Amp Misconceptions

[tekbow]

What amps aren't like most people think they'll be like.

I'll go first.

Soldano SLO (or any SLO family amp).

"Marshall on Steroids". Nope, sounds nothing like a Marshall. It's as similar to Marshall tonality as a Mesa Mark is. The closest it gets to an old school 2203 is the Normal/Crunch channel, and that's really only in terms of gain levels. Sounds amazing boosted though.

Also surprising to me is the enthusiasm of the metal community for it, at least when it first reappeared a couple years ago. I see many being moved on these days.

I guess because it's the granddaddy of high gain amps, and because so few were actually exposed to one for the longest time, it was just assumed that it did things it couldnt do.

And its actually not that high gain by modern standards, certainly the pre-BAD ones. It's a 35 year old amp design.

The OD channel is a lead channel for big, fat, fluid, but articulate solos. It seriously flubs out after 6 or 7 on the dial, and really needs a bass cutting boost up the front for most types of tight contemporary metal.

Is it an all time great? Yup. Is it a unique sound definitely. Is it incredibly versatile? Yes (just not all at once).

Is it an all out metal machine? No.

 

[Whizzinby]

With the SLO I think it depends on application. I like modern chugga chugga and I never found it to be lacking for gain, (Need an OD to tighten the bottom end) but home base for me is dropped C#. I think where “modern” gain profiles make the difference is in more extreme dropped tunings, where the SLO might be a little lacking.

 

[tekbow]

With the SLO I think it depends on application. I like modern chugga chugga and I never found it to be lacking for gain, (Need an OD to tighten the bottom end) but home base for me is dropped C#. I think where “modern” gain profiles make the difference is in more extreme dropped tunings, where the SLO might be a little lacking.

Nah it doesn't lack for gain, but it's not as gainy as many think.

But yeah, it's a loose amp on OD

 

[Fireproof]

Dumble. You pick the misconception, lol.

 

[tekbow]

Dumble. You pick the misconception, lol.

I dont even know what one sounds like, not really.

 

[KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!]

This is a quote attributed to Cliff from the first gen Axe-FX from the Fractal Audio Wiki

"The SLO100 is the loudest amp I've ever used. It feels like there's a small nuclear explosion going off inside when ever you hit a power chord. It's a wicked amp but not something I would recommend for anything but large gigs. If you like the SLO 100 model you might want to try the Recto models too. It's not widely known but the Rectifier preamp is a derivative of the SLO100. Some minor changes but the basic topology is identical"

 

[ejecta]

What older amp it may have its DNA from and if is it good for what some call “metal” I don’t know. What I do know is I can get my SLO 30 to chug in drop C very well. It’s my main amp for that type of stuff. YMMV

 

[mk5]

100w being way louder than 50w. About +3 dB difference.

 

[GTR37]

Dumble. You pick the misconception, lol.

It’s overpriced
Wait that’s true actually

 

[GTR37]

Don’t know if I would call the SLO loose per say , compared to a VHT sure but against anything else back in the day it tighter than many
I agree with the boost being a big part of getting those amps a bit more aggressive and useful for certain genres

I still love the SLO it is a unique tone and texture to the way it clips into overdrive but yes I can see many saying it mid gain compared to the modern amps of today

 

[TSJMajesty]

The POS Yamaha G100 212 II (solid state) I got suckered into trading up from my Peavey Classic combo by some sales guy. Told me I'd be able to get any tone I wanted with its Parametric EQ. I was young and dumb. "And Geddy Lee uses it live when he plays guitar on Xanadu." BFD!

If I was Paul Rivera, I wouldn't have made a video talking about how I helped design that amp either.

 

[Orvillain]

People think you can buy a Diezel VH4, switch to channel 3, copy Adam Jones' settings, and immediately sound like Tool.

No. You can't. There's more to it than that, and his Marshall that he stacks with the Diezel is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. I love the VH4, but if you want that tone, you've gotta run two amps at once, and get your pickups and pedals right.

 

[tekbow]

What older amp it may have its DNA from and if is it good for what some call “metal” I don’t know. What I do know is I can get my SLO 30 to chug in drop C very well. It’s my main amp for that type of stuff. YMMV

Welllll.... I draw a distinction between the latest and the older amps.

Peter Arends mentioned in an interview that it did have some moderate tweaks, such as making the gain more useable after 6-7 on the dial (the aforementioned flubbing) and tightening the low end a bit more.

There's other stuff too, but all of the above I think serves to improve the amp and its base versatility.

Most if not all the tweaks made were things Mike said he wanted to do but didn't have the time because running the business.

 

[tekbow]

Don’t know if I would call the SLO loose per say , compared to a VHT sure but against anything else back in the day it tighter than many
I agree with the boost being a big part of getting those amps a bit more aggressive and useful for certain genres

I still love the SLO it is a unique tone and texture to the way it clips into overdrive but yes I can see many saying it mid gain compared to the modern amps of today

Back in the day, exactly.

I talking about contemporary amps, and it surprises me how many metal players are would say it can modern metal without help.

 

[Braciola]

What amps aren't like most people think they'll be like.

I'll go first.

Soldano SLO (or any SLO family amp).

"Marshall on Steroids". Nope, sounds nothing like a Marshall. It's as similar to Marshall tonality as a Mesa Mark is. The closest it gets to an old school 2203 is the Normal/Crunch channel, and that's really only in terms of gain levels. Sounds amazing boosted though.

Also surprising to me is the enthusiasm of the metal community for it, at least when it first reappeared a couple years ago. I see many being moved on these days.

I guess because it's the granddaddy of high gain amps, and because so few were actually exposed to one for the longest time, it was just assumed that it did things it couldnt do.

And its actually not that high gain by modern standards, certainly the pre-BAD ones. It's a 35 year old amp design.

The OD channel is a lead channel for big, fat, fluid, but articulate solos. It seriously flubs out after 6 or 7 on the dial, and really needs a bass cutting boost up the front for most types of tight contemporary metal.

Is it an all time great? Yup. Is it a unique sound definitely. Is it incredibly versatile? Yes (just not all at once).

Is it an all out metal machine? No.

Less gain and bass is your friend
Try running the pre gain at 10 o/clock, turn the bass down, then hit the front end with a ts type pedal.

 

[tekbow]

Less gain and bass is your friend
Try running the pre gain at 10 o/clock, turn the bass down, then hit the front end with a ts type pedal.

I prefer the Dirty Tree, but I'd only owned and played SLO family amps for around 15 years before I got my Gower, so I'm familiar with how to get it to sound a particular way.

But on those older ones, its it's a bit of a balancing act between the MV, the gain, and bass knob.

 

[Steinmetzify]

Herbert is only a metal amp.

This thing can do any tone you want, it’s got great cleans, great mid gain crunch and of course blistering metal on ch 2+, especially boosted. I’ve heard a lot of guys that want a 3 ch amp say dismissively “I need 3 GOOD channels, not just one for metal”.

Orange amps are only good for fuzzy doom.

Boost any Orange tube amp and you’ll get a tone unlike you’ve had before, they’re great for everything and can get a lot tighter than people that haven’t tried them think.

 

[tekbow]

Herbert is only a metal amp.

This thing can do any tone you want, it’s got great cleans, great mid gain crunch and of course blistering metal on ch 2+, especially boosted. I’ve heard a lot of guys that want a 3 ch amp say dismissively “I need 3 GOOD channels, not just one for metal”.

WEIRD you say that but i was suprised to find John Fogherty from CCR used both the Herbert and VH4.

 

[FAKA!]

Well Fogherty is a bad ass so there is that I remember seeing he used a VH4 with 15 inch eminence guitar speakers... something like that.

 

[la szum]

People think you can buy a Diezel VH4, switch to channel 3, copy Adam Jones' settings, and immediately sound like Tool.

No. You can't. There's more to it than that, and his Marshall that he stacks with the Diezel is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. I love the VH4, but if you want that tone, you've gotta run two amps at once, and get your pickups and pedals right.

Yup. Not to mention the right IRs..... er, I mean Cabs.