Magnatone and Slash have finally christened their newly founded, much-discussed business partnership by debuting the Guns N’ Roses electric guitar titan’s newest signature guitar amp, the SL-100.
Last month, the guitar world was abuzz with discussion surrounding the Gibson Les Paul loyalist’s decision to develop a signature amp with boutique amp manufacturer, Magnatone.
Though the news sent the rumor mill into overdrive, with many speculating Slash had swapped one amp brand for another, it was later clarified that such a move would not affect his historic relationship with Marshall and the GNR hero will still continue to play his trusty Marshall stacks in light of his new Magnatone collaboration.
Since then, we’ve been eagerly awaiting details for Slash’s first new signature amp in quite some time – and now we have it.
The amp itself hasn’t yet made it to the Magnatone website, but the SL-100 amp head and accompanying cab have made their way onto several dealers’ pages, and with them some telling specifications.
The SL-100 arrives with a distinct Marshall-esque vibe, and bears a close cosmetic resemblance to some of Slash’s previous signature heads – perhaps most notably the AFD100 JCM800 model. That much is achieved thanks to the green Snakeskin Tolex covering, gold control panel and red jewel power lamp.
As for performance, the SL-100 is a single-channel 100-watt head based on the Super Fifty-Nine M-80 – which in turn is voiced on classic British amp sounds – that comes loaded with four EL34 power tubes and a quartet of 12AX7s preamp tubes.
Extra versatility is squeezed from that single channel by way of two gain settings – the mid-’80s Jubilee-voiced Hi option and ‘60s Super Lead-inspired Lo mode – which can be accessed via a front panel slider switch or a footswitch. These two modes have their own dedicated Gain controls.
There’s nothing extra-fancy about the rest of the control set – just a regular three-band EQ accompanied by Master and Presence parameters – although further Slash flair arrives thanks to the guitarist’s signature “Skully” logo next to the Standby switch.
On the rear, there’s a flexible cabinet matching impedance selector that flicks between four, eight and 16 ohm, as well as a tube-buffered effects loop and speaker-compensated line output.
The above won’t come cheap, mind: the SL-100 head is listed at $4,899, while the dedicated 4x12” cab – which is equipped with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers – is listed for $2,699.
But it's pretty safe to say the amp itself will sound pretty darn good. Indeed, Slash previously said he was “blown away” with how spectacular the M-80 sounded, and with some of his own personal tweaks, the SL-100 could make for a formidable addition to his backline.
Like we say, the amp isn’t on Magnatone’s website just yet, but you can find out more by heading to Sweetwater.
