Product: Soldano X-99 MIDI Motorized Preamp
Price Paid: Aust ($2800) used
Submitted
05/17/2000
at
07:38am
by
Steve Turner
Email: thrak at optushome<dot>com<dot>au
Features
:
9
Awesome valve tone with full midi versatility.
No effects loop option. Not an issue for me as the best effect is always a good guitar tone, which this amp delivers easily.
Sound Quality
:
10
I am using a Music Man Silhouette Plus with H S S configuration.
I am running it through a Marshall JFX 1 processor (for delay, reverb and chorus and stereo signal split).
I am using a Mesa Boogie Simulclass Stereo 295 Power amp and a Marshall 1960 box.
It sounds like God. I can play full on chunk riffs and still sing with the angels on the very same patch.
Reliability
:
10
I have had it 4 years.
No problems.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never needed it.
The lifetime warranty is the ultimate.
Overall Rating
:
7
I have used it for long enough to love it and know it inside out.
I doubt I would find another X99 very easily if it went missing. People don't part with them.
I chose this product because of tonal versatility and full midi control. The valve tone is unbeatable in this unit.
There are no other preamps that sound as good as this. And I have not heard any stand alone heads that sound any better.
Still, the retailed at $5500 in Australia, which while being a realistic price for this amp, is out of reach of most.
Product: Soldano X-99 MIDI Motorized Preamp
Price Paid: US $1900
Submitted
09/29/1998
at
07:42am
by
John
Features
:
10
I'm not going to add that much than what's already been said in the guitar magazines. This preamp has all the features you'll ever need.
Sound Quality
:
10
It's like have a twin, a bassman, and a Marshall with a great mod, all in one box. This is a very honest sounding preamp. It lets the unique tone of every guitar come through. Can you play an open G on your gear, with the distortion set to max, and still hear each single note in the chord? That's where Soldano leads the pack: dynamics. No matter where the gain is set, every aspect of the guitar's tone comes through. Also, it is unbelievably quiet.
Reliability
:
10
This unit, along with the X-88 and the SLO, are guaranteed for life by Soldano, no matter who owns it or how many times it changes hands. This is by far the best policy in the industry. Period. I've had the unit for a short time, and it works like the day I bought it.
Customer Support
:
10
The best customer support in the industry. Just ask somebody who owns a Soldano, and they'll tell you the same thing.
Overall Rating
:
10
I've done sessions in L.A., Nashville, N.Y., Vancouver-B.C., and London. This preamp goes where I go, and gets the job done with flying colors. In my 32 years of playing, this is truly the one unit that does it all. I don't look at the moving knobs as 'cool'; I see the moving knobs as 'the way it should be'. Would I buy it again if I lost it? Well, since I have 3 of them, I'm not too worried about being without one.
