Soldano Hot Rod 25

[yngzaklynch]

I'm seriously thinking about picking one of these up though!!

Sir I am shoocked!

yeah, been kinda jones-ing for a smaller amp lately....also thinking about the Suhr Badger 30, just not sure if I'll dig that...or if it will have enough gain for me. I've actually been using the "Crunch" channel more on my SLO (even on gigs) so I'm using less gain these days.

I was kidding. I have little doubt this amp will sound really good but for the money.... I'd go used SLO

 

[ConcreteVampire]

Yes Soldano's are kinda a one trick pony. WHAT A TRICK!

The plus let's me have access to a Crappy clean if absolutely nessesary, (If I REALLY needed clean/dirt for a gig I'd use the Surreal)
But fuck me, the dirt channel cranked on a 50 Watt Soldano is glorious... I can, and do....

I'm a fifty watt whore, I'm not sure that voicing would totally work at 25 watts... at 50 it's melting which is just right....

To me 100 watters are big block V8's.
50 watters, wound up small blocks.
25 watters... 6 bangers with an attitude...


For the $1000 I paid for it, I'd do it again. Every day.

 

[Chris O]

You can get a WAY more versatile Mini Recto, with separate channel eq's, more voicing options on each channel, a better loop and less weight for less than half the price...

Less weight = less iron = less punch

I don't hit people with my amps. I get better velocity with a guitar.

 

[Heritage Softail]

Wampler SloStortion gets pretty close. I have sold my SLO to a board member here. It did do the killer crunchy goodness. I would wonder how the mini SLO compares to the pedal.

 

[JB6464]

The HR25 is different than the other Hot Rod series amps. It uses 50 watt O'Netic transformers tune down to 25 watts. From what I'm hearing from the few guys who own one of these....they are saying it's more like a "Mini-SLO". These are guys who also own SLO's and are saying it has that bite, punch, and articulation of an SLO and sounds darn close!! This amp is no TOY like a jet-cty. It's made from quality parts and is a heavy and solid amplifier with effects loop, and two foot switchable channels. I agree, it is a wee bit expensive....but a new Suhr Badger-30 is $1,995 and that only gives you one channel with not much gain.

Wish there was more info or videos of the amp...but Mike S. is stuck in the stone ages when it comes to marketing. I'm seriously thinking about picking one of these up though!!

Is the effects loop the same shitty design he uses on all his other amps ?
Hope it's not placed beore the EQ and master like the SLO/HR amps are.

 

[ConcreteVampire]

The HR25 is different than the other Hot Rod series amps. It uses 50 watt O'Netic transformers tune down to 25 watts. From what I'm hearing from the few guys who own one of these....they are saying it's more like a "Mini-SLO". These are guys who also own SLO's and are saying it has that bite, punch, and articulation of an SLO and sounds darn close!! This amp is no TOY like a jet-cty. It's made from quality parts and is a heavy and solid amplifier with effects loop, and two foot switchable channels. I agree, it is a wee bit expensive....but a new Suhr Badger-30 is $1,995 and that only gives you one channel with not much gain.

Wish there was more info or videos of the amp...but Mike S. is stuck in the stone ages when it comes to marketing. I'm seriously thinking about picking one of these up though!!

Is the effects loop the same shitty design he uses on all his other amps ?
Hope it's not placed beore the EQ and master like the SLO/HR amps are.

These post always crack me up.

Not a shitty design. It's intended for Rack Effects. On purpose. lol...

 

[Shark Diver]

Love to hear one, but kind of heavy and pricey for a lunchbox amp. 25 watts can still be friggin loud,

 

[JB6464]

The HR25 is different than the other Hot Rod series amps. It uses 50 watt O'Netic transformers tune down to 25 watts. From what I'm hearing from the few guys who own one of these....they are saying it's more like a "Mini-SLO". These are guys who also own SLO's and are saying it has that bite, punch, and articulation of an SLO and sounds darn close!! This amp is no TOY like a jet-cty. It's made from quality parts and is a heavy and solid amplifier with effects loop, and two foot switchable channels. I agree, it is a wee bit expensive....but a new Suhr Badger-30 is $1,995 and that only gives you one channel with not much gain.

Wish there was more info or videos of the amp...but Mike S. is stuck in the stone ages when it comes to marketing. I'm seriously thinking about picking one of these up though!!

Is the effects loop the same shitty design he uses on all his other amps ?
Hope it's not placed beore the EQ and master like the SLO/HR amps are.

These post always crack me up.

Not a shitty design. It's intended for Rack Effects. On purpose. lol...

And your post cracks me up even more , lol.
It's not just about the line level (+4db) loop design but where it's placed in the preamp signal path.
It's a very odd design and it places your effects before the EQ and Master volume stages of the preamp.
If i wanted my effects pre EQed , i might as well put it in front of the amps input.
Most all other amp builders/designers place the effects loop after the EQ and master volume section of any amp.
Spend some time over at the Soldano forum and you will understand why most Soldano players don't use the loop , no matter what effects you put in the loop ( rack or pedals) it majorly changes the tone of your $4000.00 + boutique amp .
Some may like it and deal with it , many don't and have the odd loop designed removed from their amp.

 

[ConcreteVampire]

The HR25 is different than the other Hot Rod series amps. It uses 50 watt O'Netic transformers tune down to 25 watts. From what I'm hearing from the few guys who own one of these....they are saying it's more like a "Mini-SLO". These are guys who also own SLO's and are saying it has that bite, punch, and articulation of an SLO and sounds darn close!! This amp is no TOY like a jet-cty. It's made from quality parts and is a heavy and solid amplifier with effects loop, and two foot switchable channels. I agree, it is a wee bit expensive....but a new Suhr Badger-30 is $1,995 and that only gives you one channel with not much gain.

Wish there was more info or videos of the amp...but Mike S. is stuck in the stone ages when it comes to marketing. I'm seriously thinking about picking one of these up though!!

Is the effects loop the same shitty design he uses on all his other amps ?
Hope it's not placed beore the EQ and master like the SLO/HR amps are.

These post always crack me up.

Not a shitty design. It's intended for Rack Effects. On purpose. lol...

And your post cracks me up even more , lol.
It's not just about the line level (+4db) loop design but where it's placed in the preamp signal path.
It's a very odd design and it places your effects before the EQ and Master volume stages of the preamp.
If i wanted my effects pre EQed , i might as well put it in front of the amps input.
Most all other amp builders/designers place the effects loop after the EQ and master volume section of any amp.
Spend some time over at the Soldano forum and you will understand why most Soldano players don't use the loop , no matter what effects you put in the loop ( rack or pedals) it majorly changes the tone of your $4000.00 + boutique amp .
Some may like it and deal with it , many don't and have the odd loop designed removed from their amp.

To each their own, dont buy one! I defer to Mike's design decision on his amp, I believe he knows what he wanted his amp to sound like. He would have "Fixed" it by now.

 

[Shark Diver]

It's a very odd design and it places your effects before the EQ and Master volume stages of the preamp.
If i wanted my effects pre EQed , i might as well put it in front of the amps input.
Most all other amp builders/designers place the effects loop after the EQ and master volume section of any amp.

And many do put an eq before their amp and find it more effective at tone shaping. Also, if the preamp volume came before the fx then changing it would wreck your fx input levels- no bueno. Having EQ after fx is just an over all tone shaper. It has never bothered me. The Soldano forum's general answer is that any loop changes tone, and that if you use Professional FX equipment you have no loop issues. The amp was designed for professionals at a time rack equipment was at it's peak. I still prefer a 2290 and PCM 70 for fx over anything going today - so it works perfectly for me. The people who complain are the ones sticking a BOSS pedal in the loop. As said, if that's your preference then buy something else, or slave into a W/D/W rig, or have the loop moved. But because it was designed in a very specific way doesn't make it bad.

 

[JB6464]

The HR25 is different than the other Hot Rod series amps. It uses 50 watt O'Netic transformers tune down to 25 watts. From what I'm hearing from the few guys who own one of these....they are saying it's more like a "Mini-SLO". These are guys who also own SLO's and are saying it has that bite, punch, and articulation of an SLO and sounds darn close!! This amp is no TOY like a jet-cty. It's made from quality parts and is a heavy and solid amplifier with effects loop, and two foot switchable channels. I agree, it is a wee bit expensive....but a new Suhr Badger-30 is $1,995 and that only gives you one channel with not much gain.

Wish there was more info or videos of the amp...but Mike S. is stuck in the stone ages when it comes to marketing. I'm seriously thinking about picking one of these up though!!

Is the effects loop the same shitty design he uses on all his other amps ?
Hope it's not placed beore the EQ and master like the SLO/HR amps are.

These post always crack me up.

Not a shitty design. It's intended for Rack Effects. On purpose. lol...

And your post cracks me up even more , lol.
It's not just about the line level (+4db) loop design but where it's placed in the preamp signal path.
It's a very odd design and it places your effects before the EQ and Master volume stages of the preamp.
If i wanted my effects pre EQed , i might as well put it in front of the amps input.
Most all other amp builders/designers place the effects loop after the EQ and master volume section of any amp.
Spend some time over at the Soldano forum and you will understand why most Soldano players don't use the loop , no matter what effects you put in the loop ( rack or pedals) it majorly changes the tone of your $4000.00 + boutique amp .
Some may like it and deal with it , many don't and have the odd loop designed removed from their amp.

To each their own, dont buy one! I defer to Mike's design decision on his amp, I believe he knows what he wanted his amp to sound like. He would have "Fixed" it by now.

I did'nt say i did'nt like the tone of the amps. , i've owned the SLO and still own the HR100+ and love the design of his tones/gains within.
But his loop design is not much to write home about and it's not just my opinion , it's all over the web from Soldano users saying the same thing over and over again. It's a love/hate design , many owners love the tones of his design but deal with the loop because Mike wants to keep the SLO original to it's design since he created it back in the mid 80's.
That does'nt mean his loop design is perfect , he just refuses to change anything of the original SLO design.
So since the HR series amps are not the exact original SLO design it would be nice to offer something different in some designs , starting with the loop. That's the biggest complaint most all Soldano users have .

 

[JB6464]

It's a very odd design and it places your effects before the EQ and Master volume stages of the preamp.
If i wanted my effects pre EQed , i might as well put it in front of the amps input.
Most all other amp builders/designers place the effects loop after the EQ and master volume section of any amp.

And many do put an eq before their amp and find it more effective at tone shaping. Also, if the preamp volume came before the fx then changing it would wreck your fx input levels- no bueno. Having EQ after fx is just an over all tone shaper. It has never bothered me. The Soldano forum's general answer is that any loop changes tone, and that if you use Professional FX equipment you have no loop issues. The amp was designed for professionals at a time rack equipment was at it's peak. I still prefer a 2290 and PCM 70 for fx over anything going today - so it works perfectly for me. The people who complain are the ones sticking a BOSS pedal in the loop. As said, if that's your preference then buy something else, or slave into a W/D/W rig, or have the loop moved. But because it was designed in a very specific way doesn't make it bad.

And many prefer their EQ's and other effects after the amps EQ section of the preamp.
No matter what you put in the loop from a 2290 or a TC electronics studio quality delay pedal that accepts up to +9db input signals and works fine in the loop design as well still changes the tone of the amp because of it's placement.
All i'm saying is it would be nice if Mike would offer a different loop design along with his original design of the SLO .
So since the HR series amps are not SLO amps , this would be a nice time to offer something different instead of the same design he has used since the beginning.
He really has'nt designed anything new with the HR25 , he just neutered a HR50 and put it in a short chassis.

 

[Shark Diver]

And many prefer their EQ's and other effects after the amps EQ section of the preamp.
No matter what you put in the loop from a 2290 or a TC electronics studio quality delay pedal that accepts up to +9db input signals and works fine in the loop design as well still changes the tone of the amp because of it's placement.

I get it, but it's like asking Gibson to change the LP headstock because some people don't like it. They say it binds the strings and it's hard to keep the guitar in tune. Some people love it and have no tuning issues. A builder has to do what he thinks is best for his design. Impossible to please everyone. And anything in a loop changes tone - this isn't a Soldano flaw, it's the nature of electronics and physics.

I get he could do something different in the HR, but that would only happen if he thought it was the best design. No matter what all us internet guys think.

 

[JLB BCM]

<<< No problem selling this amp. It is moving VERY VERY well. New Soldano customers and/or SLO customers wanting a smaller venue and easier to transport rig are buying this amp.

2 - Sovtek 5881'/6L6WGC's and 5 preamp tubes just like every other 50 watt Soldano.
Onetics transformers made in Seattle.
400 plate volts which yields 25 watts +/-.
2 channels, crunch and overdrive.
Buffered effects loop that works very well. I'm running a TC Flashback into it and it works flawlessly.
2 speaker jacks.
Impedance selector 4, 8, 16.

Most are buying this with the SLO black centered knobs. I own Serial #002, Mike Soldano owns serial #001.

I love the HR series in 50 ad 100 watts, but this 25 sounds closer to the SLO than they do. I've run this amp at 2 outdoor gigs and NEVER had trouble with clean head room.

LB
BCM

 

[jape23]

I've definitely had my frustrations with the SLO loop. It's not just a matter of using high end rack gear. I've used Lexicon and TC electronics stuff in the loop. And yes, that solves your level issues. However, the delays still don't intereact with the dry signal in a way that sounds proper to me. It's like some of what you're suppose to be hearing of the effect gets minimized, regardless of how you set the mix knob on the effect. It's really hard to explain to someone unless you're in the room doing A/B testing with other amps and the way the delay reacts in those loops in comparison to the SLO. I have played SLOs with stock loops and two SLOs with solid state loop mods, and the difference is HUGE! I would never own an SLO again without having the loop modded/moved

Having said that, I have great respect for Mike Soldano. The SLO is one of the best sounding amps I've ever heard. And I do understand why he might be reluctant to make any changes, but that's a whole other discussion.

 

[JB6464]

I've definitely had my frustrations with the SLO loop. It's not just a matter of using high end rack gear. I've used Lexicon and TC electronics stuff in the loop. And yes, that solves your level issues. However, the delays still don't intereact with the dry signal in a way that sounds proper to me. It's like some of what you're suppose to be hearing of the effect gets minimized, regardless of how you set the mix knob on the effect. It's really hard to explain to someone unless you're in the room doing A/B testing with other amps and the way the delay reacts in those loops in comparison to the SLO. I have played SLOs with stock loops and two SLOs with solid state loop mods, and the difference is HUGE! I would never own an SLO again without having the loop modded.

Having said that, I have great respect for Mike Soldano. The SLO is one of the best sounding amps I've ever heard. And I do understand why he might be reluctant to make any changes, but that's a whole other discussion.

^^THIS ^^
Exactly what i was trying to explain earlier , where the loop is placed makes a big difference how the effects reacts with the amps dry signal.

 

[Shark Diver]

Well, I like the loop Maybe I'm loopy

Really, I slave these anyway, so I don't use the loop anymore - but that isn't because of a dislike of the loop, I just like slaving into a VHT Classic for W/D/W rigs.

 

[JLB BCM]

The SLO has 3 stages of cascading gain. The effects loop is in fact a +4db loop as we all know, but it is intentionally put in front of the tone stack but after the last stage of gain. Why? In case your delay etc., colors the tone, you can adjust that out with the EQ. May not be a perfect setup for W/D/W, but most guys don't run rigs like that.

The whole purpose of the loop in the first place is powering non powered if you will, effects where the slave out is used for powered items. Then of course it has a level control as well.

As for W/D/W etc. rigs, Blues City Music operates out of a daily working recording studio in Memphis. It is Elvis Presley's 2nd studio called Amercian Recording Studio. The original ARS burned to the ground, but in 1967, this location was built and over the last 4 years we have renovated it completely. Not once here or in our previous location in east Memphis, have we ever tracked W/D/W. All tracks are recorded at least with one dry track and if the guy has an amp he HAS to use but sounds awful, we will send another track to a reamplification rig. Mostly we use a Creation Audio Labs MW1 Studio Tool designed by Michael Wagener.

LB
BCM

 

[sahlomonic]

How are these different from a Jet city JCA20 other than where its made and component choice?

The JCA22H would be more accurate, since that one is the 2 channel version. Jet City stuff (most of the amps thus far) are just Chinese manufactured, mass-produced equivalents of Soldano amps. Mikey and Doug from JCA will more or less say this in various interviews I've seen.


JCA22H = Soldano Hot Rod 25
JCA100H = Soldano Hot Rod+ 100
JCA20H = Soldano Atomic 16

In a nutshell . . .
Difference as you said is component choice. I think of it this way - you can get the Soldano tone two ways: You can get Budget (JCA) or you can get Balls (Soldano).

Now back to the Soldano 25 . . . a few guys on the Soldano forum say it has a lot of SLO mojo, but then again it is the Soldano forum so probably a little biased to begin with (Not that its a problem ).

And if you want a Soldano amp without the loop, check the Avenger.

 

[Shark Diver]

Not once here or in our previous location in east Memphis, have we ever tracked W/D/W.

Well of course. W/D/W is for live use. Why would anyone record any track with fx? Most studios I know record the dry and an unamped guitar track for reamping.