3 CHANNELS, IR'S, NEW SOLDANO! ASTRO 20 AMP HEAD 

Sounds much bigger than a 20W 6V6 amp; which is hard to do, great job Mike and great demo !

You couldn't ask a better person to demo this amp. Very nice!

Every time I watch a Pete Thorn Demo the opening tune is simply tremendous

I hate that I have a bunch of cool amps that I really like, and then another cool amp comes out that I really like!

That head meets all my criteria for an amplifier. Versatile, flexible, and great tone in any channel. Leave it to Mike Soldano.

It's great to see that Soldano understands that, unless you're playing stadiums on a regular basis, 20 watts is all you need. I gigged with a little 20 watt Boogie Subway Rocket 10 inch combo for years, and was told to turn down more than once!!!! In this age of "silent stage", low wattage is the way to go! The amp sounds GREAT!!!! Just like a Soldano should!!!

I just ordered one...I mean...it was a no-brainer. This thing sounds sick. SICK!

Dang Pete! Your playing always takes my head off! WOW!

Every time I watch Pete I spend money...not good for my marriage but great for my tone!...Thanks Pete!

More jaw dropping songwriting and playing of an amazing sounding amp from the good Dr. Thorn!

I've watched over half a dozen demos on this wonderful amp. IMO, Pet has the best tone.

Great video Pete. Stellar playing as always and a great tune! This amp is loaded!!! It's a great time to be a guitarist! 🤘

Wait, just yesterday you had forgotten you had to have this out today, and now we have this rock and roll jewel box. Pete, you’re a machine.

When you were commenting on the clean modes in IR or "real" speaker, I think that the IR won't emulate cone breakup, since most IRs are static at one (hopefully optimum) recorded level - you can do multiple IRs recorded at multiple levels and blend between them based on some parameter like gain level (especially since the patents on the technology have expired as far as I recall), but it's a lot more complex than just doing a single convolution with a single IR. Still sounds awesome, though!

Check out this video I made on using MIDI to control a Soldano Astro 20, Torpedo Captor X, & Golden Boy with an Ampero Control (all on different MIDI channels): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-R6382C0bDXY.htmlsi=Y90suiYDtDzCuWaV

Can it sound like a SLO? I didn't get that impression. My NAM capture of SLO sounds more like a real thing to me.

The only way to survive for tube amps is having an onboard reactive load with ir loader..

I want a Soldano amp with a built in Pete Thorn that can play notes that I miss when I am trying to write a hit…. I start playing and out of nowhere Pete sneaks in and adds his notes and riffage and that is the next amp mod AI…. Artificial Intelligence Amps…. Select an artist and when you play a certain way…. It throws in note ideas from that artist to teach you more than you can play…. Like a private lesson but the amp Senses more of what you need but from Pete’s idea base

Great tool! Definitely a wanting. I owned a Soldano Hot Rod 50 years ago, but I couldn’t it use live cause of its loudness even at low levels.

Best review/demo so far. Thanks, Pete!

Pete makes me want to buy just about everything he demos.

That clean tone! Wow. It all sounds great. Fantastic demo as usual Pete!

Sounds great I may be sold on this. I bought an SLO 100 and returned it, great amp but couldn't personally justify $4k and just way to loud for what I do.

Being 20 watts does it have enough headroom? Also is it loud enough for live settings?

Once again, Pete, you knocked it out of the park!!! You do the best demos of anyone I follow!!! Awesome awesome awesome!!! The way you write an original tune in a way that shows off each of the features of the amp. Excellent!!

God damn I love all of Pete’s tracks, such great vibes on all of them. Makes everything sound good…

Hey Pete....greetings and salutaions to you. Long time listener/contributor. It would be great if there was a way to purchse a signed photo, like the one on your shirts...signed with of course a silver sharpie :) I ask because I collect autographs from all the greats....from Townshend, to Slash, to EVH, to Joe Walsh, to Gilmour...on and on...I just hang them in my guitar room. Would love one from you to hang in the Guitar Dojo! Thanks much!

Purchased this a couple months ago, and find it to be pretty meh. It’s just ok and not really inspiring. Feel like I wasted 2k.

This amp plus talent...

Great review. That amp is on my wishlist.

It's curious why they chose to omit the onboard loadbox and went with power amp emulation. Pretty much all other similar amps have onboard reactive load and don't use power amp emulation. Wonder if it's to "emulate" bigger power amp than the physical 20W? Are there settings to manipulate the emulated power amp?

Hot, dayum! That was freakin' epic! Great amp! Though, dude, you are one of my greatest inspirations! 🤘😎🤘

Please please let there be a 50 watt version of this amp with a 6L6 power section! Preferably Non IR why do we all have to pay for that built into practically every amp now?

Always enjoy seeing that Danelectro baritone!! Very cool instrument, and of course incredible guitars all around. Thanks for this demo video, Pete!

It sounds like a modern American boutique amp set on the foundation of an 80s Marshall like tone which is what I’d expect from a modern Soldano. They’re not reinventing the wheel but responding to the modern musicians needs unlike companies like Marshall. From what I could hear tho it still didn’t give that nice bell like tone you’d look for in a chimey clean. It sounded a little muddy which is good for a rock sound but not necessarily for say a worship band. It did put out some really nice spacey sounds. I’m a metal guy who’s trying to get into worship so I’m always trying to find the best of both worlds. I haven’t been involved with music much since 2016 and I’m trying to find a good rig. I’ve looked at all the modeler stuff and I’m somewhat impressed but those things come with lots of baggage apparently and this is really interesting to me because it kind of scratches that itch without ditching a physical amp so I’m REALLY interested in this thing. My church can work with a pedal that doesn’t have an amp but practice won’t necessarily be powered so I still need something with power and a speaker ultimately but having flexibility is extremely important to me since I’m starting over right now. I still have my old gear but it just needs too much attention and really isn’t suited for any environments I’ll likely be using it in the near future so I’m going to have to dump most of it and like I said, Start from scratch

Now I have to sell a few things and save towards this Amp

I don’t know how I missed this earlier. Next on my to buy list…

I really Ike the features, and the demo is as always killer! But I’m not too keen on the dirty channel tones, Those upper mid’s are a bit too strident for my ears. The clean channel was nice!

Well done! Killer amp! My wallet has a racing heartbeat. 🤘🏼😯

The real cab sounds way better and mor organic.

Any opinion on how this amp takes pedals as well as home volumes? Curious how good the master volume is or if this amp might need any attenuation to sound good less than 90dB?

Holy damn, man. Intro song is killer.

Might need to check the ad settings; I've had 4 ads and I'm just past half way thru

I like the SLO-100 and the SLO-60, but this one hardly convinces me much. More some sort of hot-rod Fender than the typical Soldano hot-rod Marshall sound, which I had expected. All I hear, is too much and too thin sounding treble but hardly any mids or bass. The clean sounds are nice, if you are a Fender sound fan, which I am not, but for these overdrive sounds I would not want to pay so much. Even my - comparably cheap - PlexiTone or Kaluna pedals standalone sound better and beefier to me, sorry. So why should I buy eight to ten times more for a worse sound in a larger enclosure? Or, to define precisely, what I hear here, this amp has no "balls", which most probably is one of the secrets of a good Plexi. But also of a Rectifier. The right balance between treble bite and low-end punch. This amp does not seem to have any low-end punch at all. It also seems to be not heavily enough voiced for any real high-gain to Metal sounds. Opposite to a "classic" SLO, with which you can play almost everything. Not even the crunch sounds convince me. Even my Killer Ant or Tiny Terror perform them better. At a fraction of the price. The pair of 6V6 power amp tubes seem to sound thinner than a typical pair of EL84's, although I had expected the opposite. Using IR's is no problem with any tube amp, if you once have invested in a good load box which reduces the speaker output to line level and a good IR loader. The OR-30 had been the most positive new release for me sonically in 2023, the Astro 20 is the opposite. Definitely nothing for me. Nevertheless the demo is nice, only the sounds are not, at least not for me.

If only I had the money.

This thing sounds amazing For my personal needs, because this has a simulated power section when running direct I’d prefer a to just take out the power section and make either a rack preamp or a pedal - almost like the Friedman IRX I doubt I’ll get my wish but that would be ideal

@PeteThorn Great review Pete! I'm really looking at this amp hard.. could you possibly do a replication of VH tones with it through the years to see how close you could get??

Got the chance to take mine to band prCtice last night and its a killer amp

Is it manufactured in the USA?

Great job Pete!!

wow, that's a winner! really articulate gain sounds, those open G chords ..... {{{{{{spicy!}}}}}}

Pete...that was an absolutely awesome intro...you made that Soldano sing!!! 👏

Two questions here: (1) In a live gig at a medium-size pub with a loud drummer and NO mic on my speakers, could this Soldano Astro-20 watts keep up with a loud drummer in terms of volume? (2) Next question: how does this Soldano Astro 20-watts compare to the EVH 5150iii 50-watts in terms of tone & volume?

$1,995 for a little 20w head with two 6V6's is absolutely ridiculous, I don't care what features it has, where it was made, or how it sounds. You should get a full size 100w head for $2k...

Oooo effects loop for That Clean....is the effects loop MIDI switch able too? nah, seriously i can't afford it .... nice though.

Maybe I've been missing something, but when the name Soldano comes to mind, I'm not thinking "clean". IMO, it would have been better to have two channels, both with masters and gains and three knob EQ, possibly high and low gain switching - you could get a great crunch sound and a searing lead sound that Soldano is known for. Honestly, a "clean" channel with only a volume and tone (and bright switch)? What were they aiming for? A Fender Champ that can be overdriven to break up? Everyone will be grabbing their Boss EQ for that clean channel or a dirt pedal, OR BOTH. I'm not trying to piss all over this thing - I like the idea of the IR stuff. This could be a recording monster, without having to buy an Ox Box, just straight into the interface. Cool.

Finally, someone who knows how to demonstrate an amp even strum a few clean chords

Probably 2 grand, we're struggling to pay consumers and rent Pete! Awesome demo though.

Fedup with you Pete. Because of you, can't fox my G.A.S disease! great review as usual

That’s a strong amp, very flexible and from what I can tell you don’t loose anything

Amazing tones and functionality!! Are variable master volumes programmable per channel? Killer intro track!! As per usual… They never lack!!!!

It sounds complicated for a home only guitarist.

So when saving a channel, it’s IR and EQ and channel gain setting, can the midi presets (128) save all four of those above parameters ? If so. How do you save and assign midi channel ?

That's the best clean sound I've heard in ages. Maybe ever. And the opening track was🔥🤟

I listened to every demo at least three times before purchasing this amp. Pete’s demo is one of the best. An amp for me has to sound good and be able to pass the live band test. I was skeptical about this as I’ve never owned a tube amp under 50w. I’ve been running it through a 4x12 71 Marshall slant cab with 10 yr old greenbacks. It sounds so good. Actually inspired me to play better. Plenty of volume, even at practice where it’s not mic’d. Running it midi with my Musicomlabs, I have it set to 4 distinct channels per bank; just so versatile. And haven’t even used the IR direct capability yet. If you’re on the fence about this amp and you like the Soldano character then I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Sounds cool. Doesnt sound like an SLO but still cool. Thx for the demo Pete.

Pete, Another excellent video! Thanks for the deep dive on the cleans and the versatility of the amp. You have to get some kind of award for best songs for demoing gear on videos hands down. Keep up the great videos! Hope you play Hawaii soon! Much Mahalos

great review. What do you think, SLO or Astro?

with a 6V6 power section, you could use JJ 6V6S for a clear bright to compressed creamy sound, or the new TAD Redbase 6V6GT-STR that the founder of Brunetti amps called the best 6V6 he's ever tried for a more classic fat warm 6V6 sound.

Really well thought out and sounds great. I'll be contemplating hard about this one. Thanks Pete!

Its great but 8 wonder if the tight low end and heavy brightness will make my guitar sound brittle, your guitars are top quality.

Still like the matchless independence… more me but they’ve needed a 3 channel for a while now

Is it just me or its a very well balanced amp ? Does evetuthing well 😊

I’ve seen the upload from John Browne, a very interesting amp indeed but I have to listen to Pete’s rifs off course, let’s goooo 🔥

Is there a Standby switch ?

Not enough guitars in the opening intro. lol Always like your gear reviews Pete. Thank you.

Dammit, Pete. Now I need to buy another soldano!!

👌💥👌Damn that Intro ..Thats how a pro sounds👌💥👌

Gotta have more watts to keep clean headroom if theres a loud drummer..40w would ve cool

Sounds great! Feature-wise, it reminds me a lot of another amp (lower watt, 3 channel tube , + IRs + headphone out, etc). You’re a trend-setter Pete :)

Are the tone stack values stored and recalled within the presets?

Cool,what a nice demo for this amazing amp, thanks a lot, Peter. ;-)

Hey Pete great info ! Just got the Astro on order . Thanks 🙏!

Great demo - I bought this because of you . This is great for the regular Joe .

I was under the impression it was a reactive load that makes it a bit less desirable without.

Great vid as usual Pete. I have the Soldano 30 and this is a whole different animal and maybe more in line what I would use in my studio. I love my Soldano 30 but this definitely has tons more tone options.

Man.. you write some of the most killer opening songs! All that with those amazing licks… wow

That was fast, just saw the live and now here you are. Sounds like a very sweet amp, very versatile. Cool demo.

Jeezus Pete, you should make an album just of all the awesome intro jams

Did you find that the clean/green channel was level-matched / normalized to the higher gain channels & galaxies, so you could switch back and forth to crystal cleans and scorching leads with no issues or compromises? Thanks, Pete!

Wow! Really got cooking at the end there Great!

That opening track is sooo good. Sheeeeee

Such a great demo!!

As soon as I saw this announced I came here. No one better to demo this. 👌

Rippin opening tune! Happy Monday! ☀️

Best review on this amp I've seen.

Cool set of features. Good demo!

Alright. I want it

Pete smokin' it! great demo!

Was a Moserite?