Which Engl for me?

Also, Robd, have you played the regular Savage? If so, how does it compare to the Savage SE?

A lot of people on forums say the Savage (or even the Invader :LOL: :LOL: ) destroys the PB2, which is obviously complete bullshit IMO. It's one thing to say you like those models better, but there's no way in hell those amps are in a higher league sound-wise.
 
braintheory":3mq5m2xr said:
Also, Robd, have you played the regular Savage? If so, how does it compare to the Savage SE?

A lot of people on forums say the Savage (or even the Invader :LOL: :LOL: ) destroys the PB2, which is obviously complete bullshit IMO. It's one thing to say you like those models better, but there's no way in hell those amps are in a higher league sound-wise.
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Did try the savage a few times but not at wide open volume and with 2-kt88's or 2-6550's the head does best at higher volumes (may sound a bit prossesed at lower amp shop volumes).
If Im not mistaken the Savage is the head that put Engl on the map as far as high gain tones go's.
think the Savage SE was the next step with more tone shaping options but was setup with 4-6L6 insted of the 2-6550's, the tubes in its self make the Savage a bit of a different head..
PB2 has the Same power tube section as the Savage SE 4-6L6's so the two heads have some ties in the power section..
The Invader is a EL34 based head and to me I dont even consider it to be along the same tone ranges as most other 6L6 Engl heads. so saying one is better then the other is like... What?
 
I had Powerball 1 and traded it for Savage. I must say that Savage sucks balls. Hard. Hopefully I traded it back for my Powerball after one week. If you like PB II and Smolski forget about the Savage, it's fizzy and dull amp. If the new PB is any better than the old one go for it.
 
My local GC has the PB 2 and the Ironball. The Ironball is a surprisingly good sounding little amp. I still like the PB 2 better. I used to own a couple of Fireball 60's and a PB 1. I'm am craving an ENGL again. The Retro looks intriguing. I'm a detuned metal player......have tried Savage, PB 1 and 2, FB 60, Blackmore and Invader 150. Out of those the Invader was my fave. Would love to try an SE. Alot of great models....almost think an FB 100 is best for the money and for me. I usually dial in one high gain tone...love the mid boost feature on the PB2....makes a big difference..
 
Has anybody tried the Retro Tube? Anybody has any opinions on it?
I think it sounds amazing on the YouTube videos and I am surprised is not more popular.
 
Personally my favorite sounding ENGLs are the Invader, Artist Edition, Fireball 100, Steve Morse, Ironball, and the Special Edition. I honestly never cared for the Savage or Powerball, just not my thing.

jecastellanos":72t4vkks said:
Has anybody tried the Retro Tube? Anybody has any opinions on it?
I think it sounds amazing on the YouTube videos and I am surprised is not more popular.
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The Retro is a really nice amp. Its a shame they named it that, as its really not retro at all. It has the typical ENGL tight, punchy high-gain characteristic, but with a lot of versatility. Its warmer than the Powerball but still has plenty of gain and crunch. It reminds me of the Steve Morse but a bit less compressed.
 
The old savages from the 90's were the best sounding. I had a pre-2012 and a post 2012. I liked the post 2012 better, but neither compare to the very first savages. Fredrick Nordstrom has a 96 I believe and takes sthe preamp section and runs it through the power amp of a 5150 (I asked him on the Dream Evil forum). Dream Evil guitar tone is amazing and I could never get that tone when I tried that.

Out of all the Engl's I've played, I like the Blackmore the best for it's throaty mids.

If I decide to get another Engl (had 2 savages, powerball, fireball and an SE), it will either be a blackmore or extreme aggression.

I'm curious how the artist edition compares as far as gain and mids to the blackmore. I'd like to try one out someday.
 
This is the first time reading a thread about an amp that I can say EVERYONE is right, atleast when it comes to the Engl Savage.
I first played one at a music store and fell in love with the Savage. I plugged in and it was instant bliss. Someone bought it before I saved up the cash, so I ended up buying a new one. When I first got it, I was less than impressed. It sounded nothing like the one from the store, and I was using the same cabinet I used at the store.
As I stated tweaking away I quickly realized the wide range of tone in this beast. You can get nasally Solid State-ish tones to tight organic tube tone. I was pretty amazed that it could go from one end to another. I never had an amp that could sweep across such a huge spectrum.
The Savage does have a particular mid voicing that may just not appeal to some people. I get it, but I think this is one of the most underated amps ever. I think some people like to just plug and play and the Savage wont give you that. The a/b presence/depth boost seemed odd to me at first but after learning how to tweak the amp it made perfect sense.
I actually read this thread when I was deciding to buy one and just wanted to add my input in case someone else is considering buying one of these.
 
Ive been through all of them.. Pain in the ass is the footswitches and space they take up.. PBII was best for versatility and the Morse is good for down right punchin... So I bought another morse and a new raider which is the PBII in a 112 basically... FS is easier on that one... They are all very tempermental to tubes, pre amp tubes, and setting of bias... Its like the low from factory bias is wher they should stay cuz I have reyubed many of them and the retube esp if the bias got cranked changed the order of harmonics on the gain and actually took the feelling of balls away from them the moment Id do it.... Im happy with the two I kept but do not like the v30 in a basically PBII combo,, it just wants to shred that speaker and it cannot handle some of thr lightly lower mid/bass tones.. Otherwise a beautiful perfect combo. The sovereign looks cool to.
 
Morse player here and I must say I really like it. the guy I play with has an ENGL SE EL34 and I have always loved it ...but the last time I played with him he just kept getting lost in the mix, my mids kept cutting through him.

CH3 mids take some time to dial in with the lo mid and hi mid control but if you're looking for ease of use allow me to simplify a Morse, if you want mids at 6, set em both at 6 haha.

as far as your PB2 quest, I never heard anyone (besides obvious ENGL haters) say they think the PB2 sounds bad by itself, usually amazing. what they complain about is being lost with another guitar player.

sorry i am late to the thread but i think the info you're looking for on the new Savage is that they used to run 2 6550 tubes and was updated to run KT88's, so naturally they got fatter sounding. not sure what you know about tubes so here's a page that'll descibe the 2 tubes and you can imagine from there how the 2012+ Savages changed. the transformers were changed to accommodate the KT88's is my understanding.

http://www.eurotubes.com/store/pc/power ... ptions.htm
 
JustinG60":q6bvqwzf said:
Morse player here and I must say I really like it. the guy I play with has an ENGL SE EL34 and I have always loved it ...but the last time I played with him he just kept getting lost in the mix, my mids kept cutting through him.

CH3 mids take some time to dial in with the lo mid and hi mid control but if you're looking for ease of use allow me to simplify a Morse, if you want mids at 6, set em both at 6 haha.

as far as your PB2 quest, I never heard anyone (besides obvious ENGL haters) say they think the PB2 sounds bad by itself, usually amazing. what they complain about is being lost with another guitar player.

sorry i am late to the thread but i think the info you're looking for on the new Savage is that they used to run 2 6550 tubes and was updated to run KT88's, so naturally they got fatter sounding. not sure what you know about tubes so here's a page that'll descibe the 2 tubes and you can imagine from there how the 2012+ Savages changed. the transformers were changed to accommodate the KT88's is my understanding.

http://www.eurotubes.com/store/pc/power ... ptions.htm
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I was not aware they changed them to KT88 tubes. That explains why they did a transformer change I had heard about. I will have to check mine, I bought mine about a year ago. I need to see if it has kt88 in it, I thought it have 6550 tubes.
 
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