Engl INVADER 150

Let's see how quickly I can get through this:

150 Watts. Ridiculous.

Preamp: 4xECC83 (now 4xECC83S Gold Pin).
Power Amp: 6xEL34 (now 6xE34L). Let's not forget the blue LED's behind each power tube. Kinda cute.

Channels: Four. One clean, three gain. Hi-Gain switch for added...um...gain, and a bright switch which affects channels 1 and 2. Channel switching either via switches on the faceplate or via MIDI footswitch.

Effect Loop: Two parallel.

Built-in noise gate. Separate EQ, gain and volume for each channel. Two master volumes (via A/B switch), tube monitoring, and full MIDI capability. Universal presence and "depth punch" control.

Bias trim located on the bottom of the chassis. ARGH! Bastards!

Now, some might say because this is an ENGL and typically you find this brand being used by Euro-metallers, this is an amp geared toward the player of heavy music only. That would be selling this amp short.
There really isn't anything this amp can't do, and that straight out of the box (well...sort of). I'll get to that later on. I personally do play "power metal" (Primal Fear, Gamma Ray...that style, I guess), and it does this very well.

The only thing missing is an on-board reverb, but most of us, myself included, prefer outboard reverbs.

So, in short, is the amp versatile? Yes, and almost to a fault.

When I went amp shopping (again...sigh), I spent probably three hours trying out all kinds of stuff. I went in fully expecting to go home with an ENGL Powerball, and if not that, at the very least a 6L6-based amp. I played the Powerball, the Special Edition (I don't have the kind of time required to tweak that), the Invader, the Diezel VH4 (not worth the money, but a great sounding amp...plus it's ugly, admit it!), the Bogner Uberschall (amazing gain channel, mediocre clean channel), the Bogner Ecstasy (awesome, just a little too pricey for me), the new EVH amp (forget it), and one of those modular Randall jobs...the RM4 I think it's called.

One thing to remember when playing some of these high-end amps, is that they are unforgiving. If you're a sloppy player, you're not going to sound good. If you're the kind of player who hides behind a Metal Zone, these amps are not for you. Get a 6505 and let the saturation hide your inadequacies.

I took my Warmoth soloist with me, which at the time had a Duncan Parallel Axis Distortion in the bridge and a DiMarzio ProTrack in the neck (that's still there). As luck would have it, my volume pot decided THIS day would be the day to start crapping out. Thanks, pal.

I didn't want to spend $3,000 on an amp, but I also didn't want to sacrifice versatility and tone just to save some bucks, only to find myself amp shopping a year later. Ultimately, after much back and forth between the Invader and the Uberschall, the Invader won out. Stupidly, I also bought an ENGL Z-12 footswitch. Stupid because it's overpriced and somewhat difficult to deal with under stage lights. Also, it is supposed to be powered by the MIDI cable, which worked for about a month. Now I have to use a power supply. I went back and forth with ENGL over this, who stated I clearly had to be using a 3-pin MIDI cable, not the required 5-pin. This was, of course, not the case, and eventually they stopped responding. Bah.

I brought the amp home and ran it through both a Marshall 4X12 (G12T75's) and an Addrock 2X12 (V30's). Since we had a gig coming up pretty soon and I wanted to start using my new toy ASAP, I started trying to find a suitable gain setting, which ended up being Channel 3 (mistake). I was also running a TC-Electronic G-Major with it, which is absolutely a fail with the parallel loop (apparently a known issue...oh well).

I have to admit, I was not particularly enamored with the tones I was getting. The amp sounded very "loose" and completely lacked balls. So much so, that I ended up buying a Keeley 4X2, which helped tighten things up and added the missing balls (and got me addicted to Keeley...dammit!). The clean channel was the exception. I was blown away by it when I brought it home, and I'm still amazed by how good it sounds.

Finally, after our last gig (opening for Biohazard...you know when you're opening for has-beens, it's time to re-evaluate) I quit playing out, and had a lot of time to play with the Invader. I ordered a complete retube set (from Eurotubes of course), which was the "high gain" set. I also got smart and bought a Weber Bias Rite, which is how I found out the amp was running fairly cold. After the tube substitution and a bias, the Invader sounded unbelievable, especially with one of my guitars equipped with Duncan Blackouts.

The other day I added a Digitech RP-1000 to my rig, which has effectively negated the need for all my other outboard gear. Not to turn this into a review of that unit, but if you want a "Ghetto Bradshaw Rig", that's about as close as you'll get. It's a perfect addition. However, running a guitar straight into the amp now sounds fantastic.

For what it's worth, I stick with Channel 2 almost exclusively for high-gain sounds. It's like a JCM800 on steroids. Channel 4 is interesting, but I find Channel 3 collecting dust.

After six months, effect loop 1 died. Retubing and cleaning the contacts brought it back, so it likely wasn't an ENGL issue.

The fact that the amp's midi "phantom power" to the footswitch stopped working after a month is sad, and the fact that ENGL tried to convince me it was a faulty MIDI cable (what're the chances of having FIVE faulty cables???) or even an incorrect MIDI CABLE is ridiculous. They even tried to convince me that a 3-pin cable WOULD have worked for a while, even though a 5-pin is REQUIRED to power the footswitch. Come on.

They finally stopped responding.

Other than that, it's a tube amp. I did gig without a backup, though I occasionally opted to take my Vetta 2 along, just in case. Definitely use a power conditioner, because I forgot mine one night, which of course was the same night we played a club that I know has power issues. There was quite a bit of snap, crackle, pop coming from my amp that night.

SEE ABOVE REGARDING THE FOOTSWITCH! KISS MY ***!

Any other questions I had, I directed toward either rocksolidamps.com or Bob at Eurotubes. Bob and family, by the way, RULE. A "10" for them.

I've been playing for about 22 years now. I've owned a good lot of amps, though I've tended to stick with ones that worked for me. Standouts were Laney, Peavey (I bought a XXX when they came out, and still could kick myself for selling it. Talk about getting your money's worth), and yes, Line6. There's also an old JCM800 in there, which I sold a LONG time ago.

My guitars are are all fairly different. Different woods, different pickups...some active, some passive. The ENGL sounds best with my old Jackson Dinky Pro (one of those "golden age" jobs) with the active Blackouts, my Schecter with active EMG's, and my Gibson Explorer, also with active EMG's. I also get a great sound out of it with a Dean Hardtail, equipped with Duncan Custom and Jazz.

I would recommend, based on my experience with this amp, immediately checking a new amp's bias when you get it home.

If it were stolen (it weighs a ton, so good luck running off with it) or lost (because you know, I might LOSE it), I probably would not replace it. This is not because I don't like it...I love this amp now. It's simply because like most of us poor saps, I have GAS and already have my eye on another amp (Bogner Shiva...have you heard the sound Rafael Moreira gets out of those?!?).

I will likely buy a V30 loaded 4X12 (probably ENGL or Orange), just because the Marshall tends to bring out the ice-pick highs the ENGL is capable of producing a little TOO much.

This is a four channel 150 watt head, which does not use the standard designation of clean, crunch,lead,rhythm for its channels, opting to number them 1,2,3,4. Powered by 6 El34 tubes,each of the four channels features a completely different voicing with midi switchability,using the optional z15 or other engl foot switches.The Invader is one of the most versatile,flexible heads I've ever seen or used.Its features also include seperate 3 stage EQs with gain and volume controls for each channel,2 parallel effect loops,master vol., A/B switch,prescence and depth punch control for power amp sound sculpting,hi and low gain switch,a bright switch for channs.1/2, noise gate, tube protection circuitry and a powertube monitoring system, which indicates tube malfunction, showing the user which tube needs to be replaced.The Invader is useful for most styles of "electric" guitar music,being geared towards the Pro who requires a multiplicity of sounds.I mainly use it for hard melodic rock and metal,prog.as well death metal. I've played some jazz and fusion styles in the past and you could easily use this monster (I do mean MONSTER!) for straight ahead jazz or chrystalin country sounds.I gig in the new york tri state area and I've used this amp for several shows since receiving it in nov. 06 and I'm in the process of recording my record with it.I'll try to post a few sound clips once we're done.

The Invader is capable of producing sounds from angelic clean (a combination of fender twin and mesa but with more warmth and mids than either, in my humble opinion) to neighbor killing death dealing metal and anything in between! Channel 1 is very transparent without a hint of distortion( unless you kick in the hi gain switch) and the bright switch gives you even more clean options!Chann.2 has a rather unique sound,which I've grown fond of and use as an alternative lead channel to chann.4, which engl recomends as a lead channel. Ch. 2 has a voice reminisent of a moded jcm800, but with more top end, though you can change its character radically via the depth control.Channel3 is the one I've used the least. Its sound isn't very useful for the music I play and the guitars I use which includes an Esp Horizon,from the 80s loaded with a seymour duncan parallel axis humbucker in the bridge position (I'm changing it soon) and a L'il scream'n demon in the neck, a one of a kind Ken Smith guitar (all very exotic hard woods) based on his top of the line BT custom bass,it's loaded with two Rio Grande babybuckers. I also use a very rare Esp"phoenix" firebird style guitar(from the 80's).Those are my main guitars right now.This amp has a lot .. of power so you have be aware of the treble and gain controls which engl suggests be kept at a low setting to control feedback. You can dial in all the the low end rumble needed for detuned styles using the depth control and presence to control the hi's.When the gain is dialed up towards a max. setting,the Invader roars like an unleashed beast on the hunt, though I think it could be even more brutal with a 6L6 or 6550 valve option.Noise is really not a problem because of the built in noise gate,without which the amp would be somewhat noisey,but not prohibitively, so long as you keep the treble control down and again use presence to contol the hi's.

I really feel that I can really depend on this amp in any situation and I've used it without a backup.At this point I've used it for less than a dozen shows and it's worked flawlesly. It's never broken down,but like all analog amps,spare valves are most important ! I'm about to start touring, so we'll see how reliable it is in on the road.I gave it a 9, only because of the short length of time I've owned it. We shall see!

I've delt with the company on several occasions,via e'mail,even spoke with the designer Horst Langer (pres. of engl) they were very responsive and helpful with suggestions So far I've not needed any repairs.Ther are no authorized service ctrs. in my (nyc.) area,however all repairs are coverd for two years by the dealer(in my case it's Derrick from rocksolid amps) Personally I"d like for the warranty to extend for perhaps five years,which is one of the few issues I have with this amp.

I've played guitar for more than 35 years in pro and recreational situations, including a few major label bands and I've owned or used in the past, a 5150, Marshall jcm 800's(2210,2203,2205) Mesa mkIII(my first endorsement amp) 900's and plexi"s.If it were stolen I'd replace it with two! I'm also putting it through a vintage mesa 2-12 verticle cab with a 90 watt mesa black shadow and a 200 watt EV 12m(Zach!), which I'm about to augment with an engl 4-12 or a bogner.I compared the Invader with most of the high end hi gain heads,bogner 101b's and A's,vht's,mesa recto's( can't stand them!) and Randalls (the new George Lynch head).The Invader smoked them all as far as I'm concerned,even my fave the mkIII.This is my main complaint with engl......the footswitch is an option and this amps features are not fully avaible without it! That really sucks,especially now because of the dollars continued devaluation ,takes the price above 3k, but I have to say it"s worth every penny

NOV 2006
Four Channel Head. Clean, Crunch, Heavy Crunch, Lead. For each
channel you can midi select a gain boost, bright, master ab, noise
gate etc. I didn't get to try the loop, so I won't comment.
Layout is more user friendly than the SE, as four eq sections
offer less compromise. Depth Punch switch and Presence are for
all four channels to fine tune highs and lows to the cabinet
or the room you play. 150 watts. Mirror front and black lettering
may make reading elusive under dark stages or bright lighting.
This feature set is what a pro wants to see in a four channel head.
At a good price point as well. I spent 30 minutes with the amp.
My personal amps include Diezel VH4 and Bogner 101b w/6550's,
other fine German amps. I tested the amp with an Anderson Swamp
Ash Classics (I have two- called Neo and Morpheus)
through 2 of 4 12" speakers in an engl V30 cab.

I will start with Ch1. This is a stellar clean tone with fat jazz tone
with bright off to the sickest pristine clean w/the bright on. It
only gain up at the extreme setting and the gain that arrives is very
useful, marshally/hiwatt type gain. Activating the gain boost give
even more gain and nice shades of gain along the way. The gain boost
itself tends to add a bit a low end when activated, eliminating thin
single note lines with punchy authority.
Channel 2 and 3 sound tight and deliver gain range from mid gain
that preserves strat quack (set real low)up to soaring gain. I prefer
a Spin Doctor lower gain, and a crazier hard rock sound. By using
(or not using) the gain boost I could easily dail both sounds in.
Channel 4 is my favorite gain channel, because it's extremely articulate sound that rules for heavy lead and tight riffs and chords.
The noise gate is adjustable so you can hear crickets between high
gain assults. I wish channel 2 and 3, as good as they are, had been reverse engineered from ch4.

N/A

I will ask one improvement to be made to the MIDI portion of this
amp. 7 pin phantom power should be standard. You can still have
you system-exclusive footswitch, but those of us who already have
a midi contoller( and there are many) want phantom power.
Please consider the upgrade.

I've been playing 30 years and love high quality heads. In spite of
the gain and versatility this head offers, I find the voicing of
the distortion itself to be more a matter of personal taste. Different 12ax7's could make this an amp for everone's taste.To
be fair, this amp plays better the louder the individual volumes are
for each channel, and though the masters are well attenuated, this
amp is capable of EXPLOSIVE OUTDOOR VOLUME. I'm not selling any thing
to buy it, but in its price range, it must be near the top of the list.