Soldano Astroverb 16 1x12 Combo

As far as features go, this is a very simple amp. One channel, 3-band EQ + Presence, Reverb, Pre-amp, and Volume. It gets plenty loud for a 20w and 1x12, although you would probably have to mic it in a live setting. You can run an external cabinet as well.

This amp is extremely responsive in many respects. The tone controls actually work and can produce a variety of sounds, and the amp responds beautifully to variations in picking. There isn't a great deal of clean headroom, you have to max the volume to 11 and use the pre-amp to adjust your volume level. My favorite clean is around volume 11 and pre-amp 3-4, which will be a little overdriven but not much. Keep turning the pre-amp and you will get almost 3 distinctly different overdrive/distortion sounds, from a tight blues tone to an over-the-top metal. The distortion is silky smooth, no grainy or tinny crap. Bottom line is, you won't get that Fender clean out of it, but what you will get is going to sound even better and much more (in my opinion). The reverb gets very strong after 3. Also, the amp responds very well to pedals.

I've heard they're brick-like, and this particular amp is a very simple design.

I've been playing for 12 years, have owned all sorts of solid state and tube amps, and have gone through several high-end guitars (Fender, Gibson, PRS). With an amp that sounds like this, you would probably sound good playing a Peavey Predator strat-ripoff. If I lost this amp, I would either buy another one or upgrade to another amp in the Soldano line.

I bought my astroverb 16 new from bluescitymusic.com. It is a 2005 model and has had the emminence speaker changed to a celestion (england, not china!) G12H classic. I have a variety of sovteks and jj's in the preamp section that suit my particular ear. I bought the astroverb along with a fender blues jr to replace my 75lb. mesa boogie recto-verb. I loved the rectoverb but hated having to take it anywhere. Now I get better distortion and better clean with alot less weight.

This amp rocks harder than my friend's SLO-100 because I can actually crank the master volume without making my ears bleed. I've ab'd the two and in some cases like the astroverb's distortion more than the SLO. Its only short commings is the small cabinet which can lack bass depending on how its positioned in a room. I don't really have this problem with my recto-verb and its widebody 12". I use a radial tonebone for amp switching and the sound is flawless. I play a PRS custom 22 and parker fly mojo and both sound ridiculous. Can nail van halen, slash, warren haynes just by plugging straight into the amp. The reverb is nice although I keep it low around 3, but definately sounds spacey at higher levels

So far so good - built like a tank

I've talked to mike and he's a nice guy :)

I went ahead and paid full price for this amp unseen and only have played a SLO many times. Probably the best distortion amp around.

Just the right amount of features... reverb, master, pre gain, bass, mid, treb & presence; 1 channel of pure tone all packed into a 30 lb 112 cab w/ 5 pre amp tubes and 2 el84 power tubes. It's rated @ 20 watts which means you can turn it up and let the tube saturation do its job. I'm done with the days of over powered amps that I can't turn up past 2 without drowning everyone out and weigh a ton! This is all you need, unless you want/need Fender type extreme clean. It cleans up very nicely w/ your guitar volume knob and your pick attack!No effects loop, no headphone jack.. just tone. Small gigs no sweat, I mike it at larger rooms and it gets the job done - best part, I can carry it out in seconds w/o breaking my back.....

Okay.. I'm using a PRS custom 24 w/ Dragon 1 pickups & an American Strat w/ Seymour Duncan pickups (2 singles & JB Hum)I have had every amp under the sun incuding Mesa Boogie Models (Tremo Verb, Rectoverb, Nomad 55) Hughes & Kettner (Dutonoe, also a great amp), Marshalls (JCM 800, TSL) Rivera(Quiana), Fender (Prosonic, Hot Rods...).... all my amps are tube and all up until now have been 50 0r 100 watts. The Astroverb is as good as any of these and in some ways much better. I play anything from blues, Classic Rock and Contemporary rock, I have done several gigs w/ my new Astro verb and it delivers.. the hotter it gets, the better it seems to sound. The natural tube saturation is just so amazing and responsive I just love it.. as do my band mates! This amp maks me wanna play and play and paly... ya gotta try one of these puppies to believe it. Okay not sure a true metal head would like it nor would anyone looking for a true fender like clean... The amp is quiet as can be and seems to be built like a tank. Tone Monster!!!

Have not had it very long but it seems built to last! My lower rating is because I have not had it long enough to give it a 10. I spoke a bit about to Soldano.. they are very friendly and helpful!

They answer all my calls, all my questions and are friendly too. Try that w/ fender or marsahll. All the yrs I owned Fender equipment and times I have called, they are grumpy and unwilling to help and impossible! Not Soldano... there for you when you need them!

WOW 30 lbs, fat tone and very responsive! I have been playing for 23 yrs and gig regularly - I have owned every amp under the sun and this amp is the real deal! A bit expensive but you get what you paid for.. Pure R&R Roll Tone!

It is what it is - high gain, single channel rock amp that won't shred your ears but will shred with tone. The only reason I give it an 8 is the stock Eminence speaker which is flabby sounding.

This thing just damn rocks. It is like an SLO or a clean JCM combo with a drive pedal in front of it. It perfectly captures that high preamp gain sound you'd hear in a bigger Soldano and really comes to life at higher master volume levels.

If you run this amp with an 8 ohm load (rather than the stock 16) it really opens up and goes from a civilized high gain to a much more bassy and raunchy power amp tone.

I run my amp with Classic 30's, bass at full, trebel and presence about midway with mids to taste.

VERY TOUCH SENSITIVE but will not really "clean up" due to the punishing gain structure.

Outstanding.

My very first gig with this thing this amp fell from a rolling dolley onto a kitchen floor and sprayed tubes all over the kitchen. After collecting the tubes and plugging then back in it fired up like a champ.

Seems very good. They emailed me some info and verified ohm load configurations very promptly.

If you play rock, don't need crystal clear tones and don't want to break your back or your eardrums this is the best combo amp I've ever played.

Serial number 403 of how many were made...Price paid was 650 US$, very slightly used condition.
You all know the features! Less is more!!Single channel,all tube high gain,reverb, 20 LOUD Watts!!!I was sick and tired of fiddling with knobs and buttons, I just wanted to "plug and play" with a fantastic tone...And I hit the jackpot with this amp!!
No b/s like effects loops and channel switching, but I would like it to have a headphone jack...That said, I can go to crazy gain/overdrive levels without being cursed by my neighbours...!!

I am using a US Stratocaster Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Model (Vintage white, maple neck, HS-3 and YJM pickups)=>Crybaby Wah=>DOD YJM308 Preamp Overdrive=>Boss NS-2=>Astroverb.
As you can see, I am an addicted Yngwie fan, not so much for the "style" or "flash" of the player, but for the trully incredible, unparalleled tone of the guy...
I wanted to duplicate this tone, and I can say that with this set-up, I am closer than ever, only....better!!!!:)
With my low output pickups, the amp sounds fantastic for clean/dirty blues, then as the pregain rises it goes from hard rock to 80's old-school metal. It was all great, but I definately needed more gain for my style of playing (shredding, neo-classical, heavy metal).. When I connected the DOD to my signal chain, I was in tone heaven..Tons of warm, smooth,rich distortion, endless sustain (even at bedroom levels), ridiculous gain enough for even die-hard metalheads!!And all this without ever getting "muddy" or sounding "dark" and "synthetic"...You can hear absolutely everything you play but you'd better be playing good because the Astroverd does not forgive...This is an other big plus in my oppinion, because it makes you focus on your playing much more than before and thus makes you a better player...!!:)
The cleans do tend to break up quite early, but it is fine with me...I almost never use clean!!;)With preamp around 4, you can get a very nice clean range by managing the sound with your guitar volume.

For the time being, this is my one and only amp. I bought it for home playing, small studio rehearsals and small gigs...It can do all that easily and then some!!You can't believe how BIG this little thingy sounds, especially with a 4x12" Marshall speaker cabinet...I mean HUGE!!!!!
It looks and is astonishingly well-built...It even survived an almost fatal error from my rythm-guitar player...The thing is designed to work with 110 Volts, and the ******** idiot put it in 220 Volts without the 220/110 Volt transformer!!!!Can you believe that??Fortunately, the amp survived and I got away with just a blown fuse (thank God and Mike Soldano!!!).
When time comes to change the tubes, I will replace the standard Chinese tubes with Sovtek 12AX7LP , this is Soldano recommendation.
I am and I would use it on a gig without backup...I get compliments for my sound all the time!!

I have never had to deal with the company for something serious yet...Apart from the usual e-mails regarding tubes, set-up etc (which were answered very quickly!!Thanx!!)..I really hope nothing goes wrong with my amp, as I live in Greece and it is impossible to get an authorized service center...I will do my best to keep it in shape...Take theese beers away from my amp!!!!:))

It does not matter what style of music you are into...this amp can do everything and then some, and if you need more gain (like me), throw a good overdrive pedal in front...Pure Magic!!!
If you find it, go for it without questions...Get rid of all the stupid solid-state crap, digital effects proccessors and enter the world of pure tube gain...You will never look back...
I thought the price was on the high side, but it is not...As a previous reviewer said, it is worth its weight in gold!!!
GO FIND ONE AND BUY IT!!!!!!!

This amp was bought brand new & was made in 2003. It has one channel, no effects loop & no headphone jack. I love it. Features are a very subjective thing when it comes to amplifiers. I have always tired to keep my amps as simple as possible. I like the idea of getting back to the basics of just plugging directly into the amp, flip the power switch & being ready to go.

I give the amp a 9 when it comes to features since the LACK of features is exactly what I was looking for.

I have used a few different guitars with this amp. Two Les Pauls, a 71 SG custom & most recently a Schecter. Each of these guitars has a unique sound & this amp was able to easily handle each of them and produce truly amazing tones with each guitar I used.

This amp is actually very quiet for an all tub amplifier. I have used it in different lighting situations and I have not had any noise issues.

I mostly play rock & this amp is able to easily create that guitar sound. Each note that you play can be heard loud & clear. I can only describe the sound as the most rich & tonefull sound that I have heard in an amp. You can easily go from subtle semi-clean break up to grinding rock all the way to a saturated "metal" style sound. This amp is very unforgiving when it comes to your playing. If you dont hit those notes correctly this amp will make you pay. Sloppy playing will be very obvious to everyone listening.

What's to say about the build quality of this amp. It's 100% rock solid. Typical of all Soldano products that I have used. I've used it to gig with and have never needed to use a backup. This amp has never given me an ounce of trouble.

I have never had to send any Soldano product that I've owned back for service. The few times that I have contacted Soldano via telephone or email they have been helpful.

I've been playing almost 20 years now. I would buy another one in a second if I had to replace it. The only thing I wish it had was a standby switch. Soldano is able to add one for a small fee. Maybe when I need to have the amp re-baised I'll have them do the standby as well.

Single-channel with reverb and a few tone knobs period. This amp is all about thick, beautiful tone at a moderate price. Factory tubes suck and the eminence speaker is darker and lacks character. No standby switch or effects loop.

Even with the crap tubes and a less than desirable speaker, it still sounds fantastic!!!! I ended up changing the tubes to GT EL84?s #5 and the distortion became even thicker and meaner. I just love this amp and since I picked it up my Marshall?s lonely as the little Soldano provides a much better range of sweet tones. I like a dirtier clean as opposed to the Fender clean with more body and a little dirty depth and with the Pre at 3-4 and the Master at 8-9, I use a chorus pedal and have a sweet clean that is articulate and multi dimensional. As far as for heavier styles of music, this is where Mike Soldano has created his reputation. This amp rocks!! Drop a cheap pedal in front and look out. I run an old stinky Tube Screamer, which I have always hated, but in front of this amp it adds just a little extra dirt to an already crazy amount of distortion for perfect Soundgarden. I even run the Pre at 3 and Master at 10 for a clean Jimmy Page sound and stomp on the TS for amazing results. At lower practice volumes it just the ticket for sweet vintage and modern rock at volumes that my little daughter can sleep with. This amp shines with single coils and with PAF output humbuckers, run for the hills. If you have the chance, plug a well built quality 4x12 in and listen to how huge this things sounds and I mean HUGE.

It?s a Soldano!! There products are so well designed and built to last.

I called several times and spoke with a rep at length about several topics and later found out it was actually Mike Soldano. He was the nicest guy and enjoys hearing from his customers, which is very different today. Try to call Jim Marshall about the low cost, cheap crap Marshall produces today and you?ll be left high and dry. My older Marshall Plexi is great, hand built p2p wiring but unreliable, expensive to repair and needs an arena size venue to crank up those power tubes. Nowhere near the build quality or design of Mike Soldano products.

I've been playing to 20 years and you name the amp and I've propbably owned it like so many of us gear junkies. The Soldano circuit is as special as any ever created and if you like some clarity with jaw crushing gain and thick nasty crunch, I would highly suggest you check out any of Mike?s products. For the Astroverb 16, it?s the perfect amp for me, as I wanted an EL84 lower wattage amp so I could crank it up for true power tube distortion and this thing just shines. This is simply my opinion, but I love it and find myself playing more than ever before because of the beautiful tone. Thank you Mike!!

Not many features. One channel. Reverb. This amps shines in the overdrive distort department so reverb seems a waste. If I could do it again I would have purchased the Atomic, same amp less verb.

With single coils I had a decent level of clean. With PAF output humbuckers, I don't have much clean to play with, it breaks up very early. Pre amp past 2 and I distort. The crunch and high gain sounds are awesome. I can get a Led Zep I tone, later Zep tone, early Van Halen tone, etc... I had a MBoogie studio 22, a Marshall JTM amp, a Fender Hot Rod deluxe, and this one tops them all for the overdriven and high gain sound. It is sophisticated and refined. You can hear the notes even under high gain. It does not get mushy of fart out. For clean ability I rate low, otherwise top notch.

Hasn't let me down in a year. I do not gig, so it's a pampered amp. None of my cheaper amps ever let me down as well. The only amp then was unreliable was my garbage boutique TopHat Portly Cadet. See review dated 6/12/04

Initially emails were resonded to promptly. I asked about getting a head cab for this and some questions about tube types. Recently I emailed about the tube layout and after two emails have not received a response. Not to happy about that. The lack of toll free support makes me chose email over the phone.

Overall it's a very nice amp. I recently took out the chassis. The build quality of the cab is great. Whereas my TopHat had extra holes in the internal wood and uneven bolt holes, this thing is perfect. Obviously better than the mass produced Fenders and Marshalls etc. My Mesa Boogie was also very well contructed. The thing I do not like is that this is an entirely PCB constructed amp. Even the tubes are mounted on the one and only PCB. A seperate board or direct chasis mount would seem better, especially for the price. The price is another bad point. Dealers do not seem to discount them very much. At the same price or a little more, you have quite a selection out there of amps using chassis mounted tubes multi channels etc. Overall this is my best amp, however considering what I now know, I would probably not purchase if I could do it over. If it had more clean headroom it would be all I need. A higher end Soldano would probably be the solution.

Just a note from my last review -

This is the best amp I have ever played and has left me not only completely satisfied with my purchase but wanting to play longer and play better. What I have found is a renewed sense of excitement in practicing, playing and recording and I've been playing for over 17 years. I can pull a very glassy clean to heavy crunch with little time and the quality of the Soldano Products is fantastic. I've been a Groove Tubes amp player for the better part of 10 years and those are excellent amps but rather expensive. This purple people eater provides me with everything my Soul-O amp did at a fraction of the cost and has a lush, gain soaked vibe that I could only get by pushing the power section of a much larger amp at crazy volumes. This is simply my opinion, but the little Soldanos like the Astroverbe and Atomic series provide a boat load of crunchy tone at a low price. I love my little amp and for the first time in years, I can use the same rig from the bedroom to the studio to the small stage and that says a lot.

Very basic ? just see the other reviews for the basic controls.

The Astroverb16 1x12 combo is a very interesting amp that took me the better part of a day to actually enjoy playing. Based on the hype I read from this and other sites along with the Soldano reputation, I purchased a little purple combo sight unseen. I was moving away from a large rig and wanted a small single channel EL84 driven combo for recording and small venues. I play mostly classic and modern rock and some cleaner country style stuff every blue moon. I had been using a 6L6 powered, single channel amp with pedals out in front for the longest time and firing up the AV16 was a completely different sensation. The distortion is very crisp and clean, more articulate in nature than I had ever played before and very unforgiving. If you?ve ever played a Marshall you know the thickness of the tone covers everything but with the Soldano, what you play is what you get. It?s primarily controlled via the Pre-Amp and Master switches and there?s a lot of room to move within them. I only have one guitar left that I play (American Strat) and it normally sounds a little thin with higher gain amps. With the Pre lower around 4-5 and the master around 6-7, the guitars volume know allows for a real clean type of sound. The amps very responsive to picking dynamics, which is the sign of a well constructed amp. Move the Pre up to 8-9 and the master down to 4-5 and it?s a beautiful break up. Overall, The more I played it without any pedals out front, the more I focused on my playing hence the tone kept improving. I recorded three songs with my new AV16 and each recording improved and sounded better and better. I prefer the natural distortion of this amp than to use a distortion pedal out front and with the guitars volume knob and just a little chorus I was really enjoying the tone. I would imagine with a Les Paul style guitar, it would be pure rock-n-roll. With my Strat, I have a variety of sounds available and could move from clean blues rhythm to a sharper Jimmy Page style on Zep1, ZZ Top through Judas Priest, Alice in Chains, VH. For my tastes, it?s not as heavy a distortion as I thought it would be and doesn?t have the ?thickness? I normally like. With that said, I can?t wait to get home and play and it and it gets it?s own fantastic sound which keeps improving with each passing phrase or lick. I absolutely love this little purple machine and it exactly as billed, a small lightweight combo with big tone at lower volumes and don?t let the 16 watts fool you because this little monster will push some serious volume for a small combo. I can imagine how it would sound with another cabinet.

In the end, a superior deal for the price and the Soldano circuits are very sophisticated and well designed. If a small wattage, portable single channel tube amp capable of high gain tones is what you?re looking for; look no further because this things will rock your socks off and if you need more gain, it handles pedals nicely.

Very well built and I couldn?t find any weak points. The stock speaker is good, but a little lacking for my tastes and some reviews talked about substituting a CelestionV30, which would be an interesting mod. Stock tubes are crap, so through in some quality GT or whatever you fancy for tubes and that?s all the modification you would ever need to make.

Answered email very timely and spent a great deal of time talking on the phone with me. I?m always tough on companies as I work in a service industry and they were fantastic on all occasions. I love the way Soldano treats the customer and all interactions, including the web site visits were always a pleasure.

The quality is fantastic!! Mike Soldano has built his company on the fundamental approach to providing the highest quality equipment within a reasonable price point and this is a prime example of that philosophy. There?s no DI or headphone out, no effects loop, no standby switch or other unnecessary options other than big, gain soaked tone.