Engl Screamer 50 Head

-2004 model ENGL Screamer 50w Head

-Incredibly versatile amp for the price, replaced Mesa F-30 for this amp, Our band plays hard rock/ classic metal and a touch of blues on demand, ENGL does these styles wonderfully

-4 channels (2 channels both with Hi Gain/Low Gain modes), switchable via ENGl Z-5 footswitch, FX loop with wet/dry knob

-Would be 10 if the amp had more than one EQ, and maybe even a foot-switchable mid-boost/cut

-1992 Les Paul standard w/ Seymour Duncan Custom Custom in bridge and Jazz in the neck, stock 99' Ibanez RG550, MXR Carbon Copy and Boss CH-1 through FX loop, TS-808 reissue, modded crybaby and boss TU-15 into amp, amp feeds a Marshall 1960A cab

-Suits me and my band down to a tee, dont know of another amp that cover this much ground sounding so good

-It is a valve amp, you are never going to get it 100% quiet, but it is quieter than most other amps I have played

-Again, this amp is incredibly versatile, however Hi Gain Clean mode is unusable on volumes below 5, very thin and harsh, Clean channel is fantastic, Other guitarist in my band used to have Twin Reverb, very similar sounds, Lead channel is the reason i bought this amp - wow, fantastic range of distortions, not much need to turn the gain up past 1-2 o'clock though

- With Clean volume past 3 o'clock and master volume past 11 o'clock, you will get a beautiful musical breakup, then flick on the tubescreamer for heaven on earth

- Not as much gain as a Mesa or a Bogner etc. , but still more than enough :)

- Amp has been gigged since brand new for 4 yrs without fault (its the first amp that ive owned that has achieved that), and i used to bring along a little roland cube just in case, no longer do though - no point

never had a problem with it, therefore never dealt with ENGL, and it comes with one year warranty- useless, this amp is a tank

-been playing for 15 years, if it were stolen, i'd buy the combo version instead of the head, then it would fit in my bedroom :)

- Love the amp, hate its weight, compared to other heads

- i did compare it to a couple of other amps, a 5150, Dual rectifier, couple of Orange amps and a AC50 head, although i was hellbent on choosing the ENGL when going in to the shop, i had tried it a couple of times before

- As mentioned before, more EQ options would be nice, and maybe chucking in the Z-5 footswitch would of been icing on the cake

before buying this I was just using the Line ^ Pod XT live di into front of house and was happy with that. But when I heard this amp i fell in love with it. I like amps to be simple, be able 2 plug in and rock! This does just that. 4 channels give it the versatillity that i need. i enjoy playing all styles of music. 50 watts, u dont need more than that unless your a professional touring artist honestly! the blend feature with that knob on the back (i forget what it is) is useful and works well with my Tc GMajor. The out puts are great also. i use an old ampeg 4x12 loaded with V30's 9same as Zakk Wylde back in the day) and it sounds ***n great

fantastic clean! the trbble boost button works nicely alothough would be good if there was a footswitch to turn it on and off. i play ernie ball John Petrucci guitars (the origional and the ball Family reserve) as well as a shillo custom, and i rekon i get a pretty "closeto JP" tone. Similar blend to the sound he gets on train of thought/Ocatavarium so yeah great clear solid fat distortion and glassy for leads.

As i mentioned I have the TC Gmajor rack FX thingy and with a bit of chorus or phase, the clean tone can really mimmic pink floyd almost and also metallica kinda Load cleans which i really enjoy.

I also use a DBX 266XL gate/compressor to clean up any loose noise and a slight compression to even things out and fatten it up a bit.

took it from one side of Australia to the other and back in a car with no road case and still works fine!

never needed any.

great! if you want a high gain amp but cant be sucked spending bull**** amounts on mesa Boogie, GET AN ENGL! They sound just as good if not better and are far cheaper!

This is a two channel amp but with a single EQ shared between the channels. The single EQ is made a bit more flexible by the bright button on the clean channel and the separate presence for the distortion channel.

It has an effects loop which has a mix control on it allowing you to select series of parallel operation.

It has a reverb.

The most useful features are the gain boost for each channel and the second master volume accessable via the footswitch (it's called a 'V.L.S.' setting but in reality it serves as a divider on the main master volume giving you a second lower setting).

These last two features make two channels into effectively four all of which can have a solo boost - very neat.

I'm using this with a PRS custom 22 which has Seymour Duncan's in it (an alnico II and a Pearly Gates for neck and bridge resp.).

The head goes into an Engl 2x12 with vintage 30s in and I use a boss GT-Pro with it in what the web calls the 'four cable method' which allows some FX in front of the amp and some in the loop.

I use this in a pub covers and in London in which I'm the only guitarist so I want quite a bit of flexibility and the sounds need to be quite fat.

Overall I really like the sounds - the clean channel is a la Fender - fat and with strong transients however with the gain kicked in (to give you a crunch setting) it's just too harsh for me and I never use this setting (which is annoying because it would be very useful). The distortion channel is very much Marshall and as such it's lovely. It took me a while to get the sound right on this amp as any trebble and presence setting on this amp over 10 o'clock to just way to bright for a conventional sound. I've never done any thrash or nu-metal so maybe the higher settings work well there but I wouldn't know. In general the EQ shoudl be used sparingly and then you get some lovely sounds.

If I had the money I would go for the the powerball as the EQ is much more flexible but given the constraints this is a good compromise.

To sum up - lovely but too much treble.

Full marks for this as I have experienced no issues in the 6 months I've had it (which is roughly 20-30 gigs).

No opinion here as I have had no cause to contact them.

I've been playing for 28 years now and I've only had a few amps as I have bought very carefully (I am a shop assistant's nightmare and I have phoned up amp manufacturers' and taken them to task over their choice of features).

I was slow to warm to this amp but each gig finds me happier with it and as such I would recommend it.

FYI - I was comparing this amp to a Marshall vintage modern (lovely sound, stupid feature set), a fender HotRod or Blues DeVille (would have needed a REALLY good distortion pedal to work for me), a Mesa Boogie Express 5:25 (Good but no better than this one for me) a Peavey Classic 50 (Very good - Engl won on features) and A Vox Classic Plus 50 (I couldn't find one so I decided not to risk it despite quite liking the AC30 Custom Classic).

To any amp manufacturer reading this - all amps should have a solo boost or dual master volume (that's independant of channel) and less treble. The number of amps I tried that sounded like they had been designed by someone who had spent a career stood next to the cymbals in a metal band ... a mid EQ that works at a lower frequency would improve a huge number of them too ...

This amp was built in the early 2000's An all tube head witch 4 channels, soloswitch and good reverb. 50w so enough power for the most gigs, if not you can you the direct out or place a mic for it.

This amp combines everything I need in one amp. I use my gibson LP standard or studio. It has a fender like clean witch stays clean, even at high volumes and a great distortion. I find it on the highgain mode quite noisy but the lowgain setting has more than enough gain for me. For channelswitch'n I use my Boss GT-3 and a engl midiswitcher so I swtich mij effects and channels with one device. This works great, only disadvantage's are the many cabels you need and that the switchintime takes a microsecond more then with the engl footswitch. My cab is an Angl 2x12 with vintage 30's really great, no other words for it

In the last five years I only once took a backupamp with me and believe it or not, that's the only time my screamer didn't work. bizare coincedence. I don't know what exactly broke down but it took a time to fix it, futher never had any problem with it.

My local dealer repaired the amp for my but it was quite a job to get the inside on paper from engl.

I own a fender blues junior, marshall JTM30 and a London city 70's tube head. all great amps with their own speciallities. The great thing about the screamer amp it has all the features in one amp!

Made in 2006, german quality. Shared equalizer, 4 modes (clean, crunch, lo gain, brutal hi gain).
"Only" 50 Watts pure tube tone but much much LOUDER than my jcm 900 (100 Watts).
My setup: Gibson SG -> Engl Screamer -> Marshall 1960 Cab. My other bandmembers absolutely love it.

Ive been experimenting the last three years with different amps (marshall jcm/peavey/fender/...) , pedals, effects untill I played the Engl Screamer last week. Instant love!
I play in a band that mixes clean with heavy rock and a fat(nu)metal sound. This amps suits our style 100% (from AC/DC to early Papa Roach). The distortion literally screams and is more than brutal enough. Those with and ENGL know what Im talking about...
No need for an equalizer, metalzone, v-twin, etc... just pure ENGL tone. I'm so glad I bumped into this ENGL, its the best sounding amp Ive ever heard.

Only have it for a week, 2 years of warranty left.
Its built like a tank, would use it without a backup.

2 years of warranty at Musicstore Germany.

Ive been playing for six years and tried tons of amps and effects. For me,the Engl screamer simply produces the killer sound Ive been looking for. Ive swapped it for a jcm 900, its simple the best deal i ever made. Get one while you still can!!

For features see other reviews or Engl site. Let me start by saying I LOVE this amp, i've been searching for a high gain amp for my rock gigs (classic rock, 80's - new rock, hairbands) that was under 100 watts so I could use it with a 2x12 cab. The sound I was going for was 80's hairband-ish. And after 3 gigs, i've come to the conclusion this is PERFECT. I'm a full time professional musician that plays all types of gigs from bar bands, to touring with national acts, to TV shows. This amp is my "rock amp" (think Marshall).

The clean/hi gain setting (crunch) is kinda unuseable - it's a little to bright and not as loud as the clean/lo gain setting, so it's a bummer when you have to switch to it in the middle of a song. But, you can make it sound good if you know how to dial your EQ and your guitar volume knob.

I'm using it with a LP Custom and an Epi Zakk Wylde with the Zakk active EMG's, and this amp loves Les Pauls. I've tried out my other guitars with it (Strat with noiseless Dimarzio's, Reverend Slingshot with P90's, Gibson SG, Fender Tele) and after re-EQing a little, they all sound great. I'm running it through a DR. Z Z-best 2x12 cab, with a vintage 30 and a Heritage. I think it might sound better with 2 Vintage 30's.

Like I said this is my "rock amp". Previous amps that coveted this title were a Peavey Classic 100 head and a Splawn Quick Rod. But i needed something smaller and 50 watts is perfect for bar band/club date stuff.

The gain isn't as gainy as there other amps (Firepowerballspecialedition) it won't get that Krank-y nu-metal sound, but it is a perfect 80's metal, Marshall sound. Marshalls were a little too bright for me, this has a little more beef, maybe because its a 6L6 type amp instead of EL34's.

First time having an amp with a parallel effects loop with a mix knob. You gotta play aound with this to avoid phasing issues, just use your ears. I keep my delay mix knob cranked and have the wet/dry knob at like 9 oclock.

So far so good.

I've heard the stories about the poor customer support, but i have a good amp tech here that i prefer to use instead of sending it to the company.

Love it. Sounds amazing with Les Pauls. I've been searching for a good 50 watt rock amp with a good gain sound. I found it.

4 Gain Channels, Reverb, Direct Out, 50 watts, yadda yadda. Oh yeah, and you can watch yourself play becase the engl logo plate is reflective, for you vain types. Plenty of options, nothing frivolous

Gibson Special Faded SG with stock gibson pups - also used a shecter with jb59s in it - through two different cabinets. Still rocks with a xxx cab - not all of us can afford great cabinets, at least not at the same time as we can afford heads...

I play metal of the technical variety, melody and harmony driven types of things...- the thing sings - Basically I was looking for a good high gain with plenty of bite and midrange - Not a fan of mesas or other 'modern' sounding amps. This amp delivers it - Plenty of gain for shred, punk and metal. But good gain. Top notch sound quality. I'm coming from owning a 5150 - not so bad but REAL one dimensional - and NO real clean channel.

This thing eats the 5150, and only at 50 watts. The real treat is on the clean channel with a high quality reverb on it - people pay a grand all the time for that kind of clean (fender) -

It can also nail anything in between. I'm a metal head, and this amp has plenty of gain to it, for me. Between 5 and 8 is sufficient for what I usually do. 8 being for the heavy stuff.

Looks quite sturdy. Can't say beyond that.

n/a

Shared EQ is the only pitfall of this baby. Been playing 8 years, owned lots of crap, time for me to own something quality. I'd like to say I'd replace it, but I'm poor - if I had the money, I'd replace it with haste.

year: 2003
4 channels, switchable with a quite expensive Engl footswitch, but you can also work it out with two normal switches.
Very versatile, many different sounds out of it

I hardly ever play it clean and it doesn't satisfy me at all... thought it was because of the speakers (marshall 1922), tried to warm it up with the Vintage 30, but still it sound freezy, it seems impossible to get a warm funky sound out of it...

no doubt the lead channel is screaming, this head could be good for heavy metal, but not for other styles I'd say.
the equalizer is useless, turn the middle knob to the top and then to the bottom... do you notice any difference????

very reliable, silent, resistent, light to move. no problems at all

ok it's cheap, but if you don't play heavy metal and you don't mind carrying heavy wheights, you'd better buy a nice comnbo for the same price.

This is one of the newer models and it rules.
It has al the features needed except for the slight drawback of it only havig shared eq(easily fised with an eq pedal)
It is very versatile.
It has bassically 4 chanels....clean...crunch....lowgain...high gain.
the Vls system is excelent does the job completely.
I would have given it 10 if it wasn't for the shared eq

I have 2 settings for this amp...high gain hardcore setting...and soft rock setting.
I use a super strart with duncans and it sounds awesome.
The distortion is really brutal at high levels ad it suits any heavy styles.
This amp is very very veratile but as i said before....an eq pedal helps.

well i havent really had it long enough to judge but.....in 3 months nothin has gone wrong.

eer not great here.....i emailed the a bt ago cos i thought i had a prblem....still watin on a reply.

I love this amp and in the true harmony central style i would buy it again if it got stolen.

Bought 2002 for 1000 euros
* Four channels Clean/Crunch/soft lead/hard lead
* treble/mid/bass for all channels
* clean/crunch volume
* soft lead/hard lead volume and gain
* power amp volume and presence
* spring reverb, V.L.S. rattio by footswitch
* Effects loop
* Balanced out

I play in a covers band and we play Iron Mainden, Metallica, Megadeth, Queen, Bonjovi, GunsnRoses, DAD, The Offspring, Green Day, Velvet Revolver, Rage against the machine, Ramstein...............

I use it with a engl 2x12 standart cabinet (I want a 4x12 vintage 30), Celestion V60 loaded, a Ibanez RG550EX with dimarzio evolution, a T.C. G-major for effects, EQ (new function added by update 1.26), and control over the relays for the channels.

I think this is a very good Amp, it gives me all the stages of gain that i need, and with the aid of G-majors EQ, it gives me the versatibility that i need to cover all my styles of playing.

I whish that for the same price the screamer was a 100watts Amp(if i had the money probably i buy the savage head), in our gigs I have to put the power amp over middle (yeah we play very very loud) and i have to turn the guitar a little lower so my clean sound remain clean, but my sound turns a little lower that i want it.

At this point the only problem that i had was the spring reverb that doesnt work anymore, it was fixed once, but the warranty ended, i dont use it anyway (but was pretty good).

I dont have money for a backup or a replacement so.... please dont...F&*#$%*uck with me

2 years and i havent change the tubes, but i better save some money for it

Never deal with them

I dont give 10 because of the shared EQ but for the money is great, thanks people at Engl

Has two channels, plus a Hi/Lo gain control, reverb, effects loop, provision for 1x8 ohm, 2x8 ohm, 1x16 ohm or 2x16 ohm outputs. Master volume. Would get a 10 if each channel had its own EQ. 4 12AX7 preamp tubes and 2 6L6 power tubes.

If you like Ritchie Blackmore's sound, you'll love this amp. This is basically the 50 watt version of the "Blackmore Signature" amp from ENGL. Good clean sounds and the overdrive sings well with good definition. Add a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 and you're off to the races. I added an Alesis Nanoverb to the effects loop which adds a nice touch to the built-in Accutronics reverb.

It's a tube amp, so you should back it up at a gig.

E-mails sent to ENGL in Germany and U.S. are answered promptly.

A good alternative to a Marshall or Mesa head. Good price/value ratio.

Bought for 1600 EUR together with a Laney 4x12 Celestion Vintage 30 Cabinet. The amp is offering a lot of Features.
-4 channels, or if you want: 1 American and 1 British channel each with own Gain control and a boost (loudness differences adjustable via separate Leadvolume).
-Accutronics reverb
-In my own opinion, I like the fact that there is only one EQ.
-There is a Treble switch to add some high-end for muffy guitars.
-Very versatile switching possibilities. You can use 2 standard two-switch pedals (stereo-jack) to switch between the 4 channels. Further, there is a footswitch with 6 buttons available, where you can stomp on two additional Features: Reverb and VLS
-VLS: there is a poti on the back where you can adjust as second master volume, switcheable with several Engl gear (e.g. the MIDI switcher or the Z5 pedal (150 EUR)
-Parallel FX loop (poti for FX amount on the back)
-4 Speaker outs offering all possible combinations you might need (even mixing 8 and 16 Ohm cabinets possible)
-Balanced Line out (XLR) w/ optional ground lift -> signal is frequency compensated

Overall really great features given the quality of the amp for the money. Not as much as a Line6 or Valvetronix, but these are of a completely different category. I would say it is very useful what they are offering. VLS is a real plus! And the parallel FX loop and speaker simulation are no standard features on a full tube amp and very very useful additions.

I am playing the amp with a Hamer Sunburst (Seymour Duncan '59 and JB) and a Gibson Les Paul Special w/ P90 Soapbars. Usually I am looking for sounds like Led Zep, Gary Moore, Santana and Metallica. This is quite a variety of differences, but the Engl is really good for all those styles. I usually put bass quite high, treble on 2 or 3 o'clock, with mid on 10 o'clock it's quite heavy, with mid on 3 o'clock it is more toneful and warm.

In the past I had: Boogie Caliber 50+, EVH5150, Rivera Knucklehead, Soldano Atomic 16. Although the Engl is lacking a little bit of character, it is probably the best Amp I've had so far. This because of its versatility and its harmonic and open and transparent distortion.
The Clean Channel can go from crystal clear until evil Stevie Ray Vaughn (but I don't use it so often).
Among all its good features and the affordable price, there were 2 factors that mainly made me buying it:
1. The Fun Factor: It is really kickin your play - means: it is supporting your style, it's singing, it has endless sustain, but it is not too compressed so you can even do open chords on high gain - I never had more fun playing!
2. It sounds really really good already on a very low volume (below 1), but can as well have a kick ass punch if you crank it up.

In the shop the amp was on an Engl cabinet with Celestion V60 or V80 speakers. It was big luck that I tried it on a Vintage 30 cabinet. I strongly recommend you to try this amp with a 4x12 Vintage30 Cabinet as the important mids are kickin' much much better with that.
The reverb is useful, I only put a little of it (around 4).
The line out is quite OK but cannot replace a well placed, decent microphone. Still useful when you want to do a quick recording.

Overall I am very happy with my choice to buy this amp!

As robust as any Fulltube Amp these days. I have no doubt in its reliability. Come on, should be great, it is a GERMAN amp! However, I've not had it long enough to judge.

no experience so far

I've been playing for 15 years. I use no FX, except a VOX wah. I would buy it again, if stolen. I love that it's so much fun to play with it. It could have more bass punch (only for playing alone). I compared it A/B to Marshall, VHT, 5150, MesaBoogie, Line6, Valvetronix and also the Engl Blackmore signature. None of the others was as much fun (except the 5150 which I still love, but too noisy and no decent clean)

i bought it new in 2002, it was built shortly before (according to the dealer who ordered it from them). 4 x 12ax7 pre-tubes, 2 x 5881 (6l6 gc) power-tubes for 50 f*ckin-loud tube-watts.

the music i play varies from clean and crunch sounds (emo, jazz and blues at home) to overdriven chord sound (rock, ska) to distorted (punk, hardcore) and finally mad hi-gain (metal/core, hardcore, trash).
this little screamin' box fits all my needs perfectly. its got two channels (clean/lead) each with two switchable gainsettings, make two more channels (crunch and heavy lead).
clean and lead both have a gainknob. there's an additional "bright"-switch on the clean channel. (only) one EQ (bass-middle-treble) for all of them, plus a "lead presence" knob controlling the power(not pre-)amp treble control for the lead channels. master reverb (footswithable, like the 4 modes) and master volume.

on the back, it's got some of the reasonsi bought it for: first, a engl "VLS", which is simply a second (footswitchable!!!) mastervolume with the control knob on the back. second, a frequency compensated and cabinet-emulating XLR-direct-out (great for home-recording).
less important for me is the (NOT FS'ble) effects loop, controllable between serial and parallel.
speaker-options are 1x8 / 2x8 / 1x16 / 2x16 ohms.

9 for the screamer from me because the sound controls are enough to get every sound i want and because of the extra features. to give a 10 i would have requested seperate EQ's for clean and lead (i for myself don't care much though), but what the f*ck are you to expect at this price?
also, one shouldn't exchange versatility and knobs! this one is versatile with just some knobs!

reeally damn good.
i use a mid-to-end 90's gibson SG standart and a 90's epiphone LP with a seymour duncan SH-6 at the bridge. right now through a no-name 4x12" with some standart (=bad) celestions, soon through e engl or orange 2x12" cel. vint30.

i don't want to write too much (like to features ;).. simply very, very good. the clean channel, with reverb at 12 o clock and the neck humbucker of my SG gave me a shiver. just great. crunch can be jazzy or for warm and floating chords (perfect for emo). all in all very warm sound, even with the hi-gain-shred and with my crap cabinet.

yet: wou may find yourself being disappointed at first. i was, when i turned it on first. very important: it may take you some time to find "your" setting, especially for the lead channels.
i found out for myself that it is best to turn gain up, to put a lot of bass and some mids (like 3 o'clock) in it. then i turn treble up to 3 o'clock and lead presence down to like 10 or (not more than) 11 o'clock. sounds boring, but if you use this one, you'll soon know hat i mean...

this amp really fits all my sound styles... all i need for a absolutely perfect sound is a better cabinet and a power attenuator, because 50 tubewatts are far too much, even for practicing in middle-sized rooms.

well, i own this for a month now, so i can not say too much. looks (and weights!) very reliable and solid. open back with a metal plate to protect tubes and stuff, and a useless but cool-looking metal grill at the front.

haven't dealt with them.
heard they're very helpful though (like the senior amp designer answering all technical questions himself - just look up other engl reviews here).

i'm playing for 3 years now (which isn't long), and i'm so glad that i got (very) goog gear now for relatively small money.


it's very versatile, it's loud, it's got so f*ckin useful extra features, and it's pretty cheap - what else do you want?



<<< if you want, check my (hardcore/emo/punk-)band's website:
http://calledandseenas.de.vu - you might find some demo records recorded with the screamer there soon >>>

Bought it in 2nd hand but as if it was new in April 2002. I like to play Progressive rock mainly, but i like to play about everithing i rebember to... What i look for in an amplifier is total versatility and i'm a big mesa/boogie fan, but lacking the money to buy one this seemed to me the next best choice. At first i had some dificulty in setting up the sound i wanted but once done it came out awsome! From cristal clean to a fairly nice lead sound (not a shredding distortion "a la" Pantera")you can get about anykind of sound you wish. The only problem is switching fast from a nice clean to a nice lead because the amp has only one equalizer for both channels... But hey u can't have it all for this price! Great price/quality.

I use a Jackson DXL Professional guitar with a Hot Rails p.u. on neck position. This guitar i use is a little bit weak for the amplifier and my next invesment should be a MusicMan John Petrucci or a PRS.
The amp is for heavy or light rock/fusion/clean kind of music and not quite a heavy metal amp. Although with a good pedal you can get it to make such sounds.
50 wats may seem unsuficient, but believe me its more than enough (my problem is setting it low enough not to disturb the neighbours).
The controls are quite simple but it may take you a wile to get the sound you want.

Never had problems with it. It seems quite simple not to break any electrical system and the case is ultra strong. A nice thing too is that the speakers come protected by a steel net of some kind.

Never had to use it. Bot the ENGL web site is quite nice.

When i bought it i was thinking on the Hughes and Kettner amps but i think this was a weiser choice. The amp suits me perfectly for now and i think i wont get rid of it so soon. I think until i have somekind of music carrer on the way this amp will suit me fine.
Wish it had seperate equalizers for both channels and a midi interface. It sounds awsome but as a all tube amp most of it comes from your fingers...

I bought the amp this year. It has lots of features for an amp in this price range. I think for the money, this is more than you can ask for... Read the previous reviews for specifics...

REALLY good sounds. It took me a while to get what a was looking for. In the beginning, I set the gain way too high, but now I think I have it at the one clock position. That is more than enough. I play in a prog metal band, and versatility is the goal in any amp I look for. For me, the only weakness for this amp is that there is only one gain control for the whole amp. That means that if you wanna get a decent amount of distortion in the lead channel, you won't probably be able to get crispy-glassy tones on the clean channel. That's even more radical when you use high output P/U's like I do. See, the sound I am looking for is probably Petrucci's, that kind of versatility. From Heavy leads and rythms to glassy clean tones. You are extremely close to that with this amp and a good set of FX. Oh, by the way, if someone's new to all tube amps, keep in mind they are MUCH louder than solid state!! In the beginning I thought this amp could be not loud enough for me, but now I rehearse with the volume at the nine clock position, which is 1/4 of the power cappability of the amp!! REALLY loud. I won't give it a ten because this amp is not a top notch amp. I mean, you can get really close to extremely good sounds, but the amp is limited, thus never getting quite there. I want to but the ENGL SAVAGE SPECIAL EDITION. After listening to it and reading the manual and its possibilities I am sure that is the amp that suits me perfectly!!! Their new ALL MIDI ALL TUBE PREAMP 580 seems to be an out of this world machine as well!!

So far so good... Seems reliable.

I have been sending and receiving emails from Horst Langer, the designer himself, and that is just sweet... Who could know anymore about the amp than its own father!!?!?

Great value. As I said before, not an EXTREMELY GOOD AMP, but for the money, you can't ask for one. I'll give it a ten because it is a great value for the money, the perfect amp for those starting in the all-tube amp world!! Also, a great backup amplifier. Thanks ENGL, Great JOB!

Bought it in 2001. It has two channels which can be switched to more gain and to lead. Two 5881 tubes (50 watts), four ECC 83 preamp tubes. Although very simple looking (personally I don't like the chicken head knobs), it is very versatile and more important, very practical. It is well build and has a build-in Accutronics reverb. I opened it, and you can see it is completely hand build. There is also a balanced XLR output for direct recording. The compact size makes it easy to handle (we don't have roadies you know).

I play Fender Strats and Teles, so all single coils. I bought the amp mainly because of its two strong points. A Fender like clean sound, with slightly more mid and the really great distortion. When you put all the controls in the mid position, there is no need for adjustments when you switch channels. That's something I could not do with a Marshall, where I had to use the EQ after switching. The ENGL Screamer also features a very useful Variable Level Switching, which allows you to switch between two preset volume levels. Great for rhythm/solo playing! The lead sounds are very good; with the gain on 2 o'clock you have enough distortion to leave a Marhall gasping for breath!

I just had it for a few weeks, but I think it won't let me down. Like I said, it is clearly built for gigging.

I asked ENGL some questions by email about the use of different speaker cabinets and the amp designer (Horst Langer) personally answered me the day after. That's cool!

I only use an Ibanez Tubescreamer and a Boss Chorus pedal. Over the years I learned that sound is in your fingers and secondly in a good amplifier. The first thing needs practising and talent, the other could well be an ENGL amplifier.
When you're into buying an amplifier, give the guys at ENGL a change. (Jim M. made enough money with his gear).