Is the SOB really a POS?

[scotte28]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to the board, and new to the land of Boogie!! After years of living in Marshall and Fender land, I finally feel the need to expand the tonal palette. I'd like to start with more of the vintage Boogie sound (which to me means the Mark series), and yet not spend a ton of $$.... at least at first.

I have an opportunity to buy an un-modded S.O.B. in good shape for a good price. What little information I've been able to find on these suggests that they are not valued by collectors, and pretty crappy in general. But I'm not a collector per se, I'm a player!!! My thinking is that as long as it sounds good, it would be a relative inexpenseive way to get into the Boogie tone zone, and then if I like it, I can upgrade at some later date.

Question is - is it really that terrible? It seems to have most of the attributes of the original Mark, (which I know was pretty basic), and it was supopsoed to be the original reissue. But can I get the classic Boogie sound from it? That's what matters most.

All opionions are welcome, thanks!

 

[Heritage Softail]

You can get a Nomad pretty cheap. It is a little more versatile and although 'better' is a very subjective word, I would say it is better to jump in the pool with than an SOB.

 

[ryjan]

Save your money and get a Mark III or IV. The SOB's can't pull off 1/128th of what a real Mark can do.

 

[MrMarkIII]

Hope you aren't planning on using any effects with the SOB.
It has no loop.

 

[scotte28]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys...much appreciated.

fx loops are nice, but I can live without it. Can always throw a pedal in front. Same with reverb. But that does bring up the question....what can this amp do on it's own?

Is that lead singing sustain attainable just plugging directly into Input #1?
I guess I'd be looking more for the Santana tone as opposed to the Metallica tone of later Mark models.

I should also mention, I like to be a "set it & forget it" kinda guy. I realize that many Boogies won't jive with this approach, which is why I was eyeing one of the ealier, more basic models.

 

[ryjan]

I played a couple of these before getting a Triaxis a few years back. There isn't any singing sustain or classic boogie tone in the SOB. I have no idea what they were after when they made this amp but there is a reason they don't talk much about them. Go on craigslist or ebay and wait for a Mark amp or a DC to pop up. You will be much happier.

 

[nor]

SOB = Sort of Boogie.

 

[Musical123]

I bought a SOB a couple of years back for $250 and am very happy with it. You can dial in a very nice clean tone, but being a single channel amp (need to manually swithch between inputs 1 and 2) you will need something in front of it to get some dirt.

I no longer use the amp since I got a LSC, but my 13 year old loves the SOB now.

 

[SonicProvocateur]

I bought a SOB a couple of years back for $250 and am very happy with it. You can dial in a very nice clean tone, but being a single channel amp (need to manually swithch between inputs 1 and 2) you will need something in front of it to get some dirt.

I no longer use the amp since I got a LSC, but my 13 year old loves the SOB now.

If I woulda got a SOB when I was 13 instead of a junky Marshall, I woulda been a made man.

 

[screamingdaisy]

fx loops are nice, but I can live without it. Can always throw a pedal in front. Same with reverb.

If you're going to want to use Reverb/Delay with a Boogie, you're going to want an FX loop.... particularly if you want it for it's high gain tones.