Interview: Mike Soldano & The History Of The SLO-100!

[@NicholasGreenwood]

A few years ago I called Mike's shop in Seattle and asked if he would let me come and see it. He said yes. He spent about 45 minutes with me, showing me his "production line" (about 2-3 guys), letting me demo his amps, and telling me stories. Mike is passionate about his craft, and was gracious to me with his time. Also, there was purple everywhere; the amps, the floor, and Mike's shirt and socks. I will always remember that.

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

Nicholas Greenwood those days are over. The new customer service is horrendous

[@NicholasGreenwood]

@@Starch1b2c3d4a Why do you say that? Elaborate.

[@lordmanshaft1112]

@@NicholasGreenwood CS for new products is handled by BAD now, so not bad but not amazing like it used to be (I disagree with the "horrendous" tag).

[@Tognar]

He seems like a cool dude. Just a humble nerd building badass amps, no biggie.

[@shekador]

What a refreshingly genuine, tech-focused interview, completely devoid of marketing hype, spin, and ego. Mr. Soldano is rare and unique amongst his peers, and that same purity lives in his designs.

[@alexandriawallacew9327]

shekador The Soldano SLO-100 in particular really doesn’t need any hype or spin - They are just such wonderful & amazing amps they really tend to sell themselves. I totally agree Mike is totally is a really rare and unique guy - really seems so welcoming and really explains some pretty potentially complex things quite simply - Coincidently, the SlO100 is much the same way unique - pure and relatively a very straightforward amp design from controls to layouts but what tone -Cheers

[@Bridging_the_Political_Divide]

I've called his Seattle shop too about my SLO and he was always gracious and talkative. Real genuine guy. We love you Mike!

[@thetonekingofficial]

Great video Fluff. The SLO was my fav amp from Winter NAMM. Sounded outstanding! And Mike is such a nice guy!

[@fonzybrookestone727]

You still have your Jet City modded by Mike?

[@MichaelSmith-rq7hd]

Awesome Amp! I started playing in 64 and have been a pro player for many years. I've had several amps rigs over that time., Fender, Marshall, Boogie, Seymour Duncan to name a few. Although all of these start out being good sounding amps I always seem to grow tired of them. They seem to get weak and unresponsive over time and I move on to the next, in my quest for THE SOUND! My longtime friend and local amp guru Bruce Egnater turned me on to Soldano in 2003. I bought two SLO 100's with 4x12 cabinets that year. It was a turning point in my journey for tone. I've got to say those are the only amps I've ever had in my 54 yrs of playing that I am just as happy with today as the day I bought them! I still play over 100 shows a year and there is hardly ever a gig that someone doesn't come up and ask me about them. Never had one problem in 17 years! I've called the shop a few times and spoke to Mike and Bill they are always helpful in answering any questions. Can't say enough about Mike's Amplifiers!! LONG LIVE SOLDANO! ♡

[@jasonsisk61]

Great story and interview. The Soldano SLÖ 100 has always been a bucket list piece of gear for me. The SLO 30 may be just the ticket now that it’s just me playing dad rock in my basement all by my lonesome.

[@DeathMetalGuitar]

i love Mike's enthusiasm throughout the years. i still have my 2001 SLO (all mods from Bill S) and Soldano's always, always accessible and happy to converse. So happy he's settled in with Avi and BAD.

[@affiliatedx3]

I love all 4 of my Original Soldanos!

[@marcelojulio]

This is the master, the coolest guy on the amp industry, and... A best guy ever !!! Long live to Mike Soldano !!! This is your best interview Fluff, congratulations bro !

[@deathmetalsl]

Always loved the SLO. Love it even more because of what a great guy Mike seems to be 🙌

[@electricgypsyblues4761]

I always wanted this amp since Clapton started playing them in the 90's. I wanted that sound so bad

[@Stubz_Perez]

Eagerly waiting to see and hear you say "Today on Riffs, Beards and Gear we check out the SLO-100"

[@PsychoMantis308]

Mike not only gave us the SLO, but also the really affordable Jet City JCA series

[@blakefisher6614]

I can't get enough of this, seems like such a cool guy!

[@1994renny]

Thank you for asking him about Gary Moore, WHAT A PLAYER!

[@JRP3music]

I am excited about the Soldano SLO 30! I may just get the Syn 30 and Soldano module.

[@MarkLumsley]

That freezeframe at 0:37 hahaha! \m/

[@robertlester641]

Important part of the Queensryche sound also

[@jef-fry5787]

Such an amazing time for Fluff. With Nich's comment below and hearing Mike S. talk about things, you really know that it is people like him that really get it in regards to music and the "sound/tone" that we all chase. If Matt Pike, Fluff, Mike Soldano and Orange's Ade Emsley sit down and talk about TONE- that would be the absolute best. Thanks Fluff for everything!!!

[@grampageoff]

I love this and I love Soldano like no other. Thanks Fluff!

[@ericventers]

Fluff - thanks for letting Mike talk, and not interrupting him.

[@DonDouglass]

Mike is the coolest guy on earth to me.

[@prsfanatic74]

Great video ! He forgot to mention the addition of the depth mod being stock . Love listening to this guy. The albums that put this amp on my radar were Lynch Mob Wicked Sensation and the Riverdogs Debut album

[@PooNinja]

An astroverb and a lucky 13 cab was the sweetest rig I ever played Soldano Rocks🤘🏽

[@fonzybrookestone727]

I'll be buried with my HR 50+ Greatest amp I've ever played!!!!

[@tylerevans5939]

YO YOU GUYS KILLED IT TONIGHT IN ST. LOUIS!!!!!🎸🎸🎸

[@rockinguitarist1]

Mike... The One, The Only, The Legend! I would give my left testicle to have a Soldano Amp!

[@jspinks2388]

very impressive buddy the new Tung-sol is nice..smooth slick one for sureeee. Exellenttttt Construction.

[@stevegaede17]

GREAT interview !!!!🔥🔥🔥

[@MarkLumsley]

FUN FACT: Steve Vai used an SLO-100 to play the entire lead track in 'For the Love of God'.

[@Sir_Dickbag]

Wrong. Metal Zone straight into Pignose mic'd with broken sm57.

[@MarkLumsley]

@@Sir_Dickbag My bad, you're right haha. :P

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

😂👍

[@gktde9874]

@@Sir_Dickbag Is it a modded Keeley Metal Zone??

[@ivorharden]

Yeah, I always thought it was a Carvin x100b until recently.

[@aaronterry8150]

Would love to hear a playthorugh when you get done with tour! Great interview!

[@BPToneReview]

Found the little nugget at 0:37. Very sneaky pic of Mike 🤘🏼 What do I win ;)

[@thetribalist6923]

What is that?

[@toom6087]

I own the original SLO made before 2018, a boa skin cover one : the loop works fine with a few bucket brigade delays especially the MojoHand FX Recoil (currently unavailable), but doesn't work at all with Way Huge delays for example (witch are very goods with other amps). As I love the Boss Dm-2w, I tried. But it was not as good as in the Bogner Ecstasy 101A loop (witch you can switch from serial to parallel) or the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo Head Rev G loop (parallel). So I use a Skrydstrup PL-1 (high end mixer) into the loop of the SLO an then the amp can deal with the Dm-2. So I could say the loop of my SLO is now parallel without being modified. Thanks to Steen Skrydstrup ! Now, about the send of the loop of the SLO "re-designed" : after hearing Mike, I would say it will works as on the Friedman BE-100. You can do the same with the Mesa Boogie Dual or Triple Rectifier. The send of the loop works as an extra master volume. And I love that. All amps should be built this way. You just have to find the sweet spot with the gain and the volume of the channel, then you can use the send of the loop as a master volume. It allows to play huge fat high gain at "low" level. So I will probably play the new SLO with my old one to get a wet/dry rig. Hey Mike, I hope the manufacturing quality will not change... And I hope the EQ will be exactly the same, not a fashion one for tight low end, but the EQ we use to love in the late 80's early 90's. The kind of EQ you can find on a Rectifier 2 channels made in the 90's, not on the 3 channels Rectifier... This EQ witch is able to deliver huuuuge low end.

[@jaycareaga9929]

By 1987 Landau and Dann Huff were the first call session guys. Luke was backing off sessions and concentrating more on Toto.

[@merlinaudubon6202]

Mike's sales pitch: "Soldano SLO-100. You're gonna like it whether you like it or not!" 6:38 😊

[@TedintheShed]

I thought $2699.00 was for the 30 Watt and the 100 watt price is not yet announced?

[@jefflyon2020]

back in the 19190's a band i drummed in went into a guy's home studio in a downtown sort of loft/flat style layout, and our guitarist had a brand new soldsno 100watt guitar head that screamed!it sounded so good...until the device picked up wireless christian dental radio from a dentist office next door, imaginw counting off 1...2...3...4 and when the downbeat began christian dental radio came out of the amp! ha ha ha thats why i play drums.

[@harshtruth9148]

I own to Neural DSP Soldano plug in….absolutely amazing

[@GuitarLordGR]

You forget Dann Huff!Incredible session player!

[@PNWGuitar]

This is the kind of guy I want to but a product from. Built from the ground up, he is a nice guy and actually cares about his amps. Paul Reed smith is similar as are the guys at Taylor.

[@indytrucks2003]

The background music was a nice touch haha.

[@redduketeleman]

Just ordered one and it's on the way. Not sure where I'm going to put it as I sold the house to buy it 😀

[@nickx1754]

Mike seems like a really cool guy.

[@murphshall]

Mike Soldano and Bill Landry are in a league of their own :)

[@JRP3music]

I tried 12ay7 EHX tubes in my V1 & V2 in my Mesa Nomad 100. It improved the noise a bit.

[@jaychen2000metal]

They say put one in the 6505's first spot to tame the crunchy clean channel

[@cjohnson913]

Love the CigaR shirt! And if course is love to own one of these amps!

[@brotherdoom2406]

Stoked to hear the SLO 30. I hope it’s affordable lol

[@joehervey84]

SO MARK 2 THEN LOL. MORE METAL!🎸

[@andrew74x]

Thank you mike soldano for bringing us the Mesa boogie dual rectifier. The world would not be the same without it.

[@dustrider9306]

Hehe, someone knows something :D

[@andrew74x]

@@dustrider9306 guess we should be thanking fender then. They all basically copy

[@devilkillerthemonarchofhop7943]

Is the shirt from the punk band Cigar from 20 years ago?

[@raysmetaltracks6782]

Oh the tubes I bet you could find in that shop!!

[@Bcwilderness]

so is that loop master volume like an attenuator right at the end, if engaged and set low and you run the master vol hard, you get all the grunt but control it at the back overall

[@Ontariosound]

$2699 for the 100 watt head. Fluff being held speechless ? Priceless ! Haha

[@widepaper]

Cigar!

[@darknthskill5424]

Dude.. great stuff! ..

[@soundzofnoize8603]

Incredible

[@jspinks2388]

well check out the Tung-sol 7581 here shortly..this looks like an excellent replacement buddy lol. Not lyinggg lol. want em all loaded with it mann lol...it looks detailed and colorful probably is lol.

[@affiliatedx3]

I am probably going to buy a couple of the new ones.

[@popeye089]

You need to do an A/B vid for us poor souls bro!!!!

[@derrotamundial4554]

Hi what is the best noise gate for a soldano amp?...the effects loop of soldano is very particular, it is +4db....all noise gates which I have used does not found with soldano.....thanks

[@SuperGuitar38]

Awsome Vid Dude!!

[@Earlvis]

A 20 watt Soldano would be awesome if he doesn’t already make one. 100 watts is way too much for me.

[@dustrider9306]

HotRod 25? Jet City 20/22/20HV?

[@poppacooter]

hopefully this change will make it more affordable.

[@ahopeoflife]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼Soldano 💪🏽

[@DoodlesGaming]

what brand is that SG in the background? Is it authentic ;)

[@stanhalen9807]

Ahhhh my dream amp 😍

[@IgorUptheIrons]

My favorite amp 😍

[@Terry3Gs]

Awesome interview !! So .. did you walk away with one too ryan? ;) :D

[@alwilliams1997]

awesome video

[@danboylan2449]

At first I thought it was Héctor Salamanca lol

[@robertalsbury]

New title “how many times can I interrupt Mike Soldano”

[@RiffsAndBeards]

Awe cute

[@robertalsbury]

@@RiffsAndBeards sorry don’t swing that way bro

[@noisytim]

Can’t wait for the day I can afford one of those

[@anahowana]

How does it feel to sit besides a legend and talk to him as if he's your father !

[@popeye089]

I wish you would've been able to A/B an old vs new to hear the differences

[@thundereagle97]

Evolved version of the orginal. So a Mk II?

[@SuperJiggawhat]

00:37 🤘

[@johanhansson4574]

I changed my jet city to DC filaments. Its not that big of a deal just slap in a small pcb with a rectifier and some caps.

[@xsamitt]

I wonder if ELO used and SLO?

[@jimistephen]

Rock -n- Roll!!!

[@ConeJellos]

00:37 I thought I saw a ghost for a second.

[@5urg3x]

0:36 Something keeps happening with your video renders muh dude I’ve seen this happen in quite a few of your vids (watch the upper left hand corner...)

[@gstube1]

Mike, make a low watt combo for a grand!

[@dynamic.staccatto8241]

I need that shirt

[@jspinks2388]

idkkk mannn that's waving the wanddd like nooo hold shit...but I think this dale like is good quality...idk...we'll find out sooner or later lol.

[@george25199]

Do they still have a lifetime guarantee ? Unheard of with any other amp manufacturer

[@nicwilson89]

SLO-30? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh boy, I'm sorry in advance bank account, but I definitely haven't been able to buy a 100 and probably won't the new one...can't say no to a 30. Nu-uh-. Noooooooope.

[@jspinks2388]

thinking the Legend still about go to mike...thinking there not liking big loafy mag anymore or what?

[@jspinks2388]

neww newer bottle that just killed the old stock Myth man...Not lyinggg lol.

[@wakjob961]

Want...❤

[@chrisrinehart4008]

Love Soldano, can't afford Soldano prices. I used to have a Jet City JCA50 which isn't the same at all, but was still a great amp, never should have sold it.

[@chrisrinehart4008]

@Joe Paul And I'm still pretty poor. One day when I have more space.

[@Johnsormani]

The jet city amps were pretty well built too. I have two of those, the jca100hdm and just a few weeks ago I bought a jca 22h. Haven’t even tested it yet. On the soldano side I have a sp77 preamp . I’m currently rebuilding an old ptp ( 1971) plexi clone to soldano territory. With a few differences though. For the Crunch / lead channel I want to get close to a plexi sound and I wanted less fizz in the lead channel, so I changed some components to different values to achieve that

[@capitanvonchickenpants8492]

One day you won't be able to buy valves, we'll all be forced to play boss katanas

[@MickeyFinest]

So Mesa took the recto design from him supposedly, and now Mike returns the favor with the “upgrades” to the SLO100 (rev b). Also isn’t changing the name, similar to the recto line. Randall and him should team up for an amp.

[@mark7166]

Haha, I was thinking the same, regarding the effects loop return levels and stuff :)

[@shekador]

Mesa makes some great amps, but Randall, his PR team, and his lawyers can go kick rocks.

[@shekador]

@alan wake besides the fact that they flat-out stole the Recto circuit from Soldano and refuse to admit it, if you read their pitch for any one of their amps, they make each one sound like it's the best amp ever created, and is groundbreaking and revolutionary on every level. I see Mesa as the Apple of guitar amps. Yes, they make great products, but they also embellish on their 'achievements' so to speak. They present Randall like he's Thomas Edison or Nikolai Tesla or something. With that being said, I've owned Mesa amps exclusively for close to 10 years now. I have complete respect for what they've done, but I call complete bullshit on how they want their story to be told.

[@shekador]

@alan wake yeah no doubt Edison didn't invent half the stuff he took credit for, but that doesn't have anything to do with Mesa. They're great at building hype.

[@shekador]

@alan wake but if you're saying Randall is a thief like Edison then I'll just have to LOL

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

The best amp I have ever owned. Had to sell it to pay for lawyers. Bunch of ball washing bastards! (name the movie and who said this to win the comment section for the day!)

[@EDAR96]

Shawshank!

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

@@EDAR96 You win sir! Andy up on the roof with some Bohemian style beers!

[@simo21beatrice]

SLO 30 🙀😻🙀😻🙀😻🙀😻

[@Soldano999]

My dream amp. I will never be able to buy one unfortunately and even if i did i can't play it in my appartment.

[@colelewis9940]

Get an axe fx or kemper. I have the axe fx 2 and 3, the soldano models are stellar. Kemper I've heard good SLO tones too. Can now play a SLO at any volume.

[@low_e_music]

Get a Jet City 22H and have it modded to SLO specs. It will be about 95% of the real thing, I love mine. Look at used ones and you can probably spend under $300 all said and done.

[@colelewis9940]

@@low_e_music Wrong wrong wrong wrong. No. It wont even come close to the SLO100. I remember having the same idea, I had a bugera 6260 and the amp was falling apart so I got a new amp, I got a 6505MH, and I couldnt be more disappointed with the amp. The bass response sounds like farts because there isnt a 100 watt 6l6 poweramp, I was pretty stunned that the bugera completely demolished the 6505MH in sound quality, both clean and gain. Even with the new SLO30 you wont be "95%" to a SLO100. Maybe 70% there. EL84 tubes were never in high gain amps before the lunchbox amp trend for a reason. The bugera sounded better than the 6505MH at every volume. Even the purpose you're supposed to use the mini head for (lower volumes) it sounded worse. Again I was pretty stunned. The bugera 6260 was closer to a real 6505 than my 6505MH is. There are some amps on the market who design the lunchbox heads around the fact you're going to have to really compensate for bass response in headroom but most of them are just the bigger amp circuit of whatever amp youre looking at, with smaller components. The 6505MH in particular is one where it sounds like they did absolutely nothing at all to try to compensate for the lower headroom, probably the loosest high gain amp I've played. Even with a tubescreamer the bass sounds like wet farts. The engl ironball and the new revv one are the two amps I would say seem to actually have been designed by people who know what they are doing. This trend of smaller amps is genuinely atrocious for making so many people not understand how amps work, People seem to think oh 25 watts of course thats loud enough! When loudness is not the issue the issue is headroom. Of course it's loud. but play palm mutes on a mini head then play a 100 watt amp, any person just using their ears will probably forget about lunchbox amps. The smaller tubes simply cannot produce the frequencies you expect to hear perfectly. Anyway if you are playing blues, any lunch box amp will be fine. If you're playing metal I would get a 100 watt or at least 50 watt head. If you are actually concerned about not having to play loud, get a modeler. The 6505MH for example is insanely loud. A 100 watt amp isnt 4x louder than a 25 watt amp. More like maybe 5% louder? I got the 6505MH before getting an axe fx because I was under the impression id get better sounds at lower volume than my bugera 6260 100 watt, and I was shocked to learn I was wrong. Which is why I ended up with an axe fx. Which you can actually play at any volume. And I can put a SLO100 powereamp master volume in the axe fx to 10 without setting off a nuclear explosion. But I really want to emphasis the idea that even the SLO30 could sound 95% the same as its bigger brother, is not accurate. The jet city is a whole other story im mostly ignoring the fact you mention jet city over a real soldano cause you say you had to mod the amp. A really unnecessary process if you ask me.

[@low_e_music]

Well, that's your opinion. My 20 watt Jet City with the SLO mod sounds pretty damn close to my ears and I have played a real SLO. It's not 100% but for 1/25th the price, it is close enough for me. I am not in a band either so I am not playing at super loud volume where power tune saturation matters, it's all preamp. Even at that 20 tube watts can still be very loud, way more than you could ever use in an apartment without an attenuator. At the end of the day, if I had the money to burn, I would absolutely but an SLO. Until that time, though, the JC fills that need well.

[@colelewis9940]

@@low_e_music Rock players with SLO's turned the master volume up because it smooths out the sound, for metal the SLO sounds better with its master volume lower than 4. Not just for loudness. Playing loud doesnt mean power tube saturation matters im not sure what you mean by that statement. The sound of the poweramp always matters. I specifically touched on the fact a lunchbox amp is plenty loud to make sure you dont try to use the point against me, stating literally there is no big difference between a 25 watt amp and a 100 watt in terms of volume DB that will matter, yet you still mention it. Maybe english is not your first language idk. You end up basically agreeing the SLO is better but it's more expensive so I will have to agree there, the SLO100 of course is very expensive. I also partly bought the 6505MH because it's less money. But if you really AB a lunchbox amp vs a 100 next to each other you would have a better feeling than just playing a SLO100 one time.

[@jspinks2388]

Idk if crazy about the parallel input tho...maybe the right pickup...you're Low and active more input is badassss tho lol.

[@jspinks2388]

idk mike...probably not half bad man..will see.

[@jspinks2388]

Been yearssss on their real bottle like man and a listen lol...that was a Mesa loaded one I believe etc lol...

[@trentvalentine9]

All objectively great improvements. Really stupid not calling it a MkII though. Even if they don't, the users will. It is a different amp and you're just going to make the used market needlessly difficult to navigate

[@luthiervandros]

Peavey and mesa ripped him off