Soldano SLO - loop, at a loss, need help

[Traps]

I am trying to find an effective non-tone sucking solution to the "need a solo boost" quest. I have tried putting my 10band eq in the llop, did nothng. I tried a BOSS FV-500 which will work, but I can kinda hear a little of the sparkle gone when using the loop.

Has anyone succesfully found a mod to make the loop "normal"?, and not affect the tone of the amp at all? I paid good money for the SLO, so I dont want to loose ANYTHING it can do.

I'm hearing that pretty much anything put thru the loop will effect the tone, to the critical ear. Can a competent amp tech do anything?

I've heard the G System works good, but there has to be a solution to get that loop working , and transparent tone wise.

Any suggestions/ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

[billm408]

For those of us not using line level fx, this is the only thing that keeps a great sounding amp from being a great amp IMO. Bill will suggest an Ebtech Line Level Shifter, but it sucks and, from what I understand, you can't really modify the loop for pedals w/o major chassis modifications. I have the specs to drop the fx level from +4db to around zero, but that's still not enough. I tried running a clean boost in front with minimal results. I've heard good things about the G Major or Axe FX in the loop and I've hear rumor that John Suhr has something in the works that might address this. Good luck-

 

[Leonardo]

Which EQ did you try in the FX loop? You need something that will work at line level. The Boss EQ-20 could possibly do the trick.

 

[joolzriff]

do u play in bars or clubs? if clubs u just ask ya sound man to throw u through the monitor better,he;ll take care of business
if bars....good luck...i think john suhr has a little device you can throw in the loop...go to his site

 

[Traps]

Yes, play clubs. Must have that solo boost.

The EQ I used with my KH-100 was the 10 band MXR Kerry King.

I checked into the minimix, but it's not intended for what I need.

 

[joolzriff]

Yes, play clubs. Must have that solo boost.

The EQ I used with my KH-100 was the 10 band MXR Kerry King.

I checked into the minimix, but it's not intended for what I need.

i obviously havnt seen ur band but cant ur sound man sort that out for you....i personally have never used a solo boost ever....do u play w/ 2 guitarists in the band? is that why

 

[Traps]

Yes, 2 guitarists in the band. Sound guy is not the way i want to go.

 

[DiazDude]

I looked for a solution for years with no luck when I had my SLO and now Diaz. Now I just use a Keeley Katana through the front door..problem solved.

 

[Traps]

I looked for a solution for years with no luck when I had my SLO and now Diaz. Now I just use a Keeley Katana through the front door..problem solved.

So you got a good volume boost with the Katana? Me EQ in front of the amp worked fine for boosting cleans, but not overdrive. At all.

 

[billm408]

I looked for a solution for years with no luck when I had my SLO and now Diaz. Now I just use a Keeley Katana through the front door..problem solved.

I've tried the Keeley and Creation Audio MK4.23 and, while they both offer a decent boost through the clean side, all I got was more saturation through the drive channel. For a while, I used the crunch channel with the MK4.23 for leads, but stomping two boxes was not a good solution. Then I went to a bi-amp set up with the SLO for for leads- sounded awesome, but that's an expensive boost pedal and a PITA bringing/setting up two amps for bar gigs. Eventually, I just gave up the SLO. As much as I loved the tone on the gain channel, it just wasn't going to work for me the way I needed to use it. YMMV.

 

[Ben Jam'n]

Worst loop ever IMO...had to get rid of the amp for the exact same reason.

Suhr told me he would mod it for me...I got an OD100 instead.

 

[billm408]

Worst loop ever IMO...had to get rid of the amp for the exact same reason.

Suhr told me he would mod it for me...I got an OD100 instead.

:AOK Waiting on my PT100 as we speak.

 

[Traps]

Man, I don't want to ditch the SLO.

 

[Traps]

What you could do is to insert a volume pedal in the loop to do a volume cut for rhythm and then you have full volume for solos. Will work much better than boosting, imho.

I did try that, with my other guitarists FV-500 expression pedal, and it did work, but (maybe I'm splitting hairs) but I could tell a small degredation in tone. The best for me to tell (which I have not tried yet) is using the FV in the full band situation.

 

[Warren Mendonsa]

Which Boss FV500 did you try? The 500H or 500L? I think the L would work better than the H because it's low impedance - also try keeping cable runs really short.

 

[Traps]

Which Boss FV500 did you try? The 500H or 500L? I think the L would work better than the H because it's low impedance - also try keeping cable runs really short.

It's an "L" model.

 

[Giga]

Is maybe cutting the volume (in the loop) while playing rhythm an option ? Switch the "cutdevice" out of the loop with maybe a remote controlled looper so you can keep your cables short.

Giga.

 

[ecbluesman54]

I use an Xotic BB in front of my SLO with the gain low, and level set to the right amount. It has worked well so far.

 

[zuel69]

I am in the exact same boat as the OP. My old SLO halfstack is the best sounding amp that I have ever heard. Have the BB as well as other od pedals, but if you play with more gain than 70's classic rock, the pedals just saturate the input with minimal volume on the lead channel..and I use that channel for everything except clean.

I'm thinking of trying the Radial Tonebone Loopbone. You can keep it on top of the head so cable length is at a minimum and run a pedal using it's slingshot remote feature...then adjust its variable gain boost feature.

Anyone try this?

I use an Xotic BB in front of my SLO with the gain low, and level set to the right amount. It has worked well so far.

 

[DiazDude]

So you got a good volume boost with the Katana? Me EQ in front of the amp worked fine for boosting cleans, but not overdrive. At all.

All I was looking for was more of what I already had and the Katana gave me exactly that with either clean or OD. No extra saturation or "color" at all. A mirror image but louder. It gives you the option of a really nice warm boost when you pull out on the volume knob too.