The Soldano SLO-30 Combo is finally here – and it comes in purple
The much-requested tube amp is now available in a 1x12” format complete with a Celestion Redback speaker
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.
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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.
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Matt is Features Editor for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.
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