Soldano/ Jet City/Fryette/ Kemper guys, help me out...

[the rossness]

I've had an MTS rig for about 3 years and besides 5-6 preamps, I'm getting a little tired of it. My all time favorite amp is the SLO. I love that saturated and creamy high gain sound. I have a Salvation modded SLO MTS preamp that's ok, but it only gets me so far. I also don't play out that much, and the SLO is LOUD! So, I'm wondering if I change amps, Should I get the real deal Soldano (which is my all time favourite amp)? Should I go cheap and get the Wampler SLOstortion or a Jet City amp? There's also the Kemper. I'm concerned if I get the SLO, the volume of it and the price will both be too high. I don't know if the Wampler pedal or Jet City amp will be any better than my Salvation preamp? Then there's the Kemper which cost what a little less than a used SLO, but can be quieter and has way more tones, but its still a SS based amp. What would you do? Does anyone have experience with all 4?

Peace~

 

[IntenseJim]

You'll get many opinions on this but the SLO does NOT have to be loud to sound exceptional. Just liberally* adjust the EQ .


*That is not a political statement.

 

[Mesa\Kramer]

The Jet City amps are based off the Soldano Hot Rod series and come pretty close to nailing them.

So then is the Question, is The Hot Rod close enough sounding to an SLO for you?

Given the price, the Jet City's are the answer, plus the JCA22 would be much better for home use.

But if you have the 4k then why not go for it?

 

[the rossness]

The Jet City amps are based off the Soldano Hot Rod series and come pretty close to nailing them.

So then is the Question, is The Hot Rod close enough sounding to an SLO for you?

Given the price, the Jet City's are the answer, plus the JCA22 would be much better for home use.

But if you have the 4k then why not go for it?

Yeah, I have nowhere near $4k for a new slo. Are there any mods for the jet city amps to sound more SLO-like?

 

[kissmyace]

The Jet City amps are based off the Soldano Hot Rod series and come pretty close to nailing them.

So then is the Question, is The Hot Rod close enough sounding to an SLO for you?

Given the price, the Jet City's are the answer, plus the JCA22 would be much better for home use.

But if you have the 4k then why not go for it?

Yeah, I have nowhere near $4k for a new slo. Are there any mods for the jet city amps to sound more SLO-like?

http://www.guitarampboard.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=3475

 

[mjtripper]

The jca22 is a very nice amp and is much easier to play at low volumes. I have the head and combo versions, great amps. It is a little tweaked vs the standard slo/hotrod setup where the fx loop is more pedal friendly and is post master volumes. I think those are great improvements though and it is what is in the hot rod 25 now. The other more 'faithful' model would be the 100 or 100hdm with the added depth.

As to mods, there are TONS of mods out there for jet city amps because they are very well built and easy to work on. There are mods to make it closer to a slo over the hot rod series as well as some that take it closer to marshall. I would start with the jca22 either head or combo, and the combo is really nice btw, due to the changes in the loop and placement and see what you want more/less of.

 

[Charvel_King]

The jca22 is a very nice amp and is much easier to play at low volumes. I have the head and combo versions, great amps. It is a little tweaked vs the standard slo/hotrod setup where the fx loop is more pedal friendly and is post master volumes. I think those are great improvements though and it is what is in the hot rod 25 now. The other more 'faithful' model would be the 100 or 100hdm with the added depth.

As to mods, there are TONS of mods out there for jet city amps because they are very well built and easy to work on. There are mods to make it closer to a slo over the hot rod series as well as some that take it closer to marshall. I would start with the jca22 either head or combo, and the combo is really nice btw, due to the changes in the loop and placement and see what you want more/less of.

IMO if you want the SLO sound i wouldn't go for the 22H, the difference im volume between the 100/50H and 22H is not that much when cranked. A 10 Watt amp is HALF the volume of a 100 Watt amp. Obviously the 22h may be more managable at home as with the lower wattage the volume increase with the MV will be more forgiving and have a more usable taper for your needs.

BUT, the JCA 50/100 is very close to that of an SLO100. The are about 15 components different. So you will be 85% there with that. The mod posted above is pretty straight forward if you know what you're doing. I have a 100W head on the way and will be converting it to SLO100 spec. I'll start a thread when i get started with it.

I think that is your best way to go, either a 50H or 100H. You will still be alright at home with that, volume wise, with a nice 1X12 or 2X12 cab. For the cost of the amp $400-500 and about $30 i parts you will get close to the sound you want. Obviously if you can afford the real thing go for it!

Also, regarding the Loop on the 22H compared to the 100W. Again the loop on the 100H has the exact same placement in the circuit, before the tone stack. That is an integral part of the SLO sound, SLOs with no loop or a bypass switch do not sound the same as ones with standard loops. Not necassarily worse, just different. And after all if you are trying to copy the SLO tone, you want to be as close to an SLO designed amp as possible.

The 22H has a more convential loop placement, probably more user friendly, but its not the same as an SLO100.

Finally, the 100HDM model is the same as the 100H but with a depth mod (again not stock on a SLO, and Mike Soldano actually doesnt feel that it is a needed mod. But it is popular.) and a half power switch. So if anything that is further removed form a stock SLO100 than the normall 100H

If i where in your shoes i would get either a 50H or 100H. You'll be fairly close anyway with that, or get a tech to mod it to SLO100 spec for not very much.

 

[stratotone]

Here's my 10 cents on this, and just my opinion...

the MTS stuff is awesome. I modded em for years, but the basic problem is you're only dealing with the preamp. You don't get the different phase inverter/power tube section going. Best option I found was to run the RT 2/50 power amp because you can run two different sets of power tubes, but it still doesn't work 100%.

I owned an SLO for awhile. KILLER amp, it was the '92 that was for sale here recently. I think I'm pretty confident in saying it a was a great example of what an SLO is. Well, the fx loop wasn't that great and it was very limited in what it could do. It did the high gain thing great, but wasn't worth it for that alone, at least to me. I wish I still had it so I could have profiled it before I traded it to Greg.

I would buy a Hot Rod Soldano + (channel switcher, 50 or 100 watts) before I'd do the jet city thing. The Hot Rods come with Mercury Magnetic transformers, are made in USA, and just higher quality. Used you're looking at around 1200 or so, give or take a few bucks. Single channel ones go for $800ish and up. It's a lot more than a Jet City but in my opinion it's where the price/performance hit a nice balance. Plus you wouldn't really need to mod it or upgrade it from stock.

If you did do the Kemper route, I do have some pretty awesome Soldano Hot Rod 50 profiles. It's a single channel which IMHO sounds better than the +, you only have one channel but when you can profile amp settings at will with the Kemper, it doesn't matter.

Here's a few clips of my Soldano Kemper profile...

https://soundcloud.com/okstrat/still-got-blues-soldano

https://soundcloud.com/okstrat/soldano-hr-50-high-gain

https://soundcloud.com/okstrat/soldano-hr-50-med-gain

https://soundcloud.com/okstrat/soldano- ... an-profile

 

[Shark Diver]

You're really "begging the question". You really don't want to deal with the price and volume of a SLO, so it really isn't in your equation. You want the tone at a lower volume and price. But it's like people say, "you want a Marshall tone, buy a Marshall".

I think you can get close with your other options, whether it's close enough is up to you.

Nothing wrong with SS if it is in the right hands.

Sounds like you will always think you could improve your tone by moving up to a real SLO, but really it doesn't seem to meet your other needs.

 

[the rossness]

You're really "begging the question". You really don't want to deal with the price and volume of a SLO, so it really isn't in your equation. You want the tone at a lower volume and price. But it's like people say, "you want a Marshall tone, buy a Marshall".

I think you can get close with your other options, whether it's close enough is up to you.

Nothing wrong with SS if it is in the right hands.

Sounds like you will always think you could improve your tone by moving up to a real SLO, but really it doesn't seem to meet your other needs.

For "the marshall tone" I have a Cameron CCV preamp and it never leaves my MTS amp. I have it alongside an Uberschall and Rockerverb module as well. The SLO is a little different and though its based on a marshall it has a unique voice. So the question really is... If I have the Salvation preamp and I don't think its that close to a real SLO, will a pedal or Jet City or Kemper get me closer than what I already have???

 

[crankyrayhanky]

What up rossness!

The Kemper will nail it, there's a free Lasse Lambert SLO profile for liquid leads that is mesmerizing

MTS is great, but that power section just leaves you a bit sterile after awhile...never did get to try the new density/presence upgrades, but yeah, well worth it to explore other amps

 

[the rossness]

What up rossness!

The Kemper will nail it, there's a free Lasse Lambert SLO profile for liquid leads that is mesmerizing

MTS is great, but that power section just leaves you a bit sterile after awhile...never did get to try the new density/presence upgrades, but yeah, well worth it to explore other amps

Hey dude,

Yea, I haven't gotten the presence/ density boards either. And truth be told, when I get a new amp, I'm always disappointed and go back to MTS. This year I bought 3 amps. The Carvin Legacy 3, which I kept for a night as I hated it; a Mesa Mark V- I liked the clean and crunch channels and hated the lead one. I kept it for 2 weeks; Laney Ironheart Studio, which is a keeper, but I still use my modules.. I always go back to MTS for some reason. So If I get a Kemper or Soldano I just want it to be right.

 

[rupe]

IMO, the Kemper is your best option if nailing the sound of an SLO at home is your goal. I found the Hot Rod series amps didn't really sound like an SLO to me...they sound great, but different. I never tried any of the Jet City amps but I can't imagine they do a better job than the actual Soldano stuff.

To each their own and all that, blah, blah, blah, but having an SLO as a home/hobbiest amp is like having a 427 Cobra as your daily driver...it'll earn you "cool" points but it simply isn't the best tool for the job. You can get far more utility for far less $$$ with other options. Every time an SLO is relegated to a man cave, Mike Soldano dies a little bit inside

 

[stratotone]

Hate to disagree with ya Rupe - I A/B'd a HR 50+ with an SLO, the SLO sounded a bit bigger but I'm sure that was due to 100 watt transformer vs a 50, even at the same volume. The SLO did have a tiny bit more 'magic/clarity/3d/pixie dust/whatever' than the HR, but it was really close. I wouldn't take a Hot Rod 50 OVER an SLO at the same price, but unless you had them both at the same time to compare, they really do share a lot of traits/tone.

 

[Shark Diver]

Every time an SLO is relegated to a man cave, Mike Soldano dies a little bit inside

 

[duesentrieb]

Hate to disagree with ya Rupe - I A/B'd a HR 50+ with an SLO, the SLO sounded a bit bigger but I'm sure that was due to 100 watt transformer vs a 50, even at the same volume. The SLO did have a tiny bit more 'magic/clarity/3d/pixie dust/whatever' than the HR, but it was really close. I wouldn't take a Hot Rod 50 OVER an SLO at the same price, but unless you had them both at the same time to compare, they really do share a lot of traits/tone.

+1

Lets see if Lasse joins the discussion, he owns a "HR100+ modded to SLO except the xformers specs" and an SLO. He could tell a story or two about the difference.

 

[cardinal]

SLO sounds awesome at any volume. You just need to readjust the EQ whenever you change volumes. Is it worth it over a "clone" (HR, Jet City, Kemper)? Up to you, but if you buy a used SLO you're "investment" is pretty well protected; the values remain pretty constant from year to year. Kemper's values, like all digital toys, will drop over time, but it can do a lot more than mimic an SLO.

If you can afford it, buy a SLO and don't let the volume thing scare you. I don't know how it gets a reputation for sounding good only at ear-splitting volume (or for being an excessively bright amp, either). It's a flat out killer amp.

And OT and not particularly important, but OP: can you shrink/eliminate that pic of your sig? It's huge, man!

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I've said it from day one, love my small MTS collection but they are just missing that something that the real amps have. Call it thickness or detail.. something is missing. If I were you, I'd consider the 6505 + HEAD (not combo), sell 2 modules and put in the rest and you will be there easily. Again, I post this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT3vnSro458

 

[the rossness]

I've said it from day one, love my small MTS collection but they are just missing that something that the real amps have. Call it thickness or detail.. something is missing. If I were you, I'd consider the 6505 + HEAD (not combo), sell 2 modules and put in the rest and you will be there easily. Again, I post this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT3vnSro458

I'm not into the 5150's but thanks.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Fair enough.. but the 6505+ is to my knowledge based on the 5150 II which was tuned more to the brighter side vs the 5150's which are the big bass hungry metal guys. Have you played them or are you basing it off the Peavey-esque MTS modules? I'm thinking you want some crunch, some detail, some clarity judging by your description. If that's the case, sell those modules and pick up an early 80's JCM800 and boost that summa bitch! All your tones right there but you will be missing a clean channel. The basics still work the best.