Soldano Reverb-O-Sonic

The Reverb-O-Sonic (ROS) is a 50 watt 2 channel combo amp with a crunch channel and a clean channel. Each channel has its own volume and gain but shares one Eq. Bass/mids/treble for both channels and has Reverb. Mine is a 2x12 combo with Soldano/Eminence speakers. Also has an effects loop but I never use it. Soldano describes the amp as a HIGH OCTANE BLUES AMP and he is Dead On with his description!!!! This amp also goes way beyond just being a blues amp. Very versatile for all styles of music except High gain Metal. I am not sure what year this one is but I believe to be around 2003.

I have read all the reviews here on this amp. Some I agree with but the ones that have given the ROS low score either have NO clue about tone or they have gotten a hold of a bad ROS. I have owned this combo for about 6 years. I have also owned three others ROS combos as well. I will say that they all have sounded a bit different from each other but there are several different mods that Soldano offers for these amps and I am not sure which amps have had which mods but the one I have now has been the best tone wise of all 4 I have owned.

I will start with responding to the negative comments about this amp. The main complaint has been the lack of bass! Open back combos do NOT carry a lot of bass. I find the ROS to be sufficient in the low end but the bass has to be turned wide open. I run mine with a closed back 1x12 cab that has an old EV12 in it. When running that cab and unplugging the Soldano speakers, I have to turn the bass down to about 4. A closed back cab will bring more than enough bass to the tonal picture! A couple other people have mentioned it being noisy and the reverb also being noisy? This is one of the quietest amps I have ever owned. Reverb is excellent though I seldom use it and there is no noise induced by the reverb at all...even when turned up to extreme levels. Others have complained that there is no headroom on the clean channel. They must be listening to it at Face shredding levels because I have never experienced this problem!!! The clean channel has a very Fender type sound though not as clean and chimmy as a Fender...but pretty close IMO. I will say that I never use a completely clean sound...I rely on my touch. This amp responds to my playing extremely well. I play light and it cleans up nicely. I begin to bear down on the strings and it begins to overdrive a bit and gets more overdriven the harder I play. I LOVE IT!!!! I do use the CRUNCH channel most of the time. It has a very nice mid boost Reminiscent of old Marshalls while retaining the high end sparkle and chime reminiscent of an old Vox AC30. This amp has all the tone I have ever looked for in a Modern Amp.

Any guitar I put through this amp sounds INCREDIBLE without having to make any adjustments between guitar changes. I can go from my Gretsch 3161(TV Jones Classic pups) to my Custom Telecaster(Kinman broadcaster pups) To my Les Paul Jr (Fralin P-90) and all I do is work my volume and tone knobs. This amp Loves Humbuckers as much as it loves single coils. I go for more of a crunch setting, master at around 5 and gain around 4 to 4 1/2 and use pedals on the front end for more saturation and lead tones. Take a Strat or Tele and throw it in the neck position and its SRV Blues City!!! All the sparkle of a Fender but with all the grit and punch of a Marshall! Will also do a close ACDC but that is about as gainy as this amp gets. Plenty for my style and taste!!!

Built Like a tank!!! I have had this amp everywhere. It has even been knocked over a couple of times and I have never had one problem !

Soldano is a great company! I have made many calls over the years mainly with questions about mods because I have owned four of these amps. Great folks!!! Always willing to help in any way!

I have been playing for 35 years. I have owned about everything. Older and newer Marshalls. Older and newer Voxes. Various Boogies. Boutique amps out the Ying Yang.... Bogner, 65amps, Matchless etc. as well as other Soldano amps. The Reverb-O-Sonic is the most versatile amp I have ever owned. It is a TONE machine!!!! I have tried many other amps thinking I will find something better but I always come back to the ROS. I recently put it up against the Marshall Handwired 1974x combo. The 1974x is a superb sounding amp but guess what.....It wont replace my Soldano. Hands down the Soldano Reverb-O-Sonic is the best sounding amp I have ever played through!!!!

Mine is a late 2006 model. The features are pretty basic. There are clean and crunch channels with a master for each. There is only one EQ that works for both channel. The effects loop is in the back. Mine is the red snakeskin closed back model. You get 2 12 speakers with 50W rated. I don't know what kind of tubes it as except they are big military looking things. It's hard to rate this category because there are not a lot of features. If you want a lot of onboard stuff then Line6 or some of the other 'modeling' amps is what you might want. The emphasis here is on tone and simplicity.

I have outgrown heavy metal distortion type playing in favor of a more half crunch/half clean traditional blues tone.

And that is where this amp really shines. The tone is absolutely sweet. I think of a bell ringing. When you hit a string it seems like the tone sustains much longer with this amp. A good comparison is a really fine National Tricone Resonator where after you strike the string you hear the tone go through a progression of complex changes.

My settings stay pretty constant. The crunch gain and master are both at 5. In fact everything is right down the middle. I haven't had a chance to max it out. I see the metal guys here complain about lack of power. Probably a fair statement. You would be looking for something high gain. I have a Peavey ValveKing100 half stack when I need to knock down the back wall.

But for small venues (club with less than 150 capacity) this is perfect. To me this is a close comparison to the Fender Blues Deluxe in terms of simple sound quality.

I have not problem yet nor had it long enough to comment. I haven't had any heavy gigging or traveling with it. So I'm not going to grade it. But looking at what appears to be a military grade construction I have complete in this thing.

no experience here.

I have been playing almost 40 years. I own lots of the best gear you can get. This includes Les Paul, Strat, Tele, Rickenbacker guitars. My amp collection includes Marshall, Peavey(s), Fender(s), Ampeg and a whole 'nother world of acoustic guitars and acoustic amps. Also I have a closetful of stompboxes and accessories. I buy nothing but the best.

In buying this Soldano I was on a search for that "perfect tone". And one of the reasons I have so much stuff is, quite simply, my tastes change overtime. Everyone's does. (At least I hope so-otherwise you are not a true artist)

At first I was buying expensive guitars and cheap amps. Then I learned by trial and error that a really fine guitar is still going to sound like crap without a really good amp. So I did a survey of the market in the high end of things.

I checked out the high quality Fender Twins, Vibros and the higher end Marshall and VoxAC and Mesa Boogies and Orange lines. Now that I was north of $1500 and often over $2000 I started checking out Soldano. That's probably how everybody else gets there. You make a concious decision to spend money on a fine amp and the above mentioned all qualify. As far as I'm concerned any will do.

I waited to review this amp until I spent at least a solid month with it. Now it is the ONLY amp I play. The others are in the closet. The tone with the Fender Telecaster is nice and think. I respecfully disagree with the claim of 'lack of bottom'. It has plenty of bottom for a 50W combo amp. The range from clean to crunch is perfect for 99% of all playing situations. The effects loop takes stompbox effects really well.

If this was lost I would get another in a heartbeat. I haven't checked out the SLO 100 but based upon my experience with this one I will be shopping for one as well.

Oh and the red snakeskin? Awesome. I could mount this thing on a wall in a museum.

I don't know when it was made, but it's number 212 078. It's a 2x12 ROS so no prizes for guessing what the first three numbers of it's serial number are for.
It's a versatile amp, great tones. There is switching for swapping the two channels and for the reverb.
Only one EQ section for both channels and there are no indicator lights for the channels.

I recently tried a Lightning by Matchless and I was suitably impressed by the tones of both amplifiers. I can get great lead tones (for a bluesy style of music) but use Soldano's GTO (mostly) for more hard-rock or heavier styles of music. You can't get 'metal' sounds out of the amp (not designed for it) but everything else is fair game. I find when I'm playing with my band that the two guitarists are often competing for a nastier tone and sometimes I need something added to the ROS. That's more a reflection of the band or the players than the amp. When recording, the ROS has almost every question covered and it's not just the overdrive/distortion factor. It greatest asset is being able to produce those things while maintaining great tone delivery.

Very reliable unit. If I were in a touring band and had the cash, I'd have a back-up since it doesn't have magic 'unbreakable' tubes, and well... $%^& happens.

Very, very good! One of the best. In fact, I doubt I could find better. A real test would be the time it takes to get something back if you send it to them. Haven't done that and I live so far away that I never, ever will.

If I decide to keep it past the next 4 months, then I'm going to have it completely rewired.
I'll change a whole heap of stuff and add some too (of which it is pointless mentioning because it's something that I would do to any amp is not a reflection of something being particularly wrong with Soldano amps. One thing that is specific to Soldano amps (well this one for sure and a few others I've tried) is that there is next to no thought given to hum rejection in the form of layout and shielding. The hum in my amp is not good enough for my liking. As I turn the reverb up, so too the hum goes right up with it. At this stage, I'd have to record with another amp because the hum is too much.
Other things specific to this amp:
I'd like separate the EQ for each channel.
The turn on rate of the 2nd channel is way too slow.
I'd also like to see more indication on the front, ie: which channel am I in and is the reverb on or not?

It's a great live amp with very nice 'modern' tone and it's got more balls than one would imagine.

All tube magic!!! I Have no Idea when it was made and dont really care since it is not a vintage amp but it is versatile enough for my taste. I play Blues, classic rock and some newer rock and this amp covers them all perfectly. Basic 2 channel amp,effects loop footswitchable reverb and channels.This amp @ 50 watts is plenty of power for most situations.I give it a 9 because it suits my needs but I would like to see independent tone contols for each channel but that is my opinion.I prefer simple controls and layout and this amp is good enough for me.This one had the original speakers replaced with Celestion Vintage 30's, Awesome!

This amp sounds awesome!! Others that reviewed this amp had said that this amp needs more bottom end and so on...this amp has plenty of bottom end, if you think it needs more then plug in a closed back cabinet and you will have it. Open back cabs do not have a great amount of bottom end! Hello...!
I am using a Carvin DC-127 with a M-22T pickup in the bridge and a m-22V in the neck and it sounds fantastic.The clean channel is only really clean until you get around 5 or so, not much headroom which is ok by me.Turn the clean channel past 5 and experience a very cool vintage crunch-type feel similar to AC/DC tones...roll the volume back a little on the crunch channel and it cleans up nicely(very cool) and turn it all the way for a very smooth sounding distortion with plenty of growl for just about any style of music, just depends on your taste. This amp is extremely quiet!

Just got the amp, no problems so far!

Never had to call.

I have been playing for 20+ years and I have played/owned Marshall JCM 800,900, JMP 2203,Mesa Boogie DC-10(another awesome amp),Carvin x-60, Legacy,X-100B,Peavey 5150, Peavey classic 50 and I have to say that the reverb-o-sonic is the best overall sound I have ever heard.

Im not sure when it was made although the serial number is 212217. Does that mean it was the 217th made? I think the amp is versatile but I wish it had more low end and more gain. It has 2 channels : clean and crunch but a shared E.Q. which can be frustrating. I mainly use this amp in my room at my condo which my neighbors dont like. It is loud enough but I wish I could turn it all the way up so I could get the beautiful natural driven gain but its too loud. The thing that I hate about this amp is when I switch channels from crunch to clean with the footswitch there is a quick volume boost. I dont know why it does that but it sucks because I switch channels a lot.

I use the amp with strats mainly. I have 3 strats. One with a DiMarzio humbucker in the bridge and I think that there is too much high end like that. This amp has much more highs than lows. The standard strat single coils sound great with the amp. I also have an explorer which sounds good with the amp because its more basey.

One thing you cannot deny about this amp is the craftsmanship. Its handmade and built solid. Its heavy as hell but you can rely on this amp.

I never tried to deal with the company so I cannot comment on that.

I have been playing for 14 years and I own a lot of gear. I had a 5150 before this and I miss that much gain. Its a great amp if your looking for a blues sound. The clean channel is nice but if youre looking for over the top distortion its not for you.

2001 soldano reverb o sonic..2 channel 212 combo..clean and crunch channels..reverb tube buffered effects loop..shared eq(sucks)..

I play a wide variety of music.50's 60's 70's,zydeco,classic rock,funk..This amp sounded good in the store at a low volume..It was my own stupid fault for not cranking it up and really hearing what it could do..clean channel doesn't have much headroom before breaking up..
It has no low end at all..I had the s-mod done and it really made little or no difference at all..However,the crunch channel sounds really good..especially on the bridge pickup of my les paul..Seperate eq's for both channels would be nice..

Had to have it fixed once,I was getting this really bad rattling,distorted sound even at low volumes..had it fixed,don't rmember what it was,don't know much about the technical stuff.I just told the guy to fix it..Couldn't have been much,only 50 dollars repair..

talked to bill at soldano on the phone about the s-mod..sent me the shematics and other info for my repairman in a couple days..

been playing since 1978,I was 9yrs old then..I'd never buy another one again..Right now im borowing a freinds 69 fender deluxe reverb and it sounds awesome..I'll probably buy it from him and another good backup as soon as i sell the soldano..I could kick myself in the ass for selling my 65 vibrolux..That was the tone!!!

2x12 50 watt, clean and crunch channle's,verb,effects loop, detachable power cord, footswitch, 2 6L6 power tubes, 5 12ax7 preamp tubes. the only feature I wish it had was someone to carry it for me! this thing is HEAVY!

I'm using a vintage reissue strat with kinnman avn blues pickups. I'm a 38 yr old and I started playing guitar when I was around 12 or 13. my favorite guitar sounds are bands line acdc,ufo,scorpions,vh,priest,r.rhoads exct..the ROS can get a good acdc type crunch on either channel, but I find the crunch ch doesnt have enough gain for me.the clean ch has a really nice deluex reverb type sound, but it doesnt have that much more clean headroom than a DR. I called soldano and talked to mike (how cool is that) he said he can mod the chrunch ch. so it has almost twice the gain it has now for 75 to 100 bucks.this amp doesnt have the S mod but it does have a fair amount of bass, maby its got something to do with the celestion g12's, they were in it when I got it. i've never used the effects loop, I just plug straight in. this amp can get brittle brite I keep the treb and presence on 3. I just changed the power tubes to gt6l6, there rated pretty soft (3) so it breaks up even faster now. next time I'm getting the 9 (cleanest) power rating for a little more vol on the clean side. when its wide open the clean side sounds really crunchey I roll back my gtr vol and it cleans up really good. the crunch ch has too much sustain, ever note will morph into semi controlled feedback, that sounds cool at first but it requires some persistant palm muting or things get out of control quick. overall the amp sounds really good, I think I keep er.

this is a very high quality amp. my back up amp is broke down right now, but I would still gig with this amp anywhere.

very cool people. I'm planning on sending it in to be tweeked a little, the company name is soldano CUSTOM amplificaton. I havent asked em yet but I'd like to convert it to a seperate head/ speaker cab so its easyer to move, plus I can put the cab in another room when I'm recording.

I dont think I'd but this amp again, just because I like to try new stuff. then again maby I would, hell I doent even know. I do have my eye on a marshall 1987x plexi reissue. Ive thought about selling this to get that, but I know it never ends.

Not enough power

this is an update to my earlier review, I gave a 10 last time, well that was before I took it to a jam,,,,, no clean head room at all!!!!!! couldn't tell one channel from the other, no bite at all, sold the next week but have till now to say what I think, not a amp to have at any price, sold and bought a Tone King now that has some bite, too much for me and I sold that also, but it was a very good sounding amp

the lead channel is worthless!!!!!!!! no bottom no top end!!!!! just like the rythem channel

I started looking for mid powered combo amps a few years ago and found a Soldano Reverb O Sonic (ROS) used for a great price. This ROS was an older model (1995?); 2 Channel, shared EQ, FX loop, Reverb, 50w, 2x12 Combo.

On paper, this was my ideal amp. Shared EQ didn't bother me, I liked the fact that there weren't a million knobs and pull switches, I like to "plug and play"; simpler the better!

I owned this amp for about five years, gigging and rehearsing with it almost every week. So I logged alot of hours with the ROS. The amp has a very "focused" sound, which was great for leads. But it lacked low end and sounded really small. It's tough to get a handle on, but I just could not seem to make it sound "bigger". By reading the reviews on this site, I added the famous "S" mod to add lo end (added a pinch, but not much). I swapped preamp tubes, tried KT66's and 6L6's(again no huge difference to my ears).


I play Blues/Classic/Southern Rock in my band. Main guitar is a 59 Les Paul Replica, and I was playing a PRS Artist2 at the time as well. The amp sounded a little more at home with the PRS, which made sense, due the "mid friendly" sound of those guitars.

The amp was very quiet when it was on, probably the quietest I have ever played through...

Built like a tank, reverb tank went out (busted wire), but was easily fixed. Never used a backup.

Bill Sundt helped me along with everything I needed to do to this amp. Sent me parts to do the "S" mod myself, gave me advise when changing power tube styles, very patient and prompt.

I wanted to like this amp, as it was setup in my ideal configuration. I spent a lot of time and $$$ trying to get the ROS to sound bigger, and add lo end, but in the end, after 5 years , I sold it. I waited a quite a while to write this review, just to give the amp a shot. Other amps I tried were the 59 Bassman RI, Zinky Mofo (currently using), Marshall RI head, Soldano Lucky 13, 68 Super Reverb.

I don't know what year it was made but the folks at Soldano told me by the serial number it had the "s" mode. You can read the features of the amp from other reviews. It is a 50 watt but not to loud for a 50 but lous enough for a culb. I know you may think 10 is unbelievable but this amp is just that. Will buy another one as soon as I get the chance, it would be the perfect set up!!! This one has 5881 tubes

I use a 58 Les Paul reissue and a Custom classic Tele and a strat. My style is Keith Richards, Early Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Johnny Winter, BB King, Albert King etc. This amp is by far the best amp I've owned. And I've had serveral of the high end amps 2 Tony Burnos(undergrong 30 Tweedy pie) 2 Matchless(dc30,chieftan)Victoria, Naylor, Engnator, 66 bfsr and on and on. The clean channel gets onlymidly distorded even at high gain levels at the gain at 8 you can get the tone of Midnight Rambler on Let it Bleed album on 8.5 you get the tone of "GET YOUR YAYAS OUT" Live album The second channel I can't turn the gain past "2" for me because it's to saturated for me. I talked to the people at Soldano (really nice) and they daid it was possible to have the "S" mode done to the second channel as well to take some of the midrange out. You can get a good "Cream" sound out of channel two.

Haven't had it long enough to say but looks well built

The few times I've talked to them they have really nice even though they I bought ir used. Really took thier time with me

Have been playing 25 years, I would buy another one without a second thought, matter of fact Iwill buy one as a two amp set up, can hardly wait. Compare to the 20 or so amps I've owned this the one I have been looking for, really I can't say enough about it, does blues, real rock n roll and can do more if your into alot of gain on the second channel which I'm not.