Soldano Lucky 13 Head

My 50-watt, bright red, all-tube Soldano Lucky 13 head was built and purchased in 2008. I play in two rock/dance bands; one is a classic rock band (can't get the guys to play anything newer than 25 years old) and the other has a more diverse set list running from the '60s to the current day. The amp is great in both settings. It has two channels. I expected the Soldano overdrive channel to be fantastic and it is. The clean channel was the big surprise; the classic rock band loves my 12-string and it sounds great through the amp. It is more than powerful enough for every venue in which we play (clubs, outdoors, private parties). The settings are diverse and powerful enough to alter the tone to my liking (in fact, Mike Soldano himself helped me out with my initial settings).

I run a G&L thinline ASAT Special (with two humbuckers), a Fender Custom Telecaster (neck humbucker and a bridge single coil) for slide, a 330 Rickenbacker 12-string, and another G&L ASAT Classic (open tuned). They all sound great. Initially, there was a bit of hum in the amp, but the guys at Soldano fixed that instantly. I can get the sound I want out of the two channels and there is plenty of power. The amp sounds best with my guitars plugged in directly. At the moment, I am using no pedals at all--because is sounds great that way.

All Soldanos are hand built in the US and the company in completely uncompromising on quality. I suspect that it could fall out of a two story building and still work.

Soldano has been unbelieveably accessible and helpful. They have helped me whenever I have needed it and have been happy to answer my questions.

I have been playing in bands for almost ten years (non-professionally). If the Lucky 13 were lost or stolen, I would certainly buy another Soldano--and I might upgrade to a SLO-100.

my 50 watt head was made in 2008 . I visited the Soldano shop and was able to pick custom purple tolex and the front grill cloth is black with silver sparkly stripes, this certainly improves tone ! 50 watts is plenty for me ,I usually wear earplugs in live situations anyways. I know thats gay but I can still hear. I jam a lot at home and play out with various groups. mostly psychadellic blues funk rock shtuff . A little Sabbath but not much modern metal.

I bought this amp for the clean channel. The tone is the best I have ever ever heard for my taste. I was playing a jcm 800 for years and never quite felt satisfied. the lucky's clean channel makes it hard for me to stop playing. The overdrive channel , honestly, is to much for me. I just dont like that much gain. If you want mega gain, great ,but thats just not my thing. I really like the clean. I want to check out the "Crunch" mod for the overdrive channel to try and tame the beast.

As far as I can tell the amp seams well built. My only concern , is that the tube sockets are soldered to the pc board even my jcm 800 has chassis mounted tube sockets.

Soldano's customer service is tops .MIke or Bill always answer the phone and are soooo friendly and helpful .

I have played a lot of stuff over the years and the lucky 13 clean channel is my favorite. The overdrive is toooo much for me, but I plan to try the crunch mod. Im not saying this is the best amp in the universe, but it is what I play now and I have tried a lot of amps before it.

This is for a Soldano "Lucky 13" 50 watt head, twin channel, one clean and one overdrive. No effects loop but I am alright with that. It does have a foot switch for changing channels.
I use this amp for recording as well as live performances. The 50 watts is more then enough power to play any venue I am at especially since it has two cabinet outputs at 8ohm's and 1 at 16ohm's. The higher you crank the volume the better it sounds and I push two Marshall 4x12 cabs with it. I went to a Soldano dealer and tried almost all of their products to settle for this one.

I play Les Paul's mainly with stock pickups as well as a Gibson Firebird and an American made Strat. Like I said in previous I push two Marshall 4x12 cabinets and run just a cry baby pedal, Boss Delay and Boss Stereo Chorus as well as a rack mounted Harmonizer. I can go from classic blues rock such as Allman Brothers and Government Mule to Ozzy and Rush with no problems at all. The clean is so super clean that if you aren't practiced up then everyone will know when you plug into this head. The stock tubes aren't bad but I put in some hot overdrive tubes to get that extra little punch out of it and saved the stock ones for back ups if needed.
I play in two bands one is a blues type southern rock format and the other is a classic 80's metal type sound. We play some Ozzy as well as Anthrax and Lynch Mob and this amp can handle all those sounds as well as going back to the basics with 60's and 70's classic rock and I can even get some dangerously close Pink Floyd Gilmor sounds out of it but I think to many effects degrades the purity of this amp.
I rate it a 9 as I know of nothing that is perfect.

I have had this head for about 9 to 10 months now and I have had no issues with it at all but I pamper and baby it everywhere I take it. I keep it in a road box even when at home just because the investment is significant and I don't want to beat it up. It does weigh about 40lbs and is as solid as you can buy anywhere. I bet it could fall off a touring truck and still be playable. I will repost if any issues should happen to arise.

I have called Soldano to get some info on tubes and what they suggested for selection and they were absolutely wonderful to deal with. This still has a full warranty and changing tubes did not affect anything with the warrenty.
Again a 9 because nothing is perfect.

I have been playing guitar for 31 years and have been teaching for 20 something now. I have had Marshall's and Mesa's as well as almost everything in between. If I didn't own it then chances are one of my students did so I have heard and been around allot of guitar equipment. This small 50 watt head is by far the best amplifier I have ever and I mean Ever owned. If this got stolen besides going to jail over beating the hell out of the thief I would break down and buy another one the day I got my freedom back. This amp truly is so versatile and is capable of being a sound chameleon for even the most prejudice tone junkies out there. Like I said if you are someone running allot of effects then save your money and get a Marshall or something cheaper as this amps clarity would just be beaten down by all those signal processors. This amp in my opinion is the absolute best on the market today and Mike Soldano has allot to be proud of, it is worth every penny paid for it if you appreciate quality and durability. Plus it's "MADE IN AMERICA"

DOES THE FENDER AND MARSHALL THING.

CLEAN CHANNEL CLEEEEN STARTS TO BREAK UP PAST 8 OR 9
LEAD CHANNEL HAS PLENTY OF BITE.VERY QUIT

NO BACKUP

MIKE AND BILL ARE GREAT

I MAY ADD A LOOP & A SLAVE OUT

MADE IN THE SPRING OF 2004, TWO CHANNELS, 100 WATTS, REVERB.

I was very disapointed in the lucky 13 head. Ive owned both the slo 100 and a SL60 and found this soldano to be the weakest of the three.
I play rock, some heavy riffing and alot of tight stops.
I found this amp to be loud, but NOT crunchy at all.
I can see this as a R/B or country amp, not a rock, metal or heavy amp.

Dont know, I tryed it in the studio, and in my rehearsal space for a few months trying to get it to scream and it never did. I even had my guitar tech mod it to sound more like my slo and it still didnt have a bite.
So I never took it on the road and sold it before I used it in any shows.

Soldano are always top notch at helping out, funny thing was during the mod, they faxed the proper changes to my tech, and even TOLD him the lucky 13 was far from a chunky amp!

Dont buy it unless you play country or use alot of distortion pedals. But then again, if you are the guitarist who uses pedals to get your sound, then dont buy a $1000 + tube amp in the first place.

This amp does it all. Mine has a factory installed effects loop, making it even more versatile than the standard Lucky 13.

When I first received this amp, I though it sounded great, but was put off by a lot whispy white noise on both channels. I spoke with Michael Soldano himself (very cool guy, incredibley knowledgeable) thinking it might need service, also considering having a mod gain done to it, but was told the noise I was experiencing was a symptom of bad preamp tubes. At the suggestion of another cool guy at Soldano, I swapped the first two preamp tubes for a couple of JJs, and PRESTO, this thing sounds awesome, and still better yet -- no more noise.

As far as the tone, I'll put it to you this way: I have this amp in my buddy's studio, alongside a Fuchs Tripledrive Supreme, a nice Marshall combo, a Carvin legacy head, and a Victoria Victorilux, and I'd take the clean and dirty sounds on the Lucky 13 over all of them. The clean sounds -- well everyone knows they're awesome on this amp -- and the gain -- it's all Soldano, and there's TONS of it on this amp after putting in those JJs. I don't know why anyone would say you can't do metal on this amp. This thing has gobs of gain and crunch, balls galore. In practice last night, my buddy complained that he couldn't anything near as good a rhythm sound out of his Fuchs TDS as I'm getting out of the Lucky 13. And this amp sings: the solo sounds are inspiring, out of this world. Badass amp. Many thanks again to Michael Soldano.

These guys are SOOOOO cool. Thanks again to Mr. Soldano and Bill (?), the guys who helped me so much when I last called. You guys deserve every penny you make, and more, I'm sure.

2005 Lucky 13 100 watt head. I play a lot of heavy stoner riffs mixed with southern rock. Mostly tuned to D or drop C. 2 channels with independant reverb control, no effects loop, no BS. Channels are an ultra clean and an overdrive. An impedance selector instead of the 2x8 and 1x16 outputs would be better. More than enough power/volume here for any situation. More than enough gain, as well. This has been characterized as a classic rock amp it seems, but we're still talking about a Soldano preamp section here. I could play melt-your-face doom metal through it with no problems whatsoever without ever diming the gain.

I'm playing through this amp with an SG standard, on the stock 490 series bridge HB most of the time. Also using a Schecter Ultra with a Gibson P-94 neck and a Dirty Fingers reissue bridge HB. Works well with both. This is not an extremely noisy amp by any stretch of the imagination. The clean is perfect and the OD has a slight hum (only what you'd expect with a hi-gain amp cranked to 8). The OD channel is extremely versatile, seemingly having a slightly later compression on the dial than my other Soldanos. You can get whatever kind of sounds you want from this, from bluesy crunch to crushing overdrive. It has it's sweet spots but it's pretty good much all good until the gain begins to fizz at 10 or so (out of a possible 13, you understand).

Seems solid as a brick, and Bill answers the phone any time you call Soldano so you can always talk to someone who knows the amps. I've owned three and none have ever broken. I'd gig it without a backup.

A+, like I said, you can always reach Bill.

I've been playing for about 10 years, I've got a couple of nice guitars and amps. This is my current favorite. If it were lost or stolen I'd get it again, provided I found that kind of deal that I could afford again. I do wish it had an impedance selector instead of the hardwired speaker outputs, but what are you gonna do? Absolutely great sounding amp.

2005 Lucky 13, I bought it after using the slo 100 and loving that amp so much. Great great great great great clean chanel. By far one of the best sounding clean channels and the lead channel is great too. Almost as good as my slo but the amp is even more versitile. Pletny of pwer and I have recently used this amp for recroding as well as giggin and lessons.

I always play an amp that I am considering buying with an old strat that I have. If I can get a good tone out of the amp with this particul this amp. If this guitar sounds good thru the amp then I know everything else I own will sound great. I played a bunch of coutry riffs and then jazz and the amp sounded great. Then I started playing with the lead chanel at first with the gain down and got a very clear, ballsy blues tone, then the ACDC tone, then I couldn't resist and turned up the gain and started to wail. I was blown away by the amps tone and versitality. This is the only amp that would make me consider selling my slo 100

Built like a tank and if it is like my slo it is undestructible.

They are great. I have even talked to mike personally. need I say more!!!!!

Best amp next to the slo that I have ever owned. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. I fact, I am starting to feel that between this amp and a recent dsl 100 I acquired, my slo 100, and believe it or not the lone star special, i can finally sell all of my old vintage stuff and my new stuff without any remorse.

MADE IN THE SPRING OF 2005, TWO CHANNELS, 100 WATTS, PHENOMINAL CLEAN SOUND AND EXCELLENT OVERDRIVE TONE. REVERB WORKS GREAT AS WELL

I PLAY EVERYTHING SINCE I AM BASICALLY A GUN FOR HIRE. EXTREMELY QUIET. EXTREMELY VERSITILE. AS I SAID IT HAS ONE OF THE ABSOLUTE BEST CLEAN SOUNDS I HAVE EVER HEARD. IT IS CLEAN ALL THE WAY UP TO FULL VOLUME. THE GAIN CHANNEL IS CHEST THUMPING BUT ALSO VERY ARTICULATE AND NOT AS BUZZY OR GRAINY AS A MESA, PEAVY OR MARSHALL TSL

I HAVE ONLY HAD IT ABOUT SIX MONTHS AND NO ISSUES. SOLDANO IS GREAT TO DEAL WITH ANYWAYS. I OWN SEVERAL OTHER OF HIS AMPS WHICH IS WHAT PROMPTED ME TO BUY THIS OWN AND IT HAS TO BE HIS BEST NEXT TO THE SLO 100, THOUGH THE SLO IS NOT AS VERSITILE.

AS I SAID, THEY ARE GREAT TO DEAL WITH, MIKE WILL EVEN TALK TO YOUU ON THE PHONE

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR OVER 35 YEARS AND HAVE MADE A LIVING WITH MUSIC SO I OWN A LOT OF GEAR. IF I SOLD ALL MY STUFF ON EBAY I COULD PROBABLY RETIRE AND LIVE OFF THE INTEREST FROM THE SALE OF MY EQUIPMENT. GIVEN WHAT I HAVE, I AM VERY SINCERE WHEN I SAY SOLDANO IS MAKING PROBABLY THE BEST AMPS OUT THERE, BOTH IN TONE AND DEPENDABILITY. ALSO THEY ARE CONSISTENT. I USED TO PLAY A MK IV SEVERAL YEARS AGO FOR ITS RELIABILITY REPUTATION. IT NEVER BROKE OWN ON ME BUT NEVER SOUNDED THE SAME FROM NIGHT TO NIGHT, SESSION TO SESSION, OR GIG. I HAVE HAD 3 OF THEM AND I USED TO TRY AND LIKE THEM, I OWNED A ROAD KING AND SAME THING. I STILL HAVE MY FIRST SLO 100, AND EVERY OTHER SOLDANO AMP THAT I HAVE EVER BOUGHT. THAT SAYS IT ALL TO ME. THEY ARE EXPENSIVE BUT TO ME OWNING THIS AMP FOREVER IS A BETTER DEAL THAN CONSTANTLY BUYING, TRADING, AND SELLING.

Made around 2001-2003. Clean and dirty channels, footswitchable. Reverb on both channels. Channels sound very different from each other, which makes the amp very versatile. VERY LOUD, especially the clean channel. Effects pedals sound great thru the clean channel.

I have a friend who loaned me this amp for about 2 months. He has 2 other high-end amps and he went out on tour with them and let me amp-sit this one for a while. I use it with a variety of guitars and you can get a good sound out of every one of them. It buzzes a bit, but most tube amps do, especially high gain amps like this one. Once you start playing it's not noticeable. You can get great clean sounds out of channel 1 and channel 2 can give you as much distortion as you could want. This is the loudest amp I have ever heard. The tone is great as well, as you should expect with a hand built high dollar amp. If you have the money to buy one you would not be dissatisfied with what you get.

My friend had to send it back to the factory because it was blowing power tubes. They fixed it free and quickly. I'm not sure what was wrong but it has been played a lot. Since he got it back it has been used a lot more and is still going strong. The factory stood behind the product and that's all you can ask from any company.

See above. Soldano is still a small enough company that they can give some personal service.

If I could afford 2 grand for an amp I would probably get one in a minute. You could not get a gig that this amp can't handle. It's not cheap but you really do get what you pay for.

The features of this amp have been presented very well by others, so I won't get too much into it. I got the 50 watt version, 100 watts is too much for any small venues that I might play. This amp has almost everything that a player could need, without all of the extra buttons and switches. I have owned many Mesa's and they were always broken because they had too many options and breakable parts.

I got this amp from a friend for super cheap because it did not have a loop in it. He insists on only having amps with loops. It worked out perfectly for me. I only paid $1400 and it was in MINT condition with new tubes. I sold the cabinet for almost $300, so the amp only cost me $1100!!!!!!!!!!

Serial # is: L50 0029.

There are some things that I think should have been included with the amp though.
1. Status LED
2. Channel Switch on face of amp (incase footswitch is broken or lost)
3. Effects Loop.

When I 1st got the amp, I thought it sounded incredible, but the Distortion was too Vintage for me. At the time I would have given it a rock solid 8. I got this amp with the sole purpose of modifying it into an SLO with a great Clean channel and Reverb. I own an amplifier repair shop, so mods are no sweat for me.

I have changed the Distortion channel's circuit so that the maximum amount of Gain the amp originally had is now at "3" on the dial. I now have the meanest amp on the block. It no longer feels like there is a blanket over the Distortion. I can dial in any amount of Gain without any fuzzyness. Now this amp is almost a 10. I am going to add the Depth Mod, then it will be a 13.

There is some negligible noise from the Reverb tank, but it's a head, what do you expect.

I play mostly original music that ranges in styles from Segovia to ZZ Top, to Jimmie's Chicken Shack with a little Santana and Zappa in the mix somewhere. This amp does everything that I need it to flawlessly.

Try one, you may like it. Keep in mind that the Distortion circuit can be easily un-chained.

Soldano is a great company. This amp is super beefy, I don't think it will ever break.

It comes stock with Mercury Magnetics transformers, and high quality parts.

If it does break, it will be because I dropped it off of the truck, or something simillarly stupid.

I nave a few amps for backup, although I have never needed one. I always take extra tubes to gigs.

I have called them several times to inquire about a replacement cabinet for the head. Mine is Snakeskin, it does not fit me very well. Bill is the man. He is always polite and informative when I call. He gets a solid 10.

I have to give them a 9 though because I emailed them 3 times and never got a response.

Still a great company to deal with though. I will be a customer for many years to come.

This is a great amp from a great company. I would definitely buy another one if it were stolen. Right after I got done beating the thief to death with the stolen one.

It definitely needs a built-in channel switch and LED. I will be adding this next. A loop would be nice, but it is not vital. If I decide I need one, I can always remove the Power Tube circuit board and hand-wire the Power Tubes. This will give me enough room in the chassis to add a loop. I will add the Depth Mod.

Buy one, you will like it.

Email me for the mod info if the distortion is not enough for you.

I think it was manufactured in 2002. Great for all styles of music.2 channels cleeen and drive. No loop but i'm thinking of adding a slave to run effects. Don't want to mess with the straight signal sound but i like to use overdriven delays in some songs. Great for any size gig.

I use Gibsons and strats with active and passive pickups.I play classic rock and blues mainly but it will work for just about any thing except someone posing as a player. if you make a lot of mistakes they will be heard. The clean channel reminds me of an old dual showman and the drive channel reminds me of a 1969 plexi I owned years ago.

I've had this amp 2 years with no problem and I don't use a back-up 3 or 4 nights a week. Anyhow when it comes to carrying a 100 watt back-up tube amp i'm getting a little too old for that.

Soldano customer support is the best.I own another one of their amps and have done a couple of mods with great success.Bill Sundt treats you like you're a rock star on tour.one time even Mike soldano himself called me to follow up on some work.

I've been playing for 36 years and have owned many amps. i'm sure most of you know of or have this disease and soldano is the best by far. The only thing i wish it had was a slave as i mentioned earlier.This is like having that high gain powerhouse and a dead clean fender in one package. If lost or stolden i would search E-Bay and hope to find one used.

the lucky 13 is recent in the last few years , marking the 13th year of production. this amp is versatile enough to cover most serious ground in recording applications of all styles , the eq is responsive , as well as multi options for brightness if you require so. live this amp sings , and requires no extra's , ideal for the player who believes in the concept of plug in and play and deliver with a pair of hands , a guitar , a cord and an amp.this is a 2 channel amp with a bright boost , a presence dial ,master volume for overdrive channel .no fx loops , no trickery ... built with simplicity and attention to maintaining tonal integrity .this amp however accepts fx thru the front jack and certain things like a wah pedal work very well . this amp has a 16 ohm jack in the back , and a pair 0f 8's as well as a footswitch plug . this amp is perhaps not intended to be a bells and whistles clad amp , however in a simplicity mind frame it is completely loaded . 2 channels that really deliver , and a true spring reverb with seperate eq for both channels , and by that i mean a responsive eq. i have always wished an amp like this would come with independant stereo fx loops for both channels so that you could run perhaps a t.c electronic g-force or other stereo intigratable fx's in , with maybe a master volume dial so that you could be tasteful in dialing in things , but i understand that with an amp with this tonal integrity and pure sound quality , that , this amp has a different purpose. but i have to wish again that an amp of this magnitude had a balanced direct out for recording , i think im pushing it by suggesting either.i am currently using this head in a studio application to record guitar parts , and i have used this head as well live in a club setting a few times . in my opinion a lucky 13 50w head is a perfect mate for the club environment , you can crank it up and let the tubes do the talking , where a 100w would be wobbling at 2 or 3 , because in most clubs , it's tough to get everything to compete with a 100 watt amp properly . and because this cat has a master for the od channel , you can play at home , both channels . and make no mistake , this amp head is for people who love tubes , it has 6 preamp , and 2 power tubes , and delivers a real boutique sound .best of a fender clean for the clean ..best of a plexi/hiwatt for the overdrive , but smoother than both .

i am currently running all types of guitars in from tele's to strat's to paul's .this amp is so fat , that it can take the thinnest tele , and you would swear it's a paul , and you can do the reversal ..you can run a les paul in and get it to gliss , by adding presence , bright boost and knocking off the bass . this amp suits me on the level that it delivers what i thought tried by other amp manufacturers but never really delivered , and that is , with this amp you can go onstage with it instead of hauling a 50 w marshall and a fender twin .it also eliminates the search for a boutique studio amp that can give you true tone in a studio setting . because of the reverb tank being so close to components , after all it's in the head , there is noise from the reverb tank amplified , as you play louder , that can be a pro- or a con- depending on your feelings of true 'nostalga" for me , i will eventually remove the reverb tank from the head and put it in a seperate box , to do as much to eliminate the noise , as im in love with the sound not with the noise .the sounds this amp can make are pretty much , everything under the scope of tube sounds , depending on the craftiness of the player . this amp can fool you as you swear you are hearing identical tones off albums , just by your approach , the guitar in your hands and eq'ing awareness. the clean channel is warm , heavenly clean , and the options for bright and treble are plentiful . add in reverb , and the harmonic series becomes almost overwhelming . if you played this head on the clean thru jbl's , it would definetely give you the thud and thump . what i like about the clean is its not twanky-clean , it'll to that , but it's got the goods for voice leading chords , and fluid melodic jazz runs as well. crank up the clean and you got a bassman on your hands , if you can work with the volume , you'll sing like any overdriven clean channel memory . the overdrive section to me is a boutique paradise . if you dont have the cake to own a marshall , a hiwatt , a vox ac30 and a fender twin , this will do . i swear i heard reminiscence of sabbath , zeppelin , floyd and purple boutique amps , to name a small few . and with the reverb tank you can go to wonderland like those nostagic tommy bolin solo's , or the end of solo for "tea for one " zep . and yet , according to soundman iv'e worked with , that are hearing this thing thru a p.a. out front for the first time , this amp is smoother. distortion on this amp is-higain but , with the right speaker and pick-up type it could hit ultra hi-gain . but a les paul or strat straight in gives you gain but really , sustain , and warmth are character as well.

this is a tube amp , built as well as a tube amp could be built , but tubes can go . this amp for me has never let me down , but i am careful not to drop it or even so much as knock it . i would trust this amp in a flight case with the tubes removed anyday . it is built 'military' grade in respects to components , and the transformers are simply "monstrous" so far no problems .

i have emailed soldano once about questions concerning how they recommend i get other uses out of the head , without wrecking anything . they were quick to inform me of options , and even recommended other guitar products not of their company that i could try to help . seemed informative about all out needs out in other parts of the world , no problem.warranty on this amp is one year , parts and labour. excluding transformers and tubes.

i have been playing for 21 years , in various music gigs and happenings. i also own a vintage hiwatt combo , a rack with some studio grade processors , lexicon and t.c stuff. if this amp was to be a memory some how , i would be inticed to get another. i love how this amp sounds , and because of that , i cant hate it. it's comparable to a shiva or a top hat head , they are all boutique . this one has my ears listening a bit more for my taste . outside a dual independant stereo fx loop with master volume dials and a balanced d.i. out , whatever ... it was designed for tone purpose , not gadgets. id like to share that this amp satisfy's a craving for tube tone , clean and dirty , that's it's sole purpose , and be under no other allusions , illusions or delusions . my rating include's no ten's . but let's put it this way , for tone i would be putting marshalls and fenders at 6 etc. this amp is a star , total ferrari .

This Lucky 13 100 watt head was made in 2000, . I bought it new, new old stock, from Pete's Amps, @Petesamps.com, fabulous customer service, 2 months ago. It sits on top of an equally new THD 2 x 12" extention cabinet with custom made Longhorn 80 watt Celestions in it.

It is a true 2 channel amp with an excellent Fender "Blackface" amp clean channel including wonderful warm tube breakup. A bright/normal switch is included on this clean channel and I've found that using bright with even Gibson Dirty Fingers original pickups in an older Explorer still has a great clean sound to it. Overdrive channel is a duplicate of Warren Haynes' SLO sound. Both channels have independent bass, mid, treble, and reverb. Overdrive has a seperate gain which can be anything from SRV to all the metal you can handle. Both channels share one presence control.

I didn't care about adding an effects loop to it as I'm done with signal processors. Why bury this great Soldano sound with digital add on effects in the first place? They will do it for $350.00 if interested. Only thing I could have used would be the installed loop which will require REALLY good cables to your guitar etc. that would allow a passive style Volume pedal, i.e. Ernie Ball mono, to control amp volume versus just the guitar volume as I have now.

I use this amp at home jamming with cd's off a nice PA system. I will use this live in next year or so for sure, and have no intentions of acquiring a backup amp, this one does it all. The 100 watts it has is more power than I'll ever need, but for $100.00 more over a 50 watt, it was money WELL spent

Installed 5881 poweramp tubes and 12AX7 preamp tubes are perfect for the Southern rocking sound I play. I don't shred ever, and even though this amp will easily, I'm a Gary Rossington (Skynyrd founder) clone, also playing Allmans, Gov't Mule, Molly Hatchett, etc..

My guitars are 77' Fender Strat, Ash body, maple neck, SRV Texas Special pickups, Gibson Custom shop "Gary Rossington" Signature series, Tom Murphy aged, 59' Les Paul with Burstbucker #2 and #3 pickups, and an 83' Gibson Custom shop E2 Explorer, original Dirty Fingers pickups, and ebony fretboard. I've even tried this amp with my "junker" travel guitar, a Fender squire strat, bone stock, and it sound great with this crummy thing.

Amp is most versatile amp I have ever played. I've owned a number of amps in last 28 years from Acoustics, Peavey, original vintage Marshalls, etc. and this amp doesn't require wide open on the volume to sound good. It sounds great even at low volumes.

Noise from amp is minimal at best.

Sounds from this amp are whatever you wish. First thing you'll do is sell your effects. With this amp they are ridiculous. I only run a Liquid Chorus analog chorus/delay/echo, a Boss TU-2 tuner, and a volume pedal. That's it.

Clean channel with a Strat can peel paint. Bright, bold, clean, and warm all at the same time. Overdrive channel can provide all you need as well, or as little as you want. Unlike most tube amps, this amp allows for very subtle differences from clean to overdrive if you like. It accents your great playing and also accents your mistakes. You'll hear how you really sound when you play with this amp, it may be surprising to you, it was to me.. whew. Already making me a better player.

You couldn't tear this amp up it if you let Kindergarten kids work on it, and I've had young kids of my own. Everything, I mean everything on here is first class, hardcore, super strong from tolex, to tone knobs. Almost looks like what you saw in the 50's. No cheap looking plastic junk at all.

Wood used, tube parts, transformers, etc.. are all high end parts, best you can get are in this amp.

A big 10 here easily.

I've talked to Soldano on several occassions. They aren't the fastest to get back to you, however, they will, and your questions will be completely answered. They expect that if you are gonna shell out this kind of money for a great amp, you probably can already answer most questions on your own.

Bottom line with me is a perfectly made awesome amp, not the best receptionist or secretary answering the telephone or email, is obviously where it is at.

I've played for 28 years. I also own a nice recording studio at home, Mac high end computers, digital Performer 4.11 software, Rode handmade mics, M-Audio Omni USB interface, etc..

My band that never shows up drunk, drugged out, or late, is a Peavey KB 300 watt Keyboard/PA that I use to jam with using various cd's. Works great.

I guarantee in a heartbeat if stolen, and after my insurance paid off on it, I'd buy another Lucky 13 100 watt head.

I tried some new Mesa-Boogie amps, but way too involved with the bells and whistles which is just something else to break or go wrong, plus sound just wasn't anywhere close to this amp. Sure Rectifiers are nice and new Stiletto looks good, but they still can't compare to Mike Soldano's amps.

Yes, it is expensive, but you get what you pay for in most anything. Save your money on effects, and apply it to buying the best amp you can buy.

Money was no object for me with this amp, as this purchase was gonna be my last one, no more chasing tone. I'm fortunate to have a great job, Major US Airline Captain, and this was my only choice after all my research was complete. I did look at SLO 100 but it doesn't have the crystal clean channel like the Lucky 13 does.

After Reading the reviews I felt like adding mine to the data base. I have owned my L13 for three years. My Serial number is 0036. I purchased my head from a very knowledgable person with vast experience selling amps who helped me to tweak my head and this is why I'm writing this. I noticed that no one seemed to talk about their preamp tubes; these are not all created equal and there is a difference in what type of tone they will produce. I switched around the 12AX7 until I liked the sound for my particular taste. If anyone is interested in more infor please contact Solidbodyguitar.com and ask for Kenny, he is the person who assisted me with this endeavor. Some of you may thnk this is hogwash but trust me, my head went form a great mellow blues rock sound to having more of a Schenker/Lynch possibilty with the switching in of the right 12AX7. Also as far as effects, I feel that the gain is perfect with some of my guitars and needs a little help with others. I happen to be quite happy with the new ts7 from Ibanez with the settings all on 12 o clock. I have used numerous other pedals with this amp and found that they all bring something different to the table. This amp has more than enough power for me. I over power my half stack around 7. I have a SOldano Cabinet with 75 wattt Celestions.

BC Rich Gunslinger Ibanez Destroyer II (Neck thru) all Duncan equiped Custom Custom- Distortion Sounds great with the Destroyer sans pedal Rich works well with Ts7 all knobs 12 o clock
Not noisy to my ears no buzzings unwanted feedback My gain channel sounds great but I have a sweet 12 AX7 in specific place see above

Will take a spill off a pickup and work well...

HAvent had to use it

Been playing 13 years have owned Marshalls Fender Peavy heads
WOuld get a SLO head Love everything about it wish it had an effects loop but that degrades tone minor inconvenience
Great head for Rock or jazz( 50 Watt Combo) can be Metal Head with right preamp tube and effect pedal

I bought it brand new paid about 2800 euro for it (netherlands )
It's a fairly simple amp ,no xtra fx loop ,but dual tone controls and thats already a lot for a soldano (the decatone shares threechannels through onbe tonecontrol!) not missing the fx loop
you can use the reverb send return as a perfect fx loop for any other fx processor ( i use a yamaha PRO R3 studio reverb which sounds incredible in this combination) just buy two rca to jack cables and there you have your loop!(tip from the guy below)
I missed an extra drive switch on channel one but that was solved by one of the best tube guru's in the world ,more of that later on!
Wattage is excellent no further comments on this
I give an 8 because it simply isn't the most versatile amp but what's on it is usefull enough for me

I love the overdrive and clean sound they're absolutely perfect
but missed the crank on channel 1 so an amp guru named bart from BAMP
dived in my amp and came out with the most brilliant and open sounding amp I ever heard THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE
I used an old seymour duncan Trembucker loaded gibson explorer
and a stock jap strat and now I only use the strat
and in one word this will never be better really unbelievable everything you do you hear,the dynamic response is better then the best amp you ever heard brrr scary
If you want this mod which was fairly cheap ( 400 euro's ) mail him his email adres is bart@bamp.nl and he is running a company in the netherlands who are reselling soldano there
The mod uses the bright switch to boost channel one and oh boy it you could ever hear it
enough enough
plain ...with mod it receives the golden medal of honour and way, way more than a 10

stock I 'd give it and 10 because the overdrive and the clean sound are even in stock great sounding

I bought it because of music friends of me play soldano and they never had any problems with it. didn't have any problems so far either

very nice just asked for a solution on the clean amp crank up and I got one ,simply excellent

I play guitar now for over 25 years starting out at the age of 10
and had several amps before ranging from a philips soundmixer (hahaha yes you're in hell when plugin in the mic input)
through a london city and a ship load of stompboxes and pedals
dumped them all since I don't use them anymore accept for the old od's and compressors which I'll never sell

would buy one the next day if it was stolen ,this thing has becomne my main inspiration,so would buy it with the mod already in it!

SO EVERYONE STOP SEARCHING buy this amp get the mod and laugh at all the searchers!
Good luck and thank you Mike and Bart

This is the first 100 watt head I've ever bought. The lucky 13 had all the features I was looking for: 2 channels, 100 watts, separate volume and Eq for each channel, and reverb for each channel. It does not have an effects loop, but I don't need one as I only use foot pedals. I think a half-power switch would've been a nice addition, but you can always take away two power tubes or just buy the 50 watt version I suppose. I gave this an 8 b/c it had everything I was looking for without any of the usual gimmicks other amps in its class offer.

I play a USA Strat with a humbucker in the bridge position, an Ephiphone Les Paul with EMG's, and a Deluxe Telecaster. When I first bought the amp the highs seemed too piercing with my single coils so I put a humbucker in my strat. That helped some, but I still struggled with the Eq's constantly to get a decent tone that fit my playing. The amp just seemed to lack depth to me, but i was determined to work with it. After about a year, I finally got it right when I replaced the stock Sovtek 5881's with JJ 6l6's. All of sudden the amp just came alive in a new way. The tones were much more complex and the highs became much more smooth. This amp responds really well to different tubes and I would recommend to anyone to replace the stock tubes in it right away.
I play rock music in the vein of Zeppelin, Hendrix, and Jeff Buckley..this amp does all of those well. Since I replaced my tubes, the distortion channel has a nice sonic crunch to it that's doesn't get muddy and a nice thickness to it when doing bar chords. However, it also retains clarity when playing dissonant chords as well. The clean channel on this amp is bright and bouncy without being annoying. At first I had a hard time getting used to it..it wasn't dark and muddy like my Fender was..but now i love it. I use a Clark gainster on it to distort it a bit as kind of a halfway point between the clean and the high gain section. This is a very articulate amp and cuts through the mix like a sharp knife. I'm a very busy player, so when I'm on stage I'm gald people can hear all the little things I'm doing now.

This amp is built extremely well. I sometimes hear people gripe about how expensive Soldanos are, but you get what you pay for. This amp has survived numerous trips in the back of my band's trailer without a road case (although I'm saving up for one!) and without a problem. The only problem I've had with it was when the reverb tube starting acting funny and was easily fixed with a replacement. Also, once at an outdoor show I starting getting a really bad buzz from it during the last part of our set. I believe it to have been a grounding problem b/c when I touched the amp, the buzz stopped. Other than that, no problems.

I've e-mailed Soldano a number of times with general questions and for problem shooting. Each time my questions were answered promptly and courtesly. These guys value their customers and it shows.

I've been playing for about 10 years and own several other amps including a Fender Prosonic, Fender Bassman bass amp, and a Marshall JTM 45 RI. The Soldano is by far the best amp I own for gigging and band practice. It also handles pretty well in the studio. If it were lost or stolen I'd probably get another one...if not the same amp, another Soldano. Finding a small company who makes well crafted hand made amps in the USA and who puts as much into their customer service as their amps is hard to find. Soldano is truly a great company. I am currently considering selling my Fender Prosonic for a Soldano Astroverb 16 to us as a good home practice amp.
I'd recommend this amp to anyone looking for a well built great sounding rock amp.

Pretty straight forward amp. 2 channel all tube non-master volume. It could have used a few more features in my opinion (an fx loop). Even though it's a great sounding amp, I'm rating it a 1 because I don't want other potential buyers to do what I did - buy it and realize that what you get is all you get.

I hate it when guys list all their shit like they're trying to make everyone jealous. All I'll say is that I love effects and this was ultimately the reason I got rid of this amp.

First, in my opinion, this is the best sounding clean channel I've ever heard from a 'high-gain' amp. I found it almost impossible to dial in a bad tone. Very glassy with tons of headroom. I found that the reverb wasn't really audible until about '2' on the dial and very noisy. But it's plenty deep and you can get sounds to die for.

The overdrive channel is a different story. Granted, it does sound very good. Retains clarity and definition at high volumes. But it just didn't have enough gain to really make leads sing. The more I played it, the more It reminded me of a Marshall. Unfortunately, I'm not a huge Marshall fan. I was looking for something with a little more grind to it. If hard rock/metal is your thing, look elsewhere. This thing is geared more toward CLASSIC hard rock than modern hard rock. Overall, great sound, just not enough balls for what I play.

I only had the amp for about 3 1/2 months so I can't really say. I did open it up so I could have a look at the chassis. WOW! That thing was immaculate!

I contacted Soldano by email and received an answer the next day. Can't say that about most other places.

Once again, a great sounding amp - just not my cup-o-tea. I wound up trading it in for a Bogner Uberschall (think less expendsive Diezel).

I would totally recommend this amp to guitarist that are more into a straight ahead tone and don't like a lot of bells an whistles.

I purchased the Soldano Lucky 13 approx. 60 days ago . I've played it quite a bit during those 60 days and feel ready to review. 100 watts of vintage tone on the clean side augmented by a silky smooth reverb. The high gain channel takes you from a modest crunch to molten lead. I will not rate the features as this is a straight forward clean channel / high gain channel head. Someone who likes a lot of bells and whistles may not care for the simplicity of this tone machine but I love it. For that reason I find it tough to rate "features".

I play a 75 Les Paul, G&L Legacy and a G&L ASAT Deluxe through the Lucky 13. The head conveys a totally unique tone from each instrument. The tone is great either single coil or humbucker, but to my liking I prefer the single coils clean and the humbuckers on the gain side. The reverb is exceptional, at setting 4 it delivers just the right warmth. The dials go to 13 so you've got enough room to drown if that's your preference. The headroom on the clean side is vast. This head is loud and crisp, it responds to whatever eq you,ve dailed in. I'm playing through a Marshall 1936 2 x 12 cab and in my opionion, it delivers a crisp smooth tone even at lower volumes. I would give the Lucky 13 the highest recommendation to anyone who is truly into straight ahead tone. No gimmicks in this box. This head has a slight hum when the amp is pegged at zero volume which is due to the reverb circuit. Once the volume is advanced to a playing position, the hum is non-existent.

I've only had it 60 days, it looks to be built like a safe. I've owned a Soldano Astroverb 16 for two years and that amp has been 100% reliable. I expect the same from the Lucky 13.

The company responds immediately to my emails, responding to any question I present. On one occasion the owner, Mike Soldano, himself wrote to me explaining the answer to a question. Without question, customer support is a 10.

Been playing for 28 years, I've only owned a few amps through all those years. Fender twin, Deluxe reverb, Crate G60, Marshall 401, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe,Johnson JT50, Soldano Astroverb 16 2x12( If you can find a Soldano Atroverb (no longer mfg) check it out, I give it the highest recommendation). I've only rated one amp in the past and I gave it a 4, to rate a 10 it's got to be awesome. I searched for 6 months prior to deciding on the Lucky 13. There are so many nice heads on the market, it's just that the Soldano Lucky 13 had the sparkling vintage clean side and a wide array of gain capabilitities from subtle to raw, coupled with a warm reverb. If you get a chance to check one out I think it will be well worth your while.

Simplicity is closest to perfection. Two channels-three sounds.

Channel 1 is clean and sweet like a virgin. channel 2 with the guitar volume rolled back brings blues tones that make you feel the pain. channel 2 with the guitar volume knob all the way up brings the pain.

Just bought it so don't know but damn I hope so.

Brand new so don't know.

I have played for 25 years. For ten of those I have searched for an amp like this. Simply put, get to know- a Soldano.

This is a straight ahead, no frills head. It has no effects loop, no crazy boost switches. If you want that kinda stuff, look elsewhere. But what it has is monster tone. This is a two channel 50w (2 5881's) non-master volume deal, with a universal presence control but with individual eq and reverb for each channel. It's the model for elegance and simplicity. I thought I'd miss the effects loop, in practice it's just fine.

I play a '63 SG with p-90's, a '56 reissue with p-90's and '69 LP deluxe with mini-humbuckers. I play mostly emo/math rock/indie stuff with this. I was on my quest for "the tone" and was really into Riveras when I stumbled onto the Lucky 13. It had exactly what I was looking for. Pure creamy wet mids that sing from now till tuesday. Crystal highs and a fat bottom. I can stress how fat the mids are, it's beautiful. With a slight turn of the presence control, you can make this amp sizzle, yet still be smooth. It's amazing. On the low end, at first I was kinda put off, it didn't have the super tight compressed crunch that my old solid state roland blues cube had and I kinda missed it. But after a month of twiddling the knobs i've finally got it down. i also enclosed the back of the awesome soldano 2x12 cab and that help as well. The cab has eminince speakers, and I imagine if I slapped in celestions I might get more tight bottom. Also, look into the 100w version if you want more crunch. The 50w is exactly what I want, and this thing is super loud. I still can't drive it past 4 or 5 for any length of time. It sounds great both in larger venues and in small bars and definitely cuts through the mix. There is plenty of gain on tap here. I wouldn't say the death metal fans will love it, but for anything short of that and nu-metal, you should be fine. I've got the gain set on 10 (the knobs all go to 13) and to be honest, I don't see the compression that other people are talking about (read the 100w head reviews).
The clean channel is equally perfect, doing that fender kind of thing. It's smooth with twinkly high end. Not as buttery as say an Orange, but very nice.The clean channel stays clean.
Guitarwise, the Lucky 13 is an absolute dream with the minihumbuckers. It was less impressive with the p-90's, kinda shrill, but i'm still workin on it. But with humbuckers this thing is just a pure tone machine. The sound is fluid, it just kinda spills out of the cab and rolls over you. It definitely needs to be experienced. I spent the day at a boutique amp dealer trying all kinds of stuff and the moment I hit the Lucky 13 I knew that was it.

Built like a brick craphouse, as they say. Very heavy, nothing loose or hangy. We gig several times a month and I'm really rough on my equipment and I'm confident the L13 will pull through. It's a really heavy head.

The guys at Soldano were very helpful and timely in responding to my emails and offered lots of suggestions to my questions. I also got kick ass support from the dealer I bought it from, Don at www.petesamps.com. He's awesome.

I've been playing for over 15 years and this is definitely the sweetest amp I've ever owned. I've had marshalls, fenders, rolands, this thing is simply the best. I went in ready to buy the Rivera Qiana studio 4x10, but when I heard the Lucky 13 i was sold. My main thing was smooth creamy mids and sweet highs, and this head delivers. It just sings for days and days, sustain is unbelievable and when the feedback develops it's just as sweet. If you're looking for marshall dirt and grit, this isn't the amp for you. Yes, it's pricey, but you get what you pay for in this case.

One has to understand the concept Michael Soldano had in mind when he designed this amp in order to appreciate the beauty of it. This is NOT supposed to be a feature-laden amp. It is designed for pure simplicity in all the right places where a tone oriented guitarist like myself needs it most. Crystal clear and bright with a tight and sexy bottom clean channel, tasteful overdrive without the mid-rangy saturation and mudcaked mess of Marshall and Mesa, and gobs of tube driven gothic cathedral hall reverb. The well thought out, minimalist approach works well. If you want an amp loaded with frivolous, gimmicky features, than the Lucky 13 is not for you. If raw, pure and powerful tone is all you need to split the night air, then look no further. In this age of digital modeled and cyber intelligent amps out there, it is refreshing to find an honest, no nonsense, no computer chip embedded amplifier out there. Bravo Michael Soldano.

The balanced and wide range of tones this amp is capable of is incredible. Any style of music comes natural. Noticed a loud, 60 cycle hum when the amp is at idle. I notified tech support at Soldano and received an immediate reply on trouble shooting tips. In this case, it was suggested that one or more of the amp's (10!) tubes may have gone bad, and how to go about isolating the problem. I have yet to test this out and will follow up with the results. Otherwise, I liken the range of tones a guitarist can dial in to the broad spectrum, color palette of a French Impressionist painter. Lively, lush, and shimmery. This amp is completely unforgiving. It exposes any of your signal chain's limitations from strings, radio shack pick-ups, korean bamboo or mexican cactus bodies, "cable guy" cables to christmas morning alkaline effect tins. There should a red slashed circle painted on the solo input jack... "no minors served here".

This amp is built like a bank vault. It would take Thunderbolt and Lightfoot more than a howitzer to open this rig. It is always good policy to carry spare tubes when traveling with any tube amp. They are the most sensitive part of the eletronics loop and are susceptible to damage during movement.

My experience thus far is excellent. The people at Soldano care about their products in the field and are there for you no matter how small or large the problem. Very friendly and professional crew. This company isn't your mass produced consumer oriented operation.

A tone machine dressed in a tuxedo. This is the James Bond of guitar amplifiers. Sophisticated, powerful, unadulterated, and casino lucky. For guitar purists out there, bet on 13.

This is a follow up review. I began to feel the amp had too much sag..and was slowly dragging my playing down...it is then I remembered a friend of mine telling me that the Soldanos have a compression that kicks in after the pregain is above 7...I just set the pregain at 6, and it's shred city..no compression..great response tone and dynamics. I was really beginning to consider trading the amp in on a VHT CLX 100..which I would do if someone wants to make that trade.. Anyway, besides having too much gain for metal...but it's great for blues...any pregain settings over 7 lose that precise feel of playing...yet the tone doesn't really suffer. This makes it a great amp for lo-tech players, who need all the help they can get to get great sounds from their guitars...

It's a great amp...it's versitile as anything..the clean is great, the lead channel goes from slightly dirty to shred to a super molten, harmonically rich, blues lead ...too compressed and cluttered for shred playing, but great for heavier blues. This is something I really like..to make the amp really sing, and shred, with the pregain set below 7, requires one to have an exceptional guitar playing technique...this is a good thing..it keeps you practicing..so your guitar will scream and sing through any amp you play through.
Of course if you like super heavy gain..the L-13 will deliver, but it's not a fast responding amp..due to it's built in compression that is added to the pregain stages after the pregain is raised above 7. The amps dials read up to 13, so 7 is about the same as 4 on an SLO-100, in terms of gain. It's too expensive to be a fantastic value..but it's worth the money.

This amp was made whenever the Lucky 13 first came out, it's #oo25. Maybe 1999. The amp spits out 100 watts from 4 5881s. It has two channels with seperate EQs for each, and it shares a reverb yet has independant controls for it on each channel. It features no effects loop,and also no line out, an un-needed optional feature anyway. It is supplied with a footswitch that lights a red LED when in high gain channel.
I play a lot of styles of rock, and although this amp has about one third the lead gain as my Mesa Boogie, I can play all styles, from metal to jazz on the amp.
My friend needed a new amp, and I talked to him about getting a 2x12 combo L-13. He plays mostly jazz, both acoustic and electric. He thinks the L-13 is great for all of it.
This amp has all that I need for shows, rehearsals and recording, when I don't feel like hauling my rack stuff and I want to have more than a 50watt 1x12 combo. The 50watt Boogie is my at home practice amp and the one for spur of the moment gigs and jams.
100 watts is just the right amount of power, otherwise I would have gotten a 50 watt amp. As it is, I sold 2 50 watt amps and bought the L-13.
I only record the guitar miked through a loud amp. I've used other methods and there is no viable substitute. I don't use the line out or effects loops, and aside from the semi-annual use of wah, I don't use pedals, but I do use reverb yet only lightly. This amp is all and everything I need it for, that I would be needing to use an amp like this. I run it with a 2x12 tuned and ported cab.

I use a Gibson Les Paul with Fralins, a bunch of USA Jacksons and SanDimas Charvels with assorted pickups by Duncan, Evans, and Anderson, many of which are extensively modified by myself for improved tone and playability.
The amp sounds great. I play original music, in conventional styles like rock, jazz, metal,rock,rock,rock blues and rock.
The amp is mostly quiet on the clean channel and idles like a street racer on the hi gain channel. It's 60 cycle hum is potentially annoying but not really. Only a pansy would object to it.
Not all high gain amps are noisey, and this one doesn't hiss like the caps are going like most hot rodded Marshalls, but it's noisey, it's not quiet like my Boogie or my rack, and I never use noise gating ever, so I hear it when I am not playing the amp, or I switch to the clean channel or standby.
The clean channel offers a lot of headroom. The distortion is adequate, but that depends on your hands, it's not like PV saturation on a Bandit. No, you actually have to fret hard and pick hard if you want it to sing out like it would do easily if you were running an extra OD in front of it.
I like the amps high gain channel. You have to work harder to play fancy neoclassical metal stuff than you would on a Boogie or JCM-900, but it sounds damn good when you can do it.

I don't know, I have a friend who's known Mike Soldano for many years on good terms. I'd gig with it without a backup, I've never had a problem with any tube amp I've owned. I push the amps hard, and I've killed all the solid state amps I've played through. Tube amps are way more durable. Even the one's with notorious problems like the Musicman RD series. I had one of them for years, ran it dimed all the time. Practically only Bedrock amps actually break down more than solid state gear.

NA

I've been playing guitar since 1980, other music since 1970.
I own some other gear. About 12 guitars give or take a few and growing, mostly SanDimas Strat headstock Charvels(5) and USAJacksons(Down to only 2)A pair of Gibbys, one Warmouth George Lynch style.
I've lost track.
If it were stolen. Don't go there.
I don't love or hate material things, but I like the performance of the damn thing.
I didn't do any comparisons, I bought it because I wanted it. I have had other Soldano amps in the past. I already have Marshall and Boogie stuff. I needed a middle ground setup for gigs and recording and rehearsals. All of my amps are useable for everything. They do the things I need them to do.