Soldano SLO100 Dual Overdrive Head

This is a one of a kind, custom hand built, all tube, 100 watt distortion dream maker. This amp was the brainchild of Sean Ballou, Soldano's head of sales, and it was born to ROCK! A normal SLO-100 is a two channell amp with capabilities to have three tones, a clean, a crunch and an overdrive. This beast has the clean/crunch channel gutted and a second overdrive channel put in it's place. It has dual Warren Hayes mods, kind of a treble cut if you will. and a depth dial which is not normally found on SLO's. You can set one channel to have an souped up AC/DC sound and the other channel to be mean as hell! The possibilities are endless. And all of you that thinks I can't get a clean sound. Wrong..... This beast cleans up as good as any amp Iv'e played at the guitars vol. control. No effects loop, didn't want to drown out the refined tone of this animal. The lead cahnnel on an SLO doesn't need effects anyway. It has a slave out that I can run some effects with a wet/dry combination if needed. This amp is louder than I'll ever need. I'm not in a band situation anymore, so just using in the confines of my home, but it's not too loud I can't enjoy it by any means. Some people say "100 watts don't sound good if ya don't crank it." Yeah maybe if you've got a Marshall. This thing sounds great at lower levels too! I think their just jealous! This amp was made for me! With the features I wanted, not anyone else. It is not the most versitile amp ever produced. But if you play anything from rock to some serious metal the distortion characteristics found in this amp will not be topped.

I'm using emg's in my Ibanez, and stock pup's in my Gibson Les Paul Custom. both sound awesome. the Les Paul sings, and the Ibanez screams. The distortion is creamy and rich in harmonic content.There will never be a smoother clipping distortion than a Soldano. A little hiss at higher levels, but don't they all? This amp can produce distorted sound you could want. From AC/DC to Alice in Chains, to Gary Moore the tones are endless, with having two mirrored lead channels you can set each up differently to have a distinct rythem sound and a distinct lead tone. Or you can set them exactly the same and use the master volume as a lead boost. whatever... The distortion is not as brutal as a Rectifier or a triple x , but it's much more refined and mature. it's more punchy and less muddy. I played through it all before buying this amp and nothing could touch it in my opinion. This amp reaks of class, and oozes tone for days. Sustains like a champ too. And again sounds great at any level, unlike most amps you have to peel the paint off the wall before it starts distorting. Yeah it sounds better loud, but it sounds alot better than most at nominal sound levels.

This thing was born on July 16 2002. With a lifetime warranty on everything except tubes and transformers I seriously don't forsee any problems. Best warranty in the business and they stand behind what they make. Built like a friggin tank. It's water proof, fire proof, you can't break 'em.

I recieved extensive customer support from the get-go from Soldano. Spoke with Sean, Bill Sundt, and Mike Soldano himself and all treated me as if I were a rock legend. They really talked to me thoroughly to make sure they got me exactly what I wanted.

I've been playing guitar for 16 years. I've had alot of gear in my day, from Peavey, Dea Markley, Line 6 and Marshall. I've tried the rest, Mesa/ boogie.... o.k., Laney, Hughes&Kettner, Johnson, etc....... NOTHING I tried even come close as far as true tone was concerned, Yeah you can get a nastier distortion out of some of these, but not a classier distortion, it's rich and vibrant and oh so smooth. It can sound like a Marshall but with more balls, and it can sound like a boogie with less mud and still be more smooth and stable than either. I've had a BBE sonic maximizer into my Marshalls and Line 6 stuff to get a good clear tone, not this one. it's clear as bell. Just better quality, It truely is in a league of its on. Every time my friends hear it their jaws immediatley hit the floor in awe. Every time I turn that switch on and hit my first chord a smile comes over me that I can't seem to wipe off until I cut the switch off and go upstairs. In closing I'm sure a dual overdrive SLO-100 would not be for everyone, but if you don't really need a super clean tone, kinda like a Fender a super loud volumes, and major metal is in your veins, then you can't buy a more suitable amp. I've read on some of these reviews that "I couldn't get a good metal tone out of it" Stop, please, Their's not a bad tone in this amp, If you can't get a good metal tone out of this amp you should pick up the bass or something, because obviously you can't play! THIS AMP WAS MADE TO ROCK! The weak need not apply! I'm giving it a 8 because its expensive, but if were lost or stolen I'd freak, but still bite the bullet and get another. It's simply that awesome! For the ones of you that truely care about your tone, you owe it to yourself to try a Soldano out before you buy. PEACE OUT!