Amp Questions - Gurus req'd - Soldano Atomic 16

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From: "G"
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1999 21:35:27 +1300
Subject: Amp Questions - Gurus req'd - Soldano Atomic 16 - (long)

Hi All,
First prizes to both Mystic Biscuit and Windsaver. Thanks for your help
guys.
The amp I was asking about ~is~ a Saldano Atomic 16
Its a 20 Watt, 12" speaker, 16 ohm, Hi-Z input, dual output, A+B all tube
amp.
No reverb. I can't pretend I know what some of that means.

Its now sitting behind me in my lounge. :))

It was marked down from NZ$1800 to NZ$999 (just over US$500) brand new at
Kiwi Music, I just bought it now.

With the right brand name in hand I was able to uncover some harp-l posts
about them. I read the reviews on the net (thanks for the lead
MysticBiscuit) mostly positive (no harpers though) and checked out the
Saldano site & Harp-L archives.

I was interested that John Popper used a Saldano Atomic 16 head with Mesa
Boogie speakers for shows.

I rang a couple of other shops to ask about the amp, prices & availability -
none available. One shop (without me telling them anything) even suggest I
ring Kiwi Music because they couldn't beat the deal. :)

I was paining over whether to buy it or not, at the last moment rang the
shop & ordered it by credit card. Turns out the shop keeper who delivered
it to me had to take it away from another bloke who had just finished
writing out a cheque for it!

I'll wait for my Madkat to arrive in the post then I'll start experimenting
with it. The condenser vocal mic I have is pretty cheap and its Lo-Z so it
doesn't match the input. It seems to concentrate more on the harmonics of
chords rather than the notes themselves (if you get what I mean), its a bit
"ringy" & quite bright - not like at the shop when I was using the shakers,
I really liked what I got out of it with the shakers.

I've read on this list a new speaker needs to be worked in before you get
the really good tones from the amp (not the harp, the player needs to be
worked in for that)... any comments or corrections on that ?

The manual lists it as having three 12AX7 & two 6BQ5/EL84 tubes.
Can you play with combinations of the three smaller tubes, or do you just
stay with one type ? I guess 12AT7 or 12AUT7 will be mentioned, apparently
the 12AU7 is "cleaner" than the 12AT7 tubes... according to the shop keeper,
he also mentioned they are very rarely bought.... I'm still learning. Any
suggestions here ? Warm tones would be good.

Someone kindly pointed out how I seemed to be concentrating on the tone of
the amps rather than considering the difference in mics, I thought this was
a good point.

When I originally walked into Kiwi Music I was under the impression I'd be
(right or wrong) comparing some Hohner BB mics... but they simply can't
source them in NZ.
However I did get to try the three shaker models instead, and I think if I
want more than the MadKat, I'll be looking at other mics like SM 57, JT30 /
BB, etc - the shakers beat my cheapo vocal condenser mic hands down...
although I'm sure the input mismatch makes it worse. I can't really comment
too much on the differences between them, the dynamic certainly gave
different results than the others and I could not say which I preferred. I
liked the MadKat because I could reproduce the tones and effects I get when
playing acoustically - and the tone it got out of the Soldano was good..
unlike my crappy condensor LO-Z mic. :/

But it became literally very clear there was a big difference between the
Mesa Boogie & Soldano when put side by side, no matter which mic I used.
And I hadn't heard of Soldano before which is why I was asking the question
and focused on the differences. eg. "I have a mic already, any info on the
amp it as it sounded good to me ?"

I'm not interested in the shaker dynamic/crystal models mostly due to its
small shape. Certainly look forward to comparing more mics later on,
problem is I have to buy to try as local supplies are very limited.

Any comments, help & suggestions are certainly welcome - I'm pretty fresh at
this stuff.

- - MysticBiscuit - regarding Hohner BluesBlaster, you're not the only one to
ask what I mean by "comparing the two types".

When I was going through the local Hohner supplier listings with a music
shop attendant we found the BluesBlaster and it was listed as have a dynamic
model and a crystal model - it could be the book was just plain wrong -
thats why I've said it.

Maybe someone would let me know what type of mic BluesBlasters (or JT30's
for that matter) come with ? eg. Dynamic, Crystal / Condensor, are they
Hi-Z ?

Lastly I want to say a big thanks for all the advice, suggestions and help I
have received from so many of you over the year while I have been
considering what to buy for a rig. Its really appreciated guys. :)

Harp On!
G

Original Post by Mystic Biscuit in response to G:
<of months ago.>>
There is only one Hohner bluesblaster, and as far as I know that's all
there's ever been. I'm not sure what you mean here.

<>
are you sure you're not talking about Soldano? I've never played through
one, but Soldano amps are supposed to be great amps. This sounds like a
Soldano Astroverb 16 (1x12, 16W All tube combo) which is around $500 US.
check out the review on Harmony
Central--(http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Soldano/Astroverb_16_1x
12
_Combo-01.html)
Mystic Biscuit
>>

From: G
To: harp-l ; harptalk
Sent: October 06, 1999 06:30
Subject: Amp Question - minimal Harp content.

> This afternoon I got a call from the local music shop to say they had
> finally received three mics for me to try out.
> You see I'd asked to try out the two Hohners Bluesblasters models a couple
> of months ago.
>
> When I got there it turned out they could only get shaker mics. Well
I've
> got a madkat on its way already, so I thought what the hey.
>
> It appears NZ
> music equipment supplies are a problem, with the online shops being what
> they are these days it is becoming difficult to buy good stuff locally in
> NZ.
>
> So I spent about an hour this afternoon honking around with the three
shaker
> mics on a Mesa Boogie and a Salano (Solano ?) tube amp with a couple of
> my Lee Oskars. Loads of fun!
>
> I like the madkat - so I'm looking forward to receiving mine. I'm not so
> keen on the other shaker models, mainly due to the difficulty in holding
> them while playing, I also experience a lot of breath noise with them, I
> definitely would prefer a bullet mic over them just because it would be
> easier to handle - but at least it gave me a chance to compare dynamic vs
> condenser.
>
> IMHO I didn't think much of the Mesa Boogie - it was very difficult to get
> any crunch out of it, and the reverb didn't do anything for me FWIW. It
was
> about the same spec as the other amp I tried there, the Salano.
>
> However I really enjoyed the Soldano, but I can't find any information on
it.
> Its reduced to sell at NZ$999 (~US$510), apparently they're up to NZ$1800
> elsewhere, hand made by a chap by the same name, limited quantities
> available etc, etc , and apparently considered a quality guitar amp.
> 16W, single speaker (10" at a guess) single Hi-Z input, 2 outputs.
> The dials: preamp, which was very useful for controling crunch,
> treble, mid (I kept these low), bass, main volume control and
> presence. There was plenty of control. I liked what I got out of it.
>
> I had the chance to try out and make an offer on a Fender Champ reverb
early
> this week (admittedly with a LO-Z condenser vocal mic) compared to that
the
> Soldano has of course more volume.
>
> But more importantly the range in tone and feel I could express through
this
> amp compared to the champ or MesaBoogie was fantastic. And I am seriously
> thinking about spending that much more on this amp, instead of the Fender
I
> looked at.
>
> Does anyone know anything about Soldano Tube Amps ?
> I'd really like to know more about it.
>
> Harp On!
> G