Soldano 44

The Soldano 44 Blues City Music Signature combo amp came to life thanks to numerous requests from session players, professional musicians, and regular guys like myself that love to play music, but smart enough to keep a day job. It is built like a tank in true Soldano fashion, and is ONLY AVAILABLE from Blues City Music.

For those of you unfamiliar with this amp, I asked Mike Soldano to research the possibility of an “Astroverb” sized combo amp (17.5” x 17.5” x 10” and under 50 lbs.), but with 6L6/5881 output tubes pushed by 50 watt transformers, 5 12AX7’s, a reverb circuit as lush as possible, a standard tone stack including a presence control, a pregain control, and a Normal and Lead Master Volume. What makes this amp so different from any other small sized combo amp on the market is that YOU, the customer, have 5 different options to choose from in regards to CUSTOMER upgrades. These include 2 choices of tolex color, 4 speaker choices, 2 chassis to speaker and 2 reverb tank harness choices, 3 Studio Slips custom cover choices, and 3 preamp configurations.

Blues City Music and Soldano Custom Amplification have teamed together to offer you the finest and most versatile lightweight combo amplifier available and I will have an initial stock of 20 44 BCM Signature model amps.

Regardless of whether you play at home or in a live venue, you will quickly find out that this amp can run quietly at home or with any 50 watt amp with ease.

*** Premier Guitar Magazine review of the Soldano 44 Blues City Music
Signature combo amp 5 out of 5 ***

Click on thumbnail to read review online

Premier Guitar - August 2008

Review: Soldano 44 Blues City Music Signature Amp
by Mike Mueller

Buying an amp isn’t as straightforward as it used to be – and that’s fine by me. Some of us are looking for particular features or configurations that you just don’t find in your local music store’s offerings. Luckily, one of the coolest industry trends on the rise is the customizable amp from an established manufacturer; with the extra tweaking being done by the customer, a retailer or some combination thereof.

Such is the case with the Soldano 44, a real-deal Soldano amp that is only offered by Blues City Music, a retail store just outside Memphis. Blues City owner James “Lynn” Burke had a particular vision for an amp he wanted to use in the studio himself, so he worked with Mike Soldano and Bill Sundt of Soldano Amplification to create it. Here’s what he was thinking: Astroverb-sized 50-watt combo amp pushing 6L6/5881 output tubes, five 12AX7’s, a reverb, a standard tone stack and a pre-gain control. The idea was to fuse Soldano tone and craftsmanship with his own take on what the ultimate gigging amp would be – a killer sounding, versatile workhouse that is more portable than a 50 lb tube head with a 4x12 cab.

The end result is a 1x12” combo amp that can be further customized Burke. Other options include two Tolex colors (black or Regency Blue), speakers (Jensen Blackbird Jet Alnico, Celestion V30, Soldano-tweaked Eminence Legend or Jensen Neo), verb tank harnesses and special-made Studio Slip covers. Two other preamp configurations are available, too – in addition to the Electro-Harmonix 12AX7-EH setup, players wanting cleaner headroom can order the 44 with JJ ECC 83S tubes while players who dig higher gain can ask for Tung-Sol 12AX7s.

The model I received was equipped with five Tung-Sol 12AX7 hi-gain preamp tubes and a 12” Jensen Blackbird Jet Alnico speaker. The speaker and reverb tank harnesses were connected with 10 gauge Solid Cable wire. I’ve seen a lot of combos in my day but this one was very different from the get-go.

The base model comes with an industry standard power cord but my review came equipped with big upgrade - the Monster Cable MPL 300 power chord. From a glance you’d think it ran on 220. Burke says he can also upgrade the amp with a Solid Cable power cord that is even bigger.

The control panel is clever, yet simple, with an input, a pre-gain control and standard tone controls (bass, mid, treble). Dual volume controls for foot-switchable Normal and Lead levels are basically operate as a built-in boost and the Presence control lets you shape the top of your tone as you see fit. Every pot is calibrated from 0 to 11. The standby and power switches on my review model were flanked with a blue pilot light that matched the cabinet’s rich Regency Blue Tolex. I’m always a fan of having such controls on the front of an amp as I’d rather not reach around the back and fumble around in the dark. The back of the amp was limited to the power cord, two speaker jacks, the impedance selector knob and 2 fuses.

The Soldano 44’s reverb tank is not mounted to the amp, it actually resides in its own case that stays in place via Velcro, preventing amp noise from tainting the sound. I found the reverb to be very lush and usable – not too washed out and not too dry. However, those looking for canyon-sized, surf rock reverb will not find it here. For rhythm, I kept it at 2, or just a hair below. For leads I liked it up around 5.

The 44 is extremely versatile for a single channel amp. I was able to get a great blues tone, soaring with just the right grit, with the pre around 6. Backing off the volume on your guitar cleans up the dirt nicely. Even with the volume cranked I could play 7th and 9th chords while still retaining clarity. When lowering the pre a hair and raising the master volume a touch I was able to get a great Nashville sound with my Tele.

If classic rock is your thing, you’ll be in hog’s heaven playing PAF’s through the Soldano 44. Crunchy, muscular, singing tone just pushes out of this amp. It handled everything I threw at it – my Strat, myTele, my Les Paul with EMGs. Even cranked up all the way, this amp never got flabby or showed signs of farting out.

I would rank this amp’s versatility somewhere between unbelievable and ridiculous. I’ve never seen a 50 watt, 1x12 combo put out death metal with such power and razor sharp edges while still being able to turn around and sing clean combo jazz with all the responsiveness and musicality you’d normally expect from a very specific-minded boutique creation. I can see how this amp would get a lot of use in a busy studio – it is dead quiet and subtle or raunchy loud and full. It’s fun to test the limits of its ability to push hard with very controllable breakup. In terms of sheer volume, I could hardly believe what it was doing with just 50 watts. If you play in larger clubs, you can hook up a 4x12 cab at 8 ohms with no worries at all.

The control layout takes a second to get used to but once you do, it’s hard to go back to anything else. Between the Pre, the Normal Volume, the Lead Volume and my guitar’s own volumes controls, I had a range of maneuverability that was truly inspiring and potentially pedal-killing.

I could see many a player settling in with this amp for a very long haul. It’s a powerful workhorse that is well suited for growling (at least with the Tung-Sols) and precision studio work. In the amp world, the “versatility” claim has become clichéd and abused by now, but this is an amp that truly delivers on that front. It is an expressive tone tool that is engineered for nuanced playing but it is so much more. If you’ve lived the dream of hauling 4x12 cabs and 50 lbs tube heads I’d venture to guess that this little combo won’t disappoint you.

Testimonials

Gary Usher Jr. of Metal Blade Records in Phoenix, Arizona, and lead guitarist for the aggressive Surf Band "SprayFace" says:

"I like my amps Hot & Lean...The new Blues 44 takes me from 0 to 10 in 10 seconds...just the way I like it!!"

Dr. William MacDonald of Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, says:

"I have had one of these now for a few months. I also have almost every other amp known to mankind. This amp is a killer amp for the size and price. Clean, crunchy and very forgiving. The size is also very versatile for performing. I found Lynn easy to deal with and very straight forward. I think this is a great amp - it may not please everyone but it must be pretty close. You can't say that about many amps these days."

Tommy Beard, of Fat Tone Pickups, and guitarist for Nashville recording artist, Billy Reason says:

"I had the pleasure of housing the first BCM 44 amp at the Fat Tone Pickups booth at Winter NAMM 08. First of all, I have to say that it was built like a tank as well as being as portable as I have ever seen for that much power. I loved the Blue tolex as well. Cool and different.

As far as the sound goes, I found it to be extremely versatile. It will do a lot of things well. As well, that is extremely subject to what you plug into it. With a Tele, I got tremendous clean, spanky Nashville tones. With my Paul and the amp gained up, it was raunchy and mean ala SLO, but semi cleaned up nicely with a volume roll off.

Remember, it is a single channel amp, so the range of clean to dirty is limited. you have to set it for the range that you are working in and rely on your volume control. Don't expect multi channel extreme versatility.
That's not what it is about and if that's what you need, then buy an amp with more than one channel. Another way around that may be to use one master louder than the other and roll off a little. Huge complex overdrive when really cranked up loud and alot of clean headroom when used with low input or less gain and a cranked master. I really dug it!"

Click on thumbnails to enlarge images

1. Single "SLO Crunch Channel" for simplicity and tone preservation
2. 1 x 12” combo
3. 48 lbs.
4. Astroverb combo sized cabinet with semi open or fully open back
5. 50 watts (44 watts of clean headroom before breakup)
6. 2-5881/6L6 power amp tubes
7. 5-12AX7LP preamp tubes
8. 3 spring Magic reverb tank
9. Bass, middle, treble, and presence controls
10. Pregain and Master controls
11. Finishing Master/Boost activated by the included Soldano pedal
12. 2 speaker jacks, 1 footswitch jack, 4, 8, or 16 ohm impedance selector
13. Blue power on jewel light on right front of amp

Customer upgrades available:

Speakers –

1. Eminence “Soldano tweaked” Legend – 70 watts. This speaker is great for those playing Strats, Teles, P-90’s, or vintage output humbuckers that want a good bottom end along with sparkling highs. It has all the chime and snap you desire for cleans and when pushed, it responds very well. For those humbuckers pushing 10.0 ohms or greater, you might find it a touch bright in the bridge position if you are used to an incredibly fat bottom end tone. This is Soldano’s off the shelf speaker for all their cabinets, and it is a fabulous choice. Mike wanted to remove the Vintage 30 “mid hump” and Eminence did a great job with that.

2. Celestion Vintage 30 – 60 watts. This speaker set the bar for British style rock and roll and has done very well in the US. It has a ton of growl but will break up fairly quickly when pushed. If you like Rolling Stones type tones with a good break up, then this is your speaker. Just to be clear here, the V 30’s offered for the 44 by Blues City Music ARE NOT English made. Even if I could find them, you probably wouldn’t be willing to pay what they retail for today. These are well made speakers, but you all know they are made in China and quite frankly, they sound really good.

3. Jensen NEO – 100 watts. If you are into big time Strat and Tele style tones that are smooth and clear, this speaker will handle distortion very well with a detailed balanced and tightness. It reminds me of Brad Paisley or Nashville style crisp, clear, and articulate tones. It will stay clean much longer than most speakers you’ve tried, and due to its construction, it is very light.

4. Jensen Blackbird Jet Alnico – 100 watts. If you are primarily a hotter humbucker style player that wants a fat bottom end, firm mids, bright highs, but really smooth with overdrive, then this is your speaker. Think Paul Kossof of Free, Bad Company, Leslie West, etc. and you’ll know exactly how this speaker responds at low to moderate gain settings. Run the gain up, and you can push it as hard as you want. It will take a beating and never lose. I personally think this is the finest 100 - watt or less 12” speaker made. It will be my choice for sure since I’m playing either a Tom Anderson Cobra S with H1 and H2+ humbuckers or several Gibson Les Pauls loaded with custom wound Jason Lollar Imperials or Gibson #2 and #3 Burstbuckers.

Solid Cables –

1. Solid Cables Chassis to Reverb Tank cables. These cables are made one at a time, BY HAND, in Pasadena, California. There are no comparisons with these cables regardless of who makes them. Nial’s quality control is the best I’ve ever seen, and he uses the best cable with silver solder he can find with Switchcraft 90 degree ends for the tank and Amphenol straight ends for the chassis connection.

2. Solid Cables Chassis to Speaker cables. Nial uses either an Amphenol or Neutrik 90 degree connection to the chassis and then runs 10-gauge proprietary red and black wire to aircraft/audiophile grade female clips. Why not just solder them to the speaker tabs you might ask? Because this certainly makes it much easier to quick-change speakers if you ever want to, plus, with the quality of these female clips, there is ZERO tone loss. Both of my personal amps will have both of these Solid Cables installed.

Tubes –

1. JJ ECC 83S - These tubes are a lower gain preamp tube that run very quiet and allow for as much clean headroom as you can get.

2. Electro Harmonix EH 12AX7 - These tubes are equivalent to the Sovtek 12AX7LP tubes Soldano previously used in all amplifiers, but are very consistent.

3. Tung-Sol - These tubes are a higher gain preamp tube that would be great for players that want a good clean but also the ability to run the pregain settings very high.

Covers –

1. Studio Slips Basic Slip Cover. Susan Bendinelli, owner of Studio Slips in Santa Rosa, California is no stranger to the boutique amplifier business. She is married to one of the “wheels” at Mesa-Boogie. She has been designing and building reverb tank bags and amp covers for many boutique amps for years and decided to start making covers etc. for all amps and other applications. She has made at least a dozen or more amp covers for my own personal collection. Her basic slipcover is made of 600-denier poly canvas and provides all the protection you need unless you transport your amp regularly.

2. Studio Slips Heavy Padded Slip Cover. This slipcover is 1000 denier nylon canvas with a quilt padding built in. It would be a great choice for transporting the amp.

3. Studio Slips Clamshell Gig Bag with Heavy Padding. This is the finest all purpose cover I’ve seen. I ALWAYS order one of these for my small combos including a 68’ Fender Champ and Soldano Astroverb. This cover also has leather strips on the bottom, so no matter how the amp moves inside the cover, it won’t wear through the bottom. It also completely encases the amp.

Tolex and Hardware Color –

1. This amp will only be offered by Blues City Music, and I’ve decided to keep it simple with tolex colors. The only two options available will be the industry standard of black tolex and nickel hardware, or the signature Blues City Music color of Regency Blue in black hardware.

Base price of the amp in either color with standard chassis to speaker and reverb tank wiring from Soldano is $2,170.00. Because of all the possibilities involving 5 different customer upgrade items, please call Blues City Music for a final price with your amp configuration, but rest assured, I’m doing everything I can to offer these upgrades as close to my cost as possible, and you won’t find this kind of customer service anywhere else I guarantee you that