How Good Is The SLO-100 X Plugin? (Neural DSP)

FREE 14 day NDSP plugin trials: ndsp.co/sonic_drive_studio
Thomann Affiliate: www.thomann.de/intl/index.htm...
Sweetwater Affiliate: sweetwater.sjv.io/k0mGvx
My personal Thomann recommendations: thmn.to/thocf/cv37zixo68
My webstore for Captures, presets etc: ko-fi.com/sonicdrivestudio
Thanks for watching my comparison of the Neural DSP Soldano SLO-100 X plugin vs the Soldano SLO-30 tube amp! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Cheers!
Gear used in this video:
- Gibson Les Paul Cusom
- ML Drums by ML Sound Lab
- Cubase 13 Pro
- ML Sound Lab Cabinet Impulse Responses
- Fractal LB-2 Reactive Load
- Klotz Cables & DI Box
This channel is sponsored by:
ML Sound Lab: ml-sound-lab.com/
An original song of mine with me on vocals: • My First Song w/Vocals...
Thanks for watching! Please subscribe along with the bell and follow SDS at:
/ sonicdrivestudio
/ sonicdrivestudio_official
ko-fi.com/sonicdrivestudio
Join the official SDS Guitar Gear Forum on Facebook: / sdsguitargearforum
#neuraldsp #soldanoslo100x #slo30
Disclaimer: I got a free license for the plugin (no payment in money!) but as always all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own!
Keywords: metallica, sonic drive studio, james hetfield, meshuggah, deftones, rhythm, guitar, amp, tube, modeler, line 6, helix, fractal audio, axe fx, fm3, fm9, hx stomp, tonex, neural dsp, quad cortex, gibson, les paul, custom, standard, esp ltd, phoenix, black metal, deluxe, 1000, ec1000, ec1000t, baritone, prs, mushok, 9-string, 8-string, ibanez, meshuggah m80m, fishman, fluence, seymour duncan, nw44, schecter, hellraiser, e1, apocalypse, ml drums, ml sound lab, grit, meld, cubase, slate digital, steven slate audio, phoenix-7 sc607b, sc608b, adam jones, will adler, tutorial, lesson, tones, settings, new, firmware, free, mesa boogie, marshall, orange, soldano, friedman, peavey, evh, laney, redseven, victory, wangs, lichtlaerm audio, walrus audio, engl, bluguitar, driftwood, hughes kettner, pedal, djent, death, rock, crunch, classic, ola, fluff, blackstar, randall, dsl50, jcm 2000, ds20hr, dsl1000hr, 6505, 6505mh, 1992 original, xxx, satriani, astro 20, slo100, diezel, vh4, vh2, ksr, revv, generator, jvm410h, jvm210h, jvm205, boss, tube screa,er v30, ownhammer, rock-box, essentials, low-tuned, bogren, sc20, sv20, plexi, jubilee, 2525, invective, mini, leviathan, iridium, mercury, preamp, jmp1, dual, triple, mini, rectifier, mk iic+, mkv, kraken, mkii, fireball, 25, 100, powerball ii, savage, special edition, founders edition, slash, 5150, iii, el34, 6l6, single, or15, tiny terror, dual terror, or30, ad30, rockerverb, 50, mkiii, purple, nightmare, archon, mt100, mark tremonti, tubemeister, black spirit, grandmeister, deluxe, toontrack, superior, ez, drummer, ironball, ironheart, ht, clob, venue, jj jr, emg, jb comparison, rig, capture, kemper, profile, free, preset, headrush, amped, digital, analog, hotone, ampero, roland, me90, leptop, daw, kreative devices, desktop, music production, mixing

[@SonicDriveStudio]

FREE 14 day NDSP plugin trials: ndsp.co/sonic_drive_studio Thomann Affiliate: www.thomann.de/intl/index.html?offid=1&affid=3210 Sweetwater Affiliate: sweetwater.sjv.io/k0mGvx My personal Thomann recommendations: thmn.to/thocf/cv37zixo68 My webstore for Captures, presets etc: ko-fi.com/sonicdrivestudio

[@CharlySahona]

Good to hear some Neural DSP plugins comparison with the real deal on your channel as well. Keep up the good work Jon

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thanks!

[@georgyj111111]

Middle control turned up on the plugin would be interesting.

[@dmitriygrachev4436]

Just picked up an SLO 30!!! Absolute beast of an amp. Gonna try slaving it to my Grandmeister to try to get some Triamp-like tones, haha. Great video, as always!

[@adiecummingsshredguitar9306]

John this was a great comparison the SLO is one of the greats I love the tones you get

[@stevecooke2589]

Great comparison. The plugin is less defined in the low end but that could most likely be sorted with some EQ tweaks. I have owned the plugin for a couple of years and it is very good. Great video

[@LeGou]

Man i love neural. Saving us all 1000s on boutique amps. Have been sold on nolly + plini for years but definitely giving this a go

[@thor_nay]

Hello Jon! I've always wondered, what is your processing chain in the daw? Sometimes I struggle getting a sound similar to yours even using the same amplifier, the same IR and the same loadbox. Thank you very much for everything you do, the most complete amp channel in the world!

[@MetalheadOv666]

He probably has a mastering chain on at the end of it or some kind of EQ curve before the plug-in. Of course his song demos and mixed and mastered so definitely going to be hard to sound like his. He’s a beast and makes EVERYTHING sound killer!

[@anders2077]

Nice! Been using the SLO-plugin for leads since it was released. Really sweet plugin. Unfortunately I don't own the real amp so this was a good comparison. They are really close even though the amp sounds just a bit better on everything imho. Cheers!

[@IAmHappyToBe33]

Thanx, Jon! Nice review! But to me the best emulated Soldano options out there are as follows: Slowrunner by VTar Amps, Danegeld (channel 4) by St.Rock (free), and NAM captures of Leon Todd's Hot Rod 50 (also free).

[@IAmHappyToBe33]

I really suggest you should try out VTar Amps stuff. In terms of tone it blow the NDSP stuff out the water imho. Peace, everyone.

[@user-mm3zd5yv5z]

It's a really great quality that can fool an amateur, but it's up to you to decide whether or not you're happy with it.

[@mattwhite399]

The plugin is muddier in the low end, but is still very good. I’d like to see you compare amps to plugins but with post-processing in place like a real mix. Just to see what “best case” is for both.

[@spoonerluv]

In the isolated comparisons at the end, it seems the real amp had maybe a bit more presence. Both are very good!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Well, that's nonsense. Controls are there to be used

[@DanieleGuerriero]

What interface was used to dial in the plugin? Also, a comparison between various audio interfaces would be great, to see how it affects the tone and overall quality

[@jorismak]

Do the settings in the video match the settings you used for the recordings? Because there is a _lot_ of difference between your SLO30 and the plugin then (can be numerous of reasons so I'm not calling this a bad thing... but mid scooped on one and pushed on the other, with stark presence differences does make me go 'hmmmm')

[@tractorgt]

Good stuff Sir! The plug in has some fake tube rawness that I actually like, but I think for the tightness factor of your style, the real amp wins this one.

[@Justin_black_leviathan]

It's a bad ass plug-in.

[@SaySomethingWorthHearing]

Both sound great in the mix and most people would never know the difference. That being said, the real amp did have a tiny bit more of low mids and seemed just slightly more forward like it was more on the edge of the speakers. In 2024, it really comes down to whether or not you're willing to spend thousands of dollars more for literally about a 1% improvement. I own the QC and a few of their plugins. It is everything I always wanted my Kemper and AxeFx's to be. I'm sure the latest AxeFx is improved on my 2nd gen version, but something about it just never seemed remotely as real as the QC to my ears. Great time to be a guitar player for sure.

[@schlagdog]

“Soon” for like the last 2+ years on the plugins. I literally just liquid profiled my Neural SLo plug-in in the Kemper and “soon”’d it myself. It sounds exactly the same and it’s in my Kemper and I don’t need the QC.

[@rottingcorpse6002]

It's really easy. If you want to feel the real thing live, buy the amp. You wanna record on the cheap, use the plug-in. It's a real chore to get the great recording with the amp/cab/mic etc...or you can do it easy using a computer. I have a bunch of amps. I don't have a bunch of computer stuff.

[@SeekAudionet]

Judging by the drums to guitars balance, it sounds like the real amp is mixed a tiny bit louder in volume compared to the plugin. - so that can skew the comparison a bit

[@SonicDriveStudio]

They were level matched

[@SeekAudionet]

Thanks John! Love the channel

[@djentlover]

The real one sounds more wild and vocal, and like it's "floating". I prefer the smoother saturation and compression of the plugin though.

[@JoshuaLTRyan]

Close enough I think, especially given the 30 vs 100 difference.

[@TavaresProject]

The real amp has more mids but the"sound" is very much the same. I preferred the plug-in.

[@TheCSteve]

I like amp with microphones, it s more alive when you record that from the start even when you did nothing on the track. And i like this soldano amp clean with stomboxes like clean boost and things like that .. That soldano amp is great in the sound and not for metal only ..

[@debajitpalchoudhury1571]

In your mix they are almost identical.

[@IanVase]

Amp sounds better.

[@Burnt_Gerbil]

The plugin doesn’t sound as good as the real amp, but it’s fine for creating demos.

[@SpectralUltra]

There's a huge difference. Plugins sound plastic.

[@mrchrisbeaver]

Very close but the differences are there, i closed my eyes and pushed the spacebar to pause every time i thought it was the amp and got it right every time. The plugin seems more compressed or at least more even in the over all frequencies which gives it away. The difference sounds small at first but then the more you hear it the easier it is to pick out straight away. The plugin sounds great for sure but give me the amp any day