Soldano Atomic 16 Head

I love the sound of this amp and it's size. I was going to buy a Mesa Boogie but they are too heavy. This amp has the sound I have been looking for at less bucks then the boogie and just as well made in my opinion. Great for rock and blues. I play through a Boogie 2x12 vert. cabinet and this amp cranks.

This amp can sound real clean or with a little bite or real gritty if you want it. I use a strat 68 reissue this amp suits this guitar well I just wish this amp had two channels but for the price I guess you can't have everything. I use it clean mostly low on the preamp and turn volume all the way up for dist. I use a Fulltone Fulldrive 2

I don't think this amp will break it is so well made I couldn't afford a backup. Havent needed service or anything . I really trust this amp too serve me for a long time I tend to baby my stuff anyway.

Haven't needed support other then a few phonecalls made to the company and they were real nice and helpful

I love this thing more than the Mesa Maverick because it was too heavy I felt like a wimp trying to pick that amp up. The soldano is light enough to take anywhere and it sound awesome and even better through the Boogie cabinet I have if you like rock and blues this amp is for you.

Made in 1999. This amp is as basic as can be. A power switch (no standby), six knobs (preamp, bass, mid, treble, volume, and presense), and two 16 ohm outputs. This 16 watt amp uses three 12ax7 preamp tubes and a pair of el84 power tubes. As a recording amp, it has enough features for me. An effects loop may have been nice, cause I like to put my wah after the preamp (I don't like using any stomp boxes for distortion).

I use the head with a standard masrall 4x12 with celestion 25s. The amp is not noisy, but it does lack bass. I keep the bass knob at 11. The eq knobs are useful and have good range. The sound is very warm and smooth, not harsh at all. This amp suits rock and blues. Don't expect any clean head room though. The amp starts to break up with the preamp at about 3. This is fine for me cause I keep the preamp knob at 11 at all times. I record all my clean parts going direct. This amp does not have a lot of preamp gain. I wanted a low wattage head so I could get power tube distortion at lower volumes. Unfortunately, there isn't that much difference between a 16 watt amp and a 50 watt amp. Why don't manufacturers make 1 watt amp heads? That being said, the amp still sounds wonderful even though I have not turned the volume past 5 with the preamp maxed. I am sure this amp would sound even better with both the preamp and volume maxed.

Built like a tank. Thick Plywood and metal renforced corners. No problems at all. My amp does not leave the house though.

I have not contacted Soldano since I got the amp, but they always replied my email within a day when I had questions regarding their products in the past. I was dissapointed that it took almost three months to get mine after I placed my order because they were so backed up. But I understand. This is by far their cheapest amp and I am sure they don't sell a lot of them or make much money off them.

If this amp was stolen, I would probably get the 5 watt crate vc508 and have it modified by adding a speaker out jack so it can drive my marshall cab. I love this amp but not being able to max the volume is a downer. If I could afford to sound proof my walls (which I can't), I'd rather get a marshall plexi. From a value perspective, this amp deserves a 10. Where else can you get a brand new hand built tube amp head from a respectable manufactuer for $850 Canadian (under $550 US)? All this aside, here is the main reason I made this entry. As a hobbiest, I am new to recording. So anybody who can help me with this problem through email would be greatly appreciated. Whenever I play single notes in HIGH GAIN situations through this half stack or my digitech 2120 or anything else for that matter, I get this "quack" noise with each note (the 2120 even has a eq preset called quack, but why anyone would want it on purpose is beyond me). It doesn't matter if I play fast or slow, pick light or hard. I've tried using different guitars with no help. What is causing this quack and how do I get rid of it? I never hear this on store bought cds. Is it an eq problem? Am I miking my cabinet wrong? Anybody, please help!