Founded in Los Angeles back in 1986, Soldano amplifiers have become a benchmark in what players seek in boutique amplification.
Mike Soldano built his institution from the ground up, from humble beginnings building a Fender Bassman clone using discarded library books as reference. It was only a short time later he found himself fulfilling orders for the likes of Lou Reed, session giant Mike Landau, and Dio/Whitesnake/Def Leppard alumni Vivian Campbell.
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Finally releasing his flagship model the SLO 100 in 1987, within a matter of a few years it had seen widespread use by a plethora of players including Eric Clapton, Mick Mars, Warren DeMartini, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Edward “EVH” Van Halen, George Lynch and Gary Moore.
In 2018, Mike Soldano announced his retirement from building amplifiers and sold his company to Boutique Amps Distribution. He did however opt to stay on as a designer, and 2020 saw the Soldano amps line rebooted with a revamped SLO 100 among other products.
Now that we have learned a bit about the history of this prestigious company, let’s dive in and see what exactly these fantastic amps have to offer you.
ASTRO-20
The Astro-20 packs chunky all-tube-driven tone into a concise 3-channel, 4 Galaxy package that offers all the features the modern guitarist is looking for in a guitar amplifier.
Not only is the Astro-20 versatile in terms of tone it can also be safely operated without a speaker load making it the ideal companion for studio sessions or direct-to-FOH live use.
DSP-powered cab simulation has you covered in any situation and if this wasn’t enough, all parameters of the Astro-20 can be tweaked, saved and loaded via Soldano’s downloadable editor software and the included 4-button MIDI footswitch.
SLO MINI
Boasting a familiar control layout and many of the same sonic characteristics as its bigger brother the SLO MINI packs a ton of punch into a small user-friendly package.
Crunch/Overdrive, Deep/Normal a 3-band eq and controls for level and gain round out the front panel of the SLO Mini. Soldano has made sure to include a quality effects loop and the unit comes packaged with a 24v universal power supply.
Searing harmonics marry the perfect balance of gain, balance and touch-sensitivity while a very useable 30 watts of power means that the SLO MINI is an amp that you will want to take anywhere with you, stage, home or studio.
SLO PEDAL
Right now, preamp pedals seem to be a common trajectory within the world of guitar gear. It was only inevitable that the kings of dynamic high gain would chime in with their own take on the preamp-in-a-box formula.
The SLO Pedal brings the same cascading gain stages found in the 100-watt tube amp to any pedalboard. All in a convenient footprint that won’t sacrifice too much real estate in the process.
Volume, presence and gain controls bring an immediate familiarity to the control layout of the SLO Pedal. Combine these with a 3-band eq and handy deep switch and you have all you need to dial in the perfect tone for any purpose.
SLO-30 CLASSIC
With all online purchases built to order with a 10-day turnaround, the SLO-30 is a lower-wattage all-tube amplifier that packs all the boutique prestige of the big boys.
Brandishing a harmonically rich tonal characteristic the SLO-30 Classic roars with the same voicing that has made the 100-watt SLO a forerunner in the world of high-gain guitar amplifiers for over 30 years.
This model features the exact same control layout that one would expect from this line of amps, with improvements including a reduced noise floor and tube buffered effects loop.
Soldano have even opted to include the mini voicing switches found on the flagship model ensuring that when you plug into a SLO-30 you are getting the whole Soldano experience.
SLO-30 112 COMBO
If you are in the market for a high-end combo for gig, studio and home use Soldano once again have you covered when it comes to the SLO- 30 112 Combo.
Packing in all the features of the SLO-30 head into a sturdy 1×12 combo, Soldano have opted to include a Celestion G12-150 Redback speaker in this package.
The redback is a fantastic speaker that delivers a big tight low end, relaxed highs, and Celestion’s signature midrange character ensuring that you will cut through in any mix whether on stage or in the studio.
SLO-100 CLASSIC
The Super Lead Overdrive set the standard upon which modern gain amplifiers abide by and the revamped SLO-100 Classic harnesses every bit of this spirit with a number of improvements to boot.
Packing in a full 100 watts of all-American tube power the SLO-100 houses an all-new and improved FX loop as well as a reduced noise floor. The factors work in harmony to breathe new life into this tried and true classic design.
Combine these player-requested modifications with everything we have come to love and expect from the tried and true SLO-100 and we have a modern classic that will be sure to stand the test of time for another 36 years.
Custom Shop
In 2024 Soldano are offering Custom Shop options on all of their current line. If you have ever salivated over Warren DeMartini’s Snakeskin covered SLO-100 or want that snazzy orange tolex to match your cab the world is your oyster when it comes to making your Soldano your own.
Interested? Keep up with Soldano here.
