Engl 620 Tube Preamp

Early 90s, 3 tube preamp, 2 channels clean/lead, footswitch jack and boost buttons. Midi interface optional, not installed on mine, since I do not use midi. One set of bass, mid and treb potis that works for both channels. Only thing I miss on this one is a separate eq for each channel. Not a ton of features, but all you need. Simple in use and down to earth, after all, it is the quality that counts, not the quantity of toys.

Use Ibanez Reb Beach models (great guitars) with different PU combinations, also BC Rich ST from the 80s with an X2N in the bridge and a Flying V with original Gibson Humbuckers.
For effects I use a Korg A3 and power it all with Engl 830/50 2x50 W tube amp. Alternatively, if needed, you can go directly into the mixer with it and still have a decent sound.

Play mostly hard stuff, but also soft and sometimes "spheric" sounds.
Lots of distorted pickings, which requires a very crisp and transparent sound.
Quite clearly, this thing is made to produce OVERDRIVE! And so it does, big time. It is very transparent, no fuzzing, every note is clear. Sound character depends a bit on the tubes you use, in general you have a lot of mids and a punchy bass.
You will NEVER get a bluesy strat-sound or dire-straits-like bell-rings out of this one. But for the hard tunes, this has simply the thickest, meanest and still most transparent overdrive I have ever come across. So for the purpose, it is even more than perfect.

It is all tube, so handle with care. Will not stand beer poured out over it, since the openings for cooling the tubes are on the top of the device. If you are wise, use a 19-rack. Being thrown out of the window or kicked down from stage will not do it good, but otherwise it is very reliable. Almost 20 years old and still rocking hard.

No idea. Since I currently live in Germany, there is no problem finding an authorized dealer/repair person. In the US this may be a slight problem. Have heard that service is good, especially on their old "goodies" like this one, but can not verify that.

In my 18 years of guitar playing, this was my best buy. Even a better buy than my first Ibanez RBM-1 15 years ago.
If used with a good tube power amp (I use Engl 830/50) this thing will rock you to the ground. With a solid state it will still sound overwhelming, a monstrous tune-up for your sound! If you play rock, metal or anything close to it, that is. You are sure to sound tighter and thicker but still more transparent than with any other alternative I have tried so far.
The thing is rather old-school and no longer produced, which is a shame, so if stolen, it would be hard to find a replacement. But I would sure try my very best.

1985. I bought it new from the brother of the owner of the company when they first came to the U.S.A.in Connecticut. It's the best sounding unit I have ever used as far as crunch/distortion.

2 Channels
3 12AX7 Tubes (original tubes were Chinese 12AX7A) reliable tubes at the time and warm with good mid-range.

1975 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top Deluxe
Hard Rock/Melodic Rock/Metal
Minimal noise
Total variety on sounds. Clean is very clear, Lead is AWESOME, blows away any Marshall I ever played out of including my 1974 MK-II, 50 watt, that says a lot right there.

Never went down in 21 years. I recently changed over to JJ Tesla ECC803S tubes and the sound is a bit more treble. Also have used vintage Mullard 12AX7's and they are excellent with a bit more mid-range than the JJ's. Have also used Sovteks 12Ax7A, solid, reliable, a bit less treble than the JJ's. I also tried some vintage RCA's 7025's and they were excellent but they are not easy to find these days at a reasonable price. Over-all the Sovteks have been the most reliable, a true work horse of a tube but lack the crispness of the JJ's to be quite honest. The JJ's run VERY hot though.

Never had to use it although I did write to them a few times and never received a reply back.

35 years of guitar playing.
Yes I would buy it again but they don't make this model. It's been the corner stone of my sound. I run it through a Genz Benz 2x12 G-Flex Ported Cabinet. Has a great George Lynch sound. I also run it through a 1976 Marshall 4x4 with 25 w Green Back Vintage Speakers and it sounds great if you want to raise the roof off the house.

ENGL is/was way ahead of the rest of the pack in my opinion. More marketing would bring this company better recognition. They deserve an 11 out of 10 in my opinion.

Great products come from Great minds!!!

http://www.engl-amps.com/engl-amps/manuals/alt/e620-om.pdf
It' does'nt have that much features but that's not really a problem.
It's the sound that matters.

How brutal is the distortion? Well, as brutal as you wan't i to be :)
Is it noisy? No, i fact it's not noisy at all, at least not compared to the amount of gain it produce.

The Engl has no fizzy HiGain like some of the other HiGain amps i've tried. The distortion is thick and tight like som other people already mentioned. This preamp is perfect for people who play metal, and for the pice it's a bargin.

If you ever get the chance of buying this monster don't think twice.
This is the best distortion-unit i've ever tried, and it's all tube, could it possibly be better?

Best "bang for the buck" without a doubt.

2 channels, 3 12AX7. All tube!
That's about it. :)

Ok, do you play metal? Then this is the preamp for you. This unit has gain like no other unit i've tried before. The distortion is thick and tight, even with gain at max. Im using it with a Jackson DKMG with seymore duncan JB, and a Marshall 9100.

This is the best buy i've done since, ever. I will never let this unit go, at least not as long as i play metal ;)
If you wan't a good metal sound wich doesn't sound like a Mesa or Marshall this preamp will defenetly do the job. Be prepared to kick some a**.

2 channels, clean and lead, mid- and leadboost buttons and bright switch, 3 tubes, 1 gain knob, 1 lead knob, 1 treble, bass and mid knob and a presence knob. fx loop ect. it got what it needs not more not less. i dont need more.

i use a jackson usa kelly with a dimarzio megadrive and run thi sunit through my marshall jcm 2000 (dsl 100).
Clean:Its no fender but it will do the job... but who the fuck buys engl for clean get fender if you want clean.
Lead: This is where it shines:The distortion goes from soft crunch to nuclear meltdown. anything between bb king and cannibal corpse and even more ;). i can get wylde sounds, dimebag sounds (and its a tube amp...), laiho sounds anything i want. the gain boost adds enough gain to play the most brutal death metal ever. great never heard something like this. it beats all other engls, marshalls, peaveys, mesas ect. the leads really sing. my marshall got a kinda scratchy sound when playing lead. and this unit has a very usable presence knob. i read that engl amps arent so good for playing live because they lack presence.. not so this one. it has even more presence than my marshall(!!!). ive got jj tubes in it. the standart tubes are ecc81 i think but jj are better.

only got it one day but they arent built anymore. i got it used so they're very reliable. they should call it tank instead of engl ;)

never dealt with them... they are too reliable

This thing is awsome the best metal amp ive ever heard. nothing more to say.

Engl 620 tube preamp,

features, nothing much...

clean channel and a mean channel, with mid boost, bright plus the usual tone and prescense buttons.

has a midi option and a tiny built in poweramp 2x1,5 watts if I'm not mistaken, you can even power a 1960b cab in stereo mode and still have it at bedroom like volume. (not great though, but thats logical huh)

I use this preamp with a Jackson rg-750 with a seymour duncan invader in the bridge mainly, I also play it with a tokai strat with an s-d hotrail in the bridge position.

the preamp itself is not really noisy, it has the normal ammount of hum you get from any tube amp, if you're not standing in front of your amp catching feedback it is really not noisy at all, nothing to complain about.

this thing has such simple features yet such a wide sound pallete, I can get any distortion I want from it, I play all sorts of modern rock and the occasional jazz and this baby packs it all! from Anthrax to Zao and from AC/DC to ZZ top and from there back to BB King! this thing really is versatile, I just wish it had a seperate EQ for the clean and the mean channel, the later versions of the preamp have it though, also the bigger 3 channel brother of the 620.

the cleans are really warm and tubey like, you can hear the difference between an SS clean and a tube clean in an instance, great sound, but most tube amps have great cleans so I won't waste anymore time on this part ;)

the distortion is as brutal as you want it to be, you can get really tight distortion if you use the right guitar/pu's, it stays tight at high volumes too, which is really important for me.

for me the sound is a big 10!

I don't know about the reliability of this thing, I've bought it used from a guy in Germany, from the german Ebay, I haven't had trouble yet but my guess it that its prolly gonna need some new tubes in the future, the previous owner never replaced them.

Engl is great, they've got all manuals online on their website (www.engl-amps.com) even the discontinued models.

I have no idea about warranty, but the dealer in Germany is extremely friendly, I was there to play the powerball and one of their poweramps and they gave me all the info I needed and they wheren't pushy at all, for europeans they probably have great service, at least, thats what I'm told.

to be honest I can't really give them a rating because I haven't experienced them handling a repair or something, but their service was great so far so I will give them a 10 for that anyways.

I've been playing for a fair 6/7 years, I also play bass and own two basses, a ibanez sr5 limited editon prestige ('95) and a cort which I customized with emg's and some other hardware, I also have a H&K Bassbase 400 (review is up on h-c too) with the original H&K cabs.

the overall rating for the preamp is great, for the cash, this was the best I could get,

I tried the JMP-1 and the triaxis, the JMP-1 wasn't my thing at all, I didn't like the distortion nor the interface, the triaxis was better but way overpriced for what you get, it also took me ages to get the tone I wanted, if you want a SIMPLE yet super effective preamp, get the engl 620, you won't be dissapointed!

oh and if it would be stolen I'de find the bastard and rip off his head.

2 channel tube preamp
I use it for playing hardcore ,but i'm sure it can be used in almost any kind of music

I'm using Epi Les Paul Custom ,with Gibson bridge pickup (original epi pickups are just piece of shit)...I'm playing mostly hardcore,but i was trying it for metal...The distortion on this preamp is REALLY REALLY GOOD ,i compared it to 5150 ,Triaxis and JCM 900 ,and its on the same level ,and sometimes even better! first i tried it with 5150 poweramp section-the distortion is more round and in "one piece" (if you know what i mean) than 5150 ,but it doesnt have the low end of the 5150 ...this is the problem with this preamp ,i just miss a little bit more of low end,maybe thats just my problem,because previous owner made some modification to my preamp-there is a low cut on the clean channel (there is a lot of low end in the clean channel,but when you switch it to distortion ,its loosing it)...maybe this guy just did something bad with the bass level? but on the other side ,i was playing on engl ritchie blackmore head in the music shop,and there wasn't many low end also,so maybe its just the engl sound...next i used it with poweramp section of the JCM 900 ,and it was a lot better then marshall for me...i just dont like the marshalls,only things from marshall that are ok for me are JCM 800 (but not all of the models) ,plexi heads and 1960 cabinets...comparing it to 900 ,engl just killed the marshall...engl is very round(thats the sound that i like) and i think that marshall sound is just like a square,and a there is lot of screaming noisy middle frequencies in marshalls...sure it cuts through the mix,but when two guitarists are using marshalls,there is just to much noise for me...but if someone like marshalls ,he can like engl 620 ,because its very bright,and cuts through the band also...then i used the poweramp section of the old sound city 120 head(i think its from the 70s) ,and it was so much better than the marshall...the sound was more sandier,but there was a lot of power in it ...jcm 900 poweramp sounds just flat and weak comparing to the sound city...and some days ago i tried the engl with mesa 2:90,and the sound just killed me!comparing to triaxis with 2:90 ,the triaxis wasnt much better! triaxis was set to very heavy "chugga chugga" sound ,and was just a little bit more agressive than engl,but gain on triaxis was on 10 (i was always thinking that triaxis have so much gain,but when i tried it ,its not that much...)and gain on engl was on 7 maybe...engl just have more gain ,i think,but can be wrong :) i tried the triaxis and it sounds very good when it is set to "aggresive", but its not that good when you try the other settings...maybe there was not enough time ,i just checked the factory settings very quick,but i dont think they are all ok...the sound quality of the engl wasnt worse then triaxis ,it was just a litlle bit less agressive than triaxis(but dont get me wrong ,engl can be agressive and brutal)but hey,used triaxis costs about 1400 euros here in europe ,and i paid 140 euros for used engl!!!ten times the price ,but the sound quality is similar...and the clean channel is better than the triaxis clean ,especially when you use the bright switch...i just wish that the engl could have the bright switch active only on the clean channel,because when its on on the distorted channel ,its just too bright...clean is better then 5150 clean also ...
so , if you have a good poweramp ,the sound just kills!!!its very cheap ,but sounds expensive!!!i highly recommend this preamp,especially when you are into hard music...

i have not changed the tubes since i bought it ,but i think i will do it soon

i play for about ten years now , but i started to buy good equipment some time ago(money problem) ,so i never owned many amps...im so lucky that i bought so good preamp this cheap...of course ,its not the best one on this planet ,but its very good...

for feature see above
i use it for metal ( black metal)

great sound, i use a 76' gibson explorer and a usa custom-shop bc rich, both mahogany, set neck, two hb.
i amplify it witch an 830 poweramp.
i use engl straight and richie black as well and they all are great, but the 620 + 830 combi is the best amp ( for metal i ever used)
much better than mesa.
great dist. sound . high gain but u can still hear any single string, mutings and nuances.

very reliable, never had any problems.

always again.
engl really is the best, esp. this one.

2 channels, clean and lead. overall gain, plus extra lead channel gain. 4 tone controls govern both channels. mid-boost and brigth switches govern both channels. Lead channel has it's own boost. separate master volumes for each channel.

stereo return effects loop and stereo outputs.

Using it with a Les Paul, 57 Classic pickups. Good sound when the tubes were changed to USA made 12AX7's. Clean sound a little dark, but the bright switch helps that. Very low noise. Sound is thick, but a little flat, not quite as dynamic as I'd like, but still more so than the digital amp modellers.

I do NOT like the way the tubes are mounted in the preamp, very shakey design, not intended for frequent tube replacement. But hey, it's a good sounding 2 channel tube preamp for $200, so I can't complain too much. And it still works.

Picked it up on Ebay for $200, plugged a Les Paul into it, to Dynaco Mark III power amp, to Bogner 4x12 slant cab with Vintage 30's

I played with the Engl a little, thought that the clean tone was pretty good, but a little on the dark side, however the bright switch made it about perfect, yet the briht switch engaged made the lead channel too thin sounding.

So, being the person I am, after 15 minutes of playing I took it downstairs to my workbench, and repalced the tubes (which appeared to be of russian origin) with some used USA made 12AX7's. I don't know the manufacturer, however they had "Baldwin Organ Company" silk screned on the tubes.

Anyway, those old USA tubes really did the trick. Made the Engl a bit thicker sounding on the lead channel, and tamed the high end a little. Very good sounding preamp for $200 plus some old USA tubes.

I used to own a JMP-1, and this Engl has WAYYYYYY more gain than the JMP-1. the Engl has it's own sound, kinda Marshally but more like a studio processed one, a Zakk Wylde, later Tony Iomi sound.

It doesn't have quite the dynamics of my Bogner Shiva. I intend to use this preamp in connection with some speaker simulators for direct recording, not really playing out.

well...let me correct my self.One of the tubes I had put in was D.O.A.
After finding out that was the problem I replaced it and found out that the other reviewers are correct...Hell Yah!!!!!!!
It does keep pace with the tri-axis.This thing is raw,like slayer.

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.