Soldano Hot Rod 100+

MINE IS A RED LIZARD SKIN 1997 HEAD , PRETTY VERSITILE .I PLAY IN A MOTLEY CRUE TRIBUTE BAND, SO YOU SEE WHAT IM TRYING TO DO. MICK MARS USES THESE AMPS, I WISH I HAD THE BOTTOM END HE HAS LIVE.BUT IT DOESNT SEEM I DO,HIS RYTHM TONE LIVE KNOCKS YOUR HEAD OFF. I HAVE 2 METALTRONIX HEADS , THERE HEAVY AND HAVE A TON OF BOTTOM,I MAY TRY THEM FOR A SHOW. MINE HAS 2 CHANNELS AND EFFECTS LOOP , I USE A INTELLIFEX BY ROCKTRON FOR A TOUCH OF DELAY , I LIKE THAT.I WISH IT HAD A FEW MORE FEATURES, SOME WAY TO TWEAK TONE BUT COOL DOWN THE HIGHS AND HAVE MORE BOTTOM AND KEEP THE BITE, I DO ENJOY THIS AMP ALOT , I PLAY OUT AROUND 25 TIMES A YEAR , IN NICE ROOMS, IT HAS ENUFF POWER, IT SOUNDS BETTER WHEN WARMED UP AFTER 30 MIN.

IM USING JACKSONS A KING V WITH JB PU. AND 2 JACKSON DINKYS WITH EMGS.EMG SOUND GOOD THU ANYTHING SO WHAT THE HELL.I LIKE THE AMP ,I KEEP IT IN A ROAD CASE, BUT ITS NOT LIKE I CANT WAIT TO PLAY THRU IT WHEN IM HOME , I PLAY THRU MY LINE 6 TO PRACTICE OR MY VOX. LITLLE COMBO AMPS. THESE AMPS ARE DIFFERENT IN A WAY IM ADDICTED TO IT WHEN I PLAY OUT, IT MAKES YOU REALLY HAVE TO BE PERCISE IT WILL MAKE YOU OR BREAK YOU , I REALLY DO EXPECT TO HAVE THE BEST TONE IN ANY CLUB WHERE I GO WITH MY RIG , I ALSO HAVE MODDED BOSS PEDALS FROM KEELEY, I JUST WISH IT SCARED ME WITH KILLER TONE WHEN I USE IT. I DONT CONSIDER MYSELF HAVING THE BEST GUITAR SOUND IN TOWN ,. I GET COMPLIMENTS OF MY PLAYING BUT NOT MUCH ON TONE WISE. IM THINKING, SHOULD I GET A SLO ,WOULD THAT BE THE BEST EVER, THRU IT. BUT MY SOUND MAN LAST WEEK SAID. IT DIDNT HAVE THE PUNCH OF MICK MARS TONE.I DONT WANT TO CONFUSE PEOPLE BUT YOU MUST UNDERSTAND I BEEN PLAYING FOR 27 YEARS, AND I KNOW WHAT IM DOING, I HAVE TOP NOTCH EQUIPMENT FROM MONSTER CABLES ,GEORGE LS, OLD JACKSONS, LESPAULS, ROCKTRON, BOSS.I WONDER IF I COVERTED IT TO EL34S WOULD I LIKE IT MORE.

ITS QUITE AND RELIABLE, WHICH I LOVE

GREAT I CALLED THE GUYS , THERE A-1!!!

THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS I LIKE ABOUT IT, BUT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND I BEEN PLAYING FOR 27 YEARS. I BEEN THERE.IVE PLAYED IN SO MANY BANDS. THRU , JCM800S , METALTRONICS, AND ROCKTRON CAMELEON, I LIKE THIS AMP, I GOT 15 GUITARS , ESP GL MODEL , 2 RANDY RHOADS JACKSONS, LES PAULS AND MORE. IF IT WERE STOLEN I WOULD PROBABLY GET A SLO. I THINK I HAVE A LOVE LIKE THING FOR THIS AMP. LOVE THE STYLING . WHISH IT HAD MORE OF A BARK TO IT, A LITTLE MORE NASTYNESS, I ALWAYS WANTED A SOLDANO. I TRIED A MESA RECT, BUT EVERYONE HAS ONE,I WISH MIKE SOLDANO WOULD BUILD ME A SLO , I HAVE THE SOUND IN MY HEAD,, I HOPE TO GET A SLO OR A DECATONE. I WISH IT SOUNDED A LITTLE BETTER ,ANY IDEAS???

I have a '96 model 100+ that's been kept in mint, studio-use-only condition. It's a two channel head, loaded with SED Winged "C" 6L6 power tubes and Tung Sol 12AX7 preamp tubes. Has the tube buffered FX loop, and straight up EQ panel. No BS - this amp is simple yet amazing...the tone is so smooth, and the hi-gain SLO channel is sublime. I love the clean (crunch) channel for older style rock (ACDC, SRV, Aerosmith, etc.), it's a great head being pumped through a matching Soldano 4x12 Eminence V12 front loaded cab.

Tone is, as mentioned, killer. It's a lightweight amp head compared to some other 100W heads (ie Diezel) but it screams like none other. I find the bass needs a bit of tweaking to get it to punch through in higher volumes - no problem. It's pretty quiet for a hi-gain amp, I have dialed this thing to noon on the settings and it was unbelievably powerful.

My style of music is everything but country. I love Vai, Tool, SRV, Hendrix, Aerosmith, Isis, AIC, APC, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. and play a weird kinda style all of my own with weird scales and a lot of strange over-tone chords. It does it all very well. Put it this way, I have a lot of different amps, but when I just want to play, and give 'er, I turn the 100+ on and that's it.

Never had a problem - it doesn't get bashed around, it's a studio amp, sometimes a gig or two, but it's well taken care of. Perhaps this helps in the "reliability department". I've spoken to the guys at Soldano re: other matters, and they're so "on it" I'm sure if I ever did have a problem, they'd be ace at sorting it out.

Incredibly kind and helpful - bottom line.

I've been playing on and off for 25 years - recently been getting back into recording with good quality mics and some high-power DAW software and gear. It's a brilliant amp, does everything you'd need in the hi-gain department; has a unique voicing; kicks a Marshalls ass; is simple and clean; user friendly; no frills; powerful; and "tight". I also run a Diezel, Peavey and Bogner...again, Soldano has a special sound (as do the others) and using this special sound in the environment I do is why I got it. It's just a sound unto itself - if ya wanna simple amp that's got power to flap your pants, and gain with buttery smooth articulation, get it. Half the price of a Diezel and 2/3's the price of a Bogner.

not sure what year it made, but it is a two channel 100 tube watt amp. a crunch channel and an overdrive channel both channels share an eq, effects loop, slave out option. it is loud.

i use paul reed smith sc 245 and a paul reed smith mccarty and both guitars sound amzing through this amp. i feel that this amp covers alot of good tonal grounds. the crunch channel is just that crunch. it cleans up at around 3 on the gain setting, but still has some break up. this channel can give you ac/dc tones to zepplin to a more hotter sound. i love this channel. the od channel is amazing. this channel can go from light rock tones to metal tones. the clarity this amp has is excellent. you can hear every note strumed or picked no matter what volume settings. this amp want color your guitars sound either. it really can bring out the tone in your guitar. it has the same circuit as the slo but different parts and things of that nature. i've played the slo and this amp sounds very very close to the slo. people complain about the effects loop sucking tone and not being very good, but it is made for (4+lb) rack effects and not pedals, some pedals can be ran through the loop not all though. i use the loop and don't have any problems but i also put things through it that will work, but most of the time i don't use any effects at all this amp sounds so good and has such good sustain and articulation. people seem to complain about it being bright but if you know how to use the eq then this want be a problem. speaker cabinets and speakers also make a huge difference, just have to find the set up you like. this amps sound awesome from blues to rock to hard rock to metal this amp can do it all.

built like a tank. i would use this amp at gig with out a back up and feel great about it, but you should always have a back. i've had this amp for 3 years now and never had a problem.

soldano customer support is the best i've dealt with. nice, friendly and glad to help. i've contacted them alot since i've owned this amp. just asking simple questions about retubeing with different tubes, and sending specs on pedals that i was thinking about putting through the loop to see if they would work in the loop or not, and factory mods and every time my call was returned very fast and usually my email was return very quickly. once i called and mike soldano anwsered the phone and he answered my question himself. great group of people at soldano.

i've been playing since i was 12 and i am 26 now. this amp is the only amp i own besides and little fender as a back up but it never gets played. if it were stolen i would go insane tring to get another one. i've owned alot of amps, two rectifers, mark IV, F 50, varies marshalls, a couple of vintage fenders, soldano avenger and the hot rod 100+ is my amp. it is my tone. i give it an overall 10. i know an amp can't get a ten but i'm giving it a ten because i don't plan on buying another amp. for the tone that this amp has it is a deal. great amp!!!!!!!!

My amp was made in 1996
I play Punk Rock- Straight Up- Aus Rotten- Rancid-
This amp has 2 Channels- Effects loop, IT ROCKS
100w Tube amp with 5881 tubes which have plenty of gain
I am giving it a 7 cause it doesnt have all of those stupid features of a line 6.

HOLY SHIT! Alright I only use ESP Guitars, I am talking about an Eclipse Custom, Eclipse Standard, Stephen Carpenter Signature (Black and Green) with stock and invader pickups. It does punk perfect. It has ALOT of gain. A little noisy but what hi gain amp isn't (ok other than the xtacy) Clean channel has nice breakup at high volumes
very brutal distortion

3 WORDS!! MILITARY GRADE CONSTRUCTION!!!!!!!!!!

AWESOME, how many other companies OWNERS answer the phone?

awesome BUY IT

Made in 96. The amp is everything I need no BS. Two channel switching,efex loop. I wish it had seperate tone controls for each channel. This would enable me to dial my tone in better but it works the way it is. I use it at home and with my band . It is very loud but I can still get a good sound at home when I have to play it at lower volumes.The louder the better the tone.

I use a standard les paul and a PRS McCarty with P-90's and a strat with lindy p/u"s. All sound great the strat is a little brittle but not a problem. i play classic rock to Creed and the amp is great. The amp is not noisy at all my old Marshall and Mesa boogie crap made a lot more noise(sorry I have lost a lot of money buying Mesa stuff and I'm bitter) You can get a good useable clean sound blues are no proble but a realy realy clean sound is tough to get but I don't need it so it's not missed. This Soldano is the best soundig Marshall I have ever had then through in the lead channel and watch out. I would tell everyone to rip out the XL Mod if it is in your amp(it sucks) I say it sucks and so does mike Soldano (ask him for yourself they answer the phone) The XL mod kills the tone mine had it and what a difference with out it. The distortion is killer for rhthm and lead. I played around with different pre amp tubes which realy changes the sound a lot. This for me is a great easy amp to use for gigs, two channels, rythm and lead and use your volume control on your guitar for everything in between.

I have taken it a part and it is beautiful. compare it to a new marshalls. You can smell the new TSL marshalls burning up as you use them(I had one it caught fire) Great construction built like a bunker.

My amp came with the xl mod I called up Soldano they p/u the phone second ring and bill there told me on the phone as I was doing it how to take out the XL mod and also remove the efex loop. Then one week latter I call them back to talk about power tubes and Mike Soldano answers the phone. This kind of customer support just doesn't happen in the real world both Bill and Mike could not be nicer. It has been a pleasure to deal with Soldano there great.

been playing 27 years. I have Marshal JCM 800 4104 combo. I love the Hot Rod I had a SLO 100 but felt it was not worth $3000 so I sold it this amp I traded a new Mesa Boogio dual rectifier for straight up and I'm very happy it sounds just like the SLO 100. I love it all I hate nothing. I have had all the line 6 stuff and all the mesa and new Marshall stuff Forget it all this Soldano is the real deal. The other stuff is great for the bed room but out live the Soldano cuts like a Knife through the mix.

2 Channel head. Buffered effects loop, no reverb.
Not much more to say. Built like a tank.
Pretty blue light on front.

This amp is the pinnacle of how far you can distort a guitar without oversaturation. Balls to the wall lead channel, Semi-clean normal channel(compared to Fender nothing else is a clean channel)
Guy from Italy hit it on head when he say not too much distortion like Mesa Rectifier. Around here (the southern USA) we say "Rectum Fire", too much. Even on low gain settings.
This amp is just right. But I still use my Twin at gigs. Sorry, I play too many styles of music to be playing such a one sounded amp.
OK two sounds but not clean like Fender.

Built like tank. Broke down but was fixed by manufaturer. Factory defect on older models. Guy in Italy needs warning, the caps may blow at any time. need to have bigger caps installed if they go, contact Soldano, they will tell you what part # to get. Hopfully this will keep him from tossing it from the Tower of Piza if it goes down.
8 because it broke down, my Fender Twin never breaks down.... Hummm?

Great support, (unless you live in Italy)
Great phone help & nice people, too.
Warranty? Bought Used, I dunno...

This Amp is for sale. I can't fit it into my style. Love the distortion, unbeatable for drive channel. If I had a big stage rig & a rodie I'd use it for a lead channel, but I play small clubs & no rodie. "THE" Classic rock amp to have is the Fender Twin. And my views are slanted by this information. If I were 18 I'd swear by this amp. Made for lead playing.7 because of it's one track sound.

My amps three years old, and I bought it used one year ago. I play about 80% hard rock (well if you consider Randy Rhoads era Ozzy and the vintage Eddie stuff metal, then I can add metal in here). Its a basic 2 channel, all-tube amp; normal and overdrive channels, with a effects loop. This amp has everything I could ever want, because I bought it for its tone. This amp came loaded with 4 5881's and 5 12AX7's (one for the tube buffered effects loop). This amp has sooooo much power, totally enough for pretty much any application you can think of. After getting in touch with Bill Sundt, I yanked 2 of the power tubes to save my hearing.

I'm giving this a 7 because the effects loop is too quiet, so I have to run my one and only effect (a delay unit) in front of the amp. Oh well.

Opening up the amp itself is an experiance. Everything is wired perfectly. The transformers are very beefy.

I play it through the matching Soldano 4x12 with the X12000 loudspeakers. The perfect setup I have to say. Enough high's and mids to make anyone happy.

Can you consider seeing the glowing tubes thru the metal grille a feature?

Lemme first say that I bought this amp for one reason and one reason only - the tone. This amp really speaks to you, and not just in volume. It can make a decent player sound good, and a good player sound fantastic. Of course, you'll become very good from playing this amp because you'll be playing it everyday for hours.

I'm using a stock Gibson Les Paul Standard, and this amp does everything I want it too. At first when I bought it, I cranked the gain soooooooooooo high. It wasn't until a few months ago that I discovered that cutting the overdrive gain to about 4.5-5, cranking the master, and backing off the volume knob on the guitar a bit gives me the sound I've been looking for. With the Bass on 6, mids on 4.5-5, treble on 6, and presense on 5, I get that early eddie brown sound. Boost the volume knob for solo's......

The normal channel is really fun to play with. Its not my main channel, but I noodle around on it some. Things are pretty clean from 1-3, and start breaking up from there. The normal channels distortion gets kinda grumbly, so I don't go any higher than 5. You can get that 'American Woman' sound from it tho.

Blues are cake with this, just remember to back off your volume on your guitar to add some twang.

This amp was made for cranking. The higher you turn the master, the better it sounds. Personally, I've never had it past 7, because I like my ears. I mentioned that I yanked 2 tubes after getting verification from Bill Sundt at the shop. Now it gets to my favorite sound a little quicker, and it still packs a whallop.

I give this a 10 because it fits me perfectly for the sound I want.

One final note, stick with the 5881's. I had to substitute 6l6s because I was in a pinch, thats all the store had. After getting 5881's back in there, I was happy again.

I've only had it 8 months, and had to change the tubes once after one died on me. I've heard Soldano's are the most bomb proof amps out there, and so far, mines been like that. I give it a 10.

speaking of.. I have to retube the ol' girl.

Emailed Bill Sundt twice, and got responses within 3 days. Very informative and helpful, answering all my questions thoroughly. To get the amp serviced under warrenty, you have to send it to the shop out west. I don't know about the warrenty as I bought mine used.

I've been playing for 4 years, 3 of those thru an old Peavey hybrid amp. I saved for a year to buy this amp (who says all teenagers are irresponsible?!?!). I tested this amp against a couple JCM 800's, a plexi (too loud for my uses as I don't have an attenuater), the regular Hot Rod 50 (the non-dual channel little bro to this beast), a couple of newer Marshalls (don't remember which ones, they didn't have the balls this one does), and a Bogner Exstacy (too expensive). This one speaks to me, and always sounds full and lushious. This amp is the cream of the crop.

I'd probably save for another 2 years to get a Decatone or SLO100 if this amp were stolen.

I don't know the year the amp was made in.This amp was born to rock :you can really reach VH and Nuno Bettencourt (Pornograffitti) sound!But the HR only has 2 channel,1 eq,serial loop,no reverb...sorry!I would like it has more features because this amp is very expensive in Italy(you have to work for 2 months to find the money...).This amp is very loud for every healthy ears!

I use Les Paul and emg pickups,I play rock,Hard Rock,Rhythm 'n'Blues and funky.The amp is great!No noise on ch.1,very little noise on ch.2.The amp has few kind of sound: a good clean sound(but not like fender!!) and a gOOOOOOOd overdriven sound!!In between I can find a very good crunch with gain1 set at 7,or gain2 set at 2.The distortion is not as brutal as dualRectifier,but it has more class!The sound never looses itself...The distortion is like Van Halen or Nuno Bettencourt in Pornogaffitti...simply one of the sweetest sound!!

I bought this head few days ago...so I only can hope it has a good reliability.

The Soldano E-support is good.They answer after 4/5 days (here in Italy).If the head will have to pay ,because Mike Soldano is in California and I live in Italy,so I can put warranty in the toilet...

I have been playing for 15 years.I owned: marshall amp (always good but too sharp ;common sound...),soldano sp 77 preamp (good, but use only without effect 'cause they make it sounds like an overprocessed mistake),9200 power amp (loud!!!Heavy!!!35kg!!!).If it were stolen I never buy it again because it is too much expensive in Italy (like Ferrari in USA):italian people have to work 2 months long to buy a second handed HR 100+!!!I will buy a Brunetti XL (real VH sound) .
I finally suggest to play without rack.Never mind the features and the buttons!Mind the sound.Every heads has a bigger sound than a rack-system!I'm very happy now that I 'm not lost in rack-trouble!The easier the better!
I hate the people that makes this products too much expensive so that only rich people can play with a good sound!

This particular HR 100+ was made in 1998 and is a channel switching 100 watt head, with effects loop and slave out. This amp has a very simple format, and I wouldn't have it any other way. My only complaint is that the clean and overdrive channels share the EQ, but I really don't care because I don't use a clean sound live. I think becuase of the high price (MSRP $1999) that this amp should have reverb, but once again I don't care, because I don't use reverb.

I play a 1986 PRS Custom 24 with original PRS pickups and sometimes I use my Gibson Les Paul Studio with Alnico Humbuckers. (PRS is also Hubmbuckers) My style of music is very aggressive punk/hardcore and this amp suits my style perfectly. Although I want alot of distortion and alot of power, I DO NOT want a harsh, evil sounding distortion, I'm just not into that. I would say that this amp is primarily a high gain amp, but if you turn down the preamp gain, you can get a nice crunchy tone. I personally use the preamp gain on 11, the bass on about 6-7, mid about 2-3, treble about 5-7, and the presence about 5. For live situations, I would set the master volume at about 4 which is loud as hell. Now on to the description. Put simply, this amp has the best usable distortion that I have ever heard. (It has the same lead channel as the SLO-100) The overdrive is smooth and full. It does not sound thin and one dimensional like a marshall. At the same time, it does not cover your tone like a Mesa Dual Rectifier. (I've used one for 3 years) One of the best things about this amp is, the clarity and the tight percussive bottom end found at all volumes. My major problem with the recto was the somewhat flabby bass response down low, especially when palm muting something fast. The HR solves all of that and stays together better than any other amp I've heard. This helps me out alot when playing live. This amp is so clear, I can just hear everything, even with earplugs in. Basically, the HR adds to your tone and it does it with super smooth and super tight distortion. I haven't been excited about an amp in a long time, but I am definitley excited about this one. The clean channel is OK...If you want perfect clean tone, you should probably buy a Fender, but the HR does a pretty good job with clean tones. I really can't say enough about this amp. I've always thought that if Mesa built a Dual Rectifier with a tight bottom end, that it would be one of the best high gain amps in the world. Mike Soldano has done this along with creating an amp with much more clarity and much more ability to cut through the rest of your band.

I play shows without a backup and without extra tubes. I have faith that this amp will perform. I have heard that these amps are very reliable. This amp has a lifetime fully transferable warranty. The amp is only 10 months old, so I don't expect to replace tubes anytime soon. However, we don't play out all that much, because most of us have full time jobs.

Never dealt with the company, but the warranty is lifetime. No repairs needed as of yet. Based on the lifetime warranty, I give this section a 10.

I've been playing about 10 years off an on. I don't consider myself a great guitarist, but then again our music is relativly simple. I own a Mesa Dual Recto, a Marshall JCM 800 2210, and a Marshall JCM 800 2204. The HR is played through a Mesa Dual Rectifier 4x12 cab, with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. I also have a standard Marshall JCM 900 4x12 cab and a 100 watt 1971 Marshall cab with greenbacks. I own 2 PRS's, a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Strat and a BC WARLOCK (haha). I will run this amp through a rack that has a power conditioner, a sabine tuner and a Samson concert IV wireles system. The HR 100+ is by far the best amp that I have played, and I would not hestitate to buy it again if it were lost or stolen. By the way, I have played through a Bogner Exctacy, VHT Pitbull, Mesa Mark IV, and others, and the HR+100 and the Soldano SLO-100 are still better than all of those amps. I'll give this amp a 9 because it has only 2 channels and lacks reverb. I don't need a three channel amp or reverb, so I don't care.