Soldano Astro 20

Jkist7 said:


Nice little comparison of the Astro and both the SLO 30 and 100. To me the 30 sounds the most SLO with the way the mids respond to playing, and how forward they are. But the Astro sounds fantastic in its own right, no better or worse.
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+1 for anyone playing Jailbreak.

Yeah the SLO30 slaps, though the Astro sounds really good too. :unsure:
 
I'll be damned. Now that I got the amp dialed in and only need to occasionally nudge something a bit I've grown to like the Jetson's knobs.
If they were going to get daily use it'd be one thing but they mostly just sit there so screw it.

1705717972745.png


Amazon lost the replacements I ordered so been having to stare at these long enough that they grew on me.
 
Achilles said:
I'll be damned. Now that I got the amp dialed in and only need to occasionally nudge something a bit I've grown to like the Jetson's knobs.
If they were going to get daily use it'd be one thing but they mostly just sit there so screw it.

View attachment 17553

Amazon lost the replacements I ordered so been having to stare at these long enough that they grew on me.
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Yeah, they really aren't that bad. We've seen worse!
 
2112 said:
@Whizzinby definitely do watch this then

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Nice! Honestly there is not much between them. The Astro sounds a little more focused, which I think is where the wattage comes in to play, particularly when palm muting, but tonally they do the thing.

Have you compared the clean channels on the Astro with one of the other SLO’s in your stable? I’m odd, because I love using the SLO as my primary clean base. I have the world of choice in the AXE for clean tones, and I still use the SLO 95% of the time. :ROFLMAO:
 
Achilles said:
I'll be damned. Now that I got the amp dialed in and only need to occasionally nudge something a bit I've grown to like the Jetson's knobs.
If they were going to get daily use it'd be one thing but they mostly just sit there so screw it.

View attachment 17553

Amazon lost the replacements I ordered so been having to stare at these long enough that they grew on me.
Click to expand...
I don’t get the hate on the knobs personally.
 
Achilles said:
Cosmetically they're cool. Ergonomically they're too big considering the spacing and you can nudge one by accident if not paying attention.
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Knowing myself I'd change them, even though they look fine and all. I just can't leave well enough alone.:rofl
 
Achilles said:
Cosmetically they're cool. Ergonomically they're too big considering the spacing and you can nudge one by accident if not paying attention.
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Yeah I guess I don’t twiddle knobs a bunch once I get them set around to where I like them for that to be an issue. Even if I did I still don’t see how they are that hard to manipulate since I just use the top outer edge of any knob to turn it. I guess I don’t see how the backs being close together is an issue. Maybe when I finally see one in the wild I’ll see for myself.
 
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ejecta said:
Yeah this is the biggest part that keeps me from this amp. I like 6v6’s in Fender style combos but not so much with amps with more gain than a typical Fender circuit.
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This really makes me hope the new Synergy lunchbox is not 6V6s... Having to use a pedal to tighten up a IICP module would be a deal breaker.
 
Badonkey Kong said:
The amp sounds great, but a bit squishy on the bottom end. I'm guessing that's the 6V6's? Never played 6V6s...
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Might be just a thing with the amp.

I don't remember the Bogner GF45 SL (4x 6V6 for ~45W, 2x 6V6 and ~23W in half power mode) I had being squishy. But usually the 30+W amps tend to be more punchy overall - which is why I preferred the full power mode for everything but cleans.
 
The 6V6 is not a squishy tube. Note that BK said they're "guessing" it's the 6V6. And the guess is based on not owning the amp.

ejecta said:
I like 6v6’s in Fender style combos but not so much with amps with more gain than a typical Fender circuit.
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Which ones have you tried? I've never had a bad experience with them and high gain.
I gotta go with Mike Soldano who chose the 6V6 over the much more popular (for low watters) EL84.
He's talked extensively about designing the amp so that all of the voice is coming from the pre-amp anyway.
 
Achilles said:
The 6V6 is not a squishy tube. Note that BK said they're "guessing" it's the 6V6. And the guess is based on not owning the amp.



Which ones have you tried? I've never had a bad experience with them and high gain.
I gotta go with Mike Soldano who chose the 6V6 over the much more popular (for low watters) EL84.
He's talked extensively about designing the amp so that all of the voice is coming from the pre-amp anyway.
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Sorry if I misled but I didn’t mean to make it sound like I think 6V6’s are a softer feeling tube. It was just amps that had more gain than a traditional Fender type that used 6V6’s that I didn’t care for. Hard to put into words but there is a smear or strange thing in the mids the more the gain. I’ve just figured over the years I like amps with EL34’s, 5881, 6L6, or a KT variant. 6V6’s and El84’s are low in the list.

I’ve tried so many amps over the years I’m ashamed to say I can’t remember ones back in the early 2000’s I tried and didn’t like but most recent is the Suhr PT15. Sounded good but not my thing.

I’ll still at some point like to try a Astro.
 
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