♦ Invader 100 ♦

shampoch

shampoch

New member
....after must research and demoing - the Invader 100 is top pick for me running through Front Loaded V30 Pro Cabinet! :rock:


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I need to check this out this amp in a fair environment. Last time I played one at a music store it just sounded so flat and "2D" compared to a VH4. It was probably the cab, though. Still, this is my favorite ENGL so far (haven't played the Blackmore or savage yet)
 
I`m running my Invader 100 through Marshall MF400. I bought the cab just to try those K100`s. I like it so far. The sound is fat and clear but you have to be careful with bass and depth knob. It takes my tubescreamer really well and you can get great tones both with and without it. The versatility is the key word here.
Channel 1 is meant to be a clean channel but you can get to hard rock/heavy metal territory with gain knob high and hi gain button engaged very easily.
Channel 2 supposed to be Marshall-esque but I like only the low gain sounds from here. Very JTM-ish if you ask me.
I`d like to try these two channels with some tele.
Channel 3 is my main rhythm channel. First I was quite disappointed with it due to its scooped character but with bass around 9 o`clock, mids at 3-4 o`clock, treble at noon and bright button engaged (depth 8 o`clock and presence depending on volume) I could get the sound I wanted.
Channel 4 is quite opposite to ch3 - it is very mid-heavy. This channel can sound flat if you want it to but with little tweaking you can find really a lot of very useful lead tones.
With bright button off the sound is kinda woody. With bright on it is more crispy. I like both.

Funny thing is that it seems that this amp does not like EMG 81 I have in my LTD M-400. It sounds great with Ch1 and Ch4 but I don`t like it with Ch3. It has tight low-end and clarity is really great but mids are somehow thin. It feels like they picked only a certain frequency, not the whole spectrum. I`m already thinking about to swap them for some passives. My chinese el cheapo sevenstring with some uknown OEM passive pickups sounds remarkably better - big, fat, clear and brutal. The only thing it`s missing is a bit of definition. Other than that I`m pretty happy with the results. Hopefully in near future I`ll lay my hands on some quality guitar. I can only guess how it will sound. :rock:

edit: this is my video or better a short clip with that LTD M-400. I don`t remember if it was boosted or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjVzdcCI7rg
 
sinnersmoon":2hp209fp said:
I`m running my Invader 100 through Marshall MF400. I bought the cab just to try those K100`s. I like it so far. The sound is fat and clear but you have to be careful with bass and depth knob. It takes my tubescreamer really well and you can get great tones both with and without it. The versatility is the key word here.
Channel 1 is meant to be a clean channel but you can get to hard rock/heavy metal territory with gain knob high and hi gain button engaged very easily.
Channel 2 supposed to be Marshall-esque but I like only the low gain sounds from here. Very JTM-ish if you ask me.
I`d like to try these two channels with some tele.
Channel 3 is my main rhythm channel. First I was quite disappointed with it due to its scooped character but with bass around 9 o`clock, mids at 3-4 o`clock, treble at noon and bright button engaged (depth 8 o`clock and presence depending on volume) I could get the sound I wanted.
Channel 4 is quite opposite to ch3 - it is very mid-heavy. This channel can sound flat if you want it to but with little tweaking you can find really a lot of very useful lead tones.
With bright button off the sound is kinda woody. With bright on it is more crispy. I like both.

Funny thing is that it seems that this amp does not like EMG 81 I have in my LTD M-400. It sounds great with Ch1 and Ch4 but I don`t like it with Ch3. It has tight low-end and clarity is really great but mids are somehow thin. It feels like they picked only a certain frequency, not the whole spectrum. I`m already thinking about to swap them for some passives. My chinese el cheapo sevenstring with some uknown OEM passive pickups sounds remarkably better - big, fat, clear and brutal. The only thing it`s missing is a bit of definition. Other than that I`m pretty happy with the results. Hopefully in near future I`ll lay my hands on some quality guitar. I can only guess how it will sound. :rock:

edit: this is my video or better a short clip with that LTD M-400. I don`t remember if it was boosted or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjVzdcCI7rg
Click to expand...

I have to agree on the passive pickups, seem to go better with my Savage SE.
 
sinnersmoon":165e3p9e said:
Channel 2 supposed to be Marshall-esque but I like only the low gain sounds from here.
Click to expand...
I have to revise this part of my brief review.
I stopped to use channel 2 in hi gain settings some time ago because I didn`t like the sound and it went to feedback way too quickly. It didn`t bother me `cause I used CH3 most of the time anyway.
But after some time I started to be fed up with higher hiss coming from speakers. I mean higher than I thought is normal. I plugged my old trusty ENGL E520 preamp and the hiss was considerably lower. So I decided to change V2 tube. I put a fresh tube in the socket, turned on standby switch and started to laugh.
CH2 is now completely usable and I can get nice thrashy rhythm sound easily - the magic knob here is Presence. It makes sound clearer and tighter. I got the best result when turned up quite high - 2-3 o`clock (channel volume 11 o`clock and master volume slightly above 8 o`clock - this is above bedroom volume a bit but not rehersal volume).
Now I enjoy my EMG equipped guitar again :D

btw tube change had an impact also on CH3. It has become clearer and more agressive.
This is strange. I don`t know how it is wired and I know nothing about amp building but how can you have shitty hi gain setting on CH2 but still great sound on CH3 (I use it in "low" gain setting with hi gain button off)?
 
I'm not sure but I think Engl does a lot of tone shaping in the pre-amp stage.

On CH3 when I turn on the hi gain button I start getting radio interference, so now I mostly leave it off.
If I don't sell the amp I'm thinking of a tube upgrade package from eruo tubes.

Did you make the 18v upgrade to your EMG's?
 
Franknaw":260kg2eu said:
I'm not sure but I think Engl does a lot of tone shaping in the pre-amp stage.

On CH3 when I turn on the hi gain button I start getting radio interference, so now I mostly leave it off.
If I don't sell the amp I'm thinking of a tube upgrade package from eruo tubes.

Did you make the 18v upgrade to your EMG's?
Click to expand...
I don`t get radio interference with hi gain button on on CH3 but the distortion is oversaturated then and I like it dryer, tighter, more bite than growl yet thick. CH3 has enough gain for my taste even with hi gain button off.

I have Mesa SPAX7 in V1, standard Mesa 12AX7 in V2, ENGL ECC83 in V3 and V4 + 4x JJ E34L`s in power section.
I`m pretty happy with this setup but I`m wondering if classic EL34`s wouldn`t open CH3 a bit more.
But on the other hand CH2 is open enough (but it has completely different bass response/voicing/structure) so I tend to believe it`s not in the tubes.

I was thinking about the pickup change as well. I have EMG81, BKP Painkiller and SD JB in my guitars (LTD M-400, Jackson SL3 and Jackson SL1) and all of them are pretty focused (well... JB a bit less defined on the lower strings) so maybe some more open sounding pickup could help (suggestions anyone? BKP Black Dog?).
Regarding 18V - yeah, I was looking at it and I think I`ll give it a try.
 
@Franknaw
Thank you for your kind offer.
I have already ordered it and it`s on the way. So in a few days it should be in my mailbox.
 
OK, so I have upgraded my M-400 to 18V and let me tell you it made a BIG difference.
Improvement was immediately audible both on clean and overdrive. The sound is clearer and punchier. I also played with knobs a bit and CH3 is now absolutely crushing :rock:. Can`t recommend this mod enough. They should do it for all EMG equipped guitars already in the factory.


I have to amend also an info about my pickups. When I was changing strings, I checked the bridge pickup of my SL1. I bought it two months ago and I was told that it had JB in the bridge.
Well the truth is that there is SD Custom TB-5. It`s tight and aggressive all right and I really like the lead tones I can get but I`m not convinced about the rhythm tone. Its slightly scooped voicing does not go ideally with CH3 but I can live with it for the time being.

Btw Invader is really sensitive to guitar/pickup. All my 6-strings are alder bodied with maple neck (two of them rosewood fingerboard and one ebony) and they all sound quite different (but still great), so I can choose the right guitar depending on mood or songs I want to play.
This amp is growing on me more and more every time I play it.
 
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