Soldano SLO100: Effect of master volume setting on tone

[Lasse Lammert]

Oh, I love it for modern chuggy stuff as well...

Used it for these guys for example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eRPzgB2zQs

 

[Racerxrated]

I heard the top end get significantly less brash between 6-7. Up to 6 I would be reaching for the Treble control but at 7 the high end was fine. But that will vary with guitar and gain settings.

I got some RFT preamp tubes and decided to test them in my SLOclone last night and they both sounded awesome in V1. I think one reason for the sort of love/hate deal with the SLO is that it's not the greatest chugging amp. And what do many guitar players do when they test drive an amp? I know I'm guilty of just chugging out something simple. But after I did that for a few minutes and then actually started just playing I got lost and played for a while.

All you need to do to tighten it up is a little boost pedal mid bump..also, crank the presence to 10, treble 0...and mids/bass between 4-6. Gain at 6-7 and I got tight thick chug all day. Through a G12 65 cab, and an eq pedal for the mid boost.

 

[cecilbag]

That video tells me what I've known all along, having owned 10-12 SLO's since 1992- the fantasy about an SLO haven't to be opened up for some miraculous glory, is a tall-tale internet myth, crock-of shit.

So are you saying you don't hear the sound fill in as the power section starts pumping? I've only owned the SLO I have but it absolutely gets thicker and more full when I get higher in the volume range.

Yes, as it does on most any other amp. The differences as he raises the MV are barely audible. My contention was the amp sounded great at whatever volume. ANY amp sound better turned up, not just an SLO, as I hear on various forums repeated like a parrot.

I agree it sounds great at all volumes I just think it's even more amazing once you are moving a ton of air. It's a lead players dream

 

[IntenseJim]

FRYETTE PS2 to the rescue. Very very transparent.

IMHO as you increase the master volume on the SLO you get more low mids and girth with some taming of the high end.

Similar to but not the SAME as the effect of the Depth Knob.

 

[slash57]

Oh, I love it for modern chuggy stuff as well...

Used it for these guys for example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eRPzgB2zQs

What do you usually use to tighten up the lowend? The clip sounds really great, tight and thick!

Without a pedal I can't seem to get this kind of sound, it's just not that tight. I'd be happy for suggestions

The Maxon OD808 cuts almost too much bass, as my SLO is completely stock (no depth mod) it removes a lot of bass.

Thanks

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Oh, I love it for modern chuggy stuff as well...

Used it for these guys for example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eRPzgB2zQs

What do you usually use to tighten up the lowend? The clip sounds really great, tight and thick!

Without a pedal I can't seem to get this kind of sound, it's just not that tight. I'd be happy for suggestions

The Maxon OD808 cuts almost too much bass, as my SLO is completely stock (no depth mod) it removes a lot of bass.

Thanks

od808 works great for me, but I do have the depth mod.
without a depth I'd go od820

 

[slash57]

Thanks for the response, I'll have to try one out.
Too bad the depth mod probably costs way too much here in switzerland :/ Also eventually selling it if it's not factory modded or by a very known modder is gonna be harder probably

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Thanks for the response, I'll have to try one out.
Too bad the depth mod probably costs way too much here in switzerland :/ Also eventually selling it if it's not factory modded or by a very known modder is gonna be harder probably

No, it's an easy as piss mod, anyone could do it for like 50€.
if you're a bit handy with the iron it's 4€ in parts and 10 mins work.
it won't look any different from what they do in the factory, as you can see they also just put a sticker "depth" on there.

actually if you buy an SLO in europe and want a mod it's usually not Soldano who's modding it anyway....when I bought my SLO here in Germany with factory mods, I've been told that they get the stock SLOs and then mod them as requested...

I wouldn't worry at all to get it done, it's cheap, really easy to do, impossible to fuck up

 

[SpiderWars]

Thanks for the response, I'll have to try one out.
Too bad the depth mod probably costs way too much here in switzerland :/ Also eventually selling it if it's not factory modded or by a very known modder is gonna be harder probably

Depth mods are extremely easy. The only parts are 1 pot, 1 capacitor, and a little wire.

 

[Racerxrated]

Thanks for the response, I'll have to try one out.
Too bad the depth mod probably costs way too much here in switzerland :/ Also eventually selling it if it's not factory modded or by a very known modder is gonna be harder probably

Try a cheap Danelectro eq pedal..just bump the mids, and throw some low end in there as well. They're like 30 bucks. That's all I needed..a Boss OD1X also adds mids and nice tight low end also. Just more options for you to try..

 

[slash57]

Thanks very much for the tips!
I was just worried people might be wary to spend so much money on an amp that has been modded. I actually saw a video on youtube where Soldano himself did the mod, can't get much easier than that, I agree. The concern was more about if selling it later on might become a problem. Sorry for hijacking the thread. Rock on!

I actually tried something similar as in the videos myself (using a loadbox) and was pleasantly surprised how well the SLO already sounds at low levels, despite what the general opinion is. Every amp will sound thinner/harsher when it's very quiet. It obviously sounds better turned up though

 

[Jayy]

I really don't know if this helps at all, but here is an example (recorded with a crappy iphone) of my SLO running into a Suhr Reactive Load box and into my stereo rig. The effects are mixed in with a mixer before hitting the power amp. The SLO is cranked to about 5 on the master volume, but the re-amping being done by the Matrix GT1000FX controls the overall volume. The actual volume in the room is low, only normal TV volume. The amp sounds good this way, and so do all my other amps, but the one thing you still miss is driving the speakers hard. There is just no replacement for that. You can't get around the physics of moving air in the room. However, this is still better than running the SLO (or any amp) at less than 1 on the master to try to be quiet! Anyway, not great playing or recording, but you'll get the idea. By the way, my SLO has the depth mod from the factory and it is on 0 in this video. I never use it. I find it completely unneeded.

 

[Racerxrated]

The depth mod to me is only noticeable at a lower volume anyway, from what I remember. One of my old SLOs had both the depth and Haynes mods, and the other was bone stock. Above 2-3 it didn't make much difference.

 

[godgrinder]

I think one reason for the sort of love/hate deal with the SLO is that it's not the greatest chugging amp.

One thing worth noting is that the gain on channel 1 also has an influence on channel 2. When you turn the channel 1 gain up, channel 2 gets slightly looser. So if you want tight then try having channel 1 gain all the way down. However it's rather subtle.

 

[skoora]

I thought the difference in the tone, or maybe more accurately, the EQ curve from low volume to high was significant. It got a lot more filled out in the lower mids. More punch than spanky. Where at the lower volumes it sounded more spanky (not weak, just not as much grunt. It could just be EQ adjustments or adding an external EQ etc that might make up the difference but in my experience EQ rarely replaces what an amps tubes are doing at volume.

Plus my definition of tight and chuggy must be way off. What is tight about an ill defined wash of bass on a guitar tuned to W.

Wouldn't mind hearing if a SLO can do this...well I guess it kind of did

 

[baron55]

I think one reason for the sort of love/hate deal with the SLO is that it's not the greatest chugging amp.

One thing worth noting is that the gain on channel 1 also has an influence on channel 2. When you turn the channel 1 gain up, channel 2 gets slightly looser. So if you want tight then try having channel 1 gain all the way down. However it's rather subtle.

That is because channel 1 bleeds into channel 2 and it is out of phase with channel 2. If you turn the gain down on channel 1 then channel 2 will tighten back up.