As a kid growing up in the early 2000's who was obsessed with 80's music I'd pore over old guitar magazines to find morsels of wisdom from guys like Bob & Mike. Seeing them together here is a dream come true!
Two innovators, on the Mt. Rushmore of Tone, in the same room talking shop. What an incredible conversation to document! Thank you Mike and Bob for letting us in on this piece of Soldano and CAE history!
The sales pitch is basically two guys who are really excited to create cool things and have a huge legacy to pull from. Being excited about the design seems to be more important than making a profit. Love the dedication to USA made. The fact that Mike is just down the street in Tacoma from me is a bonus- maybe the money he makes off me will end up on Ruston Way at a restaurant helping the local economy. That still means something to us old people.
I had to ring Soldano twice over the years and got Mike both times...what a gentleman and so humble...he couldn't have been more helpful and patient....a true leading light in the business...thanks Mike.
These guys brought back so much nostalgia. Not just the gear from the 80's, but just how humble, and genuine these guys are. This is how people talked back then....such gentlemen.
I’m happy owner of Synergy Soldano preamp. I remember when I played it first time and immediately thought that’s it- this is my perfect tone! And still feels like that. Thank you Mike Soldano for creating this beautiful overdrive sound.
I love my Soldano SLO-30, easily the best amplifier I’ve ever owned. And Mike seems like such a great guy - I could listen to him talk about his amps all day! Good luck with these new products 😃
My buddy owned one of the original Rackmount SLO-100's, and he let me borrow it for a while. It was like having your face ripped off by a tiger every time I played it! So sick to see this reissue! 🤘🏻
What a great video. 2 legends from the old days! I remember going to Mike's Melrose shop in '89, playing that SLO-100 and being blown away! All the LA rocker guys had various modded Marshalls or Mesa's, but here comes the Soldano and everybody wanted one. Went to Bradshaw's place as well after someone said he could make a 5 pin to 7 pin MIDI cable to power my old ADA MIDI controller using the extra pins to receive phantom power from my FX processor. Great guy as well, and still loving my CAE wah!!!!
as a nobody guitarist I have been super impressed with how nice and responsive Mike has been over the years to some questions and support.. World class person
Mike Soldano is living my dream!! I myself retired a year ago at age 59. Been into guitars since I was 9 years old and also into cars and being a motorhead. Never got into the rack stuff so much but have a nice sizeable collection of guitars, amps, and effects. Currently using the Synergy Syn50 system, Marshall JVM410H along with a Peavey Invective head. That garage shop he has is perfect. Awesome video.
I walked into Mikes shop in the spring of 1987 and had no idea what I was plugging into. He was building an amp on the bench and let me check it out. I will never forget being floored by the power of that sound..
This is so great this clip. I had a similar experience albeit in my hometown of Munich. I had my studio just next to Peter Diezel’s workshop. I turned 30 in 96 and gifted myself a Blue VH4 for which I shlepped my favourite amps into his workshop. He emulated my 65 Twin Reverb for Channel 1, my 68 Marshall 50w into channel 3, my 78 Marshall 2203 into Channel 3 and a sustainy high gain Allan Holdsworth type tone for channel 4. Have this amp to this day in my studio. It is my go to for everything! Love these stories.
Bob asked all the right questions, very helpful. MIDI these days should be more common, it blew up in the 80s and went dormant for many years. I still build my rack, a little every year, growing and growing. One button preset changes, never unplug anything, ever. It just grows, and MIDI is what makes that possible. Bob has been an inspiration all these years. Rest In Peace Ken Czepelka of Sound Sculpture.
I ran a mesa strategy 500 with a SP77 on one side and a studio pre on the other best tone I ever had, but it was a very heavy spaceship. Good times back then. Love these guys and thanks for bringing the rack back! I don't need it anymore but I'm gonna buy one.
I love this kind of talks over today's modeler rig rundown, something very natural has touching my heart to see two old friend geekin out their own products. Very human
I got to sit with Mike years ago (mid 90’s) while he worked on my amp in his Seattle shop and ask some questions he was super patient with all my questions and a genuinely nice guy
Walking down the street no one knows who Bob is. But Bob is a legend in the guitar world and enabled so many amazing guitarists to showcase their skills and sound live. So cool the 80s rack culture is coming back.
That talk is pure gold! Could listen to those guys for days! I'm no guitar player, I'm a studio owner and producer. So glad I bought a used Soldano 77 this year. It's getting a lot of use in the studio here as an alternative sound palette to my Marshall JTM45, Vox AC30, Fender and Magnatones. Splitting a Marshall to a Soldano pre delivers such a recognizable great tone! Definitely in the market for a rack mount SLO now! And I'm gonna need a VHT 2150, of course...😂
You mean running the SP77 into the power amp input of the Marshall? Or switching between the Soldano and Marshall pre-amps as well? I ran the USA SP77 into a Marshall EL34 50/50 back in the 90s
Awesome seeing you both together and chatting. I have the CAE3+se preamp and now, may be time to get the Soldano. Always casually pondered an X88 or SP77....
Wow! Seeing and hearing Mike and Bob, two guys who brought so much amazing tone to this world, it is just so fucking cool that you two met up again with the release of these new products! Being an owner of 2 purple face SP77’s and 2 Atomic 16 combos I can attest to now wanting these new pieces and it as if the heavens have opened up once again and these are available. Thank you both for helping this guitar player have the tone I have heard in my head for many years be realized.
Great to see Mike and Bob talk shop! Two legends of great tones. Thanks to Bob for recommending the Boogie Simul 2: Ninety to pair with my Boogie Studio Pre! Was a great NAMM visit with him.
I'm so glad Mike brought up Campbell's rackmount SLO because I've watched that "HOT GUITARIST" video of Vivian showing off his Bradshaw rig so many times!
In the nineties I was the nor cal rep for, among other companies, Soldano. My sales pitch was, (if the sound of Mike’s amps didn’t immediately close the deal, ) was to open up the amp and show the chassis build. Breath taking, over built and immaculate! Mike’s a genius.
I played an SLO-100 when I was a teenager. They were brand new at the time. I remember I had never played an amp like that before. It was so sweet. I wanted one and have for so long but they are super expensive. Someday.
Of all the people I’ve seen with one in a rack that surprised me was Bob Weir, Grateful Dead in buckeye Ohio in the early 90’s. I think he still had Mesa Mark series on stage. I bought both of these on release day. Luckily had an amp with full refund to help towards the cost.
Mike I so love that you’re open again in Tacoma. As I live in the international district in Seattle (just up from Jay at emerald city guitars lol!). I have used Mesa boogies for live rigs for 30 years from my studio pre amp to a quad pre amp into a 50/50. Frankly after Gibson did Randal dirty by canning him. I’m done. I’ll never buy another Mesa product, new at least. But after surviving a liver transplant 12-24-22 I’m dropping a new record on 11/30 and am looking to tour early next year and a SLO-100 has been a dream rig for a hot minute but as I have 4 working amps and a hell of a lot of medical bills. I didn’t pull the trigger. That’s going to have to change. We used to rehearse in the Harmon on pacific way until recently but gosh darn it I can’t wait to get my hands on one especially before we hit the studio again (temple of the trees in Normandy Park is my preferred joint as Joe has put together an amazing studio w an honest to g@d live room that’s amazing!) I’ve never been so excited to go into debt lol! Thanks for making my day! 🎉. Mark Bower
I miei miti a 13-14 anni, adesso realtà, sfogliare le riviste per trovare qualcosa che parlasse di questi due miti del suono chitarristico. Grandi💯💯❤❤👍🏻🎸🎸
I still have my original X88r, channel 2 was always the weak point. Sounded kind of meh. Great to see that addressed. The new features look like a great addition.
So cool to have these units rereleased, I'm trying to figure out how to get the preamp lol. I still have a small rack setup and this would be the crown peice in it, great job!
This is like the old guitar guy version of My Dinner With Andre Seriously though, I feel like there’s no way I can avoid buying this preamp. I realized a couple of years ago that all of the amp tones I really liked were Soldano. I got an Astro 20 and absolutely love it. The X88IR has me so excited to build a rack again - a small one (I hope lol)
Regarding custom amp for Mark Younger-Smith(guitar for Billy Idol) @30:00m : HIWATT DR-103/504 preamp section(not dr-102) must have sound like an amazing clean. I also saw a Soldano amp advertised on Reverb used by said guitarist a while back. Also interesting to hear about class A/B toroidal transformers while more movement going towards lighter Class D transformers.
Vou comentar aqui em português pra representar o Brasil e por eu não falar nada em inglês. Também não quis apelar pro Google Tradutor, rs Esses caras são duas lendas. Me lembro de meados de 1995 um professor meu vir com um Rot Rod 100 vermelho. Minha vida nunca mais foi a mesma. Desde então eu sonho em ter um Soldano. Por volta de 2005 eu quase adquiri um SP-77 mas por ser 220V eu não comprei. Me arrependo até hoje, principalmente por nunca mais ter encontrado um à venda no Brasil. Eu ainda sigo o sonho de ter um! Vida longa aos racks e a Soldano!
Would have been good to have a matching power amp in the purple anaoduzed colour for the pre to match. Love the soldano stuff as well as the cae stuff as well. I have a heap of it.
Hey Bob ... that is Bruce Anthony's rig Yeah, that's right, Mr CC DeVille :D I confronted him with the pic, but he didn't remember ;P But I do, from the 1990 Monsters of Rock tour :)
A revival of the Rivera TBR 1 SL would be beautiful, but would be around $ 5000 (Paul Sr.stated this somewhere in a FB/Instagram comment)..It kind of flabberquested me,that Paul Rivera is nowhere announced for his work,in the eighties/nineties, where TBR amps,were the heart of a lot of racks,of major heavy rock guitarplayers.Like Steve Lukather used first the modified Fender Princeton Reverbs,later the project with his signature Boneheads(still an amazing amp,also the interaction it can have with big PA systems:let the PA take care of it's sub level signal output). I realy love Rivera amps,owning about 12 pieces(TBR 1,3 TBR 3 poweramps,Bonehead, 2 Knucklehead's 4 M-60/100 combo's and a Quiana 4 × 10") and the sound and feel all High End.To me these amps are "the Dumbles of the Future". I also own a Soldano Astroverb combo in purple Tolex,put a Jensen Blackbird Alnico in it,sounds okay but too noisy in some ways.I didn't get "the Click with it".
As a kid growing up in the early 2000's who was obsessed with 80's music I'd pore over old guitar magazines to find morsels of wisdom from guys like Bob & Mike. Seeing them together here is a dream come true!
Rack is back.
Loved your video on this, Leon!
Hey buddy, fancy seeing here😅
Me growing up in the 70s and 80s did exactly the same! Nice to see you here Leon :P
@@TheOligoclonalBand If you can find someone to carry it for you. lol
Two innovators, on the Mt. Rushmore of Tone, in the same room talking shop. What an incredible conversation to document! Thank you Mike and Bob for letting us in on this piece of Soldano and CAE history!
💯
The sales pitch is basically two guys who are really excited to create cool things and have a huge legacy to pull from. Being excited about the design seems to be more important than making a profit. Love the dedication to USA made. The fact that Mike is just down the street in Tacoma from me is a bonus- maybe the money he makes off me will end up on Ruston Way at a restaurant helping the local economy. That still means something to us old people.
Back to the future...
I had to ring Soldano twice over the years and got Mike both times...what a gentleman and so humble...he couldn't have been more helpful and patient....a true leading light in the business...thanks Mike.
Seeing Mike and Bob together makes my heart smile! 2 good guys that respect their customers!!
These guys brought back so much nostalgia. Not just the gear from the 80's, but just how humble, and genuine these guys are. This is how people talked back then....such gentlemen.
Proud owner of Lee Ritenour’s X88r ! Thanks Mike for the legacy !!
I’m happy owner of Synergy Soldano preamp. I remember when I played it first time and immediately thought that’s it- this is my perfect tone! And still feels like that. Thank you Mike Soldano for creating this beautiful overdrive sound.
this is SO wonderful. two legends!
I love my Soldano SLO-30, easily the best amplifier I’ve ever owned. And Mike seems like such a great guy - I could listen to him talk about his amps all day! Good luck with these new products 😃
Worked at Andy’s and used to visit both Mikes and Bobs shops. Great memories and guitar history.
My buddy owned one of the original Rackmount SLO-100's, and he let me borrow it for a while. It was like having your face ripped off by a tiger every time I played it! So sick to see this reissue! 🤘🏻
What a great video. 2 legends from the old days! I remember going to Mike's Melrose shop in '89, playing that SLO-100 and being blown away! All the LA rocker guys had various modded Marshalls or Mesa's, but here comes the Soldano and everybody wanted one. Went to Bradshaw's place as well after someone said he could make a 5 pin to 7 pin MIDI cable to power my old ADA MIDI controller using the extra pins to receive phantom power from my FX processor. Great guy as well, and still loving my CAE wah!!!!
RACK IS BACK!
as a nobody guitarist I have been super impressed with how nice and responsive Mike has been over the years to some questions and support..
World class person
I know what you mean. Bobs just made me a custom loop/amp/mixer all I 1 unit. Fantastic down to earth guy.
Mike Soldano is living my dream!! I myself retired a year ago at age 59. Been into guitars since I was 9 years old and also into cars and being a motorhead. Never got into the rack stuff so much but have a nice sizeable collection of guitars, amps, and effects. Currently using the Synergy Syn50 system, Marshall JVM410H along with a Peavey Invective head. That garage shop he has is perfect. Awesome video.
Looking great Master Bradshaw. Still loving your CAE 3+ SE.
Best guitar related video of the year!
I walked into Mikes shop in the spring of 1987 and had no idea what I was plugging into. He was building an amp on the bench and let me check it out. I will never forget being floored by the power of that sound..
Some great review videos came out today
This is so great this clip. I had a similar experience albeit in my hometown of Munich. I had my studio just next to Peter Diezel’s workshop. I turned 30 in 96 and gifted myself a Blue VH4 for which I shlepped my favourite amps into his workshop. He emulated my 65 Twin Reverb for Channel 1, my 68 Marshall 50w into channel 3, my 78 Marshall 2203 into Channel 3 and a sustainy high gain Allan Holdsworth type tone for channel 4. Have this amp to this day in my studio. It is my go to for everything! Love these stories.
You know what would be cool, these two gentlemen should be on a episode of Tone Talk together. Amen Hallelujah 🎉
So awesome. Two legends that are extremely cool, yet remain humble. They both earned every bit of their success.
Bob asked all the right questions, very helpful. MIDI these days should be more common, it blew up in the 80s and went dormant for many years. I still build my rack, a little every year, growing and growing. One button preset changes, never unplug anything, ever. It just grows, and MIDI is what makes that possible. Bob has been an inspiration all these years. Rest In Peace Ken Czepelka of Sound Sculpture.
Hearing these guys trade off memories from the 1980's was absolute magic! Such a magic moment captured here.
I ran a mesa strategy 500 with a SP77 on one side and a studio pre on the other best tone I ever had, but it was a very heavy spaceship. Good times back then. Love these guys and thanks for bringing the rack back! I don't need it anymore but I'm gonna buy one.
A very heavy one ... my friend had that same Strategy 400 amp (so many tubes!) with a GT Trio and a Marshall JMP1 driving it :O
I love this kind of talks over today's modeler rig rundown, something very natural has touching my heart to see two old friend geekin out their own products. Very human
I got to sit with Mike years ago (mid 90’s) while he worked on my amp in his Seattle shop and ask some questions he was super patient with all my questions and a genuinely nice guy
Thank you for your service to the music industry gentlemen!
What a great video !!!
Both of these guys have become icon's in there right , and rightfully so ...
Best video I’ve seen in ages. Man, this is like an hour of ASMR for 80s guitar nerds. Love it!
I loved this, great discussion of how the SLO came to be. 😊
What a nice conversation…46 minutes went by quickly and we’ll spent. Appreciate Mike, and nice to hear from Bob as well. Dig my SLO 30!
Walking down the street no one knows who Bob is. But Bob is a legend in the guitar world and enabled so many amazing guitarists to showcase their skills and sound live. So cool the 80s rack culture is coming back.
The passion that these two icons have is so contagious it's awesome. What a wonderful sight to behold.
That talk is pure gold! Could listen to those guys for days! I'm no guitar player, I'm a studio owner and producer. So glad I bought a used Soldano 77 this year. It's getting a lot of use in the studio here as an alternative sound palette to my Marshall JTM45, Vox AC30, Fender and Magnatones. Splitting a Marshall to a Soldano pre delivers such a recognizable great tone! Definitely in the market for a rack mount SLO now! And I'm gonna need a VHT 2150, of course...😂
You mean running the SP77 into the power amp input of the Marshall? Or switching between the Soldano and Marshall pre-amps as well? I ran the USA SP77 into a Marshall EL34 50/50 back in the 90s
Just purchased mine cannot wait
Awesome seeing you both together and chatting. I have the CAE3+se preamp and now, may be time to get the Soldano. Always casually pondered an X88 or SP77....
Wow! Seeing and hearing Mike and Bob, two guys who brought so much amazing tone to this world, it is just so fucking cool that you two met up again with the release of these new products!
Being an owner of 2 purple face SP77’s and 2 Atomic 16 combos I can attest to now wanting these new pieces and it as if the heavens have opened up once again and these are available.
Thank you both for helping this guitar player have the tone I have heard in my head for many years be realized.
Again, awesome episode hallelujah
This is awesome seeing these legends together!
Oh my god. I NEED THESE AMPS IN MY LIFE. Also…we NEED SOME BOB BRADSHAW STUFF!!!!
Man, these two or sooo old school... Good stuff!
The SP77 spawned so many amazing tones and theres a huge interest in them again. 🙏
What an awesome machine.
This is wonderful, artistry and passion at it's finest!
Legends! These new amps are amazing!!
So happy to hear Mike S ihas still got products coming!!!
Great to see Mike and Bob talk shop! Two legends of great tones. Thanks to Bob for recommending the Boogie Simul 2: Ninety to pair with my Boogie Studio Pre! Was a great NAMM visit with him.
I'm so glad Mike brought up Campbell's rackmount SLO because I've watched that "HOT GUITARIST" video of Vivian showing off his Bradshaw rig so many times!
Love this, Mike! Good work.
Just AWESOME! Thanks Gentlemen. Thoroughly enjoyed this.
In the nineties I was the nor cal rep for, among other companies, Soldano. My sales pitch was, (if the sound of Mike’s amps didn’t immediately close the deal, ) was to open up the amp and show the chassis build. Breath taking, over built and immaculate! Mike’s a genius.
I played an SLO-100 when I was a teenager. They were brand new at the time. I remember I had never played an amp like that before. It was so sweet. I wanted one and have for so long but they are super expensive. Someday.
So great to see you, Bob, it's been so long. You're looking healthy and happy and like life in Pennsylvania is treating you well. :-)
Of all the people I’ve seen with one in a rack that surprised me was Bob Weir, Grateful Dead in buckeye Ohio in the early 90’s. I think he still had Mesa Mark series on stage.
I bought both of these on release day. Luckily had an amp with full refund to help towards the cost.
Two legends geeking out…so good! Thx
Mike is a great guy and I love Soldano amps
Legends!❤️
Man. What a dream amp. I still use an old Bradshaw rack rig - I’d love to put this in there!
I'm glad this gear history has been digitized and preserved!
Mike I so love that you’re open again in Tacoma. As I live in the international district in Seattle (just up from Jay at emerald city guitars lol!). I have used Mesa boogies for live rigs for 30 years from my studio pre amp to a quad pre amp into a 50/50.
Frankly after Gibson did Randal dirty by canning him. I’m done. I’ll never buy another Mesa product, new at least. But after surviving a liver transplant 12-24-22 I’m dropping a new record on 11/30 and am looking to tour early next year and a SLO-100 has been a dream rig for a hot minute but as I have 4 working amps and a hell of a lot of medical bills. I didn’t pull the trigger.
That’s going to have to change. We used to rehearse in the Harmon on pacific way until recently but gosh darn it I can’t wait to get my hands on one especially before we hit the studio again (temple of the trees in Normandy Park is my preferred joint as Joe has put together an amazing studio w an honest to g@d live room that’s amazing!)
I’ve never been so excited to go into debt lol! Thanks for making my day! 🎉.
Mark Bower
Nice to be a fly on the wall listening to these guys! Would love to see that '59 Impala, Mike! Cars and Gear never gets old.
This is soooooo cool! I feel like Christmas came early...
Priceless!
The rack mount SLO was the first Soldano I ever had the chance to try out. I fell in love instantly
They defined the modern guitar sound of the late 80's, early 90's and so on. It would change the world of guitar forever.
Bring back the Surf Box and Space Box an add Stereo in/outs 🤘🏻😎🤘🏻
Mike please.. A video showing and playing that fabulous slo with the italian flag.. 😢
no one is paying this price, for this big unit, in this style, dispite the glorious sound
I bought the rack mount slo-100 about a month ago, every time i fire up that monster i feel like a rock star.
SLO- 100r. The holy grail
Legends.
I still love my CAE3+ :-)
two legends of ROCK!
I miei miti a 13-14 anni, adesso realtà, sfogliare le riviste per trovare qualcosa che parlasse di questi due miti del suono chitarristico. Grandi💯💯❤❤👍🏻🎸🎸
I still have my original X88r, channel 2 was always the weak point. Sounded kind of meh. Great to see that addressed. The new features look like a great addition.
Because these two masters, we never could save money.
So cool to have these units rereleased, I'm trying to figure out how to get the preamp lol. I still have a small rack setup and this would be the crown peice in it, great job!
Vivian Campbell had a Soldano early on also. It was in a video where he was showcasing his Bradshaw rack. Maybe an REH video
Yes ... a one-off SLO100 with only the lead channel ;D that would be the forerunner for the Avenger :)
Legends!
I didn’t know Mike was local! I love 15 minutes away and was born in Tacoma
This is like the old guitar guy version of My Dinner With Andre
Seriously though, I feel like there’s no way I can avoid buying this preamp. I realized a couple of years ago that all of the amp tones I really liked were Soldano. I got an Astro 20 and absolutely love it. The X88IR has me so excited to build a rack again - a small one (I hope lol)
I would've been happy with just the interview, but we sure are spoilt with these new releases too! 😁
Regarding custom amp for Mark Younger-Smith(guitar for Billy Idol) @30:00m : HIWATT DR-103/504 preamp section(not dr-102) must have sound like an amazing clean. I also saw a Soldano amp advertised on Reverb used by said guitarist a while back. Also interesting to hear about class A/B toroidal transformers while more movement going towards lighter Class D transformers.
What a joy !
Maybe a reissue of the Surf Box? 😍
So, this should be a podcast from now on...
😅 This is so awesome, hallelujah 🎉
Straight 🔥
Love this! When will Bob be bringing back the CAE 3+SE though? I have a VHT GP3 already and I need the X88IR, the Fish, and. CAE3+SE!!!
Vou comentar aqui em português pra representar o Brasil e por eu não falar nada em inglês. Também não quis apelar pro Google Tradutor, rs
Esses caras são duas lendas. Me lembro de meados de 1995 um professor meu vir com um Rot Rod 100 vermelho. Minha vida nunca mais foi a mesma. Desde então eu sonho em ter um Soldano. Por volta de 2005 eu quase adquiri um SP-77 mas por ser 220V eu não comprei. Me arrependo até hoje, principalmente por nunca mais ter encontrado um à venda no Brasil. Eu ainda sigo o sonho de ter um! Vida longa aos racks e a Soldano!
Pioneers!
Would have been good to have a matching power amp in the purple anaoduzed colour for the pre to match. Love the soldano stuff as well as the cae stuff as well. I have a heap of it.
Lou Reed had them SM100 amps as well as well as his one-off SM 100/100 stereo amp :O That would have been something to put into production ;)
memory lane
Love it!
So So So cool
This was SUCH a great video. Question: are the XR88 preamps different circuits than the SLO-30/100?
Yes but OD channel
Hey Bob ... that is Bruce Anthony's rig Yeah, that's right, Mr CC DeVille :D I confronted him with the pic, but he didn't remember ;P But I do, from the 1990 Monsters of Rock tour :)
#Soldano Rack Amps #X99 Motorized Knobs!!!
Perhaps we will see the re-birth of the Rivera TBR-1 SL! and other impossible to carry rack gear! For the "Professional" Musician...
A revival of the Rivera TBR 1 SL would be beautiful, but would be around $ 5000 (Paul Sr.stated this somewhere in a FB/Instagram comment)..It kind of flabberquested me,that Paul Rivera is nowhere announced for his work,in the eighties/nineties, where TBR amps,were the heart of a lot of racks,of major heavy rock guitarplayers.Like Steve Lukather used first the modified Fender Princeton Reverbs,later the project with his signature Boneheads(still an amazing amp,also the interaction it can have with big PA systems:let the PA take care of it's sub level signal output).
I realy love Rivera amps,owning about 12 pieces(TBR 1,3 TBR 3 poweramps,Bonehead, 2 Knucklehead's 4 M-60/100 combo's and a Quiana 4 × 10") and the sound and feel all High End.To me these amps are "the Dumbles of the Future".
I also own a Soldano Astroverb combo in purple Tolex,put a Jensen Blackbird Alnico in it,sounds okay but too noisy in some ways.I didn't get "the Click with it".