The Best High Gain Amps Ever? Soldano SLO-100 vs Astro 20

[@jackkosto]

Well, I think we're all "Amped" for where this is going :D

[@mlsoundlab]

Shhhhhhhh 😂

[@joewyatt8371]

The Astro is great but I sold it and kept my SLO. Like you mentioned, they sound very similar when running through an IR into a DAW, but live, I preferred the SLO. Great video!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Great video! I love my Soldanos. The Astro is no slouch!

[@ConstantineM]

How does that compare to the Helix one? Or you already did comparison and I missed it?

[@JuddOakes]

this was a great comparison. As soon as I could I got the Astro 20 due to the fact it had all those present day features and the flexability is just great while still maintaining that Soldano sound. The no cab option and built in IR is just a great feature plus all the midi programability. Soldano knocked it out of the park on this and didnt just come out with a slo 20 you know. I also like it still maintains note definition. I think the bass response is more tighter in the astro but I feel if you wanted more just crank it up a bit more but as you said the flub is good with this one. I am glad to come across this comparison. Thanks for doing it.

[@lastcall9998]

Great sounding and composed backing track.

[@mlsoundlab]

Ahh thanks - just once again one of those projects that I started but never finished. 🤣

[@phillamoore157]

Incredible video....to say the very least. Hitting the Like & Subscribe buttons for this video alone. I would love to have heard you try and see how close you could truly get them...although, like you said, they're incredibly close, as is. The technology involved in the Astro helps compensate for the lack of quality tubes today which has hurt the SLO over the years. But, if this comparison is with the Astro not being "dialed in", then you may be able to get sounding even better (which is a blasphemous thing to say🤣). And, btw, the recto's are close to an SLO, because (and I make NO apologies for saying this), per Friedman himself, the rectifier's pre-amp is a clone of the SLO, down to the color, and placement of the capacitors. Which is why I'll neve own a Boogie. There's no excuse for that. Yes, none of these guys invented the wheel. They're ALL based on a Fender of some sort. But, NO ONE is copying preamps down to the sheen on the solder (short of some shameless, douche in china). *That said...there's STILL nothing on the planet that has the bite, articulation, mid-focused punch, and tightness of a well-dialed in SLO 100 (especially it's "super-crunch" setting)....................nothing. As killer (and practical) as that Astro is, I think if I were in your shoes, I'd pick-up a Fryette attenuator for the 100, if volume is your main issue.*

[@zafira976]

The small amp is better, a lot clearer, less focused and tighter in the low end. Not to mention the clean tones and the crunchy purple channel. Michael needs to give is an Astro 40 or 50 for bigger gigs but in the same compact size...and light weight if possible

[@shredimaster78]

Thank you Mikko🙏🏼

[@mlsoundlab]

No worries homie!!

[@BrainDeadTX]

Sounds like ML sound lab will be coming out with a Soldano amp sim (wink, wink) 😄

[@jeffallen3382]

Love the SLO just a bit better. It has a bit more high end "sizzle" that the Astro doesn't have here. But like you said, I'm sure adjusting the EQ would probably work.

[@donaldlaporte4227]

When ive been so patient for a new amped plugin!!!!!

[@SHARt_murmur]

Right there with ya, my favorite high gain amp!

[@mlsoundlab]

No tweaking required - just perfect the way it is.

[@djabthrash]

Noïce ! Enjoying the Soldano ampsim in Two Notes Genome plugin a ton.

[@lostwoods]

Man, I'm really tempted by that Astro 20. May I ask, a few years ago you did a video on the SLO-30 and mentioned in the comments that the SLO-100 was a lot beefier. Do you find the Astro 20 compares favorably to the SLO-30? I like that the SLO-30 uses EL34s, but the switching options on the Astro 20 are much better.

[@bigjoeisgood]

Nice ! I prefer the old Soldano. So far. But Astro is really cool.

[@mlsoundlab]

Oh yeah even if they sounded 100% identical you'd still love the old one because it's the old one and very unique. Can't get those old parts these days.

[@bigjoeisgood]

@@mlsoundlab 100% identical ? Are you sure… 😙

[@nevusofota]

@@bigjoeisgood he said “if”. I also did a comparison through a 72 Marshall 4x12 with greenies between a 2006 SLO and an Astro. Not identical but they can be dialed in to be extremely close. In fact, the Astro may have retained a little more note definition at very high gain settings.

[@Wizzerman95]

ML Galaxy coming out when? 😉

[@mlsoundlab]

Shhhhhhhhhh 🤣

[@Andy_Yates]

I have the block letter plugin and it's been fantastic. I love how efficient it is with my laptop's resources and the tone is great. I have an Astro and an SLO30 and I'd love to see an Astro sim. My one wish would be an easier way to save an update to my current presets. I click save and it acts more like a save as. This normally isn't a big deal except I use midi to switch my presets and I'd rather not have to do the shuffle on my midi settings or create a new preset + delete the old one to keep the slot I'm using

[@senhorbaker]

Love the Astro!

[@TK96]

OG SLO has rounder low end and Astro is little bit tighter low end.

[@mlsoundlab]

I tried measuring them and the low end was actually quite similar on these. Biggest difference seems to be the frequency roll-off in the ultra high end which I could actually match by playing around with the presence and treble but didn't want to do that for this video to show everyone how close it is.

[@nevusofota]

I totally agree with your take on the Astro. Maybe one of the best amps on the past 20 years and one of the best deals. I’ve seen people get these for $1700 new. It’s basically a 9 channel amp when switched via midi. And the clean channel is near perfect. I’ve been gigging it for 3 months and it is doing a superb job.

[@mlsoundlab]

Oh most definitely for a modern or vintage guitar player this Astro is a no-brainer!

[@progpogs]

Did you record the astro with a reactive load, or with the direct out? I can tell the difference, but it still sounds quite good, and its a lot more convenient and lower priced.

[@mlsoundlab]

For this comparison I kept it "fair" by running both through the Reactive Load. This is actually the first time I've done that as you can use the Astro with no load attached with the master knob at zero. I'm sure it'll sound slightly different that way because the load and its impedance is a big old scoop on top of your guitar sound that varies a lot based on the load.

[@progpogs]

@@mlsoundlab Thanks for the response brotha this is useful

[@ConstantineM]

I have read somewhere that Soldano's tone is very dependent on power tube stage, so you need to crank master really high, cause it will sound the best. Is that true?

[@mlsoundlab]

I don't think most people would go past 3-4 on that old one unless they were trying to kill insects with sound pressure. 😄

[@leftofzeroofficial]

@@mlsoundlab facts !!!! i put mine up around 3 and i honestly cant be in the same room with it or else my eyes will bleed.

[@j.reveille6815]

No…soldano sound is built off the cascading pre amp sound. Less dependent on power amp then most tube amps for its sound.

[@joefalchetto94]

Crazy good!! What guitar was used?

[@mlsoundlab]

I think this has to be a PRS Custom 24. I actually recorded these guitars last year so I'm not 100% sure. 🤣 Reamping is cool!

[@joefalchetto94]

@@mlsoundlab yeah! 🙏🏻

[@80s_kid]

I know that Soldano is the "holy grail" but to be honest, I couldn't really like its sound character/texture compared to also classic stuffs like boosted Marshall and Mesa (which can be very different from each other) or other unique sound characters, like a high gain Orange. (Of course, it's a matter of taste. I've never tried the head itself, my opinion was formed based on various comparative tests.)

[@OldTomato44]

Make both into NAM packs and sell them! Then grab a good Soldano cab to put into the Mikko 3 plugin...

[@mlsoundlab]

AI capturing? Like people did in 2023? Nah component based is superior! Joking - Steve is a good buddy. 🥰

[@AiiZStudio]

Amped: SuperStar when? ;)

[@zafira976]

Come on man, release the plugins ASAP...

[@frantiseksvarc1672]

I must say that I prefered the Astro. 100 kinda lacked low end to me. But that was when played solo. In the mix, I didn't hear that much of a difference.

[@zafira976]

The low end get's cut out in a mix anyway as it gets in the way of the bass and the kickdrum, so what's the exact pint of your statement?

[@sixstringdisciple777]

I didn't enjoy the Astro as much as I had hoped 😔 I liked it through the IR's, didn't like it in the room as much.

[@roberteffler3382]

Bought the Astro about 6 months ago, could not believe what a cheap piece of crap it was imo gave it a week and sent it back

[@senhorbaker]

Haha no you didn’t