Which high-wattage Engl head for lower volume?

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mountain2012

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Which Engl head sounds best with the master knob set to about "1"? Before you flame, with the master knob set to "1" and the gain knob cranked, the amp is outputting approx. 20 percent of its maximum due to the nonlinear nature of the master potentiometer, and 20 percent of a 100-watt amp is pretty loud.

My drummer uses those reduced volume drum heads and cymbals and I really don't need that much volume to cut through the mix.

Other amps that I am considering buying in the quest of seeking decent rock and metal tone at a lower volume are:

Diezel VH4 or Herbert
Friedman BE-100 Deluxe
Bogner Uberschall
 
I'm very happy with the sound of my Savage SE at low volumes.
Much better than Blackmore.
Savage SE has both channel and master volume controls with good taper, so there are no big jumps in volume.
 
I have the ENGL Savage 120 (Mark I) and it sounds amazing at low volumes through my vertical 2x12. I live in an apartment building and I've never had issues with it.
 
Invader, SE E660, Savage, etc. have a relatively small difference in tone with low volume vs. high volume; with the Invader 2 I managed to get a very usable high gain sound at hilariously low volume, even tried it in the asscrack of night where picking volume could drown out the amp sound and it was fine.
 
I think the Ritchie Blackmore sounds great at low volume, plenty of eq to dial in whatever sound you want. However, you would probably want to adjust it real quick as the volume goes up. Out of the other 3 you mentioned the Bogner is probably alright at low volumes, but the others like a little bit more juice before they wake up.
 
Savage 120, FB100, and AE can all be amazing at low volume with an eq in the loop and proper settings. I like the Savage 120 MKI the best of all the Engls I've owned.
 
I'll be that guy, why not looking at their smaller wattage heads? Unlike some other mfgs, they are making 60W or less versions with some strong tones. That or attenuate and mix that with a strong MV.
 
crg123 said:
I have the ENGL Savage 120 (Mark I) and it sounds amazing at low volumes through my vertical 2x12. I live in an apartment building and I've never had issues with it.
Click to expand...
This is what I was hoping to hear!
 
Have you looked into getting an attenuator? I play all of my high gain heads through a Fryette Power Station 2 and it gives me the freedom to not be limited by volume and allows me to find the sweet spots on my amps. I highly highly recommend looking into this and getting whichever ENGL you like the most.
 
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