In this video I’m checking out the Sloane Amplification Antares (yeah… “Antares/Anties/Enteries”… you know the one). Steven Sloane loaned it to me, so I spent real time with it: I ripped on it in the studio, then I took it on stage with my band to see how it actually holds up in a gigging situation. This is the single-channel version, and it’s got a lot more going on than a basic one-trick high-gain head—solo boost, fat/tight, crunch/lead switching, a saturation switch, and a response control that lets you steer the feel. Tone-wise, it’s definitely in that SLO-inspired neighborhood (I A/B’d it with my 50-watt BritTone SLO and the similarities are obvious), but Steven added enough features that it has its own identity. I found the crunch mode feels best in FAT because it keeps that full-bodied thing you want from a crunch channel. On the lead side, TIGHT is where the amp’s “natural voice” feels the most right to me, and with saturation/response you can go from big, throaty mids to a more cut/scooped vibe. The big takeaway after the post-gig report: it’s more nuanced and usable than my SLO for the 90s/2000s rock cover world. I could live in crunch and use a dual drive (Golden Boy/Brothers AM) to step from moderate crunch to higher-gain rock, then hit the lead channel when I wanted it to get absolutely ridiculous.