The Best High Gain Amps Ever? Soldano SLO-100 vs Astro 20

0:00 Backstory
2:59 SLO-100 vs Astro 20 in the mix!
5:13 No post processing
6:44 SLO-100 vs Astro 20 on their own!
8:00 Best high gain amps ever?

[jackkosto]

Well, I think we're all "Amped" for where this is going :D

[SonicDriveStudio]

Great video! I love my Soldanos. The Astro is no slouch!

[progpogs]

Did you record the astro with a reactive load, or with the direct out? I can tell the difference, but it still sounds quite good, and its a lot more convenient and lower priced.

[jeffallen]

Love the SLO just a bit better. It has a bit more high end "sizzle" that the Astro doesn't have here. But like you said, I'm sure adjusting the EQ would probably work.

[lostwoods]

Man, I'm really tempted by that Astro 20. May I ask, a few years ago you did a video on the SLO-30 and mentioned in the comments that the SLO-100 was a lot beefier. Do you find the Astro 20 compares favorably to the SLO-30? I like that the SLO-30 uses EL34s, but the switching options on the Astro 20 are much better.

[frantiseksvarc]

I must say that I prefered the Astro. 100 kinda lacked low end to me. But that was when played solo. In the mix, I didn't hear that much of a difference.

[roberteffler]

Bought the Astro about 6 months ago, could not believe what a cheap piece of crap it was imo gave it a week and sent it back

[nevusofota]

I totally agree with your take on the Astro. Maybe one of the best amps on the past 20 years and one of the best deals. I’ve seen people get these for $1700 new. It’s basically a 9 channel amp when switched via midi. And the clean channel is near perfect. I’ve been gigging it for 3 months and it is doing a superb job.

[BrainDeadTX]

Sounds like ML sound lab will be coming out with a Soldano amp sim (wink, wink) 😄

[JuddOakes]

this was a great comparison. As soon as I could I got the Astro 20 due to the fact it had all those present day features and the flexability is just great while still maintaining that Soldano sound. The no cab option and built in IR is just a great feature plus all the midi programability. Soldano knocked it out of the park on this and didnt just come out with a slo 20 you know. I also like it still maintains note definition. I think the bass response is more tighter in the astro but I feel if you wanted more just crank it up a bit more but as you said the flub is good with this one. I am glad to come across this comparison. Thanks for doing it.

[ConstantineM]

I have read somewhere that Soldano's tone is very dependent on power tube stage, so you need to crank master really high, cause it will sound the best. Is that true?

[phillamoore]

Incredible video....to say the very least. Hitting the Like & Subscribe buttons for this video alone. I would love to have heard you try and see how close you could truly get them...although, like you said, they're incredibly close, as is. The technology involved in the Astro helps compensate for the lack of quality tubes today which has hurt the SLO over the years. But, if this comparison is with the Astro not being "dialed in", then you may be able to get sounding even better (which is a blasphemous thing to say🤣). And, btw, the recto's are close to an SLO, because (and I make NO apologies for saying this), per Friedman himself, the rectifier's pre-amp is a clone of the SLO, down to the color, and placement of the capacitors. Which is why I'll neve own a Boogie. There's no excuse for that. Yes, none of these guys invented the wheel. They're ALL based on a Fender of some sort. But, NO ONE is copying preamps down to the sheen on the solder (short of some shameless, douche in china). *That said...there's STILL nothing on the planet that has the bite, articulation, mid-focused punch, and tightness of a well-dialed in SLO 100 (especially it's "super-crunch" As killer (and practical) as that Astro is, I think if I were in your shoes, I'd pick-up a Fryette attenuator for the 100, if volume is your main issue.*

[lastcall]

Great sounding and composed backing track.

[s_kid]

I know that Soldano is the "holy grail" but to be honest, I couldn't really like its sound character/texture compared to also classic stuffs like boosted Marshall and Mesa (which can be very different from each other) or other unique sound characters, like a high gain Orange. (Of course, it's a matter of taste. I've never tried the head itself, my opinion was formed based on various comparative tests.)

[bigjoeisgood]

Nice ! I prefer the old Soldano. So far. But Astro is really cool.

[SHARt_murmur]

Right there with ya, my favorite high gain amp!

[OldTomato]

Make both into NAM packs and sell them! Then grab a good Soldano cab to put into the Mikko 3 plugin...

[Andy_Yates]

I have the block letter plugin and it's been fantastic. I love how efficient it is with my laptop's resources and the tone is great. I have an Astro and an SLO30 and I'd love to see an Astro sim. My one wish would be an easier way to save an update to my current presets. I click save and it acts more like a save as. This normally isn't a big deal except I use midi to switch my presets and I'd rather not have to do the shuffle on my midi settings or create a new preset + delete the old one to keep the slot I'm using

[TK]

OG SLO has rounder low end and Astro is little bit tighter low end.

[sixstringdisciple]

I didn't enjoy the Astro as much as I had hoped 😔 I liked it through the IR's, didn't like it in the room as much.