Soldano X88-IR 3-Ch All-Tube Stereo Rackmount Preamp

The Soldano X88R is considered by many guitar players as the holy grail of rack mount tube preamps. From its inspiring Soldano tone to distinctive purple anodized panel, the X88R is
one of the world’s most sought-after pieces of vintage gear used by countless professional musicians including Peter Frampton, Warren DeMartini, Michael Landau, Steve Lukather, Lou Reed and Lee Ritenour to name a few.

The new X88-IR continues this legacy by preserving every ounce of Soldano’s legendary tone, with updated modern features tailored to meet the needs of today’s professional players.

X88-IR

Features
Soldano’s famous cascading-gain design
Hand built in the USA
Tubes: 5 x 12AX7
Dimensions (2-unit rack space): 19” (W) x 10.25” (D) x 3.5” (H)
Weight: 10 lbs.

Front Panel

Purple Anodized front panel
All Channels – Preamp Level, Bass, Middle, Treble, Output Level and Bright switch
Channel 1- Bright switch and selectable Normal/Altered ModeFender style Normal Mode
Boosted clean Altered Mode
Channel 2/3 – Fat Switch, Bright Switch and selectable Crunch / Overdrive Mode
Master Level Control
Headphone Output jack with Level Control
IR cabinet simulation (bypassable)
6 IR presets, individually programmable per channel /modeLoad your own IRs via the Software Editor

Back Panel

Voltage selector switch – Mains Fuse must be changed (please read manual)
USB (type B 2.0) connector to connect Software EditorIncludes a 6’ USB cable
MIDI/Footswitch Input
MIDI Phantom Power input jack
¼” Main Outputs
Stereo XLR Outputs with Level Switch and Ground Lift Switch
Ultra-transparent stereo series effects loop:Mono Send and Stereo Return jacks
Level Switch

Soldano Software Editor

Easy to use USB Editor Software
Save up to 128 MIDI presets
Load and organize your IR libraryIncludes 12 IRs to choose from
Midi Presets allows you to select:Channel
Channel mode
Assign different IRs for all three channels
Low-Pass and High-Pass Filters
Power Amp three position Depth Switch
Power Amp three position Presence Switch

History
The Original X88R
The initial idea for a three-channel Soldano rackmount guitar preamp came from Bob Bradshaw, rack builder to the stars. According to Mike Soldano “If not for Bradshaw’s request, the X88R would never have happened. I thank Bob Bradshaw for his idea and for his trust in me to make it happen.” Here’s the story:

In 1987, Steve Lukather began using the new Soldano SLO-100 heads. Bob Bradshaw built Steve’s rack system and toured with him to ensure it always worked flawlessly.

While visiting Bob’s shop in North Hollywood, Bob discussed with Mike what a pain it was to haul around three amps just so Steve could get his various sounds. Steve’s complicated wet-dry-wet rig also needed heavy dummy loads to get a low level “slave” signal from the power amp’s output to run into the effects. This large rig generated extra wear and tear and expense, as shipping and handling those heavy amps and load cabinets required more truck space and crew labor.

Mike agreed that using his SLO-100 heads just to obtain a rack-system-friendly 0db output signal was inefficient. This was especially true because the SLO’s revolutionary cascading gain design already provided all of Soldano’s iconic tone in the preamp section.

Bob requested Mike to build an all-tube preamp with three independent channels, clean, crunch, and overdrive, that could be integrated with his switching systems and replace all that heavy gear. When it was done, Bob wired it into Steve’s rack, it was big smiles all around and history was made.

By the Summer of 1988, Soldano developed a production version of this preamp, the first of which was purchased by Warren Cucurullo. The X88R was the first of its kind, and the first truly professional stand-alone guitar preamp.

X88-IR
The Channels:
Just like the X88R, the new X88-IR features three channels each with Preamp Level, 3-Band EQ, Output Level and Bright Switch. The original X88R featured independent channels for clean, crunch and overdrive. The new X88-IR offers significantly more flexibility including:
Clean
Channel 1
Channel 1 (the “clean” Channel) now includes a two position Normal/Altered mode.

The Normal mode is a Fender inspired clean tone.

The Altered mode offers a boosted clean for edge of breakup tones

In Normal Mode, the channel 1 select button will illuminate Green.
In Altered Mode the channel 1 select button will illuminate Yellow.
Custom
Channel 2 and 3
Both Channels are identical, both featuring a Fat Switch, a Bright switch and a selectable Crunch/Overdrive switch. This allows you to customize channels 2/3 to your liking. You can select one Crunch and one Overdrive channels, two Crunch Channels or two Overdrive Channels.

In Crunch Mode, the corresponding channel 2/3 select button will illuminate Purple.
In Overdrive Mode, the corresponding channel 2/3 select button will illuminate Red.
Channel Presets
Channel Select MIDI Store
Each of the three channels features an illuminated channel select switch. Press and hold any of the channel select switches to MIDI store a preset.

The X88-IR preamp accepts external MIDI switchers and controllers, giving you up to 128 user-created presets with real time Control Changes. You can assign and organize your presets right from the front panel or with the included Soldano Editor Software.