Northsider Posted November 12, 2016 Posted November 12, 2016 I've owned a Soldano Atomic 16 twice. What are some better alternatives?
sixesandsevens Posted November 12, 2016 Posted November 12, 2016 Who do you wanna sound like? I find that the power section goes a long way to defining the character of the amps sound. I'm just not a big fan of the feel of EL84 tubes for high gain. That rules out a lot of low power stuff. Have you considered a modeler?
Northsider Posted November 12, 2016 Author Posted November 12, 2016 A creamy fat overdrive tone in a grab n go 1X12 combo.
DaveH Posted November 12, 2016 Posted November 12, 2016 Have you tried any of the Blackstar offerings? The 5W head through my Thiele cab does awesome hi gain. I haven't played thru any of the higher wattage ones tho.
Spadeace Posted November 12, 2016 Posted November 12, 2016 Koch studio/twintone amps get alot of credit over here
Bennyboy-UK Posted November 12, 2016 Posted November 12, 2016 I've never heard of a atomic 16. But I want one!
Hamer95USA Posted November 13, 2016 Posted November 13, 2016 4 hours ago, Northsider said: I've owned a Soldano Atomic 16 twice. What are some better alternatives? I've found one at the local Guitar Center and I couldn't stop playing it. I had to get out of the store and was intent on buying one. It's straight up a great amp for playing rock which is the opposite of a Fender Deluxe Reverb or Princeton Reverb. I like the EL-84 power tubes and it's tone. I ended up trading a Marshall 4501 1x12 combo & a Lil' Dawg Champster Special for the Astroverb 16 1x12 combo amp from a local musician who had one for sale on Craig's List. The only difference between the two amps was the Astroverb 16 combo amp has tube driven reverb. For a one trick pony, high gain amp, it's top notch in sound & build. I use a Lehle Dual SGoS to switch between a Reverend Kingsnake (clean), Reverend Goblin (semi clean), and the Astroverb 16 (high gain) as my home guitar rig. Guitar George
Dave Scepter Posted November 13, 2016 Posted November 13, 2016 4 hours ago, Northsider said: I've owned a Soldano Atomic 16 twice. What are some better alternatives? I know this doesn't answer your question, but have you tried it through a 2 or 4x12 cab and or changing tone via EQ with a line level boost?.. that's what I've done with great results
Bennyboy-UK Posted November 13, 2016 Posted November 13, 2016 I only have one amp currently and it's a Mesa boogie express 5:25 with a single 10 I think - I'll check. i wanted something that did everything, and it does to be fair. I know it's not too boutiquey or badass like an engl or something, but I can get what I want out of it. id love to have more amps, for example I loved the maxed out gain sound of an old Seymour Duncan 84-40 I had when I was younger, I miss that unreliable thing, sadly long gone. It had great sag and bloom, and hid the most crap elements of my crap playing. but now I want a Soldano!
RobB Posted November 13, 2016 Posted November 13, 2016 4 hours ago, Bennyboy-UK said: I only have one amp currently and it's a Mesa boogie express 5:25 with a single 10 I think - I'll check. Excellent suggestion, Benny. The newer 5:25+ combos have a 12" speaker. I was also going to suggest the Rectoverb combo. At 40lbs it may not be a "grab'n'go" amp, but it's compact and 5lb lighter than Express. I really like my Splawn SS 1x12. It's an oversized combo with a sealed cabinet and sounds huge all by itself. Best modded JCM800 tone EVAH, and it has a great clean channel. Website says it's 50lb, but it doesn't feel that heavy. To be honest, the SS stays at my practice space, running through a Bogner 2x12, so I can't speak to its portability. Here's an idea: Tech21 power engine and one of Bogner's (or anyone's) high gain pedals. The youtube demo of the LaGrange pedal is sick.
Armitage Posted November 13, 2016 Posted November 13, 2016 Have you tried the Friedman PT20? Monstrous!
ARM OF HAMER Posted November 13, 2016 Posted November 13, 2016 You want Creamy and Fat tones?...................high gain crunch? "BOOGIE"! I own 2 of these beasts..............hardly a grab and go amp and probably way more juice than your looking for but they deliver on all accounts. This one is actually for sale though its not mine and I'm not connected to it or the seller in any way. But if your interested I can give you the info. PIC of the one that is for sale.
Dave Scepter Posted November 13, 2016 Posted November 13, 2016 https://marshallamps.com/products/amplifiers/jvm2-series/jvm205c/ With a couple of regular Joes test driving...
LucSulla Posted November 13, 2016 Posted November 13, 2016 7 hours ago, ARM OF HAMER said: You want Creamy and Fat tones?...................high gain crunch? "BOOGIE"! I own 2 of these beasts..............hardly a grab and go amp and probably way more juice than your looking for but they deliver on all accounts. This one is actually for sale though its not mine and I'm not connected to it or the seller in any way. But if your interested I can give you the info. PIC of the one that is for sale. I was going to say picking up a used Mark III isn't a bad way to go except that it is heavy.
ARM OF HAMER Posted November 14, 2016 Posted November 14, 2016 1 hour ago, LucSulla said: I was going to say picking up a used Mark III isn't a bad way to go except that it is heavy. This one has a factory provided road case with great casters so that does help......................but yeah they are heavy,its a solid wood cabinet.
jettster Posted November 14, 2016 Posted November 14, 2016 Always been a big fan of Soldano big iron but never cared for the small wattage combos, Astroverb, Atomic, ect, even when cranked up pretty good. If I was buying today it would be what I already have, Budda Superdrive 18, (fat overdrive tone for days) or a Splawn Streetrod or Supersport.
LucSulla Posted November 14, 2016 Posted November 14, 2016 3 hours ago, ARM OF HAMER said: This one has a factory provided road case with great casters so that does help......................but yeah they are heavy,its a solid wood cabinet. I mounted mine in a head finally. I'm a wuss, haha.
Dave Scepter Posted November 14, 2016 Posted November 14, 2016 24 minutes ago, LucSulla said: I mounted mine in a head finally. I'm a wuss, haha. Me too~
ptm1diver Posted November 14, 2016 Posted November 14, 2016 I've always wanted a Soldano Decatone for the 4 x 12 cabinet I have. But I love my Soldano Lucky 13 100 watt 2x12 combo that is currently running into the 4 x 12 cabinet. Don't know if this helps. Good luck. I also have a Mesa MK4 but prefer the Soldano.
MCChris Posted November 15, 2016 Posted November 15, 2016 On 11/13/2016 at 7:49 AM, Armitage said: Have you tried the Friedman PT20? Monstrous! I don't think the PT comes stock in combo form. The Runt does, as well as the Dirty Shirley and Smallbox. The Runt would be an excellent choice. But those Splawns do sound nice!
Armitage Posted November 15, 2016 Posted November 15, 2016 It's a tiny head on a cab... and it sounds killer... a whole other league in tone IMHO. Same size factor.
bruce919 Posted November 16, 2016 Posted November 16, 2016 On 11/14/2016 at 3:07 PM, ptm1diver said: But I love my Soldano Lucky 13 100 watt 2x12 combo Soldano Lucky 13 would be my top pick. You get a Twin Reverb on channel one & a SLO on channel two.
velorush Posted November 17, 2016 Posted November 17, 2016 How about a brand often overlooked? Reeves makes very lightweight, hand-wired combos (my Custom 12PS weighs around 30-35 lbs). For high gain, the Custom 10HG: Unlike most of the smaller-wattage amps, the 10HG uses a single EL34 (if EL84's aren't to your liking). $1,175 new for the combo. The Power Scaling option is definitely worth the extra $175 (IMO).
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