Engl Artist Edition. Is it Marshall'ish?

[fek]

Possibly in the market for another amp and have been eyeballing the Engl Artist. I gravitate toward hot rodded Marshall tones and would love a Wizard but can't drop that kind of coin on one. A Henning at a decent used price could be nice. What else should I look at under $1500?

In the Marshall camp I have a DSL100HR, JJ Jr., and a Randall RM100KH loaded with modded Marshall mods at the moment.

 

[thenine]

Splawn

 

[mixn4him]

Yes, check out Fatbagg's demos and posts. I think he even has it for sale in the classifieds...

 

[fek]

Yes, check out Fatbagg's demos and posts. I think he even has it for sale in the classifieds...

Yep. Looking at that one already. Never played an Engl and am concerned about some of the reviews on the other models saying that they are dry amps. I like the warmth and cut of Marshall type circuits most of the time. With the Artist being the amp that they worked with Doug Aldrich on I figured maybe it was in that camp.

 

[mixn4him]

Yes, check out Fatbagg's demos and posts. I think he even has it for sale in the classifieds...

Yep. Looking at that one already. Never played an Engl and am concerned about some of the reviews on the other models saying that they are dry amps. I like the warmth and cut of Marshall type circuits most of the time. With the Artist being the amp that they worked with Doug Aldrich on I figured maybe it was in that camp.

No problem there, I had the Retro which is in the same vein and dry is not a word I would use with either amp. The only thing that bugged me and be aware there is a FIXED resonance circuit that cannot be bypassed so that thump will always be there. Drove me crazy on the clean channel of the Retro..

 

[fek]

No problem there, I had the Retro which is in the same vein and dry is not a word I would use with either amp. The only thing that bugged me and be aware there is a FIXED resonance circuit that cannot be bypassed so that thump will always be there. Drove me crazy on the clean channel of the Retro..

That could be a deal breaker for me. I tend to dial in with the mix in mind and having all of that extra low end sounds great on it's own but tends to muddy up in a mix. On all of my amps the depth/resonance and bass are all dialed back a good bit.

 

[Metlupass2]

EVH 5150III 50 WATT

I've had a ton of amps and this is the only one I have now.

 

[panhead]

Most amps that overdrive are marshallish / is that a word

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

No problem there, I had the Retro which is in the same vein and dry is not a word I would use with either amp. The only thing that bugged me and be aware there is a FIXED resonance circuit that cannot be bypassed so that thump will always be there. Drove me crazy on the clean channel of the Retro..

That could be a deal breaker for me. I tend to dial in with the mix in mind and having all of that extra low end sounds great on it's own but tends to muddy up in a mix. On all of my amps the depth/resonance and bass are all dialed back a good bit.

Agree. Wish they could work in a switch or Resonance control knob like most others these days. Still, the one in the classifieds seems like a great deal. I'd snag if it I wasn't dealing with being laid off at the moment.

 

[skullfxr]

I get a Splawn. It will not disappoint

 

[jabps]

Yes, check out Fatbagg's demos and posts. I think he even has it for sale in the classifieds...

Yep. Looking at that one already. Never played an Engl and am concerned about some of the reviews on the other models saying that they are dry amps. I like the warmth and cut of Marshall type circuits most of the time. With the Artist being the amp that they worked with Doug Aldrich on I figured maybe it was in that camp.

I actually sold that to him. It's a great amp. Hell, if I had the money I'd buy it back but I just bought another amp and a Les Paul Custom so I'm tapped at the moment.

I'm a Marshall guy, my main amp is a stock JVM410 and that hasn't changed and probably want change anytime soon. I've been going thorugh amps just for the fun of it really and to find something that is different yet familiar. I only sold the Artist because he had a good deal on the Mezzabarba Trinity and I wanted to give that a try.

I've owned several Engls and the Artist is my favorite so far of those I've owned or tried. It's Marshall flavored, more so than any other Engl I've tried. I had concerns over the lack of Resonance as well but I didn't miss it once I dialed in my sound. It's still very much an Engl, tight lows, beefy, good gain but it does venture into the Marshall tone and feel. And it's a simple straight forward amp as well.

Anyway that's a good deal and they are fine amps. Btw/ I just bought a Fryette SigX which was yet another amp I wished I had not sold years ago, been chasing another one for a long time and finally got it. If I hadn't just bought it I would buy that Artist back. That's just my experience though.

 

[napalmdeath]

Yes, check out Fatbagg's demos and posts. I think he even has it for sale in the classifieds...

Yep. Looking at that one already. Never played an Engl and am concerned about some of the reviews on the other models saying that they are dry amps. I like the warmth and cut of Marshall type circuits most of the time. With the Artist being the amp that they worked with Doug Aldrich on I figured maybe it was in that camp.

I actually sold that to him. It's a great amp. Hell, if I had the money I'd buy it back but I just bought another amp and a Les Paul Custom so I'm tapped at the moment.

I'm a Marshall guy, my main amp is a stock JVM410 and that hasn't changed and probably want change anytime soon. I've been going thorugh amps just for the fun of it really and to find something that is different yet familiar. I only sold the Artist because he had a good deal on the Mezzabarba Trinity and I wanted to give that a try.

I've owned several Engls and the Artist is my favorite so far of those I've owned or tried. It's Marshall flavored, more so than any other Engl I've tried. I had concerns over the lack of Resonance as well but I didn't miss it once I dialed in my sound. It's still very much an Engl, tight lows, beefy, good gain but it does venture into the Marshall tone and feel. And it's a simple straight forward amp as well.

Anyway that's a good deal and they are fine amps. Btw/ I just bought a Fryette SigX which was yet another amp I wished I had not sold years ago, been chasing another one for a long time and finally got it. If I hadn't just bought it I would buy that Artist back. That's just my experience though.

Yeah, I don't get the "fixed resonance" talk at all. I own an Artist as well, and the EQ is extremely responsive, and will dial in as you wish. It's got some punch, but in a very good way.

I owned the Retro, (great amp), and 3 Splawns, which I've seen suggested here as well. The Artist is more aggressive, more responsive, and more dynamic than the Splawns. I love the Splawns, but the Artist has more mojo. It's alot juicier, and more dynamic. It punches hard, and has one of the best lead tones of any amp I’ve ever owned. Of course, like most amps, bias and the right cocktail of tubes really bring the goods.

I've owned 3 JVM's as well. The Artist has that voicing, a better loop, an exceptional noise gate, and is warmer, beefier, tighter, and more focused. I had the 205H 3 times. Loved OD2 Orange boosted, but the Engl has more balls, bar none.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

Has anyone compared the Artist Edition to a Friedman? I've got a JJ100 I may need sell to raise cash and maybe replace it with something like this.

 

[jabps]

Yes, check out Fatbagg's demos and posts. I think he even has it for sale in the classifieds...

Yep. Looking at that one already. Never played an Engl and am concerned about some of the reviews on the other models saying that they are dry amps. I like the warmth and cut of Marshall type circuits most of the time. With the Artist being the amp that they worked with Doug Aldrich on I figured maybe it was in that camp.

I actually sold that to him. It's a great amp. Hell, if I had the money I'd buy it back but I just bought another amp and a Les Paul Custom so I'm tapped at the moment.

I'm a Marshall guy, my main amp is a stock JVM410 and that hasn't changed and probably want change anytime soon. I've been going thorugh amps just for the fun of it really and to find something that is different yet familiar. I only sold the Artist because he had a good deal on the Mezzabarba Trinity and I wanted to give that a try.

I've owned several Engls and the Artist is my favorite so far of those I've owned or tried. It's Marshall flavored, more so than any other Engl I've tried. I had concerns over the lack of Resonance as well but I didn't miss it once I dialed in my sound. It's still very much an Engl, tight lows, beefy, good gain but it does venture into the Marshall tone and feel. And it's a simple straight forward amp as well.

Anyway that's a good deal and they are fine amps. Btw/ I just bought a Fryette SigX which was yet another amp I wished I had not sold years ago, been chasing another one for a long time and finally got it. If I hadn't just bought it I would buy that Artist back. That's just my experience though.

Yeah, I don't get the "fixed resonance" talk at all. I own an Artist as well, and the EQ is extremely responsive, and will dial in as you wish. It's got some punch, but in a very good way.

I owned the Retro, (great amp), and 3 Splawns, which I've seen suggested here as well. The Artist is more aggressive, more responsive, and more dynamic than the Splawns. I love the Splawns, but the Artist has more mojo. It's alot juicier, and more dynamic. It punches hard, and has one of the best lead tones of any amp I’ve ever owned. Of course, like most amps, bias and the right cocktail of tubes really bring the goods.

I've owned 3 JVM's as well. The Artist has that voicing, a better loop, an exceptional noise gate, and is warmer, beefier, tighter, and more focused. I had the 205H 3 times. Loved OD2 Orange boosted, but the Engl has more balls, bar none.

On the JVM410 I live on OD1 Orange. It's pure modded Marshall tone. OD2 is more modern sounding but I don't get on with that as much. It looses some of it's tightness on OD 2 Orange and Red and that is what they put on the 210's and 205's. I'm kinda surprised Marshall did that but there are some eq pedal tricks or mods you can do to get those amps like the 410's OD 1. The thing I love about the 410 OD1 Orange is it just has tons of gain, hairy and a smidge out of control yet tight and beefy. I love that because I can control it. And it has that aunch...for lack of a better term. Back when I played live, of all the amps I owned I got more compliments over that thing than any other.

The Artist...side by side. It's still an Engl, after all that's their flavor but I dialed in very Marshallesque tones from it. It felt good. Plenty of beef, tight etc... Great loop, good noise gate if you want it which IMO, should be standard on all high gain amps these days and it looks cool as hell. I really liked it and I did not miss the resonance at all which admittedly I was surprised about. Like you said the EQ is very responsive. One thing I did do that I don't have to do with the JVM is I pushed the front end with an EP Booster. Made it a little more hairy for me which I like. I'm doing the same thing with the Sig X.

Seriously wish I had the scratch and I'd just buy it back.

 

[mixn4him]

Yes, check out Fatbagg's demos and posts. I think he even has it for sale in the classifieds...

Yep. Looking at that one already. Never played an Engl and am concerned about some of the reviews on the other models saying that they are dry amps. I like the warmth and cut of Marshall type circuits most of the time. With the Artist being the amp that they worked with Doug Aldrich on I figured maybe it was in that camp.

I actually sold that to him. It's a great amp. Hell, if I had the money I'd buy it back but I just bought another amp and a Les Paul Custom so I'm tapped at the moment.

I'm a Marshall guy, my main amp is a stock JVM410 and that hasn't changed and probably want change anytime soon. I've been going thorugh amps just for the fun of it really and to find something that is different yet familiar. I only sold the Artist because he had a good deal on the Mezzabarba Trinity and I wanted to give that a try.

I've owned several Engls and the Artist is my favorite so far of those I've owned or tried. It's Marshall flavored, more so than any other Engl I've tried. I had concerns over the lack of Resonance as well but I didn't miss it once I dialed in my sound. It's still very much an Engl, tight lows, beefy, good gain but it does venture into the Marshall tone and feel. And it's a simple straight forward amp as well.

Anyway that's a good deal and they are fine amps. Btw/ I just bought a Fryette SigX which was yet another amp I wished I had not sold years ago, been chasing another one for a long time and finally got it. If I hadn't just bought it I would buy that Artist back. That's just my experience though.

Yeah, I don't get the "fixed resonance" talk at all. I own an Artist as well, and the EQ is extremely responsive, and will dial in as you wish. It's got some punch, but in a very good way.

I owned the Retro, (great amp), and 3 Splawns, which I've seen suggested here as well. The Artist is more aggressive, more responsive, and more dynamic than the Splawns. I love the Splawns, but the Artist has more mojo. It's alot juicier, and more dynamic. It punches hard, and has one of the best lead tones of any amp I’ve ever owned. Of course, like most amps, bias and the right cocktail of tubes really bring the goods.

I've owned 3 JVM's as well. The Artist has that voicing, a better loop, an exceptional noise gate, and is warmer, beefier, tighter, and more focused. I had the 205H 3 times. Loved OD2 Orange boosted, but the Engl has more balls, bar none.

On the RETRO when you want a clean channel to be clean or using the built in boost for a slight break up the fixed Resonance was SUPER annoyong and just got in the way. On the OD channel it didnt bother me as much but wanted to share my experience and something to be aware of if the OP was going to rely on the clean channel.

Now I will say ENGL happily sent me a schematic so I could remove or add a pot for the resonance, ended up selling it instead...

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

Great feedback guys. I never play super clean. Always a dirt clean and roll the volume back a bit.

Still interested in comparisons to a Friedman. Cheers.

 

[braintheory]

Great feedback guys. I never play super clean. Always a dirt clean and roll the volume back a bit.

Still interested in comparisons to a Friedman. Cheers.

I’ve had the Engl Artist next to some Friedman’s (BE and Phil X). The Friedman’s sounded to me more organic, warm, but also darker, smoother and not as aggressive or sharp in attack. The Friedman’s tend to also have a lot more low mid presence that makes them pretty thick, while the Artist has this upper mid grind that I really liked

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

Great feedback guys. I never play super clean. Always a dirt clean and roll the volume back a bit.

Still interested in comparisons to a Friedman. Cheers.

I’ve had the Engl Artist next to some Friedman’s (BE and Phil X). The Friedman’s sounded to me more organic, warm, but also darker, smoother and not as aggressive or sharp in attack. The Friedman’s tend to also have a lot more low mid presence that makes them pretty thick, while the Artist has this upper mid grind that I really liked

Interesting. Sounds like the Friedmans may sound "bigger/fuller"? Or no?

Also, I love the Friedman feel, saggy, but I am always boosting it and wanting it to be a little tigher, but I don't love super tight/dry amps in terms of feel.

Would you say the AE has some sag to it or is it closer to a Splawn?

Also, does the Gain boost engage diodes and drop the volume?

And it looks like the Gain boost is tied to Master B volume?

 

[braintheory]

Great feedback guys. I never play super clean. Always a dirt clean and roll the volume back a bit.

Still interested in comparisons to a Friedman. Cheers.

I’ve had the Engl Artist next to some Friedman’s (BE and Phil X). The Friedman’s sounded to me more organic, warm, but also darker, smoother and not as aggressive or sharp in attack. The Friedman’s tend to also have a lot more low mid presence that makes them pretty thick, while the Artist has this upper mid grind that I really liked

Interesting. Sounds like the Friedmans may sound "bigger/fuller"? Or no?

Also, I love the Friedman feel, saggy, but I am always boosting it and wanting it to be a little tigher, but I don't love super tight/dry amps in terms of feel.

Would you say the AE has some sag to it or is it closer to a Splawn?

Also, does the Gain boost engage diodes and drop the volume?

And it looks like the Gain boost is tied to Master B volume?

I think they were fuller, but the Artist isn’t lacking in that department. The AE isn’t saggy, but not dry or that stiff either. It feels good to play still. I like it better than the Splawn’s. Not sure if it engages diodes or not

It could be a nice contrast to your Friedman’s. Ultimately I’d still choose a good old Marshall like a late ‘70’s JMP2203 with a boost over both Friedman and the Engl Arist Edition every time for my taste. The AE though is one of the better options out there if you want a high gain, modern made amp under $2k. The Engl Inferno is also one of my favorite Engl’s. It’s like a better version of the Fireball 100

 

[napalmdeath]

Yes, check out Fatbagg's demos and posts. I think he even has it for sale in the classifieds...

Yep. Looking at that one already. Never played an Engl and am concerned about some of the reviews on the other models saying that they are dry amps. I like the warmth and cut of Marshall type circuits most of the time. With the Artist being the amp that they worked with Doug Aldrich on I figured maybe it was in that camp.

I actually sold that to him. It's a great amp. Hell, if I had the money I'd buy it back but I just bought another amp and a Les Paul Custom so I'm tapped at the moment.

I'm a Marshall guy, my main amp is a stock JVM410 and that hasn't changed and probably want change anytime soon. I've been going thorugh amps just for the fun of it really and to find something that is different yet familiar. I only sold the Artist because he had a good deal on the Mezzabarba Trinity and I wanted to give that a try.

I've owned several Engls and the Artist is my favorite so far of those I've owned or tried. It's Marshall flavored, more so than any other Engl I've tried. I had concerns over the lack of Resonance as well but I didn't miss it once I dialed in my sound. It's still very much an Engl, tight lows, beefy, good gain but it does venture into the Marshall tone and feel. And it's a simple straight forward amp as well.

Anyway that's a good deal and they are fine amps. Btw/ I just bought a Fryette SigX which was yet another amp I wished I had not sold years ago, been chasing another one for a long time and finally got it. If I hadn't just bought it I would buy that Artist back. That's just my experience though.

Yeah, I don't get the "fixed resonance" talk at all. I own an Artist as well, and the EQ is extremely responsive, and will dial in as you wish. It's got some punch, but in a very good way.

I owned the Retro, (great amp), and 3 Splawns, which I've seen suggested here as well. The Artist is more aggressive, more responsive, and more dynamic than the Splawns. I love the Splawns, but the Artist has more mojo. It's alot juicier, and more dynamic. It punches hard, and has one of the best lead tones of any amp I’ve ever owned. Of course, like most amps, bias and the right cocktail of tubes really bring the goods.

I've owned 3 JVM's as well. The Artist has that voicing, a better loop, an exceptional noise gate, and is warmer, beefier, tighter, and more focused. I had the 205H 3 times. Loved OD2 Orange boosted, but the Engl has more balls, bar none.

On the RETRO when you want a clean channel to be clean or using the built in boost for a slight break up the fixed Resonance was SUPER annoyong and just got in the way. On the OD channel it didnt bother me as much but wanted to share my experience and something to be aware of if the OP was going to rely on the clean channel.

Now I will say ENGL happily sent me a schematic so I could remove or add a pot for the resonance, ended up selling it instead...

My point was, its a non-issue on the Artist. I had a Retro, but never messed with the clean channel.