Egnater Rebel 20 20W Head

This is a single channel amp. Bass and Treble cut/boost switches, standard EQ, Master Volume, Watts to select power between 1 and 20 watts and Tubes to select stock 2x6V6s, 2XEL84s or blend to taste.

The Effects Loop which is 100% in when used. Putting a Boss RV5 reverb pedal in direct didn't have a good result as the Mix control on the pedal acted as a volume, I put a NS-2 gate in and the effects through that. Works fine. Racks will work better than stomps for this loop.

Versatile in the sense that you can set it to nearly anything and go. Obviously not a channel switching swiss army knife on the fly.

I use this with a maple 'board Fender Strat and an Ibanez GB-30 semi hollow jazzer. My style is largely based on rock, blues, country and jazz.

I really haven't found a bad tone with this. It covers a huge range of sounds and is great fun to dial in, the Bright and Tight switches cut or boost treble and bass, they're very effective and can provide a wide or narrow frequency response as desired. The overall tone of the circuit is brighter than some, which in a mix is ideal, but always retains body and punch.

The gain control covers a lot of ground, from clean through break up and crunch to thick sustain. The EQ is powerful and you can hear a change with small adjustments. The Watts dial provides body and power as it's turned up, this is not a volume control. The beauty of the Tubes control is that rather than giving you one or the other, you can blend the tubes, this opens up loads of potential.

US Fenders etc or Brit Marshall tones are there. The circuit responds really well to adjustments from the guitar. Using the guitar volume works as expected, the real bonus over other amps I've tried is the response to the tone control and pick up selection. You don't get muddy as you roll off the tone like on my old twin. The voice of the guitar comes out clear.

For quiet home use at night, or recording at lower volumes this is very quiet, much quieter than the 5 watt models around even at higher gain setings. Everything from clean to heavy is there and it records very well through the matching 1 x 12 cab.

For live use it cuts through with out much effort. The circuit is very articulate and sound guys have commented on how clear it sounds compared to other gear. 20 watts is generally loud enough for most gigs with a 1 x 12 cab.

No issues after 5 months.

Standard UK warranty.

I bought the 20w head and 1 x 12 cab. It's portable and compact. The gig bag for the head is cool and reasonably tough.

After selling my twin and getting a pot to spend I went off looking for the ideal amp for me. I tried Bogner, Mesa, Fender, Marshall, Vox and Blackstar. This did what I wanted it too intuitively, the tone is superb and responds very well to how the guitar is played or set.

A Mix control on the Effects Loop would probably be the one addition I'd make, but I don't notice this missing in use.

I'd get another one if lost or stolen. At this price it's too much to miss, check it out!

I'm writing the 31st review here so I think all the features have been covered by others. I especially like the variable watts control. Two qualities about this amp that I consider significant features are that it's very small and very light. It would be nice if it had reverb but that would compromise the light/small feature advantage so I can live with no reverb.

Like most guitarists my age (I've been playing over 40 years) I have zillions of guitars and amps and I've played most styles except metal. I haven't really played classical out in public either, although I like playing it at home.

A number of people have given this amp bad reviews with vague critiques or comparisons to their Mesa Boogies, etc., so I'd like to try to provide a review with me opinion, for sure, but perhaps a more useful perspective as well.

The Rebel 20 sounds nothing like a plexi Marshall - it's not tight and responsive; it's loose and saggy and squishy. It sounds nothing like a Vox AC30, even when using the EL 84s - see Marshall comment above, plus the Rebel 20 has a much flatter EQ than a Vox. It sounds nothing like a Mesa Boogie, and in my opinion, that's a good thing. It sounds very much like a low-powered Fender tweed amp, like a Tweed Deluxe, and maybe even saggier than a Tweed Deluxe, but a bit louder.

Unlike a Mesa Boogie, which has "every sound imaginable except the right one," the Rebel 20 has a great clean sound with the master volume full up and gain set relatively low. Even with the full 20 watts there is tube compression in the signal right off the bat. I would say it's very loosely filtered and it's the kind of amp that would probably reveal a lot about the tubes it's using, although I haven't changed its tubes. The volume control has a big window where gain = more warm compression without the introduction of harsh grit. If you're the typical Mesa Boogie user who accepts their notion of a "crunch" channel, with a hard floor above which the aforementioned annoying buzz just pops in without any of the benefit of tube compression, then you probably won't value this feature if you even recognize it at all.

The amp is NOT sterile sounding in any way. Just the opposite. It gets the sound that Dr. Z and Top Hat and Victoria and other much costlier amps seem to get effortlessly, and that jack-of-all-trade amps like most Mesa Boogies (except the Blue Angel) just can't cop. I never fool around with the master volume because I don't like that sound in any amp I've ever owned except my Top Hat Emplexador, which has an okay master volume implementation but nothing like cranking it in "vintage" mode for power tube compression. I also have a Top Hat Club Royale, which is in the Rebel 20 sound ballpark. Anyway, the watts control is very useful for setting a threshold for getting in that compressed zone.

I run the Rebel 20 through the Celestion blues in my Vox AC30 and I really like that sound. The Vox is not particularly reliable so I can bring the Rebel 20 head and Vox and have a backup, whichever amp I use. The bright switch is drastic but like amps of its kind, the treble never gets harsh even when it's way too much. I don't use the tight switch either.

I haven't had it very long so I don't know. I won't give an opinion.

I haven't needed to contact them so I won't give an opinion.

I will give it a 10 because it is a really great sounding amp for a very good price. I don't know how rugged it is or how long it will last, but the combination of a great Fender tweed clean sound, the low price, and its size and weight make this amp really worth it for the kind of guitarist who can appreciate its sound as I have described above.

20 watt tube amp. 6v6 and EL84s. You can use all one or the other or blend anywhere in between. Adjustable wattage settings from 1w to 20w and anywhere in between. Volume, gain, tube blend, wattage, high, mid and low eq knobs. No reverb, no big deal, I bought a reverb pedal to remedy that. Single channel.

I am currently playing a MIM Strat w/ Fender Vintage Noisless pickups, PRS SE Soapbar and my 1991 Gibson SG. This amp brings out the individual qualities and tones of each of these guitars. I play mainly blues/blues rock and it is the best amp I've owned thus far for that style. I've had all of the major valve amp brands over the years (Marshall JCM 900, Vox AC30, Fender Twin Reverb, several Mesas,to name a few) and this thing is just unbeleivable IMHO. I have only been able to play it live one time, out doors, so far and it performed extremely well. I am also using my Mesa 1x12 cabinet with Vintage 30 speaker. The other guitar player was playing a $2000.00 Strat through a Deluxe Reverb Reissue and my set up was much quieter. Everytime I plug in I find something else I like about it. It does everything from clean to nasty. The Gain knob seems to have more influence on the overall volume than the Master. Overall this thing is fantastic. Don't let the small size or power rating fool you.

I purchased the amp from Guitar Center and had an issue within the first week. I brought the amp in for them to check it out and we could not reproduce the problem. We used their speaker, my speaker, their cords, my cords, everything. Anyway they swapped it out for me just in case. It may have just been a tube issue, I don't know. Anyway, so far a month later, the replacement is just fine. I am not rating 10 but will rate it pretty high so far.

3 year warranty. That's not the Mesa Boogie 5 year, but I have yet to keep an amp past it's warranty period. I think this one will stay around. I am not scoring this one.

I have been playing guitar for about 18 years. This is definately one of the best if not the best sounding amp I've owned. Of course this is just my oppinion and everyone has different tastes. If you are looking for a well priced, great sounding, versitile amp, you need to check this one out.

Variable 1 to 20 watt 1 channel tube head amp with the capability to blend 6V6 and EL84 tubes. Usable and effective tone controls -bass, mid, treble, bright and tight switches. Master and gain controls to set desired clean to overdriven sound. Send and return jacks for effects loop. High quality stock JJ power tubes and so-so Sovtek driver tubes. Loud enough to gig in the living room or a ballroom. Runs pretty quiet.Lack of reverb shaves off one point.

The Rebel is feeding a 2 X 12 Egnater cab with Celestion Elite 80s. Using Les Paul, American Lone Star Strat, and Yamaha Acoustic guitar with Boss GT-10 in the effects loop. GT-10 provides reverb, chorus, tremolo, delay and all combinations available. Replaced tubes with TungSol 6V6 and Mullard EL84s and Tungsol 12AX7s and transformed the amp to more pristine super clean -more refined. At first, I was not very impressed with the Egnater Rebel but after the tube changes the Rebel is a keeper

The Rebel 20 is well suited for Strats because it allows you to hear various flavors the Strat can dish out on each pickup position. The Egnater amp and cabinet synergy is magical as you can hear every nuance of the strings, fingers, and pick. The synergy between the guitar, amp, and cabinet is 3-dimensional. The volume and tone controls of the Strat allows you to produce so many tone variations. The Les Paul sound through the Egnater is 2-dimensional compared to the Strat- the Burstbucker pick ups are too strong to control.

Clean is very clean and rivals the clean of the highly regarded Crate V32. With the gain up to 2 o'clock on the Egnater you get a creamy overdrive.

Tube blend at 12 o'clock reminds me of a pristine hi-fi 300B tube - fat, round, and musical.

Looks like it is built with high standards all around. Time will tell. Does not seem to heat up too much like the Crate V32. Dependable so far......

Haven't dealt with them yet....

Been playing over 20 years and I am starting to learn how to really play again - clean all the way. Would like to play like a country picker one day. The Egnater Rebel 20 amp and the cab allows you to hear how well or how bad you play.

I am using a Crate V32, Fender Hot Rod Deville 2x12, and the Egnater Rebel 20, and I think the Egnater can almost cover both amps. When all three amps are running through the 2x12 cab, the Egnater wins in versatility and tone (wished it had a built-in tank reverb).

Happy trails.....and enjoy the luscious sound of a tube amp - the Egnater Rebel 20.

See web page for details

The most interesting thing is that you can blend between American and British type of power amp tubes.

Unfortunately only one channel, but you can use your guitar volume knob to get all in-between sounds

The Egnater just sounds phenomenal with every guitar I have (single coils / humbuckers). Very good and responsive tube sound. In my opinion you could use it for almost every style. All kind of sounds are very versatile (from clean to heavy rock) and with some pedals you can add more different flavours.
It^s a bit noisy when you get everything on 10 - but this is also the same with other tube amps. I use it together with a Blackheart 75 watt box. It's cheap and sound very good in combination with the Rebel 20. Overall, the sounds is on par with many other much more expensive tube amps!!! I love the sound!

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The customer support is quite good. The loop was a problem as it was very noisy with my Line6 M13. The guys from Egnater gave me all the information for a modification (exchange of resistors). It was quite complicated - so it has been done by an expert (40 Euro ..grr) But the result is stunning - no more noise in the loop.

I am playing for 36 years (some years as a pro). I have owned a lot of different amps but this one is special and I would buy another one if stolen. For the money it's awesome!

Egnater is now launching a two channel combo in the same watt range - may be worth to look at.

Features are available on the Egnater website. I wish it had a reverb.

Sounds awesome with my LP and my strat.

Egnater's are reliable.

I have called or emailed Egnater several times. They are great about supporting their product.

I didn't believe the hype when I read the reviews. I had a Fender Blues Junior Tweed NOS as my practice amp. I played this at GC and bought one the next day. Sold my Blues Junior.

Purchased October 2008. Had long enough now to submit a fairly subjective review. Very straight forward features. Tube mix is nice, I tend to stay on the 6V6 side for clean stuff and the EL84 side for higher gain. Watts control works as expected...lower it for low volume high gain applications or increase it for more headroom for cleans. I keep the bright switch on and tight switch off. The differences are negligible but do make a difference depending on your eq settings and gain level. Nice effects loop. I play mainly at home so this has plenty of power. The one thing that would make it perfect if it were 2 channels instead of one but I knew that going in so I don't factor that in to the rating.

I play one of two guitars (EBMM John Petrucci 6 string or a Yamaha RGX 621D). Chain: Guitar -> EB VP Jr -> Crybaby -> MXR DynaComp -> BB Preamp -> MXR Smart Gate. In the effects loop I run a Damage Control Glass Nexus for reverb, mods and delay. I play Dream Theater and instrumental stuff (Andy Timmons, Petrucci, Satriani, etc) and this amp works very well. For cleans, I can get some very nice tones, more so with the EBMM. Glass Nexus sounds great in the effects loop. For high gain, without the BB Preamp it sounds pretty good. But WITH the BB, it sounds fantastic. More dynamics and thickness to it. I tune my Yamaha to Drop D down a half step and I can get a very ballsy distortion. I play a lot of Alter Bridge as well and the Rebel sounds great (with the BB Preamp pushing the front end). Very quiet amp by itself but gets a little noisy with the Dyna Comp and/or the BB but the Smart Gate kills all that. Overall, excellent cleans and distortion. Needs a little something on the front end for high gain so the BB comes in very handy. BB also works well on the clean side for an AC/DC type crunch. The amp takes pedals very well.

I have played it almost every day for the last 6 months and I have not had a single problem. I hope I just have to change out the tubes from time to time. It's put together very well. Some folks here complain about the handle, but it comes with a very nice carrying case. So forget about the handle.

Spoke to Bruce Egnater before the Rebel was released to see if it would mate well with his planned E2 (two space modular preamp). He talked to me about that for about 15 minutes, super nice guy. Other than that, I have had no contact regarding customer support but I know they stand behind their products. Just shoot over to Rig Talk and the Egnater guys post there regularly.

I have been playing over 20 years. Sold a bunch of stuff last couple of years to streamline my set up. I learned about Egnater a couple of years ago when I learned of the Mod50. The Rebel is my first Eggie product but I am definitely a fan now. I love my Rebel everytime I plug in and I am still learning little things here and there on how to tweak it. Just wish it was a 2 channel amp but I plan on getting an E2 this year and getting into the modular Egnater stuff. Rebel will work perfectly with that and then I will have the ultimate mini rig. Sky is the limit in regards to tones after that.

As earlier review.

Great from new , awesome with new set of JJ,s

So far so good.

Haven,t needed it yet. Company seems to be reputable so I,m confident in them.

This is an update of earlier review. Notice a few negative reviews. You guys are entitled to an opinion, but why buy an amp you don,t like or try out first, then admit your stupidity by telling the world about it? Why not try first and then when happy, buy it?
I was very impressed with this amp and then it took only 20 minutes to make my mind up to purchase.
I put a full set of JJ valves in shortly after purchase and that made a difference. The originals were ok but I always put JJ,S in my amps. They sweetend the tone a lot, both clean and O/D.
Who cares if this amp is made in China, it appears well built as do a lot of their guitars. Remember how wrong us old guy,s were about Japanese instrument,s? Now I own a lot of them.
I also have the two 112x cabs and even though they are made in China, sound great. Remember these aren,t expensive amp,s, but I still have a lot of my old amps including early Marshall, Fender, Hi-Watt and others, all valve and this little monster is not out of place amongst them. Having the two valve options is the best of both worlds. Mine does not have the blend feature and I don,t see the need for it in my case.
Maybe you Rebel 20 haters out there can pass them on to someone else who will appreciate them. I,m sure you are the world,s greatest players and its just the gear you purchase holding you back.

By now you know the features. The tube knob makes only a very subtle difference in the tone. Contrary to so other reviews I think the watts knob does has value, it can get a saturated overdrive tone a lower volume levels at 1 watt, but it's still louder than I expected, or would like it to be. I like the effects loop, this is the 1st amp I've had with that feature. I don't care for the sound I get with either the "bright" or "tight" switches, so I leave them off. Especially the bright, this amp is bright to my ears and doesn't need to be any brighter.

I have a Strat & Les Paul, it sounds bright on both. I'm running a closed cabinet 1x12 with an Eminence Private Jack. It's not as great sounding as I was expecting it to be. I also have a Fender Pro Jr. and the clean tone on the Fender blows the Rebel away (Pro Jr. is modded w/ Weber speaker & upgraded caps & resistors). I can get some nice, more modern OD sounds on the Rebel as compared to the Fender. As others have said it's a bit sterile and thin sounding, but not terribly so. I like the amp, but I'm not going to get rid of my Pro Jr.. I like running them both at the same time, to get a nice fat sound.

I've grown to like the sound the longer I've had it, I'm learning how to dial in the tones I'm looking for. I wasn't very impressed with it at first.

No problems so far, 2 months.

I thought I was having a problem with it and put a call into them, no response. Then I e-mailed, it took a couple of weeks for a response. It turned out to be operator error, but their response was pretty slow.

I wish it had reverb. For the price I'm pretty happy with it. Don't expect it to compete with more expensive amps though. My Pro Jr. still sounds really freaking good in comparison, especially clean, and vintage tones. I play mostly classic rock.

This is a "cute" little 20 W head with two types of output tubes, EL84 and 6V6. The two most prominent features are the output tube blend knob and the power output knob. The tube blend knob allows you to go from only the EL84s to only the 6V6s and a variable mix between those extremes. The power output knob allows you to dial from 1 W to 20 W output.

It comes with a padded nylon case to tote the head in.

Do not believe the reviews which state and show the amp with a full complement of "select" Groove Tubes installed. Mine came with Sovtek 12A7XWA preamp tubes and JJ output tubes.

I was not impressed to put it bluntly. Instead of organic, round, breathing tube tones, I got a rather sterile, uninspiring sound which was no better than a good solid state amp. The overdrive wasn't rich and creamy but rather a bit on the "simple" side and didn't have much sustain. The notes quickly decayed out of the fully overdriven region into the light overdrive region. It was also quite noisy with any more than mild gain.

Don't expect to hear a drastic difference between the EL84s and 6V6s. There is a difference to be sure, but not as much as one may desire. Also, don't think the power knob has a huge impact either, it doesn't.

The main guitar used was a PRS DGT and the cab was a Marshall 1961B.

Didn't have it long enough to find out. The cabinet is quite thin wood and may not hold up well to continuous road use. The handle is a joke and feels like it is going to pull apart the first time you pull the amp out of the carrying case.

No reponse from Egnater on some questions I e-mailed them.

I would not recommend this amp to my friends. It just didn't do anything for me at all.