Went to the ENGL North Hollywood showroom today *VIDEO ADDED

killertone

killertone

Well-known member
Had a good time opening up the amps full tilt . Played the SE (EL34), Savage 120, Fireball 100, Powerball II, Smolski, and the new Retro Tube 100. My fave out of all of them????? The Retro Tube 100. That amp is the shit and could be the next big thing from them, IMO. It doesn't look or sound like the rest of what they make. It does super clean, sweet dirty breakup, excellent mid gain grind, to all out assault but in a much different way than the other ENGLS. Very simple and super easy to dial in. I played it for a good 20 minutes and had a blast. Made a video of it but for whatever reason my iPhone and computer hate each other today and it won't transfer from my phone. The Retro Tube 100 they have there is the only one in the US and they are scheduled to begin shipping here in April.

A few pics...Hopefully I will be able to upload the Retro Tube 100 Video later.

Edit: Here is the video...



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I love the Engl stuff! I loved the powerball that I had and just about any Engl that i played.
I only sold it because a) I needed the money at the time and B) everyone told me that id more then likely love the ver 2 better lol :D

If there was anything negative that I could say aboit it is that I felt as if my Powerball ver 1 was down on power compared to My Marshalls and even my Boogie. My hundred watt Powerball got smoked by my 50 watt 2205 volume wise and that it the only negative thing that I could say. Im not a volume whore, so it didn't bother me that much but it was definitely noticable. Id have to say that for a 100 watter, it was definitely the lowest 100 watter Ive ever played.

What's up with the Doug Aldrich sig on the Eng?l!!!

:rock:
 
King Guitar":21g8sayf said:
I really dug the Invader 150 and the Retro when I played them. Cool stuff!
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I would seriousy order a couple of these, Brad. I was playing everything from clean strummed chords, arpeggiated picking, cock rock, to full on right hand brutality on this thing. I will own one for sure.

snowdog":21g8sayf said:
What did you think about the Victor Smolski model ?
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Dug it a lot. Liked the Powerball II a little bit better.

Gainfreak":21g8sayf said:
I love the Engl stuff! I loved the powerball that I had and just about any Engl that i played.
I only sold it because a) I needed the money at the time and B) everyone told me that id more then likely love the ver 2 better lol :D

If there was anything negative that I could say aboit it is that I felt as if my Powerball ver 1 was down on power compared to My Marshalls and even my Boogie. My hundred watt Powerball got smoked by my 50 watt 2205 volume wise and that it the only negative thing that I could say. Im not a volume whore, so it didn't bother me that much but it was definitely noticable. Id have to say that for a 100 watter, it was definitely the lowest 100 watter Ive ever played.

What's up with the Doug Aldrich sig on the Eng?l!!!

:rock:
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Haven't played the old Powerball in forever and I never played one in my band as I have always owned and loved my Blackmore. I did own a Powerball II for a month or so and it was unfreakingbelievably loud so no worries with that one! :LOL: :LOL: My Blackmore is also really loud and sits awesomely in a band mix.

That Doug Aldrich amp was made for him a few years ago. It is a modded Blackmore as far as I can tell. I did not plug it in though. I am pretty sure he used it at some pint. Maybe Dan will chime in, he probably knows.
 
Love hearing this stuff. . I was the 1st guy I know who heard of Engl back in the 80's. They had the digital amp that remembered a few presets, and then the Straight 100, the 620 /520 preamps,etc. You could find them used in Boston , or at the original Daddy's stores ,but very rare. . The Boston band SHOCKRA had this guitarist who used the digital combo and he got some of the best tones ever (early 90's) . . . I still have the 520 preamp , Engl Screamer combo , and a 4x12 from the early 90's , a 100 watt stereo power amp with boosts, and my favorite is this 2x35 watt rackmountable stereo el84 amp. . It's 3 channels , 2 amps in 1 and rare as hell! I love it. Then Engl took a huge hiatus , and then in the past 10 years or so started cranking out the amps. .. . I haven't been lucky enough to try any of the modern gear they make ,but have surely heard lots of views on them , and I'm glad some of you guys are digging them . Eric
 
Gitfiddler":iz2s8b6s said:
the retro seems very cool. i don't care if you can change the faceplate.. it sounds good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK9z-cu11m4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzKWFBkX2PM
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Yeah, the faceplate thing was cool. Of course I like the black one! :LOL: :LOL:

This amp is so open and organic on the clean channel even with the boost on. It only gets compressed whn you switch over to the dirty channel with the boost engaged. Then it gets compressed and very chewy. Has a great feel to it. A very cool amp.

ericb":iz2s8b6s said:
Love hearing this stuff. . I was the 1st guy I know who heard of Engl back in the 80's. They had the digital amp that remembered a few presets, and then the Straight 100, the 620 /520 preamps,etc. You could find them used in Boston , or at the original Daddy's stores ,but very rare. . The Boston band SHOCKRA had this guitarist who used the digital combo and he got some of the best tones ever (early 90's) . . . I still have the 520 preamp , Engl Screamer combo , and a 4x12 from the early 90's , a 100 watt stereo power amp with boosts, and my favorite is this 2x35 watt rackmountable stereo el84 amp. . It's 3 channels , 2 amps in 1 and rare as hell! I love it. Then Engl took a huge hiatus , and then in the past 10 years or so started cranking out the amps. .. . I haven't been lucky enough to try any of the modern gear they make ,but have surely heard lots of views on them , and I'm glad some of you guys are digging them . Eric
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Right on! My buddy had an ENGL preamp and power amp back in '91. Not sure what models they were but it sounded awesome.
 
King Guitar":1v3klbcw said:
I have the retro inbound to the shop now if anyone wants to try one when it does turn up :thumbsup:
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So what is the retail price gonna be on the Retro?
 
sjk":1hv2j7l4 said:
King Guitar":1hv2j7l4 said:
I have the retro inbound to the shop now if anyone wants to try one when it does turn up :thumbsup:
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So what is the retail price gonna be on the Retro?
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Retail on the Retro 100 Head is $2499 and I will be selling them for $1999. These will be pretty popular when they hit in April. If you want to get one hit me up via PM. :thumbsup:

Brad
 
I went through four Engls. Cool amps. I liked my Invader 100 Channel 2 the most. They were missing something for me but I still liked them. A little on the sterile side but I am comparing them to PTP handwired amps like Cornford, etc. This new one sounds good and the price is right.
 
King Guitar":1ljnij4l said:
ericb":1ljnij4l said:
yngzaklynch":1ljnij4l said:
I swear I hear delay or reverb here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK9z-cu11m4&hd=1
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I tried to tell but couldn't . Tones sounded GREAT!!! Too much talking though for me to really concentrate on it :)

Eric
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There was no verb or delay, Doug was straight in.
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Hmmmm. Tone sounds ambient to me. Then again I used to work on F-14s. Currently I have a 2 and 4 year old running around the house with the Pittsburgh Penguins game on... I listen again tomorrow.
 
yngzaklynch":25tb8hq3 said:
King Guitar":25tb8hq3 said:
ericb":25tb8hq3 said:
yngzaklynch":25tb8hq3 said:
I swear I hear delay or reverb here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK9z-cu11m4&hd=1
Click to expand...


I tried to tell but couldn't . Tones sounded GREAT!!! Too much talking though for me to really concentrate on it :)

Eric
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There was no verb or delay, Doug was straight in.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm. Tone sounds ambient to me. Then again I used to work on F-14s. Currently I have a 2 and 4 year old running around the house with the Pittsburgh Penguins game on... I listen again tomorrow.
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Unless they added it after I was standing there when they filmed that and it was Dougs Hands --> MM Steve Morse --> Cord--> Retro Input.
 
Damn Jason, sounds like that was a blast. Thanks for sharing the pics.

You make that retro sound very intriguing. I really need no more gas. :gethim:
 
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