It all began with the first Soldano prototype guitar amplifier, which Mike named Mr. Science. It’s a piece of plywood with a bunch of electronic components stuck on, a longtime experiment in The Quest for Tone, a guitar amp with a life all its own.

Mike studied Industrial Arts and eventually gravitated towards the Art Department. As a student, Michael cultivated many of the skills that allow him to build great amps. But, one evening when he was around the age of 21, Mike decided to really learn the guitar. Pawnshop guitar in hand, Mike learned quickly. He bought his first amp, a hand-built copy of a classic, tweed 4×10 Fender Bassman. Not only did Mike learn how to play, he learned to fix his amp. Unfortunately, for the aspiring guitarist, it blew up a lot. Fortunately for the rest of us, Mike couldn’t afford to pay anyone to fix it, so he had to learn to do so himself.

“When you don’t have any money, you can become clever.”

The Quest for Tone began in earnest. This first endeavor into guitar building led to the opening of Mike’s first guitar building shop, way back in ’77. By 1980, Mike was gigging around Seattle and building high-end guitars. But Mike, the guitar player had a sound in mind. One thing lead to another. After souping up a few Fender Bassmans, Mike began to recognize that the Quest for Tone was going to take more effort.

Two years of savings went toward a couple of top of the line amps, but they were still not quite right. Mike’s Quest for Tone continued, and it began to transform into a version of the classic American success story. Mike found himself looking at his three rather “happenin’” guitar amps and thinking, “This still ain’t quite right.” He started looking into what he thought were the shortcomings of “all these amplifiers” and this is where the Soldano magic really began to take shape. He began the Mr. Science project.

The Quest for Tone became tangible – the Holy Grail was the Ultimate Rock Guitar Amp. Mike delved into the technology. He experimented with parallel channels, channel switching, and going for ultimate gain. Prototypes were developed. His friends’ amps were the guinea pigs. “Not happy with the sound of your amp? Don’t worry, I’m a doctor.” Some amps die on the operating table, but not Mr. Science.

A Soldano amp, built in collaboration with Doug Roberts, appeared in 1982. Soon after, Mike packed everything up and relocated to San Francisco, where he practiced his craft at the then-famous, but now defunct, Stars Guitars. Many Marshall modifications later, Mike migrated back to Seattle enriched by his San Franciscan experience and armed with a new friend and current partner, Bill Sundt.