It's Small & it's Cute... Incoming SLO Mini

I guess a Soldano Mini-SLO was bound to happen. In conjunction with Boutique Amp Distributors, a mini Bogner, mini Diezel, and a mini Friedman have been released under the same platform: All are 30 watt solid state, identical sized heads, and all are $250. I definitely bought this as a novelty, but I'm betting it kick's buttocks!
 
Belated follow up...

The SLO Mini arrived from Sweetwater on July 5th. In a nutshell: Fun, fun, fun.... Crunch, crunch, crunch... :dood:

Amp behind the Mini is my C3 Amps SLO-50 clone amp kit, which is the authentic size of a real Soldano SLO.
Mini & Normal SLO 1.jpg


Mini & Normal SLO 2.jpg

Breaking open the nutshell:
I connected the Mini to a 1x12 cab, then later to a 2x12 cab, both loaded with Scumback M75LD's (Similar to the Celestion G12-65). So does the Mini sound like a full size SLO? Uhm, yeah... sort of! The Mini's Overdrive channel definitely has the gain and somewhat-same tonal qualities of the SLO-100's Overdrive channel.

The Mini's other channel is the Crunch channel. A SLO-100's other channel is called the Normal channel. The Normal channel consists of two different gain voicings: Clean and Crunch. The Mini does not have a Clean option. With a SLO-100 on the Crunch voicing, you can still get a very nice cleanish tone by backing off on the guitar's volume control and/or keeping the amp's gain control on the low-side. Not so with the Mini! Even with the Mini's gain set very low on its Crunch channel, there's still a lot of overdrive with humbuckers... Way more than a SLO-100! Backing off on the guitar's volume control helps a little bit, but it's nothing like a tube infused SLO-100. In fact, the available gain difference between the Mini's Crunch and Overdrive channel is minimal.

The Mini is advertised as a 30 watt amp, via solid state power. Can it get loud enough to gig with? Yes! But it depends on the supporting cast. Comparing the available volume of the Mini to my V2 Amps Caldera, which is a tube powered 30-watt class A/B amp, easily shows the difference between solid state power and tube power. Tubes: More volume and huevos, especially when pushed hard.

The Mini's EQ control are effective, but not as intuitive as a SLO-100. I like leaving the Mini's Deep switch on all the time, but I find that I prefer to keep the bass control down to 9 or 10 o'clock at robust volumes. Everything else is set around noon, except for the master volume. The Mini's fx loop works very well when injecting a reverb and/or a delay pedal.

The Mini's head cab, all controls, all jacks, and all switches, feel nice and solid. The front grill is metal just like the full size SLO's. The cab's black covering has a rubbery feel to it. Weight is 3 3/4 lbs.

In conclusion... I find the Mini very inspiring to play, despite me spending a lot of time on describing what it isn't. If you're the type that lives for the SLO overdrive channel, and at almost 5% of the cost of a SLO-100, then you'll have all kinds of "Hell Yeah" fun with this little booger.
 
I just got one of these things to use in my office (been using a DSL-1 and just wanted a different flavor), and gotta say I am pretty blown away with it. This is definitely NOT a toy, or just a stompbox in a tiny headshell with a small class D power amp; this is a legitimate and great-sounding amp. Really tight, really responsive and it has really complex full tones. And its very loud - I haven't tried it but I can tell through a 2x12 or 4x12 it would have no problem hanging with a drummer. Got it mated up with a little Mesa 1x10 (Creamback 10 speaker) and its a killer practice rig. This just destroys any modeling amp out there.


SLO.jpg
 
gball said:
I just got one of these things to use in my office (been using a DSL-1 and just wanted a different flavor), and gotta say I am pretty blown away with it. This is definitely NOT a toy, or just a stompbox in a tiny headshell with a small class D power amp; this is a legitimate and great-sounding amp. Really tight, really responsive and it has really complex full tones. And its very loud - I haven't tried it but I can tell through a 2x12 or 4x12 it would have no problem hanging with a drummer. Got it mated up with a little Mesa 1x10 (Creamback 10 speaker) and its a killer practice rig. This just destroys any modeling amp out there.


View attachment 86965
Click to expand...
Congratulations on the new amp
 
syscokid said:
I guess a Soldano Mini-SLO was bound to happen. In conjunction with Boutique Amp Distributors, a mini Bogner, mini Diezel, and a mini Friedman have been released under the same platform: All are 30 watt solid state, identical sized heads, and all are $250. I definitely bought this as a novelty, but I'm betting it kick's buttocks!
Click to expand...

It can't sound too good, its solid state..;):D
 
gball said:
I just got one of these things to use in my office (been using a DSL-1 and just wanted a different flavor), and gotta say I am pretty blown away with it. This is definitely NOT a toy, or just a stompbox in a tiny headshell with a small class D power amp; this is a legitimate and great-sounding amp. Really tight, really responsive and it has really complex full tones. And its very loud - I haven't tried it but I can tell through a 2x12 or 4x12 it would have no problem hanging with a drummer. Got it mated up with a little Mesa 1x10 (Creamback 10 speaker) and its a killer practice rig. This just destroys any modeling amp out there.


View attachment 86965
Click to expand...
A big congrats on your new Soldano @gball, I'm sure you're enjoying it.
Cheers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top