Soldano SLO 100 vs Friedman BE 100

[Lex Luthier]

I had a SLO for close to 15 years. The first time I played one, it made me go 'whoa!'. They do one thing extremely well, high gain with punch and articulation even at high volume. They have a unique sound. The clean/crunch side of things were OK at best. The loop worked fine with pro rack gear, as that is what most guys were using in the 80's when it was designed. Mine seemed finicky with preamp tubes, mine seemed to like old Telefunkens the best. 100w of Soldano power proved to be the downfall for me, just too loud so I sold it. Kept my X88r and still have it. I tried a bunch of Friedmans, kind of reminded me of hot rodded Marshalls. For whatever reason, they didn't wow me enough to want to buy one.

 

[BrentSP]

@RockinRob Yeah that’s me in the video. At the the time I didn’t have the necessary tools to properly record live video. It’s just iPhone mic. Some people actually prefer that ‍

But @RockinRob regarding to what you were saying, you are correct...I found in a 16x20 lively room with wood/tile floors like mine here, both did sound similar. But that changes somewhat when mic’d up. There is a difference.

Feel wise the SLO is a bit fatter BUT the BE100 can get the same feel by switching the fat switch on which engages the same .022uF coupler.

BE is a little bit warmer/smoother in its stock form but Dave has a cool and simple “smoothing” mod he does to the treble pot that can be removed, the result is similar to the XTC treble audio pot. FWIW the Smallbox does NOT have this “smoothing” circuit which is more raw and edgy compared to the BE.

SLO is the legendary holy grail of High gain amps. Other than Fender and Marshall it’s the most cloned and copied amp to date. It’s far from perfect though, loop is a notch or two above horrible for today’s players. I’m sure now that BAD has bought Soldano, they will update the loop. As others have said, the OD channel is where it’s at and is near perfection for high gain tones.

The BE, you either have to be deaf or you had a faulty BE amp if anyone thinks it’s a disappointment because the BE covers all the great bands that had Marshall’s lmao Zeppelin, VH, Ratt, Dokken, Motley Cru etc. Its a superb sounding amp, all 3 channels are A+ yes even the Vox clean channel. The treble and bass knobs do actually move lol may not be the traditional Fender settings.

XTC not on the list under this thread but I just picked another XTC but this time a 20th. Fantastic amp, stupid good clean, great plexi mode, classic crunch, searing high gain with a great loop and all 3 channels have a great boost.

 

[DiPa]

@RockinRob Yeah that’s me in the video. At the the time I didn’t have the necessary tools to properly record live video. It’s just iPhone mic. Some people actually prefer that ‍

But @RockinRob regarding to what you were saying, you are correct...I found in a 16x20 lively room with wood/tile floors like mine here, both did sound similar. But that changes somewhat when mic’d up. There is a difference.

Feel wise the SLO is a bit fatter BUT the BE100 can get the same feel by switching the fat switch on which engages the same .022uF coupler.

BE is a little bit warmer/smoother in its stock form but Dave has a cool and simple “smoothing” mod he does to the treble pot that can be removed, the result is similar to the XTC treble audio pot. FWIW the Smallbox does NOT have this “smoothing” circuit which is more raw and edgy compared to the BE.

SLO is the legendary holy grail of High gain amps. Other than Fender and Marshall it’s the most cloned and copied amp to date. It’s far from perfect though, loop is a notch or two above horrible for today’s players. I’m sure now that BAD has bought Soldano, they will update the loop. As others have said, the OD channel is where it’s at and is near perfection for high gain tones.

The BE, you either have to be deaf or you had a faulty BE amp if you think it was a dissapointment because the BE covers all the great bands that had Marshall’s lmao Zeppelin, VH, Ratt, Dokken, Motley Cru etc. Its a superb sounding amp, all 3 channels are A+ yes even the Vox clean channel. The treble and bass knobs do actually move lol may not be the traditional Fender settings.

XTC not on the list under this thread but I just picked another XTC but this time a 20th. Fantastic amp, stupid good clean, great plexi mode, classic crunch, searing high gain with a great loop and all 3 channels have a great boost.

Nice, The SLO top end kills

 

[Bogner]

Which one do you prefer for gigging? 70's Classic Rock to music of today. Its hard to get a chance to play side by side.

Define Better...

I have both amps, love them both.

 

[mody]

I love Ray Gomez and his SLO tone on those few YT videos. Monster tone for sure.

Really like what I'm hearing here. Thanks Matt!

Can anybody point out where SRV can be heard on his SLO100?

Gawd damn, it can sound like a killer country amp on the clean channel!
I'm learning the YJM way, any of you SLO100 owners out there think the SLO would be a good match, in theory, it sounds like YJM should have been playing SLO100's, no pedal required?

 

[Warren Mendonsa]

Really like what I'm hearing here. Thanks Matt!

Can anybody point out where SRV can be heard on his SLO100?

Gawd damn, it can sound like a killer country amp on the clean channel!
I'm learning the YJM way, any of you SLO100 owners out there think the SLO would be a good match, in theory, it sounds like YJM should have been playing SLO100's, no pedal required?

If you want to try out a SLO100 let me know, I’m in Juhu

 

[Buck Woodson]

I like Friedmans but to me Soldano tone is just so unique and killer sounding. I would take a Soldano SLO or Hot Rod over most Friedmans.

I was wondering if one of the other Soldanos would work better for the OP's purposes. But can it do the legendary SLO100 lead tone? Is there a baby SLO or is that an oxymoron?

Funny how this thread turned into SLO vs BE100 in a general sense when the OP asked which would be better for 70's classic rock. Obviously the Friedman because it's more like a Marshall and that's what most of what he'll be playing was originally played on. It's really a voicing question IMO.

OP, if you go with the BE100 make sure it's a 2016 or later with the "S" switch.

P.s consider a Metroplex as well

Know that the Metropoulos DVL-1 is a Metroplex with an enhanced clean channel as requested by William DuVall of Alice In Chains. It has a great master volume so cranking it up is not a prerequisite. Right now I am pairing it with my Belle Epoch Deluxe set to 100% wet slapback and Mesa JP-2C bypassing the BED so 100% dry. Better than the sum of its parts IMO.

I haven't yet had the pleasure of trying either the SLO or the Brown Eye but I don't feel like my DVL-1 is lacking in any way.

 

[sleshnyc]

Suhr PT100. More marshall like then the bogner, 3 channels, good loop.

 

[iggs]

Can anybody point out where SRV can be heard on his SLO100?

I don't think he ever got to play it unfortunately ... Mike Soldano has that amp still.

 

[jdel77]

Both are killer amps, and will do excellent cleans, mid gain and high gain, however the SLO has an inherent aggression and thickness in the lower mids that is felt, rather than heard. It's a primal experience playing one at loud band volumes, an absolute bulldozer of an amp.
The BE to me plays like a perfectly mixed and mastered hot rodded JCM800. The SS is a meaner sounding Friedman.

The BE is like having a good sparring session at training. Playing the SLO feels like you just won a fight.

 

[lgehrig4]

Both are killer amps, and will do excellent cleans, mid gain and high gain, however the SLO has an inherent aggression and thickness in the lower mids that is felt, rather than heard. It's a primal experience playing one at loud band volumes, an absolute bulldozer of an amp.
The BE to me plays like a perfectly mixed and mastered hot rodded JCM800. The SS is a meaner sounding Friedman.

The BE is like having a good sparring session at training. Playing the SLO feels like you just won a fight.

Nice description of the SLO. Although I play at home I play mine pretty loud. A few times I’ve pushed the master to 6-7 and it does transform into something else. It’s like a freight train of sound

 

[DiPa]

Both are killer amps, and will do excellent cleans, mid gain and high gain, however the SLO has an inherent aggression and thickness in the lower mids that is felt, rather than heard. It's a primal experience playing one at loud band volumes, an absolute bulldozer of an amp.
The BE to me plays like a perfectly mixed and mastered hot rodded JCM800. The SS is a meaner sounding Friedman.

The BE is like having a good sparring session at training. Playing the SLO feels like you just won a fight.

Interesting description, we should have a thread some day to get some inventive descriptions of amps,

 

[316ms]

One major difference IMO. One is legendary and one changes every time the sales slow a bit on the current version.. guess which one. Slo seems like the better investment based on the fact that there may be a few changes made.. better loop, resonance...etc.. but the legend remains. No new and improved features and sounds and circuits to the legendary amp for 200 bucks more than the 1st generation. No $ 700 updates for a better amp for the price of a new one. An updated 2014 Be100 is more expensive than a BE 100 deluxe. Kind of surprised the deluxe is only 200 bucks more than one was with less appeal and options.. ymmv

 

[Calebz]

You'll need 3+ on the Overdrive Master.

This is the part that kills me about so many amps. I've had 2 hot rod 50s and 2 Jet city 50s and this was true for all 4 of them as well. In the studio it's fine. But I can't run the damned things at 3+ on stage anymore. They're just too much

 

[racerxrated]

Disagree on this^^. I've had 3 SLOs, a Wizard MC and countless vintage Marshalls and the common misconception is 'they have to be cranked' to sound good...and that's flat out wrong.
I found great tones with the Wizard and SLO just past 1 on the master, 1.5, 2, etc. Do they sound even better louder? Of course, but what amp doesn't? They all respond better when the power section is cooking. Same for my 82 2204...nice tone low volume but turn it up and it's even better. I gigged with my last SLO numerous times in smaller clubs and got many compliments on its tone.
All tube amps respond the same way at a lower volume vs a higher volume...they all sound best cranked. But that doesn't mean they don't sound good at a lower volume.

 

[Guinness Lad]

I listened to the clip on page 1, I also own a slo100. For me the Soldano is the amp to own. A few things you can do to help with dialing it in. First, don’t use JJ preamp tubes, maybe 1 or 2, but definitely not in consecutive slots. It creates too much compression and over drives the circuit. I put a 5751 in V3 and this helps pull back on the gain.

Running it 4 ohms helps with the cleans a lot. I find if I keep all the tone controls right about the same each channel sounds fantastic. For the loop and pedals I can use a chrono delay in the loop and it sounds fantastic. The people that dismiss this amp because of the effects loop or clean channel are clueless.

 

[JB6464]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Interesting , with a 5751 in the V3 slot does it effect to hotness of the sending signal to the loop ?
I have found that I like my Soldano tone better at 4ohm as well .

 

[Guinness Lad]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Interesting , with a 5751 in the V3 slot does it effect to hotness of the sending signal to the loop ?
I have found that I like my Soldano tone better at 4ohm as well .

Don’t about that, I just tunes in where sounded best. Higher gain tubes overload the preamp imho better to tgrottle back. Pregain is usually between 3 to 5. Don’t need anymore than this.

Right now -
v1 Sovtek lps
V2 Chinese I believe
V3 5751 Jan ge
V4 tesla?
V5 jj

 

[stark]

Here’s the SLO, w/ crunch backed down so it’s cleaned up. Master cranked on 6.

 

[JB6464]

Don’t about that, I just tunes in where sounded best. Higher gain tubes overload the preamp imho better to tgrottle back. Pregain is usually between 3 to 5. Don’t need anymore than this.

Right now -
v1 Sovtek lps
V2 Chinese I believe
V3 5751 Jan ge
V4 tesla?
V5 jj

I run a mix of old Groove Tube preamp tubes from the 90's I've kept around in my stash over the years .
Not sure exactly what they are but I've been told Chinese tubes . I just roll them until I get the gain and tone I'm searching for then leave it .
I run my pre gain at the noon (12:00) position , whatever number that is on the Soldano , never really looked at numbers around the knobs .
My 4X12's are currently loaded now with Greenbacks .