Soldano is a guitar amplifier

Guitar amplifier

A guitar amplifier is an electronic amplifier designed to make the signal of an electric or acoustic guitar louder so that it will produce sound through a loudspeaker...

 manufacturing company, founded in 1986 by Michael Soldano in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 and later relocated to Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

. It is mostly known for its modern high gain amps, particularly their flagship model — Soldano SLO-100, but product lineup also features effect units, pedals and cabinets. All Soldano products are tube-based and are class A/B.
Michael Soldano originally worked with his head technician Bill Sundt at Stars Guitars (San Francisco, CA), modding amps brought to him. He had built his first amp, a Fender Bassman

Fender Bassman

The Fender Bassman was a bass amplifier introduced by Fender in 1952. Although it was originally designed for bass guitars, it was frequently used for normal electric guitar in rock and roll, blues, and country bands.-History:...

 clone with the aid of books being thrown away from his mother's library, because they thought the technology had become obsolete. Michael nicknamed this amp "Mr. Science," and it can be seen in a Seattle museum today. Michael worked on modifying his Bassman for years, until he bought a Mesa/Boogie Mark II and began modifying this amp. The first three SLO amps were based upon this amp and the first one was sold to Howard Leese

Howard Leese

Howard M. Leese is an American guitarist, record producer and musical director who played with Heart for 22 years...

 from the band Heart. Within 6 months, he had sold amps to Michael Landau

Michael Landau

Michael Landau is a prolific session musician and guitarist who has played on a large number of albums since the early 1980s with artists as varied as Seal, James Taylor, Helen Watson, Richard Marx, Steve Perry, Pink Floyd and Miles Davis...

, Vivian Campbell

Vivian Campbell

Vivian Patrick Campbell is a Northern Irish rock guitarist who is a member of Def Leppard and was, from May 2010 to November 2011, a member of Thin Lizzy. Prior to joining Def Leppard in April 1992, he had been a member of Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King...

 and Lou Reed

Lou Reed

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...

.

Soldano has earned a reputation amongst guitar players - professional and hobbyists - of putting out products that are very high in build quality and using high quality components that surpass many other high-end manufacturers (Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...

 and Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler

Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...

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

Tommy Kessler

Tommy Kessler is American guitar player currently in the new wave/rock band, Blondie. He joined the band in April 2010, replacing guitarist Paul Carbonara who had left Blondie to pursue other projects. When not touring with Blondie, he performs as a guitarist in the fictional 1980's Rock Band...

 of Blondie

Blondie (band)

Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...

 uses the SLO-100(100W) amplifier head in Snakeskin and a matching 2x12 cabinet as part of his touring rig. While the amplifiers are generally priced higher than those of others (such as Mesa/Boogie or Marshall), their users tend to hold on to and cherish the amplifiers due to their smooth overdrive characteristics. Soldano is also known for having one of the best levels of customer support.

The Experience Music Project

Experience Music Project

The EMP Museum is a museum dedicated to the history and exploration of both popular music and science fiction located in Seattle, Washington...

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

Squier

Squier is a musical instrument brand name owned by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.-History:Fender, under the ownership of CBS, acquired the Squier brand name in 1965 when it bought a USA based string making firm , but it lay dormant for many years...

 guitars (including a wide selection of Strats and Teles).

Preamplifiers

• SP-77 (2 channel)
• SP-77 series II (2 channel)
• X-88R (Three channel)
• X-99 (120 user presets, with motorized MIDI-controlled knobs)

Amplifier heads

• Avenger (50W)
• Avenger (100W)
• Astro Head (20W)
• Atomic Head (20W)
• Decatone (100W)
• Hot Rod 50(50W)
• Hot Rod 50+ (50w)
• Hot Rod 100 (100W)
• Lucky 13 Head (50W / 100W)
• Decatone (100W, Three channel)
• SLO-100 (100W)
• SL-60 Series II (60W) Only made in 1991 and produced at approximately 150 pieces.

Combo amplifiers

• Atomic (20W, 1x12)
• Astroverb (20W, 1x12 / 2x12)
• Lucky 13 Combo (50W / 100W, 2x12)
• Reverb-o-Sonic (50W, 2x12)
• Decatone (100W, Three channel)
• SLO-100 (100W, 2x12)

Cabinets

• 2x12 Cabinet
• 2x12 Semi-Open Cabinet
• 2x12 Empty Cabinet
• 2x12 Semi-Open Empty Cabinet
• 4x12 Empty Cabinet
• 4x12 Lucky 13 Cabinet
• 4x12 Lucky 13 Empty Cabinet
• Space Box Empty Cabinet

Effects

• Surf Box (tremolo & vibrato rack unit / 100 units made)
• Supercharger G.T.O. (distortion pedal, based on SLO-100) - Now discontinued
• Space Box (reverb rack unit / amp)