Soldano caused a stir back in 2020 when it downsized its much-admired SLO-100 head into a new 30-watt format, the SLO-30. Almost immediately, guitarists started requesting a combo option and now the US tube amp manufacturer has given in to demand, debuting the SLO-30 Combo.
The name is not that imaginative, we’ll grant you. However, the same uncompromising all-tube design that won fans on the SLO-30 build is faithfully adhered to on the new model, with five 12AX7 tubes in the preamp and two 5881/6L6 tubes in the power section.
Again, you get the usual Normal and Overdrive channels and independent preamp and master controls, alongside the voicing switch options, a buffered effects loop and variable slave output.
All of which ensures you should have no trouble accessing the sparkling cleans and hearty, harmonic-laden high-gain tones that the SLO-100 and its smaller sibling are renowned for.
Like the standard SLO-100 and -30 options, you also get the depth control mod built-in as standard on the SLO-30 Combo, which can be used alongside the Presence dial to open up the amp’s EQ options.
What the SLO-30 Combo has that the existing heads don’t, of course, is a built-in speaker. Here it comes in the form of a Celestion G12H-150 Redback and Soldano says the resulting tone offers “a tight, fat low end, laid-back treble, and the right amount of Celestion’s signature midrange character to deliver compelling lead lines.”
Sadly, the SLO-30 leaves it to you to actually write said ‘compelling lead lines’. Still, for a new combo, it offers a faithfully old-school combination of British speaker and US manufacturing – all hand-wired and complete with a lifetime warranty, relying on Soldano’s reputation for bombproof builds.
Finally, it’s only appropriate, given Soldano’s amp mods were initially born to service the high-gain heroics of the 1980s, that the SLO-30 Combo is offered in a suitably shred-friendly range of finishes, including purple and snakeskin, alongside the traditional black Tolex.
Price-wise, the Soldano SLO-30 Combo is $3,199 for the black finish, while the Snakeskin and Purple options will set you back $3,399. If you already have a SLO-30 head, you can also now pick up a matching 112 cabinet in open or closed back options.
If that’s all proving a little rich for your tastes, then the good news is that, in recent years Soldano has taken a few steps to balance out its pricey product line.
Now there are two more attainable options for the budget-conscious SLO fan: the solid-state SLO Mini amp head and the Soldano Super Lead Overdrive pedal, which come in at a much less scary $249 and $229, respectively.
For more information on the SLO-30 Combo, head to Soldano.
