ENGL amplifiers. Which is what. Models etc.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tone Junkie
  • Start date Start date
I had a Poweball 1 that I got in a trade to try out and I didn’t care for that amp at all. My bandmate got a Morse and that amp was an absolute beast! Loved it!! I also love the tone Viv gets Out of the Blackmore!
 
I have had a SE670.
The amp is amazing, but it's master volume was too loud.
From 0,1 to 0,2 and your ears starts to bleed.
Their costumer service is a garbage, I have ever never seen worst.
 
turtlefingers said:
Their costumer service is a garbage, I have ever never seen worst.
Click to expand...
Truth there. The only problem I ever had, (that turned out to be a simple ribbon cable that came unplugged), I couldn't get anybody to respond to a couple questions. That's the downside to Engls. The support, parts availability, and authorized repair centers are few and far between. If something breaks, you're SOL.
 
I owned a powerball and savage 120 years and years ago. Couldn’t get rid of the powerball fast enough, but I was playing live a lot at the time, and it just didn’t work for me.


The SE 670 is the one to get. If I remember correctly, it was the only amp in the Engl line at the time ( up until recently with the savage 120 2) that had true “ big iron” in it. Engl’s suffered from smaller transformers, and their tone to me always felt much smaller with not near the pant legging power of my other amps. The 5150 is a good example of what “big iron” sounds and feels like. Compare it to a powerball cranked up, and you’ll know exactly what I mean. If they didn’t skimp on the transformers, things would be a lot different I think.


On that note, a lot of my favorite tones ever ( im
Sure it’s the same for others here too), were created by the savage 120 in studios all over Europe.
 
VESmedic said:
I owned a powerball and savage 120 years and years ago. Couldn’t get rid of the powerball fast enough, but I was playing live a lot at the time, and it just didn’t work for me.


The SE 670 is the one to get. If I remember correctly, it was the only amp in the Engl line at the time ( up until recently with the savage 120 2) that had true “ big iron” in it. Engl’s suffered from smaller transformers, and their tone to me always felt much smaller with not near the pant legging power of my other amps. The 5150 is a good example of what “big iron” sounds and feels like. Compare it to a powerball cranked up, and you’ll know exactly what I mean. If they didn’t skimp on the transformers, things would be a lot different I think.


On that note, a lot of my favorite tones ever ( im
Sure it’s the same for others here too), were created by the savage 120 in studios all over Europe.
Click to expand...
Savage 120 mk 2 is definitely the Engl to have in a collection
 
Also I’ll add, not Engl amp related, but I own an Engl cab that is phenomenal. I have it loaded with 65 watt creambacks , and Chinese V30s and it slays. It sits tonally right between my Marshall and Mesa cabs. If you are ever after that Gothenburg sound made famous by nordStrom, I can assure you this cab is a huge part of that sound, it’s for sure necessary to get anywhere near that type of tone from the earlier in flames, darkane, soilwork, and arch enemy records.
 
Engl is the one brand that has completely eluded me over the years. I've owned at least one amp from every major brand and the majority of boutique ones as well... But never an Engl. I've always wanted to get my hands on a Savage because they always sound crushing in the recordings I've heard, but there's never been a dealer in my state and they don't come up super often on the used market at a reasonable price. The Mk II is definitely intriguing but that price is definitely cost prohibitive in the US - many more amps I'd take before I spent $3000 on that amp... Not to mention every comparison I've heard, I prefer the Mk I still.
 
I've owned a bunch of them. Fireballs, 60 and 100, invader, savage, artist, steve morse. I like the artist the best.

The build quality is hella sus. I know a bunch of reputable techs that will not even touch them, for any price.

That said, they have a sound. It's not my sound, but I love certain ENGL tones - Kai Hansen's gamma ray stuff comes to mind. Dude always had KILLER tones. Everytime i hear that intro to "men martians and machines" it's a reminder.

The only engl amp i would actually consider buying is the e530 pre, to scratch that kai hansen and necrophagist itch - but tbh the larry scratches all the itches the actual heads scratch and like 48 more.

They do sound okay, but those tiny, thin PCBs(look at them compared to an SLO or VHT/Fryette) and tiny transformers will keep me from ever risking owning one again. I have too many friends with too many horror stories...... and I dont know anyone who will actually work on them if something goes wrong.
 
I use a Powerball II, got it in 2019 and I love it. Switched over from using Mesa dual/triple recto's since the mid-90's. I got tired of having to boost an amp and to pair it with a Marshall or something similar for recording. The Powerball II does not need a boost, and it's the first time in years I've recorded with just one amp.
 
cragginshred77 said:
Here is Vivian Campbell's amazing Engl tone at a Last in Line sound check I was at in 2018. It was a Blackmoore signature head

Click to expand...

I have an old Blackmore and it's one of the amps that I will never part with. I got it (plus the Z9 footswitch) in a trade for my Marshall 800 KK and I instantly liked it better. And I don't know if the newer ones are built in an cheaper way but I have no complaints. The pcb board of my JVM felt more vulnerable...
I would go as far as saying I like it as much as my Friedman.
I only have one other Engl experience and that was with an amp a buddy of mine sold, a Powerball or Fireball, don't remember which one because I didn't like it. Too stiff sounding.
 
DanTravis62 said:
I've owned a bunch of them. Fireballs, 60 and 100, invader, savage, artist, steve morse. I like the artist the best.

The build quality is hella sus. I know a bunch of reputable techs that will not even touch them, for any price.

That said, they have a sound. It's not my sound, but I love certain ENGL tones - Kai Hansen's gamma ray stuff comes to mind. Dude always had KILLER tones. Everytime i hear that intro to "men martians and machines" it's a reminder.

The only engl amp i would actually consider buying is the e530 pre, to scratch that kai hansen and necrophagist itch - but tbh the larry scratches all the itches the actual heads scratch and like 48 more.

They do sound okay, but those tiny, thin PCBs(look at them compared to an SLO or VHT/Fryette) and tiny transformers will keep me from ever risking owning one again. I have too many friends with too many horror stories...... and I dont know anyone who will actually work on them if something goes wrong.
Click to expand...
Sounds like the pads on the PCB lift pretty easily, meaning you have to run wires in place of the traces. Not fun. Haven't seen an Engl in for repair, maybe I have been lucky.
 
blackba said:
Sounds like the pads on the PCB lift pretty easily, meaning you have to run wires in place of the traces. Not fun. Haven't seen an Engl in for repair, maybe I have been lucky.
Click to expand...

The pcbs are flimsy and shitty, and apparently the screen resistors explode whenever they're looked at like Schrodinger's QC cat. The transformers were pretty obviously chosen for availability and cost, and not sound and longevity.

They're not built like a Panama or something...but they're definitely not built like 3000$ amps. That may be a consequence of import stuff - apparently they're much less expensive in Europe.

And this isn't a PCB/p2p/turret thing, there's plenty of high quality PCB amps out there, like the Fryette/SLO I mentioned above.

Im not an expert by any means, but people who are, that I trust, have gone on and on about these problems with engls 🤷
 
turboblues said:
I have an old Blackmore and it's one of the amps that I will never part with. I got it (plus the Z9 footswitch) in a trade for my Marshall 800 KK and I instantly liked it better. And I don't know if the newer ones are built in an cheaper way but I have no complaints. The pcb board of my JVM felt more vulnerable...
I would go as far as saying I like it as much as my Friedman.
I only have one other Engl experience and that was with an amp a buddy of mine sold, a Powerball or Fireball, don't remember which one because I didn't like it. Too stiff sounding.
Click to expand...
That's good to know. Which Friedman are you comparing it to?? Viv had a VERY Loud punchy but cleanish gained tone. Only a Wah between guitar and head -nothing else!
 
DanTravis62 said:
I've owned a bunch of them. Fireballs, 60 and 100, invader, savage, artist, steve morse. I like the artist the best.

The build quality is hella sus. I know a bunch of reputable techs that will not even touch them, for any price.

That said, they have a sound. It's not my sound, but I love certain ENGL tones - Kai Hansen's gamma ray stuff comes to mind. Dude always had KILLER tones. Everytime i hear that intro to "men martians and machines" it's a reminder.

The only engl amp i would actually consider buying is the e530 pre, to scratch that kai hansen and necrophagist itch - but tbh the larry scratches all the itches the actual heads scratch and like 48 more.

They do sound okay, but those tiny, thin PCBs(look at them compared to an SLO or VHT/Fryette) and tiny transformers will keep me from ever risking owning one again. I have too many friends with too many horror stories...... and I dont know anyone who will actually work on them if something goes wrong.
Click to expand...

Kai used the old engl straight heads in both keepers...
You can still see it in some videos...
Lynch also used the engl straight in his instructional video...
 
VESmedic said:
I owned a powerball and savage 120 years and years ago. Couldn’t get rid of the powerball fast enough, but I was playing live a lot at the time, and it just didn’t work for me.


The SE 670 is the one to get. If I remember correctly, it was the only amp in the Engl line at the time ( up until recently with the savage 120 2) that had true “ big iron” in it. Engl’s suffered from smaller transformers, and their tone to me always felt much smaller with not near the pant legging power of my other amps. The 5150 is a good example of what “big iron” sounds and feels like. Compare it to a powerball cranked up, and you’ll know exactly what I mean. If they didn’t skimp on the transformers, things would be a lot different I think.


On that note, a lot of my favorite tones ever ( im
Sure it’s the same for others here too), were created by the savage 120 in studios all over Europe.
Click to expand...

Post 2011 Savage MK1 has larger iron. The one I owned kicked like a mule. Tightest amp with the fastest attack I've owned to this day. Rest of the models I've owned had the little bitty trannies.
 
My SE670 Had Monster Trannies.
A pain in the ass to move and I needed to bring an attenuator too.
If they fix their costume service and the shit master volume I would buy another in a heart beat.
 
They were all the rage about 15 years ago.

I had a few, the one I liked the most was the Blackmore head. Fantastic amp for home jamming and recording, it was all but useless in a band setting though. Back in the day people used to complain about how ENGL's didn't cut through in a mix, I always thought it was BS until I tried using that one (which arguably clearer, more articulate, & less scooped than most of their amps) live for a bit. I had to turn it up way too loud, just to be able hear myself.

That being said, I still liked it, being that I always have at least 3-4 amps to rotate between. I only sold it to fund something else I wanted to try.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top