Soldano Hot Rod 50 XL

50 Watts. Single Channel. Dual Inputs (High and Low.) You will not be able to use a splitter box to switch between them, anything plugged into Low will bypass High. Controls: Preamp, Middle, Treble, Master, Presence. Slave out, Ohm selection. And FX loop. The FX Loop has NO control levels. Definately keep that in mind if you are using a pedal in the loop with no Level control.

I've been through Mesas, Marshalls, and Carvin Legacy, and have always been disappointed. Until I got this. Its the first time I've ever been completely blown away by an amp. I play classic rock, thrash, neoclassical, etc. My favorite players are Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen. The ultimate 80's distortion amp. Definately has a JCM800'ish vibe. It also does things like Metallica's Ride the Lightning rhythm distortion sound easily. Thats about as high gain as it goes. I play a Les Paul Studio with "Slash" Seymour Duncans. Its probably the only amp I feel truly deserves a 10 rating.

You get what you pay for. And the workmanship and quality in Soldano amps are the best in the business. I purchased this a month ago so have no need for service at this moment. I would definately gig with it without a backup, easily. The quality really stands out in this one.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing 10 years. I mainly just use a Gibson Les Paul Studio into the Soldano. Thats it, no pedals, no other gear. I have owned JCM800s, 2 channel Triple Rectifiers, and Carvin Legacys. This blows all of those amps out of the water. Although the Mesa is an entirely different animal, that would be subjective. But definately is no contest between JCM800 and the Legacy. I'd have to fight with those amps to get a really good tone. The Soldano, its plug and play. This is a no nonsense amp, one channel, classic overdrive. Its simply hard to imagine it getting any better. There is no need to take my review with a grain of salt because of the 10 rating. If you are after an 80s Marshall-esque thick, nicely compressed overdrive amp. You will look no further than this one.

Typical amp features: Effects loop, slave out, dual inputs(low and high gain). Though single channel, a lot of sounds can be acquired; very practical. I just wish it had reverb. I'm putting it through a old Randall 2x12 with celestion 70/80 speakers. I tried it through a jensen speaker which was much darker, nice, but not as clear and crunchy like the celestions are. Really, this is the amp I've been looking for: Great brown sound or wide open 800 series with that classic metal bite and crunch, yet attainable at lower levels. You always have to crank Marhalls beyond local ordinances to get that sound we all love. With this amp much more controllable and sound more refined.

I am using a Les Paul Standard with Burstbucker pickups. I mostly play classic rock, but I delve into blues and some new stuff. This amp was just what I was looking for. The distortion is Marshall like but much more refined; definitely JCM 800 series oriented especially with presence cranked. The louder it gets the better it sounds. Man I get Boston, Rush, Van Halen, Zeppelin, Aerosmith on one extreme (Hi Gain) and real nice bluesy tones Hendrix, Stevie Ray, Robin Trower on the other (Low gain with ts-9). The low gain is neat because you can control clipping with picking dynamics--very nice.

Beautiful workmanship. Seems very rugged. I would probably gig without back up; Just backup tubes and fuses.

Never dealt with them so I cant give an honest opinion.

Best amp I've ever had. This thing can cover 60's, 70's, 80's rock and beyond. XL feature really adds clear bass thump. Oh Yeah, get a ts-9 to drive the preamp harder. Still great without it.

As simple as an overdrive amp could be. This is with the XL mod. Preamp gain, bass, mid, treble, volume, presence. Great effects loop. LOUD!!! Perfect for any rock setting. If you don't need a zillion sounds, this would be your best choice.

I use this amp with a Les Paul,, a PRS, and a Washburn NX6. It sounds KILLER with all of these guitars. Tons of bottom end. I never pass 5 on the bass knob. It stays super tight at that setting. Great distortion. I never use the clean on this amp, but it's pretty darn good. I switch between a Boogie Road King head for cleans, and super heavy chunky tones, and the Hot Rod for a smooth sound for chording and leads. All the notes ring out VERY clearly, and cuts through the mix better than the Boogie. Because of it's simplicity, it has become my new favorite amp. I installed the Groove Tubes KT66HP's in this amp, and it sounds incredible. I play through a standard Marshall 1960A cab, which sounds great with any head. This amp easily gets the 80's hair band type of sound, and with proper EQing can give you Slayer and Zakk Wylde sounds. It is very quiet when you're not playing. This is just a great amp.

This is my second Soldano, and the only problem I've ever had was a brand new tube that freaked out during a show. I just set it on standby for a few seconds, and it was back to normal. Never had a problem since. My Decatone has been a solid workhorse for two years now with no complaints. I use multiple amps, so I always have a backup, but these amps don't break down, tubes do. I play up to five nights a week, and tour all summer; Soldano amps are truly roadworthy.

The best in the business. They are always very prompt on returning phone calls, and care about their products. Can't beat that.

I've been playing for 17 years, and own and have owned many high end amps during that time. The amps that gave me the least trouble remained in my arsenal. All amps sound different, but to me an amp that feels easy to play is what I prefer. I sounds very different from the Decatone. It has a much smoother quality to it. I'm not a fan of the SLO, but I think this amp is definately one of the jewels of the Soldano line. My Road King is a different story. It's a great amp, but it just doesn't have the smoothness or clarity of the Hot Rod. The cleans are amazing though. You can never get your "perfect" sounds out of one amp, so I think there is no "king of all amps". This is definately the one to use for your overdrive setting though. You'll definately enjoy it.

The build sheet for my amp shows a date of 2/15/02. One channel amplifier with the XL mod, which is now a standard. I find this amp can handle that 70's & 80's Heavy Metal sound with ease. The only real drawback is that this model doesn't have 2 channels. 50 watts is more than enough for me and will push the tubes at a lower volume.

I use a Les Paul Studio & Fender Lead 3(w/Screamin Demon pickup) through the Soldano. I play shred/neo-classical style metal and this amp delivers with a heaviness and clarity that shines! I find that other high gain amps using 5881/6L6 power tubes sound fuzzy and harsh. The Hot Rod 50XL is warm, smooth, and yet has a mean crunch and bottom end. Michael Schenker, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, George Lynch are a few sounds that can be found. The clean sounds on this amp are usable and I can use my Soldano Supercharger GTO preamp through this amp as a second channel, if I needed to switch from clean to dirty. I can hear a similarity to a Marshall JCM 800, model 2203/2204, as far as the distortion character sounds. Brutal sounding, is what this amp produces when pushed real hard, especially with the XL mod for the heavier bottom end.

Although I have only just purchased this amp, I have no negative things to say about Soldano's reputation. This model is handbuilt and looks to be of extremely high quality.

I have e-mailed Soldano and they responded within a day. They appear to care about they're customers and are willing to answer questions. I don't think I will need any repair service in the future, but if I did, I wouldn't hesitate to send my amp to Soldano.

I've been playing for about 20 years. I also own a Carvin Legacy head, 65' blackface Fender Vibrolux Reverb, Marshall JTM312, Genz Benz G-Flex 2x12 George Lynch Signature cab, Crate 4x12 w/Celestion G12T-75's, original EP-3 Echoplex, Soldano Supercharger GTO, and a bunch of effects pedals. I have gotten to a point where I am satisfied with my collection and have different sound possibilities. I would be very upset if my Soldano were stolen, but I would buy another as soon as I had the cash.

Single channel, 2 input, effects loop, line out. 5881's GT-ECC83's, XL option. Red lizard tolex. Not much to it. I use it with a fender 63's reverb tank on the front end, and a Boss VF-1 in the effects loop. I love the Fender reverb on the front end for the big clean reverb sound but the loop is too hot for it so I had to get te Boss unit to use for dirty sounds. I use it with a Marshall 4*10 cab. I kinda wish the lower gain input matched the volume of the high ain input, when I want to go from the cleaner to dirtier sound I gotta mess with the volumes, dont matter though, small price to pay for TONE!!!!! I am rating this very versatile, cause with just the volume control on your guitar you can control the preamp and how dirty it gets.

I play rock and blues, I love the simplicity, I play a 52 RI tele, a 60's jap Esquire, Both are modded to only use the bridge pickup.a few PRS Mccarty's, Godin's with P-90's and an Ernie Ball silhouette. Each guitar comes thru with its full character. With the Fender reverb and the VF1 I get all kinds of sounds. I have had Marshall's Boogies, Fenders, some Digital Crap and various other British and American amps that dont have the gain this does but I can coax lots of sounds out of it. It is able to produce a tighter lowend than a Mesa, it dosent get as sloppy. Its not a sound I go for but it can do it with ease. I give it a 10 for simplicity and ease of gettine a good tone.

Built like a Tank. I dont abuse my stuff so i can see a long life with it. I plan on changing to Groove Tube GT-KT66hp's, I have read that there tubes are amazing in these amps. I changed the Pre amp tubes to GT-ECC83's cause I liked them in other amps and im happy with them in this one.

Sean at Soldaon was very helpful, I am still dissapointed that I can't use the fender Reverb unit in the Loop, I wish I could get a Soldano Reverb unit. That would be the ultimate mate to this but im happy for now.

I have had many many many amps, The guys at Long & McQuade Scarborough can testify to that. I am extremely happy. i had a HR100XL that I traded in for a Mesa and I regret it. but Im back in the Soldano fold and happy one again.

made 5/28/99 by head builder Don Blair..Single channel amp with 2 inputs lo/hi has a slave out and an effects loop..I only need a 1 channel amp..1 good clean sound one rythm sound and a good lead tone..this handles it no problem..I play mostly club gigs and it has plenty of power...

I use a les paul classic with this amp and play blues and rock..If you like gary moore's tone this thing cops it with ease. Gets a clean sound easy with the preamp backed off crank the master and it sounds like a ripping old marshall thats been hotrodded...power chors sound like a hatchet comming down i love that..also leads cut through wonderfully you can hear the plectrum when it hits the string....very smooth punchy chrisp tone with plenty of lows and highs..amp is not noisey whatsoever....I play blues and some pretty hard rock stuff also play in bar cover bands and this thing shines through on all styles...i used to use a boss se 50 through the effects loop which worked really well..nice effects loop,,,I have recently changed to using stomp boxes...have boss ds-1 distortion for rythm....boss od-3 for leads and boss ce-2 chorus for clean tones...play the head through a marshall 1936 2x12 cab...Pretty much have everything covered to perform whatever type of song i may need to do. the main thing here is the amp sound..i set it for a clean punchy tone and get all my other sounds through the foot pedals...I got this thing to sound like an old marshall plexi only not at ear splitting volumes...I have owned quite a few old style 4 input marshall 50 and 100 watters and this thing is damn close...I think i like it even better.

it will last longter than i will i am sure. Excellent workmanship ...I mean this thing is hand made...I took it apart..Built elgant simplicity...e-mailed soldano a shitload of times...they are really cool got a reply right away..I have had the amp a little over a year now and figured i would replace all the tubes before they start to wear out i usually do that with all my amps maintenbence you know,....e-mailed soldano on replacing the tubes...have had my share of bias problems with other amps...they told me to get the same manufactuere of tubes and just plug them in and go..i guess they have the bias fixed so no adjusting...anyways i did that and they work fine sounds as good as it did the day i bought it. new tubes running fine...i would definently gig without a back up...a well taken care of tube amp should never break down on you...if they do though and you let them go your fucked,..

bitchin..e-mailed me right back.

been playin 13 years..If it were stolen i would definently buy another one..wouldn't even consider anything else..i do like the old marshall jmp though ..but this thing is just as nice and it's modern with all the factory hot rods everyone is always wnating to chop their marshalls up for...It's like an old super lead 100W with a master volume and some other hot rod mods on it. it basically is just a simple easy to use kick as head..i got a good deal on it also..it should last forever.

front panal- single channel(high and low gain input), preamp volume, bass, middle, treble, master volume and presence in that order on the front panal from left to right.
rear panal- two speaker jacks, speaker impedence selector switch (4,8,16 ohms), a slave output with output level and a fx loop from left to right. there are 4 12ax7 preamp tubes and 2 6l6 power tubes(50 watts). the hot rod is straight foward and streamlined with a very professional look. some may not dig the fact that it is a single channal head but i have found the tones avialable quite satisfying and versitile. read below for the low-down and dirty!!!

first things first... this is an overdrive head (hot rod?), so if your shopin for a spankin clean sound this probably isn't for you. that's not to say you can't get it clean, but at 50 watts this is designed to be pushed and it will start to break up when you get the sucker loud. at lower volumes using the low gain input with a minimal preamp setting you can get some sweet warm clean sounds. turning the preamp level clockwise very slowly adds very mild overdrive which is inhanced by increasing the master volume. plugging into the high gain input is where the fun actually starts! the preamp in it's lower settings at the high gain input is actually lower than it is maxed out on the low gain input. the only difference is that the transition into thicker overdrive happens much quicker. this transition, like the low gain input is still very smooth and doesn't have any big "jumps" in gain. smooth is the word! the one thing that really stood out to me was that the the e.q. is super powerful. lots of different tones here...and i couldn't make the thing sound bad as hard as i tried. the last head i owned (boogie dual recto) had this nastiness when i cranked up the mids but the frequences that are increased on the hot rod never get to raunchy or nasal. as a matter of fact, i'm one of those guys who would turn the mids down even before i would turn the any amp on. but not here ...well maybe sometimes! 'cause that is a great sound on this amp too!!!
amp tone is so hard to put to words but i'll try and be colorful. warm, thick, smooth, round, almost ready to explode but not quite, chunky and like a well marbled steak, meaty with just enough fat!!! somewhat reminds me of a plexi on lower to medium gain settings a la angus young. but it can get pretty heavy while retaining alot of note detail and dynamics. if you crank the sucker way up it will begin to compress but in a very natural way that you would expect. all the while rendering some nice violinlike sustain. also, using the treble and presence control in different settings really gives you a lot of various tonal shades. having treble midium and presence high yeilds a somewhat more modern tone while reversing those settings gives a more vintage sound. did i say versitile? and of course there is everything inbetween. the low end thru my 4X12 can rattle the house if i choose. this model, the xl, actually is an update on the amp where they increased the low end response. word!
well, if your not afraid of moving that little volume nob on your guitar you can have quite a tonal palat with the hot rod...just maybe not clean-clean. you could use this thing from dirty blues, ska, punk and puke, cock rock, spankabilly, hardcore and of course my favorite... good ole' emospeedfunk-a-core or whatever!!!!!!!!!!!

just got it... ask me in 20 yrs.
lifetime transferrable warrenty though!

nice people down there at soldano...but kinda busy!

i've been at it for, well, my whole life and just recently got into the mode of acquiring gear that is actually an investment and not just some trendy noise maker!!! well, i can be trendy too, ya know! all's i play are them damned seven string guitars with two big fat humbuckers in em! but i actually use all the strings and this amp really has the range i need. i love the dynamics and the sheer girth this amp produces when you want it. if ya touch the strings, its gonna sing, and if you touch my amp, your gonna die! don't mess with the man's amp!!!!!!!!!

This is a 50 watt head. There aren't many features, but I didn't want any. The channel switching model is a few hundred bucks more. I got it in red snakeskin, one of several options, which is nice. I was told all the hot rods now include the XL mod.

Well, I'll have to admit, that will all the hype surrounding Soldano amps, that i'm still a bit disappointed. The real Achilles heel of these amps is they have NO HIGHS. At first I thought there was something wrong with the amp. The low end and crunch capabilities are superb, no problems there. Hooked up to a standard Marshall 4 X12 cab, and directly A/B'ing to a Marshall JCM 900, is where you hear what i'm talking about. And this is using a gamut of axes including Les Pauls, Explorers, SG's. A Strat thru the Soldano sounds like a Gibson, no high end twang comes thru. Everything gets muddied up. This is with the soldano treble and presence controls maxed. Thru the marshall, you have to turn the treble down to 3 and it still sounds like a Strat with piercing highs. It seems like the Soldano was eq'd to achieve the so-called "brown" sound. Like I said, low end crunch and rumble are this amp's forte, and therefore it makes a killer rhythm axe amp. I would just prefer added high end capabilities. Other reviews of this amp that claim the highs are "too much" I don't get. They probably did not A/B directly to another amp to tell the difference, or play a variety of axes thru it. The best way to describe it is take a Marshall head, use a Strat, and wrap the cabinet in toilet paper. There's the soldano sound!!

Seems to be built pretty well. The metal grating rattles like mad when you have it sitting on top a cab and cranked, a definite design flaw. they should of put some kind of dampeners behind the screws. Also, the feet should be shock mounted as well to absord some of the cabinet rumble. You have to send it back to Soldano for repairs, and you get screwed out of shipping costs, which sucks. they should pay for both ways if it was determined to be a legit amp problem.

I emailed them twice with simple questions. They answered promply the first time, and the second time (I questioned them about the high end EQ of the amp) got no reply. Guess they didn't want to bother with that one.

I've been really getting into amps lately, and have gotten a few to complement my trusty old Marshall, including an old 1970 Sunn 1200, a Green Matamp(i'll review that one later), and now the Soldano. They all sound completely different, which is good. I pretty much bought the Soldano on reputation alone. It has a unique sound, and I'm definitely gonna keep it. It's a killer head for crunch riffing using humbucker equipped axes like Gibsons. No distortion boxes needed. The highs are very muted, or rolled off, and this is where the amps shortcoming is (at least to me). Like I said, a Strat thru the Soldano sounds like a Gibson. Completely maxing the treble/presence helps a little, but still nowhere near the response of a Marshall with the treble on 3. "DarK" sounding. I'd prefer to be able to roll the highs off myself.

Mine is a 1997 Model. One of the best quality and solid built tube amps you can buy today! Mine is the 2 Channel 50 Watt Model with the
XL Mod..for a fatter, bassier crunch! It has an FX-loop, Very Loud
used both live and studio enviornment!...Like the 5150 both channels
share the same EQ. Which is a bit of a problem live! I would have scored it a 10 but the shared EQ.....deserves a point deduction!

Clean is CLEAN...Period! I can play funk, reggae....and sound very extremely close to a Twin reverb! With a little overdrive it can give top of the line Fender "Blues Tone", My has Ruby 6L6GCSTR just like Santanas Amp. Sustain is awesome, very fat and fluid...You can get the ED brown sound from this AMP, As well as most of your Favorite Metal Sounds of the 80's very Easy(Scorps,Def Leopard,Maiden).....providing you take the time to really work with it. It is a really remarkable head if you get to know it good! I don't know about other soldano's but mine is not noisy like my 5150 or JCM800. The FX Loop is very, very good!I was using Fender HM-Strats and Jackson Strats threw this amp......the tones I am getting out are excellent. I don't bother looking for any other amp anymore!
I am using it with a Marshall 4x12 JCM 900 (1960A) cabinet. With 2 digitech 256XL Multi-FX units....a Cry-Baby, a Marshall SE-100 Speaker
Emulator/attenuator(I recommend this unit to any body....if the find it to buy it immediately, this is a serious piece of gear). I have tried this head with a Mesa 2x12 cab....it also blew me away! I find it blows away the 100W Marshall TSL Head, as well as the 5150. The lead channel is reminds me allot at times of the old Mesa Mark II heads!

So far never a problem.....built like an armored car! My Pre-amp tubes are original.....they are 3 years old....and are starting to get microphonic....so replacement is mandatory! I usually have a back-up, but for this last year....I have none just one amp! So far so good!

1 year warranty......it would be nice if they offered 3 year warranty!
I have e-mailed soldano several times requesting Information on Various different power tube bias levels..within a couple

I have been playing since 81-82..I have been threw several dozen heads
in the last 15 years....I would recommend this amp to any one. I am pretty satisfied! If I come up with cash...I would probably sell it and get an SLO-100. This amp(HR50+XL) retails like 1400.00 new...it is expensive.....but you pay for what you get!

This is a 1998 model: 2 input, single channel amp based on 2 5881 power tubes and 4 12AX7 preamp tubes. Mine has an "interesting" purple tolex cover (known as the BARNEY rig by friends) with volume, bass, mids, treble, and presence knobs. No reverb and personally, I don't think it needs it. Plenty loud for 50 watts, but able to get fantastic sounds at far less than concert/ear splitting volume. The "XL" according to Soldano, sigifies that the amp has an increase low-end response--i.e.--'MO THUD!! Not a multi-feature ladden amp by any strech of the imagination, but a VERY serious tone machine with a character all its own. Despite it's lack of feature overkill it is extremely versital in many ways. It is what it is.

Hoo boy!! Where do you start. I have purposely avoided Soldano products due to the VERY stinky sounds that a certain Yamaha/Soldano T-100 model use to fumigate. Please read my review of that highly polished turd if you want an amp to stay away from. This thankfully sounds NOTHING like a T-100. I have a fairly bare bones rig with the Hot Rod--Hamer Arch/sunburst or Peavey wolfgang>Ibanez TS-5>Boss Dimension C>Budda Wah>Soldano>Marshall 2x12 or Soldano 2x12 cab. The hi/lo inputs are total different tonalities. The hi gain input is classic Soldano. Over the top gain, complex, and rockin'. I prefer this channel with actually lower gain settings (anything past 5 is overly distorted)ALA Warren Haynes. There is a debate between Soldano owners as to the treble/high end response of these amps. I personally think it does have a bit too much, but it can be dialed out and truthfully it is very lively sounding. The secret to this amp is in the lo gain input. It is more "marshall" or smokier sounding. Turning the gain up will give the most interesting sound. Not clean or overly dirty, but very sustaining (sorry, it don't sound much like SRV), but it does sound similar to some old Robin Trower. With a tubescreamer added to the mix, it is easy to get unbeatable rock sounds (not metal). Dialing up a tone similar to Eric Clapton's one on the "24 Nights" cd was almost too easy (Clapton uses 2 SLO 100's for that and it is one of the BEST guitar sounds put to tape in years). The definition on both channels is astounding. Mud don't live here!! It is a shame that both channels cannot be accessed via a footswitch, but the Hot Rod isn't really designed for that. This is not a pristine clean amp--if you want that there's a company called Fender and they excell at that type product. This amp gives fantastic overtones that I have heard out of very few amps regardless of price. It is surprizingly musical and never fatiguing on the ears. Simply put, dollar for dollar, this could be one of the best sounding amps on the planet--period.

Mike Soldano stands behind his work. This amp is probabally 100% overbuilt if anything and fairly light for a head. I would gig without a backup amp, but not without extra tubes and fuses. Crap goes wrong on stage faster than in your music room at home.

I e-mailed Soldano with some questions on this amp and they responded within 24 hours. They seem to be very customer oriented and helpful in making sure players understand their amp and its capabilities. I haven't had to send the amp for any work (and don't anticipate I'll have to, knock on wood!).

There are so many ratings of amplifiers getting perfect 10's. Sound is totally subjective. If you are looking for one of the best rock sounds on the planet with some good versitility and NO B.S.--this is your bag of bolts because that's what this does and is. Fairly priced in my opinion--who has 3grand to spend on an amp anymore? Rockers/Classic rockers take note--few amps can hang with the sound of this machine. This amp has tons of personality and is extremely hard to turn off and walk away from. I've tried to save a buck or two here and try to get the Soldano sound through other amps like the 5150 and Yamaha T-100. No comparison, not by a long shot. So glad I gave the Soldano products another chance. If it were lost or stolen I'd sell enough blood in my body to afford another one. I can't see myself continuing to play guitar and progress as a player without it. I've owned alot of amps over the years, most have been evicted, but this one will have it's home with me.

This is a one channel, 50 watt,two input head. It's got six knobs on the front and two on the back. Front (not in order): Preamp (Gain), Bass, Mid, Treble, Master, Prescence. Back: Ohm selector and effects level control. The HR also has an effects loop (tube driven). The tube conpliment entails two 5881's and 4 12ax7's (though it might be 5, I cant remember). My head is covered in beautiful simulated snakeskin. Pretty stripped-down design but you can get any sound out of it really with simple dialing. I give it a 9 and not a ten only because you cannot footswitch between sounds and because of the fact that there is no reverb.

I am using this amp with a Gibson SG with high output humbuckers, and a Jackson USA neckthrough soloist with an Ibanex USA hum in the bridge and a 'Lil screamin' demon in the neck. This amp is perfect for the what I play. I love the blues (esp. Gary Moore and SRV) and I play the other cliche' styles (Metal, clean toned stuff, wtc..) My styles don't matter, the tones I want DO. I need a good clean sound available at times, lightly distorted (with substantial mid), crunchy, palm mutable tones, and sustain-y lead tones. I use this head primarily with my Boogie 2X12 cab with Jensens. This amp is a swiss army knife. All of the controls do so much to shape the sound it's amazing. I previously owned a boogie .50 caliber and ther really is no comparison. If you try one of these amps, I can not stress enough that you have to get up to at least two (which is loud) to get the real killer distorion sounds with mucho sustain. I don't know what that other guy was talking about, saying he couldn't go without his V-Twin. There is, in fact plenty of sustain and very much crunch and blues tone in this head. Like I said before, it will do anything and everything. I used it at band practice today and my other guitar player's amp (carvin mts) sounded like a piece of shit in comparison. Tons of low end and the clean sounds are very powerful but still clean. I haven't cranked the clean up yet but we'll see... BUY THIS HEAD! It is worth it even if you are paying the $879.00 new.

I would most definately gig without a backup. Based on the rep that Soldano has and the apparent quality components in this amp I can trust it. I plan on getting some sort of backup soon though because I am a worry wart and would feel so much better having another amp holstered in case some of my bad luck voodoo occurs.

Never dealt with them but again, Soldano has a top notch rep. and from what I have heard I probobly won't need to.

I might get an external reverb unit for this but otherwise it is perfect. I played some other Mesa Boogies (recto, dc-5, etc...) and this one is the best, especially for the $$ I paid. Buy one, you won't be dissapointed.