Splawn is a great amp for super heavy stuff by themselves, but paired with other amps ? Probably pretty cool. Stick to the EVH or 6505.

That Ola clip sounds killer though...

 

[fusedbrain]

Going on this info:

I really liked my old EVH 5150 III which is my reason for wanting one again. I like a saturated, tight and focused amp. My Framus Cobra and EVH 5150 III were the two favorite I have ever owned out of many as well as probably 12 6505s and 5150s ive owned. .

I would have to agree with this:

I don't think either a Soldano or a Splawn is a great amp for super heavy stuff by themselves, but paired with other amps ? Probably pretty cool. Stick to the EVH or 6505.

I don't think the HR50+ is what you're looking for. Great amp, but not the right amp.

 

[Racerxrated]

One thing though..I boost everything, even my C+ for just a different flavor. Soldanos take boosts as good as any Marshall imo, and have such killer power sections they leave those other amps behind at higher volumes. I've owned 5153s and played all the peaveys. Cool amps but at volume there are differences.

 

[paulyc]

I had an original block logo 5150 and that thing just fell apart at high volume, worst "heavy" amp I ever owned. It got ratty at high volume, so there's a lot of truth to what racerxrated is saying.

 

[rstites]

One thing though..I boost everything, even my C+ for just a different flavor. Soldanos take boosts as good as any Marshall imo, and have such killer power sections they leave those other amps behind at higher volumes. I've owned 5153s and played all the peaveys. Cool amps but at volume there are differences.

What pedals do you like in front of the SLO? The SLO does heavy fine. I prefer to use the crunch for that though as it retains more bass. I set the OD only for leads. I roll off the volume on crunch for a very nice clean - I prefer this to the straight SLO clean. The crunch on the SLO is very much like an old Marshall 2203 for feel and reaction with a fair amount more gain. Those amps are the foundation for a lot of the greatest heavy sounds out there, so it's perfectly reasonably to expect the SLO to get there too.

In fact, with my EMG equipped guitar, the SLO crunch rolled way up gets what I want......or very close. My passive pickup guitars could use a little boost though.

 

[R Weaver FX]

Well if you do take the Soldano,I'll trade you my Stealth modded 5150III. Im just into the Soldano sound these days

 

[Racerxrated]

One thing though..I boost everything, even my C+ for just a different flavor. Soldanos take boosts as good as any Marshall imo, and have such killer power sections they leave those other amps behind at higher volumes. I've owned 5153s and played all the peaveys. Cool amps but at volume there are differences.

What pedals do you like in front of the SLO? The SLO does heavy fine. I prefer to use the crunch for that though as it retains more bass. I set the OD only for leads. I roll off the volume on crunch for a very nice clean - I prefer this to the straight SLO clean. The crunch on the SLO is very much like an old Marshall 2203 for feel and reaction with a fair amount more gain. Those amps are the foundation for a lot of the greatest heavy sounds out there, so it's perfectly reasonably to expect the SLO to get there too.

In fact, with my EMG equipped guitar, the SLO crunch rolled way up gets what I want......or very close. My passive pickup guitars could use a little boost though.

Oh it can get heavy, absolutely. I'm saying that if you need to get the super saturated thing, I'm sure it will get there with a boost. I just used a cheapo Danelectro eq pedal with the mids bumped a little, OD channel gain around 6-7 and the SLO was perfect for my needs. Same with the HR100 I had years before..just the eq pedal for a boost.

 

[SavageRiffer]

Look, here's the deal. I have a lot of love for Splawn amps, especially the Nitro EL34, but man the Soldano HR50 & HR100 is a little more special. It's hard to describe, but man there are so many good tones you can get out of it even though it's a relatively very simply laid out amp. Dude, soloing in neck position is spectacular. Chunky rhythms, no problem. Liquid lead, no less than exceptional. You can even get a variety of good clean sounds out of it. They're not known for clean tone, but I swear if you just add a touch of delay or chorus, it's all you need.

I'd say do the deal. Check out this dude's video, good player, and exactly what you're going to hear from the Hot Rod 50.

 

[Dave L]

If the Cobra and the 5150 III are your favorite amps I don´t think the HR50 will suit you. It´s not at all as extreme as those two and lands more in the ballpark of being a great amp for hot blues up to heavy rock. It also does not have a Fender clean, at least not the typical blackface-type tones. I´d probably pick it over a Splawn, though.

 

[PhloridaMan]

Well if you do take the Soldano,I'll trade you my Stealth modded 5150III. Im just into the Soldano sound these days

Well that changes the game a bit... lol

 

[glassjaw7]

My buddy goes though a LOT of amps and he landed on the HR50 for awhile before going to a Boogie Quad preamp rig and eventually a Helios. I love the Helios but that Soldano had some magic in a live mix. It was like the perfect mix of cutting upper mids and low mid punch with a sort of "elastic" thing going on with chords. Lots of growl and clarity. Granted, he had the master on about 7 but it was a really great live tone.

I think that amp could pull off heavy stuff but it would do it with a tinge of 80s rock vibe. I think it rides the line between a classic and modern voicing. For cleans he backed down the guitar's volume and it was decent.

 

[the4thlast1]

6505+ thats the amp .....Ive had all the amps you mentioned. If you want the Killswitch Engage type of tone that is it, all you need is a good overdrive infront such as a Maxon 808. Dont believe what someone said about falling apart at high volume. The peavey slays at high volume in a live mix, that guy must have had bad tubes or something wrong with his amp. I use mine in a two guitar band and the more I turn up the better it sounds not the other way around.

Soldano , I have ownrd SLO , HotRod 100 and an Avenger 50. Out of those three the Avenger did Metal the best but it had no clean channel and no loop.

Splawn Ive had Nitro and Quickrod , cool amps but like you are right.. if you want saturation and fast attack you would be better with a 5150/EVH/Soldano type amp.

 

[paulyc]

My 5150 sucked at high volume, tubes were good, biased right, etc. my next amp was a VHT Pit Bull... problem solved.

 

[Mesa\Kramer]

I don't think you will like the Soldano better than the Splawn

Plus the Soldano loop is shit

I do love this clip however

 

[PhloridaMan]

I ended up recording this last night with the Splawn... I mean, the amp sounds so damn good... It just seems to be way too open feeling to me and lacks (usable) saturation. I don't know why, I just don't like it... Even with the dual mic Orange PPC412 Cab IR's that I used it just doesn't completely satisfy me.

https://soundcloud.com/phil-jacques-243 ... -demo-clip

Oh and go ahead and laugh at the band name... We came up with it we were in our teens back in 2002 lol

 

[DET1973]

6505+ thats the amp .....Ive had all the amps you mentioned. If you want the Killswitch Engage type of tone that is it, all you need is a good overdrive infront such as a Maxon 808. Dont believe what someone said about falling apart at high volume. The peavey slays at high volume in a live mix, that guy must have had bad tubes or something wrong with his amp. I use mine in a two guitar band and the more I turn up the better it sounds not the other way around.

Soldano , I have ownrd SLO , HotRod 100 and an Avenger 50. Out of those three the Avenger did Metal the best but it had no clean channel and no loop.

Splawn Ive had Nitro and Quickrod , cool amps but like you are right.. if you want saturation and fast attack you would be better with a 5150/EVH/Soldano type amp.

My "Hot Rod" Avenger 100 with my Les Paul loaded with EMG's sounds crushing without a boost & with a boost.

How is the quickrod for Saturation? I've always been a huge fan of Marshall style tones but could never get the gain amount nor saturation amount out of most of them.

 

[PhloridaMan]

6505+ thats the amp .....Ive had all the amps you mentioned. If you want the Killswitch Engage type of tone that is it, all you need is a good overdrive infront such as a Maxon 808. Dont believe what someone said about falling apart at high volume. The peavey slays at high volume in a live mix, that guy must have had bad tubes or something wrong with his amp. I use mine in a two guitar band and the more I turn up the better it sounds not the other way around.

Soldano , I have ownrd SLO , HotRod 100 and an Avenger 50. Out of those three the Avenger did Metal the best but it had no clean channel and no loop.

Splawn Ive had Nitro and Quickrod , cool amps but like you are right.. if you want saturation and fast attack you would be better with a 5150/EVH/Soldano type amp.

My "Hot Rod" Avenger 100 with my Les Paul loaded with EMG's sounds crushing without a boost & with a boost.

How is the quickrod for Saturation? I've always been a huge fan of Marshall style tones but could never get the gain amount nor saturation amount out of most of them.

See, I thought the Avenger sounded absolutely AMAZING! But there's no clean ch... I need a clean side! I'd love to try a Decatone...