NAD: Soldano SLO-30

Torren61

Torren61

Strat-O-Master
Dec 28, 2008
530
Humboldt County, CA
Today is my birthday and this arrived about an hour ago. '22 Soldano SLO-30. I've been through enough new amp days to know all about the "honeymoon" phase, but... OMG! THIS IS THE BEST AMP EVER!!! Lol.

Okay, seriously, first impressions are that it has a lot of variable tones from clean to hard rock to metal and everything in between. Some reviews have said it doesn't do clean well and I don't see that criticism holding up. "Clean" compared to what? A Blackface Princeton Reverb? It doesn't do THAT kind of clean. The clean that it DOES do is clear and rich.

The crunch is variable between light crunch and heavy. There is just so much room on the scale. It does what my '73 JMP can do and a lot more but it doesn't sound EXACTLY like that amp. It has its own thing going on and I quite like it. It's VERY controllable and user friendly. Every slight movement of the knobs yields a change in tone.

I set out awhile back to refine my guitar and amp collection down to non-redundant gear and this fits very well within that dynamic. It's a part of the sonic spectrum in its own area.

Pics:

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C12830F0-3447-4DF7-8448-12E0533983C7_1_105_c.jpeg

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The Ballzz

The Ballzz

Senior Stratmaster
Feb 26, 2014
2,495
LAS VEGAS , NV
Torren61 said:
Today is my birthday and this arrived about an hour ago. '22 Soldano SLO-30. I've been through enough new amp days to know all about the "honeymoon" phase, but... OMG! THIS IS THE BEST AMP EVER!!! Lol.

Okay, seriously, first impressions are that it has a lot of variable tones from clean to hard rock to metal and everything in between. Some reviews have said it doesn't do clean well and I don't see that criticism holding up. "Clean" compared to what? A Blackface Princeton Reverb? It doesn't do THAT kind of clean. The clean that it DOES do is clear and rich.

The crunch is variable between light crunch and heavy. There is just so much room on the scale. It does what my '73 JMP can do and a lot more but it doesn't sound EXACTLY like that amp. It has its own thing going on and I quite like it. It's VERY controllable and user friendly. Every slight movement of the knobs yields a change in tone.

I set out awhile back to refine my guitar and amp collection down to non-redundant gear and this fits very well within that dynamic. It's a part of the sonic spectrum in its own area.

Pics:

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View attachment 573013

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Happy Birthday and more importantly HNAD on said Birthday! I'm betting the cabinet underneath your new love slave has a pretty good story behind it also! :thumb: And is that an old Bogen I spy on that shelf, in the third pic?

I've plugged into several Soldano amps over the years and always been able to quickly and easily obtain a useable sound, but have never "lived with" one long enough to discover what I suspect is the real magic. I'll be quite interested to hear your long term thoughts on the effects loop, as that seems to have been an issue over the years in Soldano products. And while the Jet City amps are "supposedly" cut rom similar cloth, I'm betting they pale by comparison to the real deal! Although, I've also often found them to be quite useable, in a pinch.

Again, HNAD,
Gene
 
Last edited:
Miotch

Miotch

Most Honored Senior Member
Jun 28, 2011
5,316
ok
Super nice !!! The one I played did warm cleans that I could make buttery to light crunch using volume knob or pedal. It was nice. And nothing I've played can approach the smooth, yet intense, distortion of a Soldano Slo amp with zero pedals.
 
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