3 of the best amps EVER! 

Anytime I watch this channel, I feel like I'm in on the greatest secret youtube has to offer. I have no idea how this channel hasn't blown up. We appreciate ya Mike!

I remember the first time I played a Bogner... I called my brother and talked about the sound for 2 hours. Incredible amps!

I think the only winner here is you Michael for owning all three of these amps! Great video mate 👍🏻

That Bogner, whoa, is nice and chewy. Has a little more “mush” than the others to me, but still has a nice midrange. My vote goes to Bogner here.

Something about the Soldano that no other has. Sounds like it would sit nice in the mix

This is one of my favorite channels to watch. Michael, you do a great job of going over the features of these amps and your playing style of rock and hard rock complements these amp tones perfectly! Your natural ability to speak to your audience through the camera comes across as genuine and real. And the best reason of all, why I watch your channel, is because the majority of a guitarist's tone comes from the amp itself and I applaud you for making all the different hard rock amplifiers and processors the main focus of your channel. Job well done!

This is one of the finest video's you've ever made. Thank you.

Few days ago i bought your slo kemper pack and its a beast!!! Tried many great slo packs before, but this one speaks to me in a way no other could, great job! Im a doctor in my hometown fighting covid 19, doing 24h shift in the hospital, then 24h shift home to rest, my pregnant wife is with her parents in order to protect the baby, and my dog is with my parents because i cant take care of her while doing the shifts, and your profile has kept me so busy and motivated and helped me deal with selfisolaton and loneliness so much that i just wanted to thank you in person! You're my MVP!

2:35 when you do that little "chimey" arpeggio I immediately think think of "Can't Get This Stuff No More" off of VH Best Of Vol. 1 I think Ed was recording and playing with Soldanos around that time. It sounds killer. I will own a true SLO 100 one day.

I owned all 3 of these great amps. Sold them all over the years but the XTC definitely was my favourite.

That XTC, Heavy tones are pure Bliss

11:42 "This is probably getting a little long" nope! With these great tones (and your great playing and comparison information) I could watch this all day long.

The 2 best amps I've owned an original Bogner ecstacy 100B like the 1st 20 and a modified Soldano SLO..it had a depth mod and a warren haynes mod...killer tones from both

All 3 have killer tones!!! WHY?? Bcuz they all derive their authenticity from the best Marshall’s, Vox’s & Fenders!!! Cool Vid👍🏼

Immense tones. All 3 sounded great.

for me, it's the slo, hands down. all three sounded great, but the soldano has this unprecedented midrange magic, and top-end sizzle that i just can't get enough of. playing my friends slo a few months ago for the first time was quite the experience. i'd always wanted an slo going back over a decade, but never heard one first hand until that night i tried my friends at a rehearsal place for a few hours. i could not get the grin off my face. so dynamic, and with such a great fast attack- very responsive. the first time i tried a be-100 i was always blown away, but each time i tried a friedman after that i thought they were too perfect and polished sounding if that makes sense. i like a bit more rawness. i am yet to play a bogner, but have dug the sounds i've heard over the years.

Damn they all sound good. SLO is definitely my favorite. Love how dynamic it is. But that clarity is really unforgiving of sloppy playing.

What you said about the SLO crunch channel being somewhere between Marshall and Matchless is spot on

Best demo I’ve ever seen of a Soldano! For some reason it’s hard to find a decent clip of those amps on RU-vid. Great tone from all 3 amps though.

Soldano sounds great, nice kerangg to the sound, Bogner too woolly and distant sounding, Friedman in the middle. Keep them coming Mike :]

I saw Vai live in 1996 when he was using Bogner's (second row seat) . That was his best tone ever . Then he started using the Carvin's and he's never sounded as good .

Love the Friedman! Also digging that Vintage T, but when that red Vintage T with P90s makes an appearance, I always smile!

Great quality of content and amp demonstrations! Surprised by 20.6k subscribers, this channel deserves and will get more!

Killer amps! I have 2 of 3. The excursion settings in the bogner is powerful.

Gotta say, you've got great tone in your fingers- a lot of people don't so you really show what the amps can do. They all sound great. I think the only way to choose is for people to play them for themselves so they can hear how they respond to each person's technique and style. But it's great that you give people a great starting point to go on. Thanks, and keep it up. Great job.

You really need to try a Wizard, MCII or MTL, I’ve owned these 3 at one point and can tell you that the Wizard is pretty spectacular

Welp, you just changed my mind on the SLO. Was always a fan of the gain settings, but thought they were always a little too fizzy (I only have Axe-Fx, and other emulations as a measure - forgive me). The emulations I have been using just suck. Then you plugged in the tele - sweet mother of honour! The amp is worth it for the clean channel tones alone!

They're all incredible, but in my opinion, the Bogner Ecstasy is the best clean, crunch, dirty and there is. It does all three beautifully.

If you look at the circuits, the soldano looks like it would be more like Mesa mark2c+, which makes sense bc of the time period and the Mesa had just come out. The 5150 and dual rec was taken direct from the soldano so it makes sense that while all of these amps sound slightly different, they all sort of sound similar

That pullout drawer made for amps is the most awesome thing ever. My biggest problem with having lots of amps is being able to access the rear. Especially with the rear power on and off such a pain the ass! I may need to have some of these custom made. Has to be pretty heavy-duty to handle those 50 pound amps!

Nice comparison, that friedman is so sweet! Would love to see your take on a diezel vh4 thrown in the mix in the future :)

The redesigned Bogner Goldfinger Super Lead is an incredible sounding, extremely versatile amp. If you haven’t tried one out you definitely should. Killer amp .

D U D E . . . Honestly, how many times a week do you just sit back and look at your studio setup with a smile and shake your head?? Great job sir! SLO clean/crunch is 🤘😎 and I'm surprised by the overdrive of the BE as the winner IMO. Now to only combine the 2 for the "low low price" of $8,000k ... but tone like those 2 it's almost a bargain😅

I have watched this video many times... and today I know I must get a Bogner ... sick demonstration of these 3 monsters

Great video, Michael. I dig all three but the nod goes to the Ecstasy for me. Thanks for all the work you put into the channel

Loved this! I have the Dirty Shirley and SLO Synergy modules and love them. Digging that Bogner too! Thanks again broddah Mike.Cheers and Oakloha from Oakland!

That Tele steals the show. What a guitar! I'd be happy with any of those amps, but if I had to choose one, it would be the Friedman :) Good playthrough Michael, thanks I enjoyed it.

Excellent video, Michael! I’m not a 100W guy, so I would love the new “mini” Soldano...

Oh YES YES YES Mr. Nielsen!!! I see that Soldano!!🤤

The SLO crunch is really hard to beat. For everything else, the Bogner stole the show for me. Very pleasing midrange, chewy and punchy and even with as much bass as you had dialed in, it remained clear with the best notes definition of the 3 at higher gain. It does sound sweeter than the other two.

That Soldano crunch setting blows my mind....it's a goldilocks crunch love the chime..... but the other colours are so good it's ESSENTIAL I own all 3......I wonder if the Dirty Shirley 100w inspired the Twin Sister amp (another contender for best Friedman amp ever)...Nielsen def jacked Beethoven's lost hearing via inter dimensional witch craft and built himself the Willy Wonka of TONE ears

Your looking at 3 of the best rock amps ever made on planet Earth !!! Each having their own voice , tone and feel ... Just a fantastic video for us Tone junkies !!! Ive only ever played one of these amps , and i can still remember that day very clear ... Soldano amps have a serious Growl to them ! IMO , i think the Bogner is a better amp than shown in this video ... Lets get real ,all cool amps !!

I’ve owned all 3 of these, some multiple times and the Friedman is the one that I’ve never sold. Sort of the Goldilocks of these brands.

C'mon, lets not nitpick, they're all really, reeeeeally nice amps. One question (sorry if I've missed it), what cabinet/IR were you using?

Awesome vid! Thanks for sharing these classics/modern-classics. I've owned all of those brands in various models and have found my home in the Friedman Wildwood CS edition Smallbox 50...3 channels of orgasm! The Bogner Ecstasy 101b is great too, but can be a bit "wooly" on the low end... Killer amp though. I find a lot of Bogner amps have a bit too much low-mids

Something about soldanos that is hard to explain, it comes through the most on big heavy chords. It bites on and growls in such a distinctly aggressive way that I don't hear from anything else.

Michael!!! Your channel is so badass! Thanks for taking the time to produce awesome videos and for sharing! Love it!

All three sound freakin' amazing. The entire neighborhood would also agree..

I almost bought a Soldano Hot Rod 50 used, but the store decided to not do rent to own. The one Soldano I really want is the Decatone. Love Bogner and Friedman too. I am just always need a super clean, mid and high gain sounds from one amp. I love my Mesa Nomad 100 head. I use it like a preamp, using the Two Notes Torpedo Captor 8. I run a parametric EQ and noise gate at the input and loop. Tap the line out from the Two Notes into stereo fx. I can also run wet/dry/wet if I want. Currently I run the stereo fx into a pair of Orange Micro Terrors. Sounds awesome and I can attenuate -6,-12, or non attenuation! I may get a Mesa 2:90 down the road.

Cool comparison and a great video! Regarding the 101B: I prefer the Bogner bass setting around 10 / 11. That makes it more responsive and clear sounding, without the excessive bass response that you'll end up dialing out in the mix anyway. I can also recommend the marvel mod on the red channel. With that 3 way switch in place, you can choose between stock pre 2004, Cameron mod and stock post 2004. The Cameron is my fave amongst the options, because it open up the red channels and adds a bit of higher mids. It's just what that channel needs, imo.

Awesome video, awesome amps, awesome playing as well Micheal!

Hey Michael, great vids once again. Some things to consider in regards to the Bogner.... Crank the volume in Plexi mode all the way and use the Gain as the level control. You'll get a lot more dynamics and articulation. In Plexi mode, if your volume is lower but Gain knobs high you will limit the signal power hitting the power tubes and end up with a dull buzzy crunch. Don't run Plexi mode with FX loop as that's adding another master volume and plexis didn't have that. Keep your Treble and Presence knobs between 1 and 3o'clock as they are both log pots not linear. Excursion L is kinda useless so T and M are where it's at. On the higher gain modes, if you have your gain knobs past 2-3o'clock the preEQ kinda stops functioning and it can get woofy and lose bite, at max gain the preEQ does not function. PreEq B1 is 4700pf so almost Marshall Superlead value bright cap and B2 is 470pf like other Marshall's which had 500pf and N is kinda dull and useless. I think a lot of guys see the blue channel leds color and think it's supposed to be a liquid gainy channel but it's more of a refined vintage crunch that's chewy and bouncy so gain between 12 and 3 works to get that pre EQ bright cap working and focus the high end. Red channel keep gain between 9 and 1 o'clock for tight aggressive tones as it has way more gain and way more low end than Blue channel. Can't crank the gain on the amp and expect articulation and tightness because it's adding low end frequency gain as well and that feeds the gains stages and the tonestack in this amp design. Maybe this is why the amp doesn't do it for some people. I have a 101B and Ecstasy Classic so am pretty familiar with their limitations and strengths. Hope you get to try this stuff out.

In my experience, you get heavier bigger tones on the bogner by not diming the gain, like around 12:00/1:00... Seems like they bark so much more

I bought my BE100 when they first came out. Never even contemplated selling it once, or considered another amp. Sure the Deluxe would be nice, with it's designated HBE channel, but the original still works for me.

Oh man, throw the deliverance in there! There are AMAZING amps out there that didn't manage to get recognition but are kind of know all around in forums. Steavens, Brunetti, Mezzabarba, DV mark, come to mind...

I have a Crate BV150 H The Crate is a high end boutique amp , made in USA. It's a beautiful thing. I have a friend owns a SLO 100 ,they are one of my favorite tones ,the Invective borrows a lot from that amp.

If I'm going to solidify my lifelong financial embarrassment status, I'm going full Bogner. The other heads are amazing, the Soldano is legendary the Friedman is a breath of fresh air but Bogner all the way.

REALLY hope you do a video on the Bogner 3534. Love your videos and your playing!

That’s my tone right there, these amps. Given that the SLO was made around 35 years before the BE100, it sure holds in own and still sound similarly amazing. I think the XTC could sound brighter with different tubes probably.

Bogner and friedman sounds greasy but the soldano man! Sounds so good!

awesome! now i want moving shelf for amp too!!!!

Not trying to hijack your awesome video, but if people can only afford in-the-box versions, I recommend Mercuriall Euphoria for the Bogner, Nembrini Audio BST100 for the SLO, and Helix Native Placater model for the Friedman. Each one of these costs about the same as my car lol.

The Friedman sounds really nice. The top and the bottom end are punchy, well defined and never get muddy or ear piercing. The 2 others do from time to time (even though they are very good as well)

Bogner xtc is the best amp in the world

The upper mids of the Slo stand out as the winner by far. Plus I owned and sold the other 2

Waouh, you make them sound so great ! It’s not common on YT. What cab do you use ?

Another great vid. Yes, thing of beauty! I have had all 3. Still have the Friedman as my No 1.

Three of my favorite amps of all time. Love them!

sounds great and yea those amps are awesome today, but I have to say nothing beats my original 60s plexi, yet to hear one

Michael Nielsen, you are my hero.

Great gear, fun playing, great attitude. Thanks for putting this together. I have a Bogner 101B, and thinking about adding a Friendman BE-100 deluxe.

A marshall amp is aways mention as a point for comparison but it’s not included in the “top 3 best amps” video?

Yes that hat is a thing of beauty.

I hear the Soldano as the thickest out of all of them? But I’m pretty sure the Friedman and Bogner can be eq’d way differently as well

Having owned the XTC, for me the blue was the lead sound and red to pleximode.... incredible 3 channels. That being said.. the clean/cruch channel in SLO...ahh.. you could do any music style with that channel. If they only made a model with a clean channel and crunch as a lead channel. high gain is so easy to get from pedals if the power amp can handle it, but a good breakup sound... that's way harder.

I've always loved Soldano tone, but at Freidman is killer. All of them are. 🤘♥️🤘 Great demo. Just found you recently and of course sub'd. 🤘♥️🤘

Just started watching your channel. Great channel i just subbed. I saw you on tone talk and dave worked on my rack way back in the 90's and guess what i had a couple of pink rack units in there lol. You know what im talking about, i saw your rack unit special on tone talk with toren. Even though they were basically filler units as I thought they looked cool i had my main was a marshall jmp=1 and a ada mp-1 as my main preams with Marshall power amp and i also had a seymour duncan tube power amp I was wondering if you ever tried that unit it was kinda rare? Anyways liked and subbed cool channel!

These and the Diezel VH4 are the best four of this category of amps

That Bogner gets my vote, it has growl with definition and clarity, the others not so much. Would love to hear it compared to the 20watt Marshall Vintage head that looks like a Plexi

Who needs to hear the clean sound of a tube amp? Surely not me!

Man...that soldano wins with that “clean channel”

Never saw your channel It was the dodgers cap and Yasiel Puig shirt that hooked me in I was like he deserves a listen

The biggest "winner" here is the cab/mic settings, or IR i didnt catch what you were using... All the amps sounds relatively close, but imho the Bogner is not really tight and "fast" enough... Would probably go for BE, just cause i love that gnarly Marshall sound... Awesome vid as always.

I always wished I'd like the XTC, but I am kind of annoyed by these thick mids and muddy bass you can't get rid of once you turn the gain up. SLO has always been my favorite but this BE got a real mojo too... It sounds like the Soldano, but more "controlled", with a really good overall frequency balance. anyway let's be honest, if anyone would give me ANY of these 3, I won't refuse! :D

Friedman should probably starting come up with more appropriate gear names. Times have changed. Love his stuff though

Soldano.... well you already KNOW.... that XTC and Shirley's dirty BE (:P) are insanely great too. But the Big Hairy Studios are where ALL the magic lies! :)

Love your demos Michael !...my favorite is the lick you did on the rackmount delays ,......a lick to die for !......Lou ,..Quebec

I'm extremely happy with my Laney GH100L.

Wow great video , I preferred the Soldano overall ,

I think the Sodano is the greatest high gain tone ever created....it has the most definition and warmth at least in the highest gain mode....Bogner I prefer in the crunch mode......

Controversially, I never really liked the XTC - it was always too woolly to me. The SLO is a piece of art, but my pick would be the Friedman.

slo has a mojo i think there is something perfect to the ears especially mids the others sounds similar each other for me

Killer Video as usual, and Tone for Miles. How does that grey beard equate to such better tone, it just keeps getting better and better? That must be the secret.

Now you have to compare Diezel, Wizard, and KSR! Maybe add in a Splawn?

Friedman is my choice....the slo and ecstasy need an od in the front for nice higher gain tones as proved by Steve Vai, who used a boss ds1 for the bogner and Nuno Bettencourt who used a rat with the soldano

The SLO is my personal favourite. I own an 2003 SLO and no matter what I do, it always sounds good and puts a smile on my face, which I think is the goal with any amp. I have a Friedman BE-100 too and that does the same thing, just puts a smile on my face when I play. Personally I think the Friedman is a very user friendly and polite version of a traditional Marshall. It doesn't try to take my head off, unlike a JCM800. I've never played through a Bogner 101B, but I'd love to try one someday. One thing I've done with my SLO is replaced the phase inverter with a 12AT7. It didn't change the sound but made the response so much quicker and tighter, almost like the sound comes out of the speakers before you're ready, like a Hiwatt.

At 8:32 minutes you pulled that Friedman out. I didn't know you had drawers. Wow, best amp rack ever. Great idea. I must duplicate.

Awesome tone tone MIke! We also share the same Danish family name!

Bogner stands out here for sure. Much more dynamic content

Great stuff, thanks Michael, and that Friedman T sounds killer 👍🏻