Soldano/Eminence = bleh. Soldano/Celestion =Glorious

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skoora

skoora

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For the longest time I haven't quite liked Soldano amps....(and I want to). Something about the midrange and treble response. Too dark then too sharp. No Kraaaang! I've always loved the Soldano modded marshalls I've heard and even have one myself.
I was in GC recently and decided to give an SLO another try and right away decided to run it through a Celestion loaded Egnator cab as opposed to the Soldano cab it was on. Holy righteous tone turnaround Batman! The Kraaaang was there big time. Sweet midrange response and treble easily dialed in to taste. I felt like an idiot as I've known for a long time what affect speakers have on the sound but I've only tried Soldano's through Soldano cabs which use Eminence. If I recollect correctly Mike chose Eminence a long time ago because of pricing and availability over Celestion but for a guy who obviously knows exactly how a tweaked marshall should sound it's amazing that the speaker choice seems at odds with the amp.
Does anyone out there feel the same...or different. A little while ago when I was picking up my marshall from Mike's shop I noticed how different it sounded through my marshall cab and one of his. This lead me to try his other amps with celestions instead. The last thing I needed was to fall in love with a $3300 amp. :doh: :doh:

I know the Avenger is a lot less but I really dug the clean/crunch settings and being able to footswitch to that super juicy high gain goodness was very sweet.
 
Good post. I think the reason why Soldano likes Eminence speakers is that they are US made. I think I remember reading this a few years ago. If Celestion were US made, I believe he would be loading his cabs with them.
 
I know mike doesn't like V30s, I do have an older soldano cab that came loaded with them. Eminence sound great on paper but most of them just don't seem to have the tone. I think soldano should atleast go back and mess with the newer eminences and see if they can find something better than the legends.

Anyways, I got an SLO coming soon and have lots of celestions to run it through. :D
 
for recent production, i'll take Eminence by a long shot. Governors put V30's to shame for my ears.
 
I've tried several new and older production Eminence's and they pretty much all sound like ass to my ears. They all seem to have this annoying harsh high end thing going on...
 
Capulin Overdrive":qwpclk9u said:
for recent production, i'll take Eminence by a long shot. Governors put V30's to shame for my ears.
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+1
 
AmpliFIRE":243wwfc4 said:
I've tried several new and older production Eminence's and they pretty much all sound like ass to my ears. They all seem to have this annoying harsh high end thing going on...
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+1
plus they're often too bass heavy
 
I have a Soldano HR100+ and 4x12 cabinet with Vintage 30's. I've had an issue with the midrange in the sound for years. Tried different tubes, didn't help. Got in the studio last year and had a bad experience getting the rig set up. Finally used a different cab with Vintage 30's and tried a few different mics. Got an OK sound, nothing fantastic. This year, went in and put the HR100+ on a 1985 Marshall cab with Celestion G12-65's. It sang like a bird!! Great sound for this amp. I thought at first it might've been front loaded to rear loaded. But talked to Bill Sundt from Soldano and he said they front load so they don't have a removable back an weaken the integrity of the cab. They get better overall tone from a strong box. He suggested the G12-65s or Greenbacks. I talked to a friend who makes 16watt Marshalls, Trainwrecks, and Dumble copies and he turned me on the Scumback speakers. They reproduce "Pre-Rola" era Celestions with some unique processes that give the speakers that "mileage" like they are 30 years old. You can get any wattage, ohmage or dust cover config you want for each model and they are cheaper than Celestions (sometimes). Pretty cool stuff.

Celeston Vintage 30's have a honky midrange, not very pleasent when you go to record with em. Eminence Legends (Soldano X12000) don't have the output are a whimpy compared to the Celestions. I have em both. I'm gonna experiment and try the Scumback M75-LHDC.
 
For one thing, if you are a cab builder, Celestion requires that you buy an insane amount of speakers at a time. They sell them pretty much by the pallet. From what i heard from a certain amp and cab builder, say if he placed an order for a pallet of v-30's and a pallet of greenbacks and sold all the v-30's before even selling half of the greenbacks, he would have to order a pallet of v-30s as well as a pallet of greenbacks, or another type of speaker.
 
Screaminsaint":2cqyatsr said:
For one thing, if you are a cab builder, Celestion requires that you buy an insane amount of speakers at a time. They sell them pretty much by the pallet. From what i heard from a certain amp and cab builder, say if he placed an order for a pallet of v-30's and a pallet of greenbacks and sold all the v-30's before even selling half of the greenbacks, he would have to order a pallet of v-30s as well as a pallet of greenbacks, or another type of speaker.
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It's too bad that things are like this. If Soldano cabs were loaded with Celestions, you would see alot more Soldano cabs around. Their cabs are built great but I can see why Mike S. uses Eminence.
 
The Soldano cab I played was the worst cab I've ever used. Both piercing and muddy. SLO sounding amazing with cabs from Mesa, Bogner, and various Marshalls. But I never would have bought a SLO if I only heard it through the Soldano cab.
 
I really dislike Soldano cabs. IMO Mike stays true to his amps but his cabs are a different story.

He started out designing his amps around V30's. IMO his dislike for V30's is due to business and him pushing other speakers that are better for Soldano expense wise more than tonally.

IMO all the Soldanos I have tried sound incredibly amazing through my Mesa and Bogner cabs, which are both loaded with V30's. Through the Soldano cabs I have tried they sound meh. Doesn't even seem like the same amp.

IMO there is a reason most big touring musicians with Soldano amps do not use Soldano cabs.

My Soldano Hot Rod 25 is a beast through my Mesa and Bogner. I tried it through a Soldano cab and it sounded neutered in comparison. Not sure if it's just the speakers or the Soldano cab design. Either way I'm not a fan.
 
Just acquired a SLO after years of wanting one. I don't have a Soldano cab but have a few others. It sounds best through my Mesa 412 with V30's.
 
nevusofota":37ti453p said:
Just acquired a SLO after years of wanting one. I don't have a Soldano cab but have a few others. It sounds best through my Mesa 412 with V30's.
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I feel the same. To me Soldanos shine through V30 or Creamback loaded cabs, Celestion speakers. Soldano cabs do not do the amps justice IMO.
 
nevusofota":18ciddoo said:
Just acquired a SLO after years of wanting one. I don't have a Soldano cab but have a few others. It sounds best through my Mesa 412 with V30's.
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Mine liked V30s, but freaking loved GBs or 65s much more. :rock:
 
I love this topic.

Like the crazy man I am I researched cabs for my SLO until my head almost exploded. I read all about how the SLO doesn't like new V30s but loves broken in V30s. I read how it loves Greenback types, I read how it loves Eminences of all flavors. I read how the Soldano cabs are small, how the Marshall style cabs are the best, all sorts of stuff. So I ordered a custom one-off cab from Soldano, which like THE MAN he is, Mike Soldano agreed to do it! He suggested I start with the stock Emi speakers and if I don't like them, it's not hard to swap for something else.

So I got a Soldano cab built similarly to an old Marshall cab with a removable back panel, rear mounted speakers, center support post, and dimensions to match an old Marshall 4x12 at 30x30x14 inches. I went with the standard Eminence V1216 speakers.

And it turned out awesome! It sounds huge, cuts when I need it to cut, and the bottom end is insane. I'm not a metal player so I don't worry about the chug chug so much, and I don't need the super tightness to track those rapidfire riffs. I don't do rapid fire riffs. What this cab brings to the SLO is an incredible sense of dimension and depth, it breathes and responds like it's alive. So awesome. My SLO and this cab together make MUSIC.

But that's the thing, you can make music with whichever works for you! It's just a matter of finding what works for you. I love Soldano cabs, especially this one-off Marshall-style cab and the way it opens up my SLO and makes it breathe like a living thing.

Like I said, I love this topic.



 
I like Soldano's through Greenback's but I can't gel with V30.

I installed an Eminence Swamp Thang and a Texas Heat into the top half of my Soldano cab and it now sounds pretty sweet.

I think the way Soldano cabs sound has more to do with them being front-loaded compact cabs. They need beefier speakers than the stock V1216 or X12000.
 
IMO a lot of the V30 dislike does have to do with new speakers versus broken in speakers. New V30's are very harsh and sound poor. Well broken in V30's sound balanced and awesome.
 
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