I got my Soldano Decatone yesterday :( :( :(

& it didn't work!!! I even got a brand new Port City cab & a Monster speaker cable delivered RIGHT AFTER I got the Decatone. I was pissed. I troubleshooted the amp & couldn't figure out the exact problem. The tubes were basically brand new.

I took the amp to a tech this morning & he found that 2 of the power tubes were bad. I'm thinking it likely got damaged in shipping since the tubes were fresh(****ing UPS!!!). He rebiased, put new tubes in the amp, & reseated everything inside the amp & cleaned it's insides out & now he said it's like brand new He was really impressed with the build quality of the amp. He said he hasn't seen a Soldano in a long time.

The cost was $205 for the parts/labor, $35 of which was for a rush fix. I'm at work right now & the amp is in my trunk. I won't be able to play it until tomorrow after work, but to say I'm excited as hell just doesn't express how I feel. I can't wait to get home. Anyways, the seller is going to refund me $130, so I basically payed $75 to refurbish the amp, which to me insures that I got the amp in very good used condition.

I didn't put JJ 6L6's in the amp... The guy who helped me troubleshoot the amp over the phone recommended to go all JJ 6L6's & I also was recommended elsewhere to go this route, but the tech was highly against it. He said they're microphonic tubes & are not nearly as reliable as Sovtek's. He also said I would have had to order them & bring them to him, so I'm thinking of possibly going that route next time I retube. For now I want to play the amp how Mike Soldano intended with Sovtek 5881's & Sovetek 12AX7's (Those are the brands they come with stock, I believe?).

Last night was a bad experience, but today made up for it. Pics & review soon to come!

 

Ruby is a tube company right? I don't hear too much about them. When I got the amp it had all Sovtek 12AX7's in the preamp section.

I want to eventually try the JJ 6L6GC's & will likely do so next time I reube, but I've been under a SHITLOAD of stress lately & I didn't want to wait any longer to play this beautiful machine. I also would have had to oder the JJ's myself & bring them to the tech & that's just too much hastle ATM.

 

It didn't have too much to do with that, I just didn't want to wait any longer than I had too. I didn't want to deal with the burden of going back & having to order the tubes & wait for them & all that ****.

 

I will say that in hindsight I should have held my horses & got the JJ 6L6GC's... I'm reading about them over at EuroTubes & they sound great from the reviews... Whatever, I can change the tubes out in a couple of months. It's only like $100... Well $150 if I get JJ preamp tubes.

 

Word. I am searching for the holy grail though. I'm sure when I come home from work tomorrow & play the amp I will be blown away, but any way I can make it better will be a good idea. It's good to absorb as much knowledge on these subjects as possible.

 

This is definitely an AWESOME AWESOME amp. I didn't get all that much time to play it last night; maybe a 1/2 hour; but it is freaking SWEET. Love how all three channels are totally different. I turn the gain on channel 2 to 2-3 with my guitar & I get a good light plexi style sound. Just killer. Channel 3 ****ing rips with the gain at 6. There's no reason any knob on this amp should have to go to 11 :AOK

One thing I did notice is that when turned past a certain volume it did break up considerably, even to the point where chords sounded out of tune.I know I need to tweak the amp furthur, but it was my first impression. Maybe in a month or two I will retube again, as I have heard this about the 5881's. All the recommendations I have got have been for JJ 6L6GC's until a couple of you guys just started talking about Sovtek KT-66's...

 

Yup, I've been posting there. I won't be retubing right away, but I do definitely want more clarity when I crank it.