Talk to Me About ENGL

[DanTravis62]

Are Engls in the same family as SLO, Rectifier, 5150, Framus Cobra? If so, maybe I'm better off going back to KSR because I think KSR does that sound better.

Depends which model, generally they sound more "marshally" than a recto or cobra

Some models are more 5150 ish, some are more modded marshall-ish, they all have a distinct engl graininess to them which some love and some hate

I would say the KSR and ENGL are non-overlapping magisteria imo - the KSR does the 5150 and recto type sounds well, ENGLs do a more modded/modern marshall sound well

 

[vultures]

I've got an ENGL E670 Special Edition. It has more features than I'll ever use. Midi is practically plug and play, worked instantly with an old peavey footswitch from the 80s. Worked fine with my Quad Cortex when I clicked 2 settings.

This thing fucks. Hard. More gain than I deserve. More saturation than I can handle. It has two switches to turn up the low end. One shakes your booty hole, the other makes your balls tremble. It's the tightest low end I've ever had in a tube amp. Only close competitor is a VHT Pitbull. Cleans are pretty usable, Reverb is kinda stinky.

I was worried it would sound too sterile. It don't. It's magical. Get an ENGL.

 

[Techdeth]

I had SE founders edition and tried Fireball and Artist Edition. I prefer AE and FB to SE just for high gain. They are more raw and organic than SE fe. What I didn't like about ENGL(especially SE fe)is their tone shaping options. Most of them are just crappy buttons. I thought most of them are useless. When I engaged the depth boost or mega lo punch, amp becomes too bassy/muddy. When I off that button, sounds thin. It was hard to dial for what I like. I prefer knobs as tone shaping option. So, I can dial my amp out more precisely whatever cabs or speakers I use. I assume you are a Marshall guy from your amps clips. Then AE will be good choice. But, you won't satisfy with ENGL. I think your amps sounds better than ENGL. But, ENGL's cabs are very nice. I like their cabs more than amps lol

I think fireball 100 is a classic amp

 

[napalmdeath]

I've owned the Savage MKII, FB100, Inferno, AE 100 w/KT77's and currently own the FB25 w/KT77's. As many have said, they are great amps for the money and all can do a solid clean up to massive high gain sound. I would say the AE was my favorite of the bunch, it definitely felt the most organic and raw.

Artist Edition FTW. I've owned several Engls, and the Artist was the best of the bunch. Organic and raw are how I'd describe it as well. Does the modded Marshall thing, but more aggressive. Awesome amp.

 

[the4thlast1]

Are Engls in the same family as SLO, Rectifier, 5150, Framus Cobra? If so, maybe I'm better off going back to KSR because I think KSR does that sound better.

Not like any of those amps. Maybe a little 5152 ish but not really. They have there own thing going on, processed sounding is a good description but not in a bad way. They just don’t have the typical tube amp sound lol , I dunno it’s hard to describe. I don’t want to say solid state because they have more character than that. I think the Artist edition is a good one to try, it sounds a bit more familiar than some of the others. It’s prob their best sounding amp, most balanced.

 

[Redneckstomp]

I think fireball 100 is a classic amp

One of their best amp

 

[boltzthrower]

I’ve owned the E530 preamp, E570 (preamp of the E670), E670, Powerball I, Synergy Powerball and Synergy Savage.

The E530 is the rawest of the bunch, least compressed (but still way more compressed than a JCM 800, most open of the bunch , but still really saturated. The gain is more splatty while the gain of the others feels more tightly glued together. I go back & forth on whether it’s better with a TS in front while the rest of them definitely sound best without a “clean” boost.

The Powerball 1 was a total turd but the Synergy Powerball into VHT 2/90/2 is awesome so I’ll forever wonder if something was wrong with that used Powerball 1 I had.

E670 was the best head I’ve owned but E570 > 2/90/2 is considerably better. E570/E670 is somewhat more open than the Powerball and while it’s a modern high gain beast, something about the feel & tone has this little bit of vintage vibe compared to the Powerball. The Powerball is the smoothest of the bunch and the most compressed. The Powerball has a big sounding low end you might wanna high pass. The only thing I don’t love about the E570/E670 is the pinch harmonics, they’re kinda thin & hollow while with the Pball they’re full & screaming. The E670 cleans are nice. The Powerball is prolly my fav for high gain rhythm but the E670 is a close second. I play death metal, plenty of fast tech stuff. If I was in a thrash band I’d pick the E530. Heavy metal, I’d prolly skip Engl and do something Marshall based.

I don’t know how to describe the Savage pre, it was cool and I would have kept it if money was no object. Prolly won’t make sense but the gain was “chalky”. I can’t relate to ppl likening it to a Marshall, it’s not any more similar to Marshall than the E670 IMO.

As far as the complaints I read online about Engl’s not cutting in a live mix, I can’t relate. That just makes me question what their entire signal chain and settings are. Although I always run an EQ in the loop so there’s that.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

The Powerball 1 was a total turd but the Synergy Powerball into VHT 2/90/2 is awesome so I’ll forever wonder if something was wrong with that used Powerball 1 I had.

From my understanding the Powerball II is very different from the Powerball I. Powerball II is supposed to be a huge improvement. I also have the Synergy module and really like it. I've run it though a couple of amps; Fryette PS100, Crate BV 150 & 300, KSR Gemini. It sounds really good through all of them. If the actual amp is similar to the module it should be a winner.

I don’t know how to describe the Savage pre, it was cool and I would have kept it if money was no object. Prolly won’t make sense but the gain was “chalky”. I can’t relate to ppl likening it to a Marshall, it’s not any more similar to Marshall than the E670 IMO.

I have the Synergy Savage pre as well. It kinda cool and all but far from my favorite module. I can get a decent tone from the high gain channel, if I work it 'right, but the low gain channel always sounds muffled. Marshally would be one of the last things I'd compare it to. I just don't think Synergy captured the essence of the Savage very well.

 

[rottingcorpse]

I went through the engl line in the 2009-2013 or so. Mark Brody from Jag Panzer was on the Dean forum and turned me onto them. Finally stopped when I scored the one I wanted. I'm a huge Kreator fanboy and finally got the Extreme Aggression. Had it ever since.

 

[saxxamafone]

Had a blackmore back in the day that my band loved. Very clear and cutting with lots of mids

 

[Dino 939]

Well…you can find the guilty seller’s
duckin’ & runnin’ outta the used gear section at Guitar Center..
It’s a damn ENGL boneyard.
All sorts of Signature Editions from artists I’ve never heard of but they sure look important & look dope AF but don’t turn on..

Screw that stuff.. I would like you to commission you you to build me the ultimate CCV….with a good loop..
For real man, I sorely miss Channel 1 gain dimed Strat neck pick-up,
-I’ll be livin’ high & wide.
(I’m totally serious man), let’s roll).

Dude..you build machines far superior to any of that high gain special addition carnage.
You need to get up on some of that
Lenz action.
Fire in the hole.

 

[Eazy-ESP]

Is always been curious myself. There are so many Marshall style amps, Jose, 5150, generic high gainers. But ENGL does seem to be in its own lane. It’s just the build quality comments that have always stopped me.

 

[ultimatemetalguitartones]

I've always found really compressed the ENGL amps and preamp I've tried. The Blackmore signature was more open sounding than the others. They record wonderful - tons of gain and compression. The last one I tried was the Fireball 100 limited edition - For thrash / death / modern metal it's a hell of an amp but it can get boring if you know what I mean. Here in EU you can score some really good deals. I hear a lot of complaints regarding the build quality tho...

 

[Sick Michael]

All those amps just breathe fire. I had a powerball and a savage 120. I preferred the Savage to be honest. It was more fun to play and had more tones, and the channel 4 was awesome and better than anything the Powerball had. I think I got rid of them though, more because of the feel than the tone. I felt they were stiff and there just wasnt the grease I wanted. There were so many better options for what I really wanted, as I kind of figured out that I was not into the more extreme types of metal that these amps excel at.

 

[jabps]

Had a blackmore back in the day that my band loved. Very clear and cutting with lots of mids

Yep, what Vivian Campbell uses for his Last in Line project, plenty of live vids out there with him that represent that amp well.

 

[jabps]

I think I got rid of them though, more because of the feel than the tone. I felt they were stiff and there just wasnt the grease I wanted.

Grease is a good term, agreed with that and why I let the PBII go. Back to the Artist, it has some of that grease, very unlike the other Engls I've owned or played. I've been tempted several times to give the Artist or Blackmore a go again.

 

[glpg80]

I could never get over the absolute garbage build quality enough to pay import costs in the US. Paper thin boards, tiny transformers, super thin traces that probably aren’t even copper, and zero customer service for the more complicated models. Plus they need custom footswitches that aren’t run of the mill most of the time if not using MIDI.

They do a thing but it would be much better to go down the synergy route for Engl than a real Engl anything.

 

[gritstogroats]

I like having an engl in my tool kit.

For me e670 sefe. Versatile. It covers a lot of ground and does it well.

 

[Speeddemon]

I've been a fan for over 20 years. The Savage 60 (MKI)) was my 1st tube amp. Sold it to fund the purchase of a new Invader 100, but 10 years later I got a used Savage 60 again; I use the Ironball for rehearsals at locations where I don't know what dodgy (H&K Warp factor anyone?) heads they have and I have something decent and light to carry around.

Never had reliability issues.
There's a few models I don't care for at all; like others already suggested, the Powerball I is a turd. The II is a big improvement.
Owned the SE EL34 for a while; and yes, it does crush and slam hard with more (controlled) gain than even a 5150III, but it's the gain boost steps that keeps it, IMO, from being the 4 channel amp that I hoped it would be. The Invader does that better. Sure, the Invader should've used Lead II from the SE on its CH4 channel, because the Invader's CH4 is way too smooth and saturated, in this charicature of a Bogner sound perhaps?
For a more brutal metal approach, the SE would be the better choice than the Invader, but for a really all-round 4-channel, 8 sound thing, where you have to do classic rock and hard rock as well, the Invader is the better choice IMO.

Cleans on the Invader are amazing, maybe not as responsive as a Mesa Mark's clean, but great nevertheless, for that true clean sound from a high gain channel switcher.

And yes, a few do sound overly processed. Not the old Savage IMO. It sounds more raw and pissed off. Compressed, sure. Just not synthetic/processed, like the Powerball does.

Oh, and when I had the SE, I replaced those god awful chrome knobs, that are impossible to read on a dark stage. See attached image.
Savage knobs (and brushed Engl logo) were their peak in terms of function and design.

 

[Ricky Rockhardo]

I currently own an older Blackmore, which I love.

Definitely in the modded Marshall camp, but with a bit more (tight) low end.

Killertone had some Bmore + JVM clips that do the amp justice.

I’d recommend trying out an AE or Bmore since they seem to be a bit different (in a good way) compared to the rest of the Engl lineup.