Soldano Custom Amplification is a custom

guitar amplifier A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which ar ...

manufacturing company, founded in 1986 by Michael Soldano in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and later relocated to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. It is mostly known for its high gain amps such as its flagship model, the Soldano SLO-100, but the product lineup also includes effect units, pedals and cabinets. All Soldano products are tube-based and are class A/B.

History

Michael Soldano originally worked with his head technician Bill Sundt at Stars Guitars (San Francisco, CA), modifying amps brought to him. He had built his first amp, a

Fender Bassman The Fender Bassman is a bass amplifier series introduced by Fender during 1952. Initially intended to amplify bass guitars, the 5B6 Bassman was used by musicians for other instrument amplification, including the electric guitar, harmonica, and pe ...

clone, with the aid of books being discarded by a library. Michael worked on modifying his version of the Bassman for years, until he bought a

Mesa/Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a sm ...

Mark II and began modifying this amp. The first three SLO amps were based upon this amp and the first one was sold to a friend. The second one was sold to

Howard Leese Howard M. Leese (born June 13, 1951, in Hollywood, California, United States) is an American guitarist, record producer, and musical director who played with Heart as guitarist and keyboardist for 23 years (1975 through 1998). He continues to rec ...

from the band Heart. Within six months, he had sold amps to Steve Lukather, Michael Landau,

Vivian Campbell Vivian Patrick Campbell (born 25 August 1962) is a Northern Irish guitarist. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio, and has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing Steve Clark after his death). Campbell has al ...

Aldo Nova Aldo Nova (born Aldo Caporuscio on November 13, 1956) is a Canadian guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, and producer. He initially gained fame and popularity with the release of his 1982 debut album '' Aldo Nova'' which peaked to ''Billboards ...

, John Fogerty and Lou Reed. Eric Clapton and

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

purchased the SLO-100 when first released in 1987. Guitarist

Tommy Kessler Tommy Kessler is an American guitarist from Springboro, Ohio, currently in the new wave band Blondie. Biography Kessler joined Blondie in April 2010, replacing guitarist Paul Carbonara who had left Blondie during the sessions for their ninth st ...

of Blondie uses the SLO-100(100W) amplifier head in Snakeskin and a matching 2×12 cabinet as part of his touring rig.Tommy Kessler Tour Rig Video 2010
/ref> In 1991, Eddie Van Halen used a SLO 100 (which replaced his famous Marshall 1959 due to technical issues) for the album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Eddie would then go on to design the Peavey 5150, which was based on the Soldano.

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

also used the Soldano SLO 100 amp, from about 1993 onwards, for his lead / dirty channel (into a 4x12" Peavey 5150 cab loaded with EV drivers) along with a Soldano Caswell X99 rack preamp as the front end for his clean channel. The

Experience Music Project The Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then MoPOP has organized ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

contains an area where visitors can play instruments, such as the electric guitar. These rooms contain Soldano amplifiers, along with various

Squier Squier is an American brand of electric guitars owned by Fender. The former manufacturing company, established as "V. C. Squier Company" was founded in 1890 by Victor Carroll Squier in Battle Creek, Michigan, producing strings for violins, ban ...

guitars (including

Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously ...

and

Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes Paul had built a prototype solid body ...

guitars). Soldano also produced the Supercharger G.T.O. which is a high voltage valve driven preamp in a floor pedal. The name "G.T.O." derives from the three control knob names - Gain, Tone, Output. Michael Soldano announced his retirement building amps in 2018, but in 2019 announced he would sell the company to Boutique Amps Distribution and would remain with the company as a designer. In 2020, Soldano released a revamped SLO-100 with added depth control, and a lower-wattage SLO-30 version.

External links

Soldano Custom Amplification

Mike Soldano Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2021)

Notes

{{Reflist Guitar amplifier manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Seattle Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States