Description
Soldano’s Super Lead Overdrive 100 (SLO-100) set the standard for modern high-gain
amplification. It all started in 1987, when Seattle-native Mike Soldano built one of the first high-
gain amp heads with searing harmonics and the perfect balance of gain, sustain and tight touch
response. Soon after Mike moved to Los Angeles and displayed his revolutionary amp at the
1987 NAMM show. It didn’t take long for the industry to take notice. The now legendary SLO-
100 had arrived!
The SLO completely changed what players came to expect from amps. They shelved their old
amps and replaced them with this foot-switchable 100-watt monster, loaded with player-friendly
features. While the amp’s drive channel found it backing up renowned rock guitarists like Mick
Mars (Motley Crue), Warren de Martini (Ratt), and Howard Leese (Heart), its clear and tactile
clean channel and bluesy crunch also made the SLO the first choice for non-metal stalwarts,
such as Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Warren Haynes, Gary Moore and Lou Reed to name a
few. Today, the amp’s tone and steadfast reliability remains a go-to for thousands of guitarists
around the world.
History of the SLO-100R (Rack)
Like many of Mike Soldano’s creations, the rackmount 100W Super Lead Overdrive was a
product driven by the needs of professional touring guitarists. In the fall of 1987, Vivian
Campbell (Dio, Whitesnake and Def Leppard), requested Mike to build him a couple of custom
amps. Vivian heard the SLO-100 Steve Lukather recently purchased and loved the way it
sounded, especially the Overdrive channel.
Vivian was having Bob Bradshaw design a new rack system for him and wanted it to have the
“Soldano” sound, but didn’t want the hassle of hauling around an additional flight case to contain
these amps. At his request, Soldano built him two rack-mountable, single-channel SLO-100s.
Vivian didn’t need both of the channels the SLO offered, he was only interested in the Overdrive
channel. It is these two single channel amps that inspired Mike to develop a fully featured SLO-
100 rackmount amp version for other guitarists who wanted an all-in-one-case rack system.
And with that, the SLO-100R was born.
Unfortunately, by 1990, the popularity of rack-type systems had waned. In total Soldano built
only about 200 of the rack amps which have since become the prized possession of the lucky
few that own them.
The SLO-100R is now back and better than ever!
The new Soldano Super Lead Overdrive 100 delivers upon the “SLO’s” legendary reputation in
both appearance and performance but with the addition of some wildly popular, player-
requested features. The SLO-100 continues to be hand-crafted in the United States using only
the highest-grade components and is backed by a limited lifetime warranty.
The SLO-100 RACK Upgrades:
Master Level Control
The SLO-100 RACK features a front panel Master Level control that uniformly adjusts
the power amp level across both channels.
Depth Switch
Historically, one of the most popular SLO “mods” is the addition of a DEPTH control to
the amplifier’s power section. The SLO-100 RACK includes a three position Depth
switch, which in combination of the Presence controls provides a powerful EQ section
that goes well beyond a typical tone stack, enhancing the tonal possibilities of the amp’s
sonic character.
Improved Noise Floor
The new SLO-100 features modern grounding, a DC based filament circuit and circuit
separation to avoid crosstalk between the channels resulting in an excellent signal-to-
noise ratio without altering the amp’s tone.
Versatile & Transparent effects loop
The newly designed ultra-transparent tube-buffered effects loop handles anything from
vintage pedals to high-powered rack units.
Front panel channel switching
Players familiar with the original SLOs will be elated at Soldano’s inclusion of an
onboard channel-select toggle switch. Perfect for applications such as studios, where
you don’t want to rely on a footswitch.
The new Soldano SLO-100R is the perfect combination of iconic design, impeccable
craftsmanship and modern performance. Every detail of the original head’s design being
accounted for with extreme attention to tone, detail and quality. Mike Soldano created his
legendary masterpiece to be the best and most versatile amplifier in the world. Over three
decades later, that hasn’t changed one bit.
Features:
● 100-watt all-tube rackmount amp
● Hand wired in the USA
● Purple Anodized front panel
● Legendary high-gain and clean tones that defined modern rock
● Crystal cleans and harmonically rich crunch tones via the Normal channel’s Bright and
Crunch switches
● Thick and incredibly tight drive to distorted tones throughout the Overdrive channel’s
range
● Instant switching from Normal to Overdrive channels via the included footswitch or new
front-mounted toggle
● Independent Preamp and Volume controls
● Master Volume control
● Global 3-band EQ, Presence and new three-position Depth Switch
● Improved tube-buffered FX loop
● New DC heater circuit dramatically reduces the amp’s noise floor
● New custom transformers improve upon the famous originals
● Variable Slave output offers direct recording, use with IRs, combining amps, and more
● 4, 8, or 16-ohm speaker cabinets outputs
● Preamp Tubes: 5 x 12AX7 / ECC83
● Power Tubes: 4 x 5881 / 6L6
● Limited lifetime warranty
● Dimensions (4 Rack Space): 19” (W) x 10” (D) x 7” (H)
● Weight: 42 pounds
