I still have my X88R from 1990 which Mike built for me from his shop in Melrose. Mike told me I was the first Canadian customer who ordered this preamp from him. I waited 4 months for my X88R, he had to put my order on hold because he needed to build two SLOs for Eric Clapton in time for the 1990 “August album” Tour. Mike reached out to me multiple times to apologize for the delay, he’s a super nice guy! A cool little history on my preamp…
I've enjoyed my USA SP77 for 8 years, and I really appreciated this wonderful history lesson and clarity on the design heritage from Soldano himself. Thanks, Michael Toren!
I couldn't believe it when I saw this pop up in the feed. I was putting things together and slowly brains started clicking. Like at first just glancing over videos and seeing a random scene of two guys standing in a rather empty space. Then I noticed it said "rack talk with michael soldano" and then I saw it was from Toren. Mind blown! What a fantastic one. I gotta say it was a great decision to make them pink. It might seem like a crazy idea, who would want pink? Although it was also the 80's so the context might be totally different. But like most amps were very conservative, black tolex and black or silver panels. Suddenly a pink soldano? You can't forget it after you've seen one. It sticks out in any company. It makes a lasting impression and it doesn't look bad, it actually looks great. Not to talk about the tone. Soldano is also great at talking about the gear, he's a pleasure to listen to. Can tell he had to sell his amp by talking back in the day and probably later as well, you barely had to guide him to speak at all. Also love this video in the sense of preserving history. Now there's one place to get the basic info on these units. The core rack units. It's not a complete and exhaustive visit to Soldano's production, but definitely goes through the important pieces that have less recorded data. Stuff you had to piece together around the internet. He was in many ways ahead of the curve. To ever think about motorized amp and actually produce it, with saved presets. It took perhaps 20-30 years to get the same functionality in the form of digital modelling amps. Fully tweakable MIDI controlled amp parameters. And no chance on actual analog tube amps. And oh my god, he had a three space harmonic tremolo with reverb back in the day? That would be all the craze now (not the 3 space and weight and rack though, but still). But with a slight vibrato too. It's just shocking that being the icon he is in the amp building industry and rock world, the innovations he made, that he has barely sold like 1500-2000 rack preamps. Most of them in the US probably as well. There's still SLO100 in production, but harsh truth for the guys who still dream of getting a killer pink preamp. On the other hand it's also seal of quality, I recall Soldano just quit production when he didn't have like a transformer that would be equal or acceptable for some design. Nothing like Marshall just throwing any component close enough in their amps that happened to lie in the shop to match production rates.
What an incredible interview of an absolute legend! X99's less that 200 made, I now feel privileged to have gotten to play a new one in south east Florida.
Man I was just thinking of how great soldano reverbs are and found this. I never had so much fun as when I had a soldano with built in 6 spring reverb (I think) beauty clean, high gain verb and the wickedest high gain feedback loop sound you've ever heard, great for ambient fx on guitar. It's great seeing Mike again. Happy retirement.
Had a rack mounted purple SLO years ago but had a mod to it I didn’t like. Great guy and build quality was great! Used a HR 50 in a studio and the clean channel was fantastic
I love preamps and this video specifically discusses rack preamps by Mike Soldano, where he goes on to mention the similarities between all his designs with minor tweaks. A joy to hear. The motorized controls are rarely seen in any design, Engl and Tegeler have some, with the e580 increasingly rare. Sad fact that more moving parts can go bad and control modules next to impossible to find, there’s a reason tried and true gear we see on the market doesn’t have it. Your guitar has a volume and tone that pretty much accomplish the same thing. Expression pedals are common as well and can be strapped to any MIDI value through 128. My routers will do any patch point, so either the inputs or outputs. Because like he says, so little gear has motorized control via MIDI. There’s alternatives. The late 80s and early 90s had quite a bit of action in the MIDI preamp market, where Mesa, Marshall, SR&D, ADA, Digitech, and ART all had high tech. These days it’s increasingly rare. Black Widow MGP-1a and KSR Artemis are both exceptional and overbuilt. I’m hoping Tegeler joins the fray. 19” forever.
This is great! Definitely don't see the surf or space box very often. Interesting that Bradshaw says he pretty much designed the X88 but Mike also claims to have designed it. Both guys do awesome stuff anyway and I'd love an X88!
Being able to control a pot with a foot controller??? That is a GREAT idea. Leave it to Mike Soldano to pull that off. I'd kill to be able to do that with a gain control on a single channel amp, that when dimed sounds killer, and when pulled back has a great clean....like a Dirty Shirley.
The caswell motorized system was genius for this time, still today. The jet city line that Soldano designed is also vastly underated, they didnt price the product line high enough so market didnt really had respect for what it was.
I own one of those. I had one 25 years ago but I had sold it. FF 20 years later…I found one for sale on EBay. It turned out that the seller actually lived 5 miles away from me. How lucky is that? I bought it the same day. Great unit. Only thing I don’t like about it is the weird power requirement. 30 volts. And the power supply transformer gets pretty hot.
If they all have the same SLO lead channel… how come the x88 and sp77 sound different in A/B test videos?… would this just be tube differences and component tolerances?
There really isn't a good source for X88r knobs (without a high minimum quantity purchase). There was a seller on eBay not too long ago that was selling sets but I don't see them now.
Small knobs: SIFAM S151-250 COLLET KNOB 15.5mm diameter, 0.25 inch shaft, black SIFAM C151 KNOB CAP For S150, S151, K150, W151, with line, grey Large knobs: SIFAM S211-250 COLLET KNOB 21.5mm diameter, 0.25 inch shaft, black SIFAM C211 KNOB CAP For S210, SW211, with line, grey
Got an SP77 that I picked up around ‘91. Love it. Been using an old Mosvalve Tubeworks as the power section. Thinking about getting a Fryette. Any recommendations on the best tube power amp for a 77?
I have a VHT 2/90/2 from 2008 and this is the only piece of gear i will never sell. I have tried it with many preamps and i have to say that even cheap preamps can sound bigger with this power amplifier. Go for a Fryette 2/90/2 (is the same VHT 2/90/2 as you probably know) and you will never regret. And for the last 2 years i have EL34's inside my VHT instead of KT88 and it sounds more Marshall-ish. Steven Fryette is a genius. Rehearsals,lives,traveling around in a gator rack case, no problems at all, very reliable power amp. Boss GT, Rocktron various pre-amps, Digitech GNX and more tested. I run mine stereo through two 4x12 Clestion Vintage 30's Cabinets and the tone is massive!
I have always wanted the X88R. Now I just want a Soldano Decatone or a modded SLO with concentric gain, master volumes and eq controls to separate those channels. 3 channels works better for me.
@@Burkhimself I have an old probably early 90s hot rod 50 white snakeskin but to be honest I don't like it too much, not too much gain and is not punchy at all
@@Burkhimself So why selling the SLO and the avenger at the same time? what was the purpose of doing that type of advertising at that time? are they identical?
@@aydeechapa2552 my understanding is that the avenger has a slightly “less expensive” transformer, single channel, and most did not have an effects loop. I simpler circuit (& less expensive)…..stripped down.
I still have my X88R from 1990 which Mike built for me from his shop in Melrose. Mike told me I was the first Canadian customer who ordered this preamp from him. I waited 4 months for my X88R, he had to put my order on hold because he needed to build two SLOs for Eric Clapton in time for the 1990 “August album” Tour. Mike reached out to me multiple times to apologize for the delay, he’s a super nice guy! A cool little history on my preamp…
I've enjoyed my USA SP77 for 8 years, and I really appreciated this wonderful history lesson and clarity on the design heritage from Soldano himself. Thanks, Michael Toren!
What an awesome video! Thanks for doing this Toren and Soldano!
I Have a 1 Space Soldano preamp that Mike built for me in late 88. It was at the Melrose Hollywood Shop. Sounds Amazing!
I HAVE THE #1 SPACE BOX WITH SPACE BABE
1 of 3!!!
I couldn't believe it when I saw this pop up in the feed. I was putting things together and slowly brains started clicking. Like at first just glancing over videos and seeing a random scene of two guys standing in a rather empty space. Then I noticed it said "rack talk with michael soldano" and then I saw it was from Toren. Mind blown! What a fantastic one.
I gotta say it was a great decision to make them pink. It might seem like a crazy idea, who would want pink? Although it was also the 80's so the context might be totally different. But like most amps were very conservative, black tolex and black or silver panels. Suddenly a pink soldano? You can't forget it after you've seen one. It sticks out in any company. It makes a lasting impression and it doesn't look bad, it actually looks great. Not to talk about the tone.
Soldano is also great at talking about the gear, he's a pleasure to listen to. Can tell he had to sell his amp by talking back in the day and probably later as well, you barely had to guide him to speak at all. Also love this video in the sense of preserving history. Now there's one place to get the basic info on these units. The core rack units. It's not a complete and exhaustive visit to Soldano's production, but definitely goes through the important pieces that have less recorded data. Stuff you had to piece together around the internet. He was in many ways ahead of the curve. To ever think about motorized amp and actually produce it, with saved presets. It took perhaps 20-30 years to get the same functionality in the form of digital modelling amps. Fully tweakable MIDI controlled amp parameters. And no chance on actual analog tube amps.
And oh my god, he had a three space harmonic tremolo with reverb back in the day? That would be all the craze now (not the 3 space and weight and rack though, but still). But with a slight vibrato too.
It's just shocking that being the icon he is in the amp building industry and rock world, the innovations he made, that he has barely sold like 1500-2000 rack preamps. Most of them in the US probably as well. There's still SLO100 in production, but harsh truth for the guys who still dream of getting a killer pink preamp. On the other hand it's also seal of quality, I recall Soldano just quit production when he didn't have like a transformer that would be equal or acceptable for some design. Nothing like Marshall just throwing any component close enough in their amps that happened to lie in the shop to match production rates.
He’s an Amp Guru and Absolute Legend
What an interview Michael. Humble guy who is happy to share knowledge. Fantastic stuff
Mike x2 for the win! Killer vid
What an incredible interview of an absolute legend! X99's less that 200 made, I now feel privileged to have gotten to play a new one in south east Florida.
Man I was just thinking of how great soldano reverbs are and found this. I never had so much fun as when I had a soldano with built in 6 spring reverb (I think) beauty clean, high gain verb and the wickedest high gain feedback loop sound you've ever heard, great for ambient fx on guitar.
It's great seeing Mike again. Happy retirement.
This was a great history lesson and nice to actually see THE guy explaining the history of his brand. I love soldano sound!
Awesome to hear these stories from the man himself ;)
Thanks Michael, and greetings from Italy
Wow those are just gorgeous! Great video! :) love learning the history behind this legendary gear.
Thanks for doing this Mike and documenting for history!
Love this. Thanks to both Mikes! ......30 years of playing guitar and I've never played through a Soldano. ......now I'm sad.
I've been playing since 1996, never played through a Soldano, either. 🤔 I'd love to try one, I'm sure they're on a lot of recordings I listen to.
Had a rack mounted purple SLO years ago but had a mod to it I didn’t like. Great guy and build quality was great! Used a HR 50 in a studio and the clean channel was fantastic
Mike Soldano is amazinlgy humble. He's a great guy and those racks!! ...
That interview was awesome. I like everything he makes. The hunt continues for a couple more prized Soldano pieces!!
I love preamps and this video specifically discusses rack preamps by Mike Soldano, where he goes on to mention the similarities between all his designs with minor tweaks. A joy to hear.
The motorized controls are rarely seen in any design, Engl and Tegeler have some, with the e580 increasingly rare. Sad fact that more moving parts can go bad and control modules next to impossible to find, there’s a reason tried and true gear we see on the market doesn’t have it. Your guitar has a volume and tone that pretty much accomplish the same thing. Expression pedals are common as well and can be strapped to any MIDI value through 128. My routers will do any patch point, so either the inputs or outputs.
Because like he says, so little gear has motorized control via MIDI. There’s alternatives.
The late 80s and early 90s had quite a bit of action in the MIDI preamp market, where Mesa, Marshall, SR&D, ADA, Digitech, and ART all had high tech. These days it’s increasingly rare. Black Widow MGP-1a and KSR Artemis are both exceptional and overbuilt. I’m hoping Tegeler joins the fray.
19” forever.
I like the story behind the X99. That is really cool too. I was excited about the Midi Jet City prototype amp. Disappointed it was never made.
Thanks, guys!
awesome stuff. love my Soldano Hot Rod 50. you are currently 666 subs. pure rock
Mike Soldano is a legend! Fantastic interview. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for this great video, and thanks for making the SLO 30 Mike. 🤘
This is great!...Love that Guy, & you too Man!...Thanx for this!...
Soldano ...should build these preamps ....again !!!!
I had an SLO 100 rack amp in 1988. I have heard that the FX loop and clean channels have improved on these since then.
Wow Great Stuff!! Loved this
Great video my man! The legend with legendary gear and great stories. Mr Toren keep up the rad content
Awesome interview!
great insights! Thank you
Awesome chat!
Such a great video Mike! Thanks for this! Always wanted to know about the surf box and space box
This is great! Definitely don't see the surf or space box very often.
Interesting that Bradshaw says he pretty much designed the X88 but Mike also claims to have designed it.
Both guys do awesome stuff anyway and I'd love an X88!
The man!!
Sick interview man!
Nice C2 Mike!
Being able to control a pot with a foot controller??? That is a GREAT idea. Leave it to Mike Soldano to pull that off. I'd kill to be able to do that with a gain control on a single channel amp, that when dimed sounds killer, and when pulled back has a great clean....like a Dirty Shirley.
The caswell motorized system was genius for this time, still today. The jet city line that Soldano designed is also vastly underated, they didnt price the product line high enough so market didnt really had respect for what it was.
There was a Tube Works stereo Tube Reverb that was really cool. I want to hear the Surfbox now.
I own one of those.
I had one 25 years ago but I had sold it. FF 20 years later…I found one for sale on EBay. It turned out that the seller actually lived 5 miles away from me. How lucky is that? I bought it the same day.
Great unit. Only thing I don’t like about it is the weird power requirement. 30 volts. And the power supply transformer gets pretty hot.
100% Gold.
I wish there were kits to build these preamps.
Epic!
Best amps ever. Why did he ever close up shop? And... All the time, I'm thinking... Show that Vette over there...
If they all have the same SLO lead channel… how come the x88 and sp77 sound different in A/B test videos?… would this just be tube differences and component tolerances?
Damn I wish he said what tank was is the surf and space box
I have an sp77 (it's my favorite preamp ever) Where can I get the x88 knobs to put on it?
There really isn't a good source for X88r knobs (without a high minimum quantity purchase). There was a seller on eBay not too long ago that was selling sets but I don't see them now.
Small knobs:
SIFAM S151-250 COLLET KNOB 15.5mm diameter, 0.25 inch shaft, black
SIFAM C151 KNOB CAP For S150, S151, K150, W151, with line, grey
Large knobs:
SIFAM S211-250 COLLET KNOB 21.5mm diameter, 0.25 inch shaft, black
SIFAM C211 KNOB CAP For S210, SW211, with line, grey
Got an SP77 that I picked up around ‘91. Love it. Been using an old Mosvalve Tubeworks as the power section. Thinking about getting a Fryette. Any recommendations on the best tube power amp for a 77?
I have a VHT 2/90/2 from 2008 and this is the only piece of gear i will never sell. I have tried it with many preamps and i have to say that even cheap preamps can sound bigger with this power amplifier. Go for a Fryette 2/90/2 (is the same VHT 2/90/2 as you probably know) and you will never regret. And for the last 2 years i have EL34's inside my VHT instead of KT88 and it sounds more Marshall-ish. Steven Fryette is a genius. Rehearsals,lives,traveling around in a gator rack case, no problems at all, very reliable power amp. Boss GT, Rocktron various pre-amps, Digitech GNX and more tested. I run mine stereo through two 4x12 Clestion Vintage 30's Cabinets and the tone is massive!
@@TheodoreGuitarLove Thanks. I've always wanted a VHT since back in the day. You've got some great gear. Gonna pull the trigger on the Fryette.
I have always wanted the X88R. Now I just want a Soldano Decatone or a modded SLO with concentric gain, master volumes and eq controls to separate those channels. 3 channels works better for me.
No x99.... huh, still some awesome stuff in that rack
He actually had one on the shelf, still sealed in factory plastic.
HI MIKE. MR.MANI
DId he said or did I understand that the hot rod 50 is the same circuitry as the SLO 100? same channel?
It’s close, but not identical. I owned a hot Rod 50, played several SLO’s. To my knowledge, it can be modded to get really close.
@@Burkhimself I have an old probably early 90s hot rod 50 white snakeskin but to be honest I don't like it too much, not too much gain and is not punchy at all
Can someone tell me what circuit is the avenger?
SLO
@@Burkhimself So why selling the SLO and the avenger at the same time? what was the purpose of doing that type of advertising at that time? are they identical?
@@aydeechapa2552 my understanding is that the avenger has a slightly “less expensive” transformer, single channel, and most did not have an effects loop. I simpler circuit (& less expensive)…..stripped down.
God.. I will get a rackmount SLO one of these days. It’s my amp white whale.
Those are such awesome amps!
Thomas Edison, Nicola Tesla, Albert Einstein, Edward Teller and MIKE SOLDANO.
This guy is granted an audience with 'the Pope', and he forgets to turn-off his phone....FAIL!