Soldano Surf Box

EASE OF USE:

CONTROL LAY OUT PERFECT.

IT SOUND IS THE SOUND THAT YOU EXPECT FOR A UNIT OF THIS QUALITY.
FROM MIKE SOLDANO JR.

GOOD WORK MIKE.

IT IS EASY TO GET MANY COLORS OF REVERB FROM THE UNIT.

ADD THAT IT ALSO HAS TREMOLO UNIT AND PULSE UNIT, VIBRATO UNIT.

THE OPERATOR MANUAL EXPLAINS THE SET UPS.
WHEN I RECEIVED THE UNIT IT HAD NO MANUAL.

I LIVE HERE IN SEATTLE,WASHINGTON SO I WENT TO THE SHOP TO OBTAIN ONE.

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS.
DWELL.
TONE.

MIX
TREMOLO.

VIBRATO

SPEED.

IT HAS A FOOT CONTROL UNIT CALLED THE SURF COMMAND
BYPASS

REVERB PULSE-O-TREM.

THIS UNIT WAS MODIFIED BY SOLDANO
FOR JIM THOMAS THE GUITAR PLAYER OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BASED BAND THE MERMEN
( MERMEN.NET) AND HAS A VOLUME PEDAL TO CONTROL WET / DRY SIGNAL.

THIS UNIT IS NUMBER 19 OF 97.

TUBE COMPLIMENT

FIVE 12AX7
ONE 6BQ5/EL84.

ACCUTRONICS TM. SIX SPRING TANK
LED DRIVEN PHOTORESISTOR
RC SWEEP/DOPPLER SHIFT
0-+4 DB
-20 DB.

0-+4 DB
-20 DB.
MU-METAL SHIELDED TOROID
16 GAUGE STEEL
THREE RACK SPACES

SO QUIET YOU DO NOT KNOW IT IS ON AND IN SERVICE . NO BUZZ OR RUMBLE

THE BEST OF SOUND.................

CABINET USED:
THD OPEN BACK DUAL 180 WT 16 OHMS.

MARSHALL HALF STACK
4 CELESTION GREEN BACK 12"
25 WT
16 OHMS

I AM USING FOR AMPS:

THD FLEXI 50 WT AMP.
THD UNI VALVE

SOLDANO 50 WT AVENGER.

STEPHEN STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
( STEVE DAVIES GUITARS SSI SEATTLE,WASHINGTON).

FLYING VEE.
EC 26. RED
EC 26 SNAKE SKIN.
EC 26 WHITE.
1956 CUSTOM

GIBSON:
LES PAUL CUSTOM. 1974.
L-4 ARCH TOP 1936. FISHMAN ARCH TOP

CLASSICAL GUITAR.
BARCUS BERRY.
LR. BAGS.

TOTALLY RELIABLE.

BUILT LIKE A LITTLE TANK.
GOOD WORK MIKE.

BUT DO TO THERE NOT MANY UNITS MADE DURING PRODUCTION THIS WILL NOT LEAVE THE STUDIO.

I HAD THE UNIT SENT FROM CALIFORNIA TOO SEATTLE, WA. SALDANO SHOP.


THE SHOP WAS REALLY GOOD IN CHECKING OUT THE UNIT.

ANSWERED ALL QUESTIONS.
UNIT HAS LIFE TIME WARRANTY.

STYLE OF MUSIC:

CLASSICAL.
JAZZ.
ROCK.
BLUES.
ACOUSTIC FINGER PICKING.

SURF.

THIS IS THE ONLY REVERB UNIT I WILL EVER NEED.

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING 32 YEARS.

IF STOLEN I WOULD REPLACE IT.

I LOVE THE TRUE SOUND IT MAKES.

I HATE NOTHING ABOUT IT.

FAVORITE FEATURE IS SURF COMMAND AND EXTENDED PEDAL.

THERE IS NOTHING TO COMPARE THIS WITH OTHER HAN ANOTHER
UNIT.

I CHOSE IT BECAUSE IT IS THE BEST OUT THERE.
TRY ONE PLAY WITH IT HEAR ONE THEN YOU WILL ALSO KNOW.

IF YOU NEED GREAT CORRECT REVERB THEN THIS IS WHAT YOU LOOK FOR.
GOOD LUCK

this is soldano's VERY limited edition surf box only 100 made in the world.
the controls are very easy to use. basically it's divided into two parts the reverb and pluse-o-trem(tremolo and/or vibrato)
the reverb is adjusted by three knobs: tone, dwell, and mix and the pulse-o-trem has three knobs too:tremolo, vibrato, speed. if you know how to work a TV you should have no problem working this. soldano made it simple so that the tone remains PURE.

the sound quailty is perfect
the unit is not noisy at as a matter if its DEAD QUIET.
i use my jazzmaster with a delay pedal and various lovetone pedals along with it and the tone is still 100% pure. i send everything into a black amp with w 2x12 cabinet and the tone is awesome!
with this surfbox i can get all the D.C.F.C. tremolo effects that chris walla was using. with other effects the surfbox sounds great!

the surfbox is a workhorse. i would never gig with unless i bought another one. so untill then this is a strictly studio application!

i think EVERY guitar, bass, amp and effects manufactuer should be required to take a 5 day customer support seminar from soldano. these guys are just too nice.they were willing to answer all my questions no matter how many time in one i called! they gave me prompt replies to questions thet couldn't answer right away and most importantly the would NEVER cope an attitude or be impatient! i wish every company would take the time to look at soldano's customer support and they will know that the are unbeatable. nobody can even come close to the customer support they have given! thanks mike and bill!

i play indie rock so this unit is perfect for me. for all you hipsters out there if you can find a surf box GET IT! i've seen them go on ebay for as much as 5000 grand!if it was to be lost or stolen, i would be devastated. the only product i compared it to was a fender reverb unit and to tell you the truth, it sounds better.i love everything about it. when i first saw the surfbox, i thought to myself, i gotta have one!
chronicdogg knows what i mean!

Very Easy to Use. If you can operate a 3 knob reverb unit you should not have any problems with this unit. Tube driven tremelo, vibrato and reverb. The usual three knobs for reverb (dwell, tone, mix), shared speed for both tremelo and vibrato, you can mix depth of both Tremelo and Vibrato seperately.

Mostly Tele to Bassman, sometimes I use a strat. This unit is dead quiet. Very high fidelity, my single coils are very picky about stuff being added to the signal chain, and this one is transparent. You can get all of the Dick Dale/Surf/Rockabilly you want. The ability to mix tremelo and vibrato is unique for any outboard unit that I know of.

Extremely reliable and well made, solid like a tank.

Although this is discontinued, they were willing to help with some tube questions. Nice guys

I would buy this again, if I lost it. I am very picky about tone, and I would rather pay up front and be satisfied. The Surf Box is a limited edition (only 100 made), so the price will stay high, they are sought after. They are sught after for the tone. No other reverb unit sounds this good. The tremelo and Vibrato are almost a bonus.

These have gone for $3000+ on ebay, so if you see one for a reasonable price, snatch it.

Basic, Basic, Basic.... Bare Bones design with perfect tone

Nothing touches the reverb in this thing. 6 spring long tank tube reverb :)

It's Soldano, you don't need the lifetime warranty on this or any of their products.

Sean spent a couple hours and hunted one of these down for me. He found me the only "new" one available in the country. What company searches for anything for anyone. I have friends with big endorsements who don't get treated like this....

The absolute best reverb. I've sold music equipment for many years in the past and have heard the old fender reverb and owned the eventide harmonizer which has great reverb, but nothing is close to this. I saw one of these on ebay a couple weeks ago and it was already over $5,000, You won't see mine there even if they start going for 10-20k

AS FAR AS OUTBOARD REVERB UNITS GO THIS ONE WAS A BREEZE TO OPERATE. THREE INDEPENDENT KNOBS MAKE UP THE REVERB SECTION (DWELL, TONE, MIX). THE CONTROLS ARE VERY STRAIGHT FORWARD AND EASY TO MANIPULATE A SOLID TONE. THEN, THERE IS THE VIBRA-TREM SECTION. ONCE AGAIN, EASE OF OPERATION WAS NOT A PPROBLEM. IT ALSO HAS THREE KNOBS (TREMELO, VIBRATO, AND SPEED). YOU CAN BLEND TREMELO WITH OR WITHOUT VIBRATO OR JUST THE OPPOSITE. THE ONLY THING THAT COULD HAVE BEEN ADDED FOR A REALLY WEIRD OPTION WOULD BE TO PUT TWO SPEED CONTROLS THAT COULD OPERATE VIBRATO AN TREMELO SPEED INDEPENDENTLY, BUT THAT'S NOT AN ORDINARY REQUEST.

I AM A HUGE FAN OF OLD FENDER REVERB UNITS. FOR A YEAR OR SO, I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO PURCHASE ONE OF THESE UNITS. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT THESE PARTICULAR UNITS ARE VERY HARD TO COME BY AT A REASONABLE PRICE IN ORIGINAL CONDITION. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I DID NOT END UP PURCHASING ONE OF THESE UNIT, BECAUSE THE REISSUE SUCKS. I HAVE SEVERAL OLD AMPS TO USE THIS PARTICULAR UNIT IN CONJUCTION WITH. MY MAIN GUITAR IS A '67 JAZZMASTER AND I HAVE A DUAL SHOWMAN FROM '68. AS SOON AS I PLUGGED IN I WAS AMAZED AT THE TONE I GOT WITHOUT EVEN SCREWING WITH THE SETTING. IT HAD SUCH RICH AND FULL REVERB THAT IT MADE YOU SOUND LIKE YOUR AMP WAS HUNDEREDS OF FEET AWAY IN AN OPEN CONCERT HALL. I WAS REALLY SURPRISED AT HOW MUCH BETTER IT SOUNDED THAN SEVERAL OLD FENDER UNITS. IN CONJUNCTION WITH MY FULLDRIVE 2, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ASK FOR A BETTER TONE. THEN, I THOUGHT MAYBE MY AMP JUST SOUNDS REALLY GOOD WITH REVERB SINCE THE REVERB ON THE UNIT IS FAIRLY ADEQUATE. SO, I WENT TO MY FRIENDS HOUSE AND PLAYED THROUGH HIS MARSHALL JMP MKII HALF STACK, AND WAS BLOWN AWAY AGAIN BY THE REALM OF SONIC EXPRESSION THAT I HAD BEEN LACKING. SINGLE NOTES SOUNDED SO RICH AND SMOOTHE AND CHORDAL WORK WAS AS EQUALLY IMPRESSIVE. NOW, ON TO THE TREMELO-VIBRATO AREA OF THE UNIT. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR A NICE TREMELO OR VIBRATO UNIT FOR SOME TIME NOW. I HAVE YET TO BE SATISFIED UNTIL NOW. I NO LONGER HAVE TO SEARCH FOR OLD VINTAGE
PEDALS TO DO TWO TASKS. I DON'T THINK IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE THIS THING SOUND BAD! NO TONE MANIPULATION FROM THE UNIT AND NO PISS POOR VIBRATO LIKE YOU GET FROM MOST FLOOR UNITS. IT SOUNDS JUST LIKE AN OLD MAGNATONE. AMAZING!

I HAVEN'T USED IT AT A GIG YET, BUT I WILL UPDATE THIS IF I HAVE ANY PROBLEMS.

I HAVE ONLY HAD ONE DEALING WITH MR. SOLDANO, IN WHICH HE WAS EXTREMELY PROMPT AND COURTEOUS.

THIS IS DEFINATELY ONE OF THE COOLEST PEICES OF EQUIPMENT THAT I HAVE EVER OWNED OR BEEN AROUND LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE AN OPINION. SINCE, THERE WAS ONLY 100 OF THESE MADE AND THE LIST PRICE IS $1600, I THINK I CAME OUT REALLY WELL. IF YOU FING ONE, BUY IT.