Engl 620 Tube Preamp

I bought this thing solely on the reviews here.Maybe I got a bad one or something,But this thing is not the power house of distortion these people claim!!!To me it sounds like a jcm 800.It lacks the gain claimed here.
I give it a 6 because I was expection a skull crucher,not a knee slapper.
More than a tri-axis MY ASS!!!
I wish it was all clained,they are full of shit..OR I got a bad one???

Sound good for hard rock...Not metal.As a stand alone unit anyway.

Very - 8 knobs, 4 buttons :) None of them destroy the sound (like on many units) but sounds best (for distortion) when all tone knobs are full up (more clarity and slam)

Sounds very good - reminds me of 'Slash' Guns N' Roses kind of sound - or Scorpions or George Lynch/Lynch Mob, etc. Very tight, focused distortion sound using the mid boost or bright pre-distortion EQ switches. Very good chunk tone - chug chug :)

Has a really good clean sound too - and adds a lot of texture to non-tube distortion or other such devices. Not transparent enough for use as a Mic Preamp really (though some guitar preamps are) as there is a lot of sort of 'glass balloon' texture to the clean sound - good way to describe it :)

The distortion really is world class, and the clean. Way better than anything by Mesa or Tube Works (as far as I can tell). Sans-Amp type distortion is a joke - full of FM type noise. Only distortion I've found usable is the Boss GL100 (as non-tube goes) Do not use the EQ on the GL100 - it only messes up the tone!

It's built really cheap, but is sounds really good :) The pot shafts are plastic (if I remember correctly) - don't bang on it. Also, it is a bitch to open and change out tubes - it is not designed to be stored with any components off - like with other preamps I remove the tops to help cool them and make replacement of tubes easier - but not the 620 :(

Never tried reaching them - small company in Germany. Germans kick ass :)

This is an EXTREEMELY good preamp. It is very unknown, and that's just fine with me :) I will pick up another when I find one. Because it has 3 tubes, it is probably superior in tone to Engl's current offerings - the 530, and better than the 580 (probably, even though it has 3 tubes I think) becasue it has fewer components inside to blur things in a bad way. It is the best sounding tube preamp I have ever come across - and I have tried Soldano (just remove the bass before going into anything and it will emulate a soldano more or less LOL), Mesa (harsh, not noght any tighter or meaner than the Engl), own some Marshalls, H&K, Boss - it has it's niche :)

Very simple and clear - linear sort of layout - nice big white lettering too :)

It really does sound great I have tried other things but this is a good unit - great for doing "distant" types of distortion, a bit sandier than Marshall, warmer than pedals, thicker than Mesa, etc. It's somewhere a blend of a lot of sounds like Scorpions basically. They use Engl stuff.

No problems yet, but it is put together like a piece of crap - open it up and it is totally unimpressive and you feel like you were ripped off, but it has the tone and that is what matters :)

Small German company - never tried

This is a very good preamp sounds better than fancy multi-FX or MIDI type units 10X the price. It has a very professional level sound completely acceptable for recording straight off the preamp - and this is the ONLY preamp I have come across that I would say that about. Most need some warming or tweaking after. I think the simplicity of the design helps.

This is the only area where this preamp lacks. It says its a two channel preamp (clean,dirty) but it sounds like one channel to me. When I switch to the clean channel, its rather aggressive. Both channels share all controls but volume. This unit has 3 12ax7 tubes, an effects loop, and can channel switch via midi if so desired.

I use a Jackson Soloist Custom with P.J. Marx Stiletto pickups and a Mesa 2:90 and Mesa 4x12. Using the Engl 620 with this setup sounds unreal. I've owned/traded just about every kind of preamp out there, you name it, and this one sounds better than any of them. The distortion kills the Mesa Triaxis I had. The best way to describe the sound is "Diamonds and Balls". Crystal clear highs and fat, tight lows. This thing will rip your head clean off. Very aggressive sounding. If you want a clean sound, you'll have to look elsewhere. But if you play an aggressive type music, i would search hard for one of these. The sound is more raw than it is saturated. And there is NO noise at all from this unit, even with the gain maxed out!!!!!! Every note is well defined, no matter how much gain.

I haven't had it long enough to tell.

I have not contacted the company, however, I have visited their website (www.engl-amps.com) and it looks like you might have trouble finding a dealer in the United States.

I have been playing guitar for 13 years. I've owned just about everything under the sun as far as equipment goes. I've never been as happy with a distortion sound as this. Like i said before, if you want a clean sound, get a GK 250ml. But if you want an aggressive, tight, raw, ultra useable distortion, try to track down one of these preamps. They don't make this model any more, but I've heard that their new stuff is great also. If you do find one and buy it, make sure you have a good power amp to drive it.

* MADE IN: Germany * CHANNELS: 2 (clean and lead, foot/front panel/midi-switchable (see below)). The clean channel shares all the controls (except volume) from the lead channel, so it is not that much versatile and tends to overdrive with higher-output guitars. * CONTROLS: Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence, Master Volume. * SWITCHES: Bright, Lead Boost, Mid Boost, Clean/Lead Channel * IN/OUT: Input (front), Stereo Out, Mono FX-Out, Stereo-FX In

If you like the sound of these Marshall JCM-800's but always missed some more gain, than this is the preamp for you. It sounds better than the Marshall JMP-1 (for me, it is not aggressive enough). The Engl's sound is fat, aggressive and tight. I always play with all gain/volume knobs on 10 and it doesn't produce any noise (like my Marshall does!). I tried almost every amp around and this one seems to be the one for me.

I own it just for 1 month or 2, it didn't go down by now...

Did not need any, by now.

The main advantage is definitely the sound. I need an amp that produces the one sound I love, so I don't care about a thousand knobs and switches, I don't care about clean channels either... I use it with a Peavey Classic 50/50 Poweramp and a Mesa Rectifier 4x12 cabinet.