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.

I have no idea when this amp was made. Estimated from calling in, it was made around 1998. But I purchased this amp of a fella on ebay. This amp is very very versatile for the music i play. 2- channel with standard bass, treble, mids, and presence controls. It does have the master lead gain on both channels! So this is really nice if you like a real dry clean tone or a little distorted clean! And can you believe this amp has knobs that go all the way to 11!!! Right arm! I play anything from Hard Rock, Emo, Rock, Metal, Blues, Jazz.. The only reason I didnt give this a 10 was due to the reverb and channel switching on 2 different pedals. I would like to have this on one pedal if I could, But no worries! I use this amp primarily for practice and giging so as for feature wise this has it all.. ( Hint: This amp has 12ax7's and 6l6's.. If you want to get warmer cleans and greater distortion, Change the 12ax7's to : Electro-Harmonics and the 6l6's to: Svetlana's )

Well this is my ax collection:
85 Les Paul Custom ( Classic 57 Humbuckers )
00 Les Paul Standard ( New Vburst Humbuckers )
81 Les Paul GoldTop Deluxe ( Mini-Humbuckers )
00 Telecaster Deluxe 72 reissue (Hummer/Neck,Noiseless/bridge)
76 Telecaster custom ( Original Single Coils )
97 SG Standard reissue 61 ( Zebra Humbuckers in both bridge and neck )

Ok so you can see that my ax collection varies with the style of music that I play. This amp fits everthing that I play plus more. I dont use a varity of pedals! I like Guitar, cord, amp for every situation. I used to play with all sorts of different pedals and different arrays.. I still use a Line 6 delay modular and of course, the Boss Tuner pedal but that is about it. I have many different amps: Mashall jcm 800, Mesa boogie Heartbreaker combo, Mesa maverick combo, orange or80 combo, bogner shiva head, voax ac30 .. And this combo guitar covers most of these amps all in one little package.. The marshall is great on distortion and same with mesa's but the but the cleans sacrifices all the time in both brands.. The orange is great but only 1 channel and same with the vox. So this amp solves my every need when I need a 2 channel amp to play with both great clean tone and distortion tones. I usually find my self playing in Local clubs and even bigger venues that hold 800+ people and have no problem hearing myself. If I do need more volume.. I just run another cab ( 4x12 Orange 76 with Green Backs ). The only thing I cant do is run pure metal.. but that is ok.. This amp does everything else! And the reverb.. omg.. this is amazing.. Im usually not a big fan of spring reverb.. But this amp with the setting turned to about 2 is perfect!!!

Well.. this is a really sturdy amp. I dont know though. I can say for being a hand built amp, this will not have too much a prob for now.. The jacks look great, The tubes has been obiously replaced.. but other than that it has been really reliable for the last 30 days I have had it!

Ok that guy that posted that he got really crappy service must have been completely insane or he called a different company. I have talked to Bill at least a dozen times before I even bought the amp of all the features, sounds, reliability, customer service, etc.. and he answered all my questions like an excited kid. I loved it! It was very professional! I must have talked for at least 1 hour or more each time! The only thing that will suck is if the amp breaks, I might have to send it up to Soldano that will cost me an arm and a leg, but so so worth it it!

Well I have been playing for 10 years and have played alot of different amps, guitars, and other music instuments.. This amp I would say is the best buy for the money! This amp is usually cheaper than other botique amps, but well worth the weight in gold. If this was stolen I would be pissed! But I would revert to buying another one exactly like this..

Made around 99 or 2000 50 watts you know the rest! Converted mine to a head Check it out www.bikemike.itgo.com

Tele,strat,PRS MC. and amp that is all you need with this amp. I have had it for 1 year If your looking for classic rock or blues amp check it out! If this don't get the sound you might want to take some lessons This is no beginners amp pro all the way. I found tone Heaven when I ran my legecy 4x12 vintage 30's cab WOW! COMBO tip if your placing it parallel with the wall don't at first I did this sounded tinny turn it 30 to 40 deg. from wall or on amp stand and listen to the change. Turn it up and get that sound everyone wants if you don't turn it up you will not know what your missing.

Changed tubes but thats a tube amp for ya! Everything else doing good

They treated me fine sent me a manual answered ?s ect....

Would have payed full Price! 30 years playing had Fenders,Mesa,peavey,And Marshall"plexi"

Mine is a 2/10 combo and was the 16th one made 2100016, I think that puts it around 1994. 2 channel, clean & crunch. Effects loop,reverb & speaker out. Soldano brand 10" speakers. About 27.25" wide,16" tall and 10" deep. Pretty basic, not alot of bells and whistles, just sound. I like tube amps that way.

I use a Les Paul or a 3 pickup Nighthawk and plug straight in.
I also have a 2/12 soldano bottom I plug this into. The sound of the 10"s themselves sound a little shrill (this is a speaker thing, not an amp thing) Here's the best part. Plugged into a 2/12 closed back cab, the world of sound opens up. You get the benifit of the open & closed back tone. Crank it up and you get the most phenominal blues amp ever made. Great for clean or distorted. I usually play the clean channel with the pre cranked to about 8. I get a heavy Warren Hayes type tone. Absolutely killer. Just enough breakup. I like it more & more each day. Tone wise, this kills just about everything out there, Mesa, Marshall ect...

I bought it used, it had the origional tubes in it & still sounded great. I did order some new tubes. This is the 2nd soldano amp I have & the quality is as always, excellent. I'm guessing that its about 8 years old & still looks and plays great, I dont see any problem with reliability, otherwise it would have died long ago. This was used to gig out & still looks new.

I've emailed Bill several times regarding different things & always had a reply the same day. No matter how trivial my question, he always gave me great advice without making me feel like it was a dumb question, These guys know all I do is plug it in & want it sound great.

I've been at it for about 25 years. I really like this setup. Lots of balls and sweet tone. You can make a note shake through your body with this one. Although I bought mine used, there is a reason why these are expensive, you can hear the quality tone.

This is a 1999 model,2X12,black leather(nice),reverb,presence,clean and dirty channel,effects loop,footswitch,castors,and very user freindly.I traded a 5150 1/2 stack for it.(Thanks Criss).The only thing its lacking is a 4X12!

AHHHHHH! The clarity OR distortion is awesome! Where did they get a name like Reverb-O-Sonic? Sounds like a yuppy amp but it doesn't matter what style of music you play, this combo WILL PUT YOU THERE and you will sound good.I run a strat +,LP Custom and others thru it but it wood make a plywood K-Mart sound great.It has the tone musicians search decades for.There's no more G.A.S. amp purchases for me!

I really can't comment on reliability cause its 2 years old and used.The only thing I've done is replaced a microphonic tube.I hear Soldano's stuff is old school and made to last.

I spoke to Mike and staff several times about trivial things since I didn't get an owners manual and they E-mailed me promptly or returned my calls.They appear to back their products sincerly.

Been playing 30+ year on and of.When my buddy brought it over for me to test drive,well,needless to say he didn't take it home with him.I've played thru a few nice amps and this is one I'm proud of and pamper(not that you could hurt it).Anyone that comes over and plays it is impressed.Sure it ain't cheap but you'll save a lot of money and have your little peice of heaven too when you got this baby under your roof!

It gets a 9 because it needs separate pedals for the reverb and channel switching, a 2 in 1 pedal would be more appropriate. Separate EQ's for both channels would be nice. Also, separate bias pots for the output tubes would be convenient. These are very minor details that can be worked around. When you hear the tone this combo gets, its hardly a gripe.

Hands down a 10.

I've had it a year. Sounds better everyday.

Responded well with emails. Sent out an extra footswitch quickly.

One of the best combos you can buy.

New bought 2001. This 50 watt amp has the basics which include 2 channels (clean & crunch), separate master volume control for each channel, reverb (shared by both channels), bass, mid, and treble knob and a presence knob also shared by both channels. A channel switching pedal comes with the unit, and an optional pedal is required to switch the reverb on or off (very nice feature). There is an effects loop on the back panel, which some guys want but I never use it. Two 12" Eminence speakers, custom built to Soldano specs., and an external speaker jack which can be used with a cab rated at 8 or 16 ohms. Power is supplied by 2 Russian Sovtek 5881/6L6WGC power tubes and 5 AX7LPS preamp tubes. Rated at 9 because of the shared reverb and tone controls. Shared reverb - no problem, just get the foot switch. Would have liked one set of tone controls for each channel, but this is not really a problem at all when you use your guitar volume and tone controls to further adjust the sound. This amp has everything I need for my style of rock and blues.

I use a standard strats 3 single coils. I play in a rock group that does lots of large performances, such as outdoor festivals and tours. Been playing forever. If your a rocker or love to play the blues this amp will smoke any combo out there! I have tried many, Bogner (good but this is better to my ear), Mesa Boogie, Marshall (vintage models were good, IMO all new Marshall's suck), Crate, Fender, Rivera, Laney, and many more. Metal players won't get total saturation, but could get real close if that's your thing. I thought this amp sounded great with the stock Sovtek tubes until my tech suggested trying some Groove Tube KT-66'S. He re-biased the amp with the KT-66's and let me try it out. He knew I would be buying them once I heard the sound of this well made beefy tube. The amp tone went from great to UNBELIEVABLE!! Pure rich sustain, magnificent bell tones with harmonic overtones, superb string definition, lots of strong bass and biting crunch. This amp was made for rockers and blues players wanting the REAL sound. The clean channel is rich and pure, and even a country player would appreciated it's clarity. Both channels came alive with the KT's. They are well worth the extra money, and I suggest if you buy this amp new, to just go ahead and order it with this mod. This amp has LOTS of volume and could easily handle a very large room. Hook it up to a 8 or 16 ohm extension cab, and it will shake the walls. One reviewer I read on this thread gave this amp a bad review. He could have never tried a real Reverb O' Sonic. Said the amp was sold to him with a cracked circuit board, damaged by an earthquake at Soldano's factory. That he spent countless hours with his tech trying to fix Soldano's bad work etc... Please! Get Real! Truth is I can't say enough about this wonderful amp, you just have to hear it for yourself.

This amp was built to last. Soldano handbuilt with quality.

Haven't had to deal with them direct because I haven't had any problems. Always have heard they take good care of their customers, and stand behind their products.

I don't plan on ever replacing this amp until I find a combo that sounds better. That may be a long time. If this amp were lost or stolen I would do it all over again.

I bought this new in 96 or 97.It sounded too trebly so I took it to a tech in town.It was nothin but an expensive Peavey.All printed circuit board.Really crappy parts.I hated the two channels with only one set of tones.You can NEVER get the two to sound right when switching.

The clean was OK but the dirty channel has a bumble bee tone like a cheapo fuzz.We even changed the values inside but could not get rid of the buzziness.Noisy too.I tried a lot of speakers and settled on vintage 30s.The stock eminence sounded awful.

It had a few problems with the reverb but just cables.I called the factory and they talked to me like if I wasn't a famous rock star they didn't care.Take the Sovtechs out and put USA tubes in.The printed circuit board was cracked.The sales rep told me that they had an earthquake at the factory and where still selling the damaged ones.Maybe they sent them all to CANADA.EH!

None unless you are famous.The guy there name dropped like crazy.LOU REED LOVES HIS!!!!!

I could not get this thing to sound good.I spent 300.00 on it with so called amp gurus.All failed and they all hated it.NO resale value either.I traded it for a Gibson Archtop.

I believe this 2x12 (X1200 speakers) amp was made in 1998, although that's only a guess as it was bought second-hand (new value in England was #1859 in 1998, now approx. #1499). It's covered in black
leather (yes - I thought it was vinyl at fist too), not the more groovy red lizard or boa etc. (I suppose it's more subtle though...). The amp is versatile in an old-skool kind of way: the range of tones is vast,
but it relies on careful tweaking of the controls both on the amp *and* the guitar; rather than the flicking of triode/pentode or fat/bright switches and the like. It's easily versatile enough for anyone's needs,
although you'd need a stomp box for certain applications (see 'Sounds', below).

I think other reviewers have given the low-down as far as features are.
(Two channels - 'Clean' and 'Crunch' - as opposed to the Hot Rod's 'Normal' and 'Overdrive'. There are just enough to make the amp totally usable without compromising ease-of-use, or more importantly,
tone. There is no DI out, but to have one would be against the 'old-skool' philosophy this amp is built around - it lives to be mic'd (else buy a Hot-Rod 50/100).

9 might seem a bit high for some when it's compared to, say, a Mesa/Boogie Mk.VI/H&K Triamp - but for the type of amp it is (and the features anyone who really wants tone cares for) it deserves a 10.

I play an Ibanez RG520QS/TB. Wait! Ok, ok... so I play an Ibanez through a Soldano. Obviously a widdling thrash player or melodic Vai/Satraiani fan... Absolutely *not*! This particular Ibanez has twin
vintage voiced humbuckers (no 'super distortion' here, thank you) and a sapele topped mahogany body with a rock maple neck. I tried Les-pauls and it sounded more like one than anything available up to
#1000. It's also much more versatile - but anyway, back to the amp...

I play 60's/70's rock and blues: Hendrix, Peter Green etc. I also dabble in lots of early Black Sabbath and Van Halen etc, and even the odd bit of RATM or Korn etc. (apologies...). The amp seems pretty
much perfect for this kind of music, and certainly for many other types.

The amp is ultra quiet, although I didn't think so at first - it turned out the (still reasonable) buzzing was emanating from the Marshall foot switch I was provided with due to the original being lost by the
previous owner. At bedroom levels the noise it almost inaudible and when you crank it... you can't hear it anyway!

The variety of clean textures is amazing: everything from a more modern Feeder-esq. rhythm to a real glassy and harmonic Fender twin is there with some twiddling. The headroom is excellent - easily
enough for quite a big gig. With the pre-amp set high the clean channel will do a pushed, high biased Plexi, cleaned up with the guitars volume control to give a sound identical to that of Hendrix's 'Little
Wing'.

The 'Crunch' channel is incredible. With the treble rolled of a little, both humbuckers and a fat mid it sounds the closest to Clapton's Bluesbreaker tone (particularly 'Hideaway') I've ever heard - and that
includes a Marshall Bluesbreaker reissue. There is a really heavy crunch available on this channel, but it won't sing in a mega high-gain Peavey 5150 way without external assistance. Maxing the pre-amp is
also not that much use unless the master is really cooking on this channel because it gets a little 'spiky' - but that just proves it's a real amp.

Now for the real test. As we all know, some amps seem to sit best around 7-8, but many of the classics (AC30, Bluesbreaker, Plexi etc.) produce the most amazing tones flat out. Now, don't get me wrong -
this amp sounds incredible at much lower volumes, as good as the best transistor amp I'd say. It's just that at the end of the day it is a handbuilt, leather covered all tube amplifier and what are neighbours for
anyway???...

I wisely took the heavy black box over to a friend's to try this one out. He happens to be an excellent guitar player and the proud owner of a US Fender Strat, so we get some more variations too. We wound
the wick up gradually and it just kept getting better. By the time the pre-amp and master of both channels were flat the noise was incredible. It might only be 50 watts, but you wouldn't even know his 100
watt Valvestate 2x12 Marshall was on in the background. You can feel the distortion inside your body - everything tenses up and... well, just try it and see. An interesting point to note was that the two
channels sound almost exactly the same when completely flat out - I guess this must be because the power tube distortion completely dominates any feeding by the preamp. The tone is really indescribable -
it has a complete voice of it's own. As the friend said as I sat back an listened: 'I haven't heard many classic amps with the wick up - but this is certainly one of them'. I reckon that with the Strat, the clean
tone maxed was better than a Fender Twin. Johnny. B. Goode (thankyou, Guitarist) was a highly memorable moment. As with the Ibanez, you can certainly tell it has humbucker's! With the bridge pickup
the harmonics are incredible - they really do shoot up from nowhere when bending a note and you can hear every harmonic on the fretboard on open chords. The bass response is just as perfect. I must try
it with a fuzz pedal sometime, we know it wo

I had a weird 'Elvis goes to space' microphonic today, but then again it is fitted with Chinese 5881's (albeit excellent US supplied, tested and officially fitted ones, complete with service sticker). Come to
think of it the brief 'squeeck' (now gone) was a preamp tube which I had just removed and reinserted to check it's make (unbranded).

I haven't had it that long really. It had a major service and thorough engineer test by the shop just before I bought it. I don't expect any problems really, it seems to be built like a tank. So far a 10 - I expect
no less!

Err.. it was second-hand. Soldano were excellent when I was finding out about their amps though.

Can't really comment...

I have been playing guitar for 11 years now and I'm not that old now! I am classically trained and so I have a lovely rosewood Cuenca. Apart from that I don't really have much gear, just a Boss Phaser, an
early Bass Collection (EMG's as standard!!!) etc.

If this were lost or stolen, God forbid, I'd crawl naked across a county of broken razors to find one. If I bought another amp (a Soldano Decatone Combo???) then I would still keep this.

Second-hand it was incredible value. New, I'm not so sure - I mean, it's worth it only to hear it maxed one; but then I don't have the money to buy a new one at UK prices (about US No.s with the currency
changed...)

I love the incredible tone and dynamics (just wait until I fit it with Groove-Tubes KT-66's!), the wondrous harmonics, the robustness, the simplicity and lack of bulls**t. The only bit I have a quibble with is the weight, but I'll fit castors and hey - have you
ever tried to lift a Mesa/Boogie Heartbreaker? Anyway man, if it weighed any less it would have flown through the window when we mated it out...

If you are reading this and even *slightly* thinking about buying this amp then don't hesitate to e-mail me. If you think you might buy one, it you appreciate tone that is no longer sound but an entire level
above that, GET DOWN TO THAT SHOP NOW!!!

Before buying this amp, I had gone through many basic, eclectic and everywhere in between rack combinations, cabinets, modeling amps and re-issues. I was a true 'GAS' head, aquiring a new amp every few months. It was becoming a bit of a joke to the band. Every time that I had brought in the latest, they would place bets on how long it would be part of my rig.
In the past year, I've gone through many different amps all good but none of them really had met my standards and they are as follows, along w/ my reasons for dumping them : a Marshall 20/20, not a bad amp but the highs werent really there for me and when I used my 65' Gretsch/Chet with it (a beautiful guitar) the amp sounded muddy. I'd used it in conjunction with a Marshall 9100 pre. I got sick of hauling my rack around, not to mention dailing in tones and using a frigging midi pedal. I'm a singer as well as a guitar player and too many buttons tend to make me to forget the third verse.
Then I picked up a Johnson Millenium, a modelling amp and was pleased with it- for about two weeks. There are no tubes in the power stage, and this causes the Johnson to lose depth when distortion is kicked on.
My next purchase was a Fender Twin Re-issue, It sounded great for a month, then on the day of a gig, it crapped out and began making hidious noises when the reverb was on. So back I went to the store and was just going to send the Twin in for repair but while I was there, I heard a Mesa-Boogie Dc-5. I figured on it being a real workhorse, which they are. They're built like a tank, with just as many knobs and switches. I found myself putting tape strips on the knobs in order to keep the sound I had dialed in. It was also incredibly high gain, ultra saturated with the gain on 4. Don't get me wrong, I dig loud music and hey, I love Santana. But the personality of my guitars was lost in the Boogie. Perhaps I could have gotten another model and been happier, but I did't get a chance to.
I went in to the store and got to talking to a guy who has worked there for a long while and he was laughing at me and my bi-polar ear again as I told him how I thought that I'd never find anything with rich, lusty, deep throat kind of bass and sparkling highs.
Then he said that I should have been here ten minutes ago, what I was looking for had just walked out th door. It was a Rivera chubb 40 that came in as quick as it'd went. Then he said that he'd just gotten in a Soldano Reverb-O-Sonic. I thought that the name was worth about 2 cents. Sounded way retro. I knew about the company, knew that the guy from Blues Traveller used Soldano but I also knew that I didn't like that guys sound. The music store cat said that it wasn't like an SLO, It didn't sound like it was spitting at you through a tin tunnel..
So I took the R-O-S over to the wall and plugged it in, I used a guitar which sounded close to my humbucking telecaster. Wow, it sounded incredible almost like a full cab , no shit. The response was incredible from guitar to amplifier, the tubes are creamy smooth. My first reaction was to walk over to the music store cat and tell him not to sell that amp, I'd be back tommorrow with two guitars to try it out again with. Then I went back to the thing and looked it over, It was a black one( as opposed to the purple and bright red ones floating around). Though I wouldn't have cared if it had looked like a picnic table, it sounded great. The layout of the face has been aready written by the others, I don't think that you need to read it 5 times. I will however say that the inset of the face is a good thing, I can't tell you how many dials I'm missing from other amps and gear that I own. Basically, the R-O-S is a 55-60lb. Box of sound. It's built like a brick shithouse and hums smooth as silk at any volume. Whatever your style of music you will be happy with this amp. We play everything from chill blues, Foo Fighters and Rage against Machine type heavy.
So, I got through with my

No amp is a ten in my mind. This one is close.
It runs quiet with a Blues Hawk with f holes and p-90's, that's saying alot.
My Tele sings through it.
I love the distortion, it's thick and rich with alot of personality.
When your guitar is played through this amp, the sound swirls.

.... Soldano makes something like 25 amps a month, each one is handbuilt. Up until recently the same guy built the whole thing, start to finish, now Mike Soldano's small crew is a tasked operation, i.e.-
one guy cuts the wood for the cabs and another does the wiring and tubing and so-on...
I don't forsee any problems with it but as with any piece of equipment, especially a tube amp, it's good to be on the lookout for
wear probs.

The guys at Soldano couldn't be more helpful.

....I love this amp...God forbid, if it were stolen or lost I would definately get another.
Damn nice amplifier.

1996 SOLDANO REVERB O SONIC, 50 WATT, 2 CHANNEL, 2X12 COMBO, PURPLE TOLEX WITH S-MOD( TO UPDATE IT TO 1998 SPECS)EFFECTS LOOP, CHANNEL SWITCHING, ONE SET OF TONE CONTROLS WHICH ARE STRAIGHT FORWARD. THE AMP TO ME IS VERY BRIGHT, SWITCHING FROM THE CRUNCH CHANNEL TO THE CLEAN CHANNEL CAN BE EAR SHATTERING AT TIMES VERY VERY BRIGHT AND I ALSO HAVE THE REVERB BARKING AT ME WHEN I STEP ON THE FOOTPEDAL. I AM SURE THAT COULD BE FIXED BY USING A DIFFERENT UNIT. BUT ,ONLY HAVING THE UNIT FOR ABOUT A MONTH, I NEED TO PLAY AROUND WITH IT. I LOVE THE STRING DEFINITION AND THE SMOOTH GAIN CHANNEL,THE CLEAN CHANNEL IS BRIGHT AND CRISP BUT SOME MODELS(LIKE MINE) WERE NOT GROUNDED RIGHT BECAUSE OF THE VERY THICK PAINT ON THE CHASSIS. SO IF YOU HERE A SMALL HUM IN THE CLEAN CHANNEL THIS COULD BE THE PROBLEM. OVERALL THE AMP IS AN EXCELLENT AND VERY SIMPLE TUBE AMP

IF YOU WANT A MARSHALL BUY ONE, YOU WILL NOT GET THE MASSIVE LOW END METALICA SOUND OUT OF THIS AMP. IT HAS MORE OF A FENDER SOUND AND I AM SURE THATS WHERE THE SOLDANO GUYS WERE GOING WHEN THE BUILT IT. WHAT YOU DO GET IS VERSILTILITY. YOU CAN PLAY BLUES, STEVIE RAY, TOP 40 AND JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN; EXCEPT HEAVY METAL. GREAT FOR ROCK, VERY CLEAR STRING DEFINITION AT EVERY VOLUME IN EVERY GAIN STAGE. I CURRENTLY PLAY A JEFF BECK SIG STRAT W/ A SEYMOUR DUNC JB PICKUP AND SINGLE COILS AND AN IBANEZ ARTIST WITH A DUNCAN CUSTOM AND JAZZ NECK PICK UP. BOTH GUITARS SOUND EXCELLENT THROUGH THIS AMP. LOTS OF SUSTAIN VERY CLEAR AMP AND NEVER MUDDY . THROW AWAY YOUR STOMP BOXES JUST BRING ONE CORD AND PLUG IN. THIS PARTICULAR AMP HAD THE 5881'S TAKEN OUT AND REPLACED WITH GERMAN EL34 AND NEW PREAMP TUBES WERE INSTALLED. IF YOU WANT AN AMP WITH VERSITILITY AND AN EXCELLENT SOUND BUY IT. BUT IF YOU WANT NOTHING BUT METALICA E CHORDS, RIPPING GAIN AND THUMP AND NO MIDS BUY A MARSHALL. WHEN YOU GROW OUT OF THE HEAVY METAL SOUNDS OF THE 80'S; THE SOLDANO IS THE BEST AMP YOU WILL EVER BUY.

BUILT LIKE A TANK, WEIGHS A TON, NO EXPENSE SPARED ON THE DURABILITY CRAFTMANSHIP OR QUALITY. THE WIRING AND THE CHASSIS ARE EXTREMELY CLEAN AND WELL THOUGHT OUT. NO PROBLEMS AND I DONT FORSEE ANY.

SOLDANO IS VERY HELPFUL. I SHIPPED THE CHASSIS BACK TO THEM TO ADD THE S-MOD AND I RECEIVED IT BACK IN ONE WEEK; THEY ARE ALL VERY HELPFUL. THE PREMIUM IN THE PRICE YOU PAY IS FOR THE PERSONALIZED SERVICE YOU GET WHEN YOU NEED IT. THEY HELPED ME AS WELL AS MY TECH WHEN WE CHANGED THE 5881'S TO EL34'S. GIVE'M A A+++

PLAYING FOR 20 YEARS I HAVE HAD MARSHALLS, FENDERS, A PEAVEY ETC.. RACK EFFECTS, STOMP BOXES ALL THE TOYS WE WASTE ARE MONEY ON BUT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. TURN THE AMP ON LET IT HEAT UP,GET ONE CORD AND PICK OUT YOUR FAV GUITAR AND YOU WILL LOVE THIS AMP... ANYONE WITH MODS OR COMMENTS, SUGGESTED SETTINGS ETC.. COULD EMAIL ME IF YOU LIKE. GOOD LUCK.

Although the amp is not the most verstile in the world. It's got everything I need. I think Soldano believes that the more features you throw in, the more tone gets thrown out, and the more likely something will break. Makes sense to me. I wouldnt want to add any features to it. I admire the simplicity, and Construction. It really is my ideal amp. I play in a band with a loud drummer, and this amp is plenty loud. I rate it an 8 because although It has everything I need, others will no doubt need more. Two Channels/Single three band eq/Reverb/Series effects loop/Two speaker outputs/Reverb, and channels are switchable with footswitch. 5881 power tubes/12AX7 preamp tubes/Soldano Emminence 12" Speakers.

I use an 88' Gibson Les Paul Custom with a Jeff Beck in the bridge, and Alnico II in the neck. And a Fender HM Strat. I plug straight in with no effects except a Dunlop Wah. My music style is straight ahead rock, with maybe a hint of country. The amp suits my style great. It has its own sound, a bell like ring which I can only describe as orgasmic. The amp is very quiet, I hardly notice any noise, and neither of my guitars are shielded. The clean channel stays very clean. turn the preamp to about 5, and you get a little bit of that Beatles," Day Tripper" breakup. Very cool!! Crank the preamp to 11, and you get mega crunch. The Crunch Channel takes up where the clean left off. Heavy gain!! In my opinion the Soldano has the smooth fender type overdrive, not the harsh Marshall grind. This is the amp for me. Heres the deal. I had Bill at Soldano make a few customizations to my amp. Bass boost, and high gain Modifications. These modifications only added a hundred bucks to the price, and they were very worth it.

Only had it one week, but it seems to be very solid. Point to point wired, and hand built. I've heard about Soldano being very meticulous, so I expect it to last forever. I called them while they were finishing it up, and the gentleman on the phone said he had just burned it in the day before, and was playing thru it as we spoke on the phone. COOL!!!!

These guys are great. They treated me like I was the most important guy in the world. No question is dumb enough to irratate them. I understand only seven people work there, so it looks like product qaulity, and customer support are top priority. I was told by Soldano personally that "this is supposed to be a continuing relationship, and not to hesitate to call with any opinions or questions. Owning one of their products makes me feel like part of a family. Thanx guys. Limited lifetime warranty.

Been playing for five years. Owned Marshall, Fender, and Peavy. I would definitly buy this amp again. I love everything about it. I feel like I can go from country to rock to metal with the twist of the dial. Its great!!!! You definitly have to have a desire for this kinda of tone to pay these kind of prices, but its worth it. I compared it to the competition (Mesa, Bogner, Matchless, etc.) The Soldano was cheaper, and sounded better than all of them. I love this amp!! I encourage any Soldano owners to E-mail me with their opinions, and comments.

Features: 50 Watt, all-tube (7 12AX7, 2 5881), with dual channels (Clean and Crunch), tube-driven effects loop, tube-driven Accutronics reverb, dual 50 watt Eminence (specially manufactured for Soldano) speakers. EQ section includes Low, Mid, Treble, and Presence. Both channels share the EQ section. This particular example has the Soldano "Bass Boost" modification, which is an alteration of the Presence control circuit. Each channel has it's own preamp gain control, with separate master volume for Clean and Crunch channels. The front panel of the amp also includes a reverb level control, while the back panel has an adjustable effects loop level control to balance effected clean and dirty tones.
This amp is pretty loaded, features-wise. The shared EQ section, as mentioned, is common to both Clean and Crunch channels, which may detract a bit from overall versatility. Tone controls are very interactive and, unlike some amps, play a dramatic role in the tone shaping and tonal variety of this amp. The effects loop level control can also attenuate some Crunch channel volume (12dB, if I remember correctly), allowing more friendly but toneful home late-night practice volumes. The reverb control provides tremendous control over the amount of reverb, from just a splash of depth, to spacious and soaking wet echo.

I use this amp with three guitars: a 1987 PRS Custom 24 10 Top (loaded with PRS "HFS" bridge and "Standard" neck pickups, a 1985 Fender '62 Re-issue Stratocaster (loaded with Duncan Classic Stack Bridge, and Fender Custom Shop '60s mid and neck pickups) and a 1995 Hamer Special (loaded with Duncan Hot and Custom Soapbars/P-90s).
The style of music I play is rock and blues (and the various sub-genres associated therewith). This amp is eminently well suited to various clean and very crunchy styles. On high volume settings, the amp is astonishingly quiet, virtually free of noise, hum, and hiss, although of course when using the Strat or the Hamer (w/single coils), there is some 60-cycle hum.
The amp sounds fabulous! Both Clean and Crunch channels have their own character and are unique tonal entities unto themselves; in addition, their are many attractive elements in the Reverb-o-Sonic which are reminiscent of Fender, Marshall and Mesa tones.
The Clean channel has pretty good headroom for a 50 watter. With low preamp settings, the amp stays surpisingly clean at high volumes, although this amp certainly would not have anywhere near the headroom of a Twin Reverb or a Hiwatt. Clean tones are kinda like mid- power Fender-style clean (a la Super, or perhaps Bassman). Cranking the preamp on the Clean channel and playing at high master volume levels, the amp takes on a 50 watt Plexi-type character-very open, plenty of grind and lots of body, especially when paired with the Mesa closed back Recto series 2x12 Vintage 30-loaded cab that I pair this combo with. The 50 watt rating permits the output tube to really work.
Soldano copied the clean channel circuit of their top-of-the-line SLO 100 head for the Reverb-o-Sonic, and while I would say that this amp does not offer "exact" Fender clean or Plexi grind on the clean channel, you can get real close, but more importantly the sounds are really "Soldano" sounds and the comparisons to Fender and Marshall are meant only for sake of reference. OK-the clean channel kicks ass, with a range of glassy to gritty tones.
The Crunch channel is wonderful. First, there is plenty of gain for most tastes and styles, BUT this amp does NOT saturate like a Mesa Dual Recto on its very high preamp settings for example. Therefore, players seeking supreme saturation may no be pleased with this amp. There is nice low-volume crunch, but obviously, once you open up the master volume on the crunch channel, thats when the amp realizes its potential. The notes and chords are LARGE but retain definition and even at high-preamp, high-volume level, the amp can remain dynamic. The Crunch tone is not compressed, but open and very "alive" it is a joy.
NOW-HERE'S THE BIG CAVEAT EMPTOR! This amp has been modified (by Soldano), with what is described as their "Bass Boost" mod. This is a mod to the Presence circuit, and it effectively warms up the overall tone of the Reverb-o-Sonic. Maxing-out the Presence control will still get you into very trebly turf, so the mod is somewhat flexible in that you can "undo" its character a bit by creatively tweaking the EQ. But, In my opinion, the Reverb-o-Sonic sounds much better with this mod.

I've only had the amp about two months, so I can't yet give an opinion. Looking inside the amp chassis, all components are VERY neatly assembled, and its basically hand-built. Based on other players comments, I don't anticipate reliability problems.

I have called Soldano for technical advice and the staff is very professional and helpful (no voicemail). You should get instant reponses to your questions.

I've been playing for 16 years, and I've owned a whole bunch of amps, and I would have considered myself predominantly a Marshall guy up until I bought this amp. I recently got a little disatisfied with my Marshalls live (although I love them in the studio). During my search, I tested numerous Fender, Marshall, VHT, Mesa, Matchless, Top Hat, Victoria, THD, and other Soldano models. Once I played this, it just felt right. I just wish it had a separate EQ for each channel, although truthfully, it sounds great the way it is and maybe a separate EQ for both channels would not make that great a diff (I'm not a huge channel-hopper anyway). The Soldano-spec Eminence speakers are very good, although I don't like them nearly as much as Vintage 30s. But using this open-back combo with a closed Mesa Recto 2x12 (w/Vintage 30s) is fantastic-really the best of both worlds, it gives dispersion/openness with focus/punch. Overall, I love the tones, dirty it's warmer than most Marshalls but a bit less midrange-heavy than Mesa DCs or Dual Rectos, and the clean tones are excellent. I think this amp would appeal to a lot of players, as long as EXTREME preamp saturation is not a requisite. I would buy it again. But without the "Bass Boost" mod, I don't like the amp as much.

This amp, as far as features go, is pretty much your basic clean/dirty-sounds-plus-reverb type of combo. It's got separate Master and Volume controls for each channel, with a shared EQ of Treble, Mid, Bass, Presence, and, of course, reverb, with a one-button footswitch for channel select. It does have an effects loop, but I have never used it, so I couldn't tell ya 'bout it. It comes with two Russian 5881's, but I'm not sure about the preamp tube compliment, whatever they are the amp sounds good. This tough-looking amp packs enough power for small to medium-large clubs (and then some), but I wouldn't recommend trying it un-miked for any of those 1,000+ seat capacity clubs that resemble small versions of Carnegie Hall. Anything short of that is perfect, because it sounds good at low and high volumes. I rate it a 9 in features, because although it has all the features I need, and most people need, some will still no doubt need a few more.

Although Blues-rock seems to be its main gig, the amp also would really sound good for alternative rock (great mix of grind and grit), R&B, and Country (you can coax some surprisingly loud clean tones here). It would also be valuable as a Top-40 type setup, for this reason: It seems to change its entire character with different guitars. For example, when I used a Les-Paul type guitar (with Duncan '59 buckers), it really brought out a super-strong brit vibe on any pickup or channel settings, which seemed to just change the TYPE of brit flavor, from a little soulful punch to really over-the-top Marshall type stuff. With a Strat (single-coils), I got a beefy American blues sound with lots of salty, clanging SRV-type punch, and had lots of bright clean headroom, even in the crunch channel (matter of fact, I had to max preamp gain and crank the volume to get anything resembling over-saturation). With a Paul Reed Smith, this is where the amp took you to a completely different world, with all types of clean sounds, and the type of singing-sustaining overdrive usually associated with Santana and Satriani. You really have to hear it for it to really give you and idea. I got the most sustain with a PRS, and, in my humble opinion, the best sound (I don't like the way PRS reacts with most amps). When cranked, the amp doesn't get sloppy, just a little juicier - it doesn't produce too much more saturation, but what it does is great.

I've never heard of too many people having problems with their Soldanos, only raves (of course, logic dictates that there could possibly be a few).

I've never dealt with them and couldn't tell you much about the warranty.

Oddly enough, it didn't quite have that sound I was looking for (as much as I raved), so I didn't buy it, although I feel it is well worth the money (and I mean the $1500 list price as well). Everyone else I've talked to seems to just LOVE it, and if it sounds tempting to you, you probably, no, REALLY SHOULD go and check it out. Chances are you won't be dissapointed.