Engl Screamer 50

50W All-Tube combo, 1x12" w/ Celestion Vintage 30. Made in 2006...

4 channels, reverb, and a nifty little trick called "VLS", which is basically two switchable master volumes. One shared 3-band EQ for all four channels, bright switch, lotsa gain...

It loses points for the lack of separate EQ for each channel and the weight, but makes up for it with providing 4 channels in a pretty compact little package. A solid 8 right here...

I'm using this thing with a heavily modded Pacifica 812v that kicks ass, along with a (more or less) stock Ibanez SA160. Both guitars absolutely rip with the Screamer.

With a GT-8 connected via 4-Cable-Method for effects and switching, the Screamer is the ultimate weapon in terms of price/features/weight/tone for someone like me, who needs versatility, but doesn't want to sacrifice decent tone.

Channel one (Lo-Gain Clean) is pretty much your run-of-the-mill clean - not bad, but it can't quite live up to the Laney VH100R's Twin-killer clean channel. Breaks up pretty quickly. It's fine for funky single coil stuff, but if you're looking for something that stays clean and just gives you power out the yingyang, this isn't it.

Channel two (Hi-Gain Clean) is the Screamer's crunch sound. Sounds a bit thin, but that makes it perfect for intros and the like - think of stuff like "Basket Case" by Green Day or "Hush" by Kula Shaker... Just a single thin, crunchy intro guitar, then the rest of the band sets in and the guitars turn into absolute monsters. Definitely more of an "effect" sound than one I'd use regularly. For proper crunch, I use channel 3 and roll down my guitar volume a little...

Channel 3 (Lo-Gain Lead) is AWESOME. As some other reviewers have mentioned, this channel alone is worth the amp's (rather reasonable) price. Not quite American, not quite British, the sound is somewhere in between a Randall chug and a hot-rodded Marshall (which would again lead back to the VH100R :D). The channel pretty much nails AC/DC lead sounds with my Ibanez, or any SG or Les Paul, for that matter...

Channel 4 (Hi-Gain Lead) is pretty much the same, but with gobs and gobs of gain. Again, not as tight as some amps, but tighter than the VH100R, which is in turn a lot tighter than most Marshalls. This has actually been one of my top concerns when it comes to amps, and the Screamer is the first that passes with flying colors.

My Randalls were too tight in the low end, which led to leads sounding a bit sterile and less fluid. I found Marshalls (TSL60 combo, JVM410H, JTM45 w/ boost) and my old Laney VH100R absolutely awesome for lead stuff, because the notes would just flow - it was like my guitar was playing itself. But sadly, the saggy low end on these amps completely killed playing rhythm for me...

With the Screamer, I get the best of both worlds. It's not too spongy and loose for riffing, but it's also not too tight for nice fluid, flowing leads.

As an added bonus, the DI out actually sounds halfway decent. I've been forgoing the usual e606/e609/nt2a in favor of the DI out recently, which allows me to use beam blockers for my stage sound - awesome! :)

All in all, I'd give it an 8 for sound.

This thing is a freakin workhorse. I got it second hand, and while unpacking it, I noticed a huge crack running along the right side. Upon closer examination, it turned out that the board on the right side had cracked clean through, and any decent amount of pressure from above would probably take the amp apart. I'm assuming that GLS (who still haven't paid a cent in damages, even though the package was insured) forgot to close a rear truck door and the package fell out at 50 km/h... Or some idiot dropped it down a flight of stairs, or threw it off an overpass.

Nevertheless - the amp itself, as well as the speaker, are in perfect working condition. I applaud Engl for building an amp that you can pretty much throw off a cliff without worrying that it won't work afterwards... The housing may get cracked in half, but it'll still work and sound awesome :D...

Definitely a 10 here...

When I got the amp, I got on the phone with a service rep here in Germany immediately, and they provided me with an invoice for a new housing for the amp chassis immediately. Very competent, very friendly, and fast!

I've been playing for about 6 years now, mainly in Top 40/Pop Rock cover bands, gigging quite a lot in the past 3 years or so.

Lately I've gone through quite a few amps:

Randall RG100SC, RH100, RH200, RH150G3
Laney VH100R, VC50, VC100
Peavey XXX, Bandit 112 (red stripe)
Fame GTA-15 (Pro Junior clone)

All I have left are the GTA-15 and the Screamer combo, along with a few cabs - and although I do miss my 1st-gen RG100SC a little, I couldn't be more satisfied with my current setup. I use the Screamer with a GT-8 and MIDI switcher for big-stage gigs, and the GT-8 with the GTA-15 for pub gigs and the like. Awesome tone all around...

And now the negative parts:

1. The weight
2. The weight
3. Even with the tiny output transformer, it's still way too loud... I'd like to get some actual power tube distortion without blowing the drummer right off the stage...
4. The weight

All in all, this little monster is an awesome amp - all tube tone, decent clean channel, AWESOME dirt, with usable reverb and nifty dual master volumes... In terms of bang for the buck it's a 12, but overall, I guess I gotta give it a 9 :)

The key to this amp is it's versatility, if you want a tube amp that has 4 channels, will do everything from clean to metal, has great reverb, a built in boost, fx loop, xlr out, is small and sounds huge this is the amp for you!

I use a PRS Custom 24 with this amp and together they are a match made in heaven. The amp sounds so good i've pretty much dumped all my effects - it just sounds so sweet on it's own.

It's German....

Built like a tank, no worries. So far so good.

n/a - not needed yet

I've been playing for 17 years and had many amps, I can honestly say hand on heart that the Screamer is the best all round amp i've ever had, lovely clean and lovely dirt, what more do you want ?!

If you want to see my short video demo go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in4z9Rk3pQM

All I will ever need at a amp.

This is a great Rockamp, very good cleans, stupid light chrunch ( not for me ), amazing overdrive channel ( my favorite ) and a fantastic lead channel. This is a versatile amp its all at the gain, mids and reverb potis, form Jazz to scooped Metal all is possible in a very good quality. I play it since 3 years most of the time with a Custom Fender Telecaster, a Fender tuned HH Strat or a Gibson Les Paul. The amp brings out every charakter of the guitars and dont washes the guitar. Man I had some Marshalls and Fenders and sure the top models are expensive and good but for 1000 bucks you get waste compared to the screamer from Engl. I have a Boss dd3 in the effect loop and it sounds bad also a digidelay but now i have a analog delay and its absolute great, that shows me that the screamer likes only very, very quality good pedals. I also tested some pedals in front of it, like the boss overdrive, maxon ts 9, fulltone 70...and I always come back to the pure sound of the engl, that shows me that he is very picky with effect pedals ;)
I have the z4 footswitch that only has two switches to stomp on, but thats works for me.

Nothing can destroy his amp !! But take care anyway !!
3 years without any problem !

?

I play some Indie, Roots, Heavy Rock Blues Alternative stuff. Around 20 years, I played some stages and joined some studios with different Bands, I would descripe myself as a semipro...
When it get lost and I have only 1000 bucks to spend on a Combo I defenatly go back to this !! If I had more money I would test the souveraign 212 before. I love the tone and versatile of the amp and hate only the "modern metal" outfit. Maybe I change the grill sometime against a smoother one, but thats all.

****I got this one fresh and new in the summer of 2007 and though it was definitely a HUGE change to my previous "Peavey Classic 30 Combo", I'm happy to this very day****

- The amp technically has four channels (You can switch between 'clean', 'crunch', 'soft lead' and 'heavy lead') that can be switched via optional footswitches or by hand on the front of the amp. (I highly suggest you buying a pedal of ENGL's Z-series, they're rock solid, good looking and practicable all the same)

- FX-Loop, of course - with a knob on the back where you can balance out the "dry-wet" relation, which can be helpful if you crank up the volume and notice a mod-effect like a delay cuts through too significant.

- It has a built in booster, which is basically the setting of two different Master Volumes. You can change the difference between those two with a (very tiny) knob on the back. Very nice feature! No particular use for an external booster pedal anyomre, especially with a good footswitch like the Z5 in front of you!

- The built in reverb is solid. Definitely better than the Classic 30's, but still not comparable to a good vintage pedal or the likes. It's usable, still, especially in the lower ranges.

- I use the Screamer live as well as during rehearsals. I never had to fully crank it up to be loud enough on stage and it works particularly well in the lower volume ranges as well, which is very practicable for our rehearsals, because most 'the times we're playing with synth-drums in the background.
Like most (if not all) tube amps, it changes it's characteristic on high volumes, though, so you better play loud and check your settings before rocking at a gig. :P


- It's got a three way eq. The usual for smaller tube combos.

- The 'Lead Presence' knob lets you drastically(!) alter the characteristic of the distorted channels. It gets anywhere from mellow over bright up to friggin earpiercing! (It's the "Screamer", after all ...)

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A solid 7/10
No special features, but a very nice variety of sounds to get out of it!
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- I play a 'Framus Camarillo Custom' through a couple of effects.
( guitar -> Dimebag Crybaby -> Whammy WH4 -> TS9 -> Korg Tuner -> Amp )
( FX send -> DD-20 -> EQ-20 -> FX Return )

- Suits the style of our bands music pretty well. We're orientated on a more modern rock approach, which ENGL amps are pretty much a perfect fit for.
It can get messy for 60's, 70's or early mid 90's style, though. You know, those crisp and muddy sounding stuff. A tad "too" modern this one. But I guess a decent external distortion would make up for a lot of it.

- You can get a lot of different distortion sounds out of this one. The "Lead Presence" knob is the major key here. (Apart the gain, of course ;))
I'm not into metal, so I can't tell if it really has THAT much reserves of gain, but hell, it sure goes way beyond anything I would ask for. (I hardly turn the "Lead" knob up to 12 o'clock. I do add gain and sustain in solo parts with the TS9, though)


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A brilliant 9/10
The strong suit of an amp should be its sound. This one sure knows how to dress!
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- It's not yet a year old, but from what I can tell thus far: It won't let you down!

- Never experienced problems to this day


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no rating
A rating would be pointless at this time
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- Never had to deal with that


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no rating
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- I play for about three years now. I pretty much summed up all the amp-related gear I own.

- I'd definitely try to get a new one, if my current Screamer would hit the fence, but I'm not as narrow minded not to try out some other stuff either.

- I could compare it to my previous amp, of course, and on all the stuff other guitarists I have met own. It's especially interesting how it works together with our bands current second (or first? ;)) guitarist, who owns the cracking ENGL Special Edition Head and the fitting 2x12' combo. I'm very pleased with our rehearsing sound, you do not notice much of a difference. Then again, we do play at very "friendly" volumes. On stage, I'm sure, the superior power of the SE could beat the Screamer to shreds. But what else ya expect? It never came to a power-duel, though.

Made in 2007, I play all styles mainly hard rock but do also play blues (kicks my Orange amps arse at that too!)and a bit of modern nu-metal.
This amp also has a direct line out so it makes life so much easier for recording and live gigs....
Very loud for a fifty and my bass player has a 750 watt ampeg so it has to be.

This amp came make ANY sound I'm sure of it look you can get brilliant cleans blues crunch 80's metal and modern gain and if the amp can't do it.... (haven't found that yet) it takes pedals so well. I use humbuckers mostly and its the most noiseless amp for the amount of ridiculous gain you can get. Just make sure you don't go cheap on the cab otherwise you lose so of its incredible voicing...

Haven't had the amp long but its german so I'm guessing its reliable

Haven't had any problems

Been playing 27 years and have played just about everything I can get my hands on I have 5 guitars the best being my 1978 les paul standard custom shop also a jackson, ibanez, cort and my maton acoustic. Have an Orange rockerverb 50 combo too.
I wanted the best amp for versatility I tried all the Engl's, Mesa's I have an orange....its kills it!marshalls tried them all this IS the amp as a fellow punter wrote you can get ANY sound you want from this amp.
Hey it would be good if it had seperate eq for each channel but i really haven't found it a problem at all cant have everything and for the whole lot to be under the price of a mesa head its awesome value for money

its a 2007 model.you can play from country up to heavy rock - not metal but i dont mind.it has 4 channels: (crystal!)clean,clean/gained, clean/gained/distorted, and distorted.yes i use 2 boss pedals with stereo cables switcing all the above plus reverbe and a "vls" function (something like a solo mode-louder). for a 112 combo is fine with me - can play in open lives and training too. 4 ecc83 preamp tubes and 2 5881(6L6). i thing thats why its so clean

i use a Boss GT PRO rack with it so the variety is virtualy unlimited.the distortion is not very "German" not very Marshall not very Fender but somewhere in between to my opinion.it sound good-no worries but i dont have your taste.check it out first.I play mostly classic rock.its not noisy unless you sit on it with high output humbuckers in max volume.

i dont know much , i ve got it 2 months now and it works

i use it with a strat(SSH) and a tele(vintage). yes i would miss this amp a lot if someone stolen it.

very easy, standart amp settings,

Mhh, more modern sounding, I have compare it to a original fender
tube twin amp from the 70ties and its different in clean mode.
But you hear that the engl is a tube amp. very warm, bright belly, sound dynamics. I like that . The chrunch works good with my Paula but not the way I like it with my Strat. ( I boost it sometimes with a keely TS 9 ). the low lead is my main chanel its not thin and not to fat exactly what I want. It react good with the guitar volumen poti. The high lead is for extra punch, I use it to play lead lines or for extrem heavy metal attacks. Its great. And ther is no way to make the chanels sound dirty or overloaded, wich is a great bonus for me
I like to play everything with a littel bit reverb and so I have the engls reverb set at 10 o clock. works great. I use it with a extra 1x12 marshall cab and have test it with a 4x12 marshall greenback cab. works better with the 1x12. ( Punchy energie ).
I have a new TC electronics delay and a Roger Mayer Wah in the effect loop ( sometimes with a Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe ) and it works good.
In the input I have the Keely Ts9 a Boss Tuner and the guitar. I use the Engl z 4 Footswitch ( 75 euros ). Guitars : Fender Strat, Gibson Paula, Prs Ce 24.
thats the way I like it.

Have it maybe since 5,6 years and after 3 years I have change the tubes
but no other problems...but I dont know what happen in the next 20 years so I give it 8 points.

??

I play since 1977 and have test, play, own everything wich is known in the guitar players scene as popular or important or whatever........
Yes I will buy it again if its lost or stolen, because I love the sound, the handling and its loud enough for every venue ( with a good PA it would do Woodstock easyly ). I hate nothing about it because I love all about it, maybe a seperate reverb dailer for clean/lead would be nice.

Yo!

I believe my amp was made somewhere around '95. I bought it in 97, and it's the old model combo, 2x10 Celestion Vintage 30, and 50W.

Also mine has only 2 channels - clean & lead, a bright switch, a parallel loop, and not much else.

I set up very straight forward, with the amp in gain mode, and (usually) all the way up. Then go from clean to crunch to lead with the volume on the guitar. This means I rarely use the clean channel- the gain ch. is enough on it's own.

I enjoy the loop - being parallel, it allows you to run the unaffected part of the signal directly to the poweramp-section, and then blend in the effects.

I use an old Korg Stage Echo tape machine, which is extremely reliable, and has - well - authentic tape echo sound, without the need to 'model' anything.

I also have an extension cab (2x10) that came very cheap, and it really helps the projection. When playing heavy rock gigs, you really dont want to show up with just one 12";)

I use a M?rch Costum guitar, built to specs - including a hum and 2 singles. I also play an SG, stock.

I play a wide range of music, from 50'ies rock n roll to modern 'Experi-Metal' I also do guitarduties in a Black Sabbath Tribute band.

The Screamer distinguishes itself by being pretty quiet. With the gain full on, and both volumes (lead master and master) at 3 o'clock,
when I turn down the guitar - it's completely quiet. Like if it was on clean.

As I turn up the guitar, noise comes with it - but then I'm masking it with my playing, and it's barely audible, until you get into the last upper 25%.

If you dial up the volume on the clean channel, you get a rich and bluesy crunch, that's almost as good as the gain channel on either a mild setting, or better yet - full on and with the guitar rolled back, so that's one of the reasons I rarely use the clean. Also it's one less thing to stomp on...

The gain channel is nice and smooth. It doesn't get too scary, except I get a huge bottom if a want it. It's flexible enough to imitate a decent trash tone, should you want it, but it's definetely born as more of a midrange beast. How brutal? How brutal do you play?

I use a Keeley Java Boost to carry me into full saturation-land, and what a sweet ride it is! These two items are made for each other!

I can easily get that wonderful Iommi tone - both the vintage varient, but also a close resemblense to his early 80ies tone.

The 4x10" solution is very neat, since I can always leave two at home when we do a small dance/club gig.

Some people think that using 10's instead of 12's you get less bottom. Not true. You may not get more exactly, but the 10's respond that more quickly than a 12 would, and that keeps the bass response tight. This amp can Thump! with the best of 'em.

This is the amp of my life, having played it some 8 years.

If I had the money, I'd get myself another set right away.

I'd have to say I can and do depend on my Screamer. At one gig, the crew had lined up my speakers wrong - drawing all four on 16 Ohms, instead of the 8. This resulted in the most wonderful tone - and the melting of certain solderings on the mains trafo.. Bottom line - It played until the gig ended. I only found out next day, when it plugged it in at the rehearsal room, and it was utterly silent....

So, until now - no backup....

I haven't changed the tubes yet - I hesitate - it sounds so cool.

During these last 8 years, I've dragged it along for some 150 gigs and countless rehearsals and studio sessions. I've had it loaned out on several occasions, and besides a few knocked off buttons, it just keeps going.

I did remove the speaker cloth, and replaced it with two grilles.

I'm also gonna make a vented backplate, to protect the tubes, but other that - it's pretty sturdy. My tech friend (very pro guy, does gear repair) tells me it's a crap design - with respect to servicing, and he's probably right. You have to remove the entire PCB board to replace just one lousy pot.

Havent dealt with ENGL as such, but I assume they're nice guys.

Did order some replacement parts, but that was through their local agent. Did take a heck of a time though...;)

I've been playiong since I was a kid. Uhm.. I don't own that much guitar-gear, except for the above. Couple pedals - the amazing Parapedal from Chicago Iron, and the truly wonderful Wizard Wah from RMC. - The Keeley Booster. That's it.

I love practically everything about my Screamer. I hate the fact that I only have one...;)

I did shop around extensively - working in gear-retail, I had my hands on nearly everything you might imagine. Including a couple VHT's, Boogies, and whatnot. In another life I had a huge racksystem, and I've had both Laney and Marshall Stacks.

This little 'un does it for me.

Not needing all the channels and switching and stuff, it's hard for me to come up with a shortcoming. It would probably be cool to get that 2 Master-volume feature, that most ENGL's have now, but I'll live..

Made in 2003
The amp is very versitile, the shared EQ can be a bit of a bummer at times but if you get the right guitar with this amp the amp's voicing as a whole isnt that bad and u can achieve good clean/crunch and lead sounds from it
4 Channels with the foot switch, Effects Loop, Solo Boost (VLS).
Seperate EQ's for all 4 channels.
I use this amp for practice, rehersals and live situations it does them all fantastic with great tone at virtually any volume level.
All tube 6L6, great tone

Ernie Ball Music Man Petrucci 6 String, Ibanez S540LTD, Ibanez RG1527, Ibanez JEM7VWH, Gibson Les Paul Standard.

Suits my style fine from blues, Jazz, metal and shred and just about any ground in between I feel like.

The amp is very quiet even at really high gain settings, something I find fantastic

Amazing Versitility and great lead tones from hell or heaven ;)
Clean channel has loads of headroom but you can dial in some crunch by whacking up the "Clean" dial which is basicaly the cleans pre-amp section.

The Distortion is brutal enough to do anything and has some lovely subtle crunches and bluesy sounds

Yea it's pretty reliable the ENGL tubes in it went in 3 months of purchase but the Sovtek 6L6'S i've got in at the moment have lasted a long time.

ENGL were hopeless at explaining to me what tubes I could retube this amp with claiming I could only use there tubes and that the amp was fixed bias, when I asked the Tech dept for an Schematic of the amp I found it was adjustable Bias and retubed the amp with Sovtek 6L6's.

If it were stolen I'd try get it back on insurance and get a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV instead :) but i'll never be able to afford that amp so this is the next best thing and it's fantastic for the money.

Love, most of the features, Hate the shared EQ at times.

I compared it to a Mesa/Boogie Nomad 45 and a few other small Mesa/Boogie Combo's, I was in the market for a 5150 II at the time aswell and chose this above the aformentioned, but I just wish i'd pushed myself that bit further and bought a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV instead these days.. but yea i'll add that to my wish list.

- Made in 2002<p>
- Versatility: from Fender like clean to bonecrushing distortion and anything in between<p>
- My styles are clean blues, light crunched blues, let my pain out through the amp blues;-) <p>
- Some say it has four channels, in fact it has 2 with additional overdrive<p>
- One Treble/Mid/Bass EQ for both channels. I mostly use them in the neutral setting<p>
- Channelswitching? Would be bad if it is missing;-))) Ser/Par FX loop buffered, no headphone jack<p>
- Features I miss? None, more knobs would confuse me and give me the feeling that I have not yet dialed in my tone....<p>
- I use this amp in my home, at my friends homes, simply everywhere I want people to hear me;-)) It has plenty of headroom, clean and distorted<p>
- Other features are a DI box, external speaker jacks 8/16 ohms, master volume, full tube design<p>- Footswitchable volume boost, very very useful<p>
- Big adjustable accutronics reverb can<p>- Engl offers a Z5 floorboard that is connected with a computer cable. However, there are two stereo jacks that offer the same switching possibilities. I built two switch-stompboxes with LEDs on my own (can be done very easily) that cost me less then a half of the price that Engl wants for the Z5.<p>

- Use it with std. US Strat, Heritage LP, Heritage 335<p>
- Would I have bought this amp if it wouldn't suit my musical styles?<p>
- No noise at all, especially when the clean channel is cranked full up. The preamp stage is dead quite. Only the distored channel generates some hum, which is normal<p>
- This amp has a warm clean, a superb light crunch, lead and a heavy lead, all channels are sounding extremely good<p>
- Clean is clean, even when cranked<p>
- The overloaded lead channel lets your ears bleed<p>

- Dependability: Yes this is my only amp and it is build rock solid<p>
- Backup? Why?<p>
- One of the factory tubes failed after about 6 months, however, I didn't recognized that at first until a friend came up and told me that the bulb didn't glow. (Read in the customer support section for more info on that) I think it was a lemon tube so I wouldn't blame Engl for bad parts here. In fact, I changed the tubes on my own. All other components are quality parts, sturdy PC-Boards, every part that could become loose, rattle or weak electrical joints is fixed either with glue or with screws. So, yes: I fully trust my screamer.

- Engl guys are the best: Friendly, patient bavarian people. I called them twice to ask them how to bias the new power tubes and they were very helpful and enjoying. Now my amp is as it was at day one:-)<p>
AFAIK Engl grants a 3 month warranty on tubes, so I missed the warranty period.<p>
- Amp construction is very compact on PCBs, so I would assume in case of more severe damage that this design is not that service friendy. The bias pot and measuring points can be accessed without unmounting any parts very easy<p>
- Warranty on all other parts is 2 years in the European Union.<p>

How long do I play? Is that important?<p>
Stolen or lost? Yes I think I would buy it again<p>
Love? Very easy to use, EQing is almost not necessary, just select the degree of crunch and use the guitar. In any setting this amp reflects the characteristics of the guitar very well<p>This amp does reveal all imperfections and perfections<p>

Bought 2002 for 1350 Euros (Z5 footswitch another 100)
Features more than well engough documented by everyone else! Very versatile. I don't tend to muck about with the settings too much, I tend to go for a quite general sound and it's difficult to get a bad sound out of this. The various controls are extremely well set: there are no "Spikes" like having all the volume in 1-3 (Fender please note!) and the basic tone controls really do make a difference. It's a piece of cake to use. Simple, effective and very practical. You don't actually need the footswitch, but oh man, does it ever make life easy! The Solo boost is a brilliant idea, and it really works. Footswithable Reverb is another Godsend. It means you have access to 4 channels with or without Reverb at two volumes and all under yer booties.

I use this with 4 different guitars. A hamer Special (P90 pickups) A gibson les Paul Gem (P90s again..) A Westone Prestige 250(Humbuckers) and a PRS CE22 (Humbuckers). This amp really brings out the differences! I play mostly Classic/heavy Rock, Rock Ballads and some Blues and some quiet love songs. Quick summary

Clean - Not as good as my Fender Deluxe, but then again, what is? Way better than Marshal or Boogie, though. Genuine 3-spring Accutronics reverb tank, but I tend it need it almost full up. Never use the Bright switch, I find it a bit lacking in Bottom end anyway.

Crunch - Strange one this, seems to get lonely: I never could get the hang of using this at home, seemed too dry and rough. BUT, and it's a BIG but, when playing in a 4-peice band, this cuts perfectly through the mix. You can get some really snarly, early Blues tones with this, and, if you're careful, some quite soft clean sounds as well.

Soft lead - Played one Power Chord in the shop and mentally reached for my wallet. Worth buying for this channel alone. Seriously. Utterly gorgeous, gorgeous rich fat tone. And the sustain! You hit a chord, and it just plays and plays, dying away naturally and beautifully. I would probably have switched from lead to rythm playing if it wasn't for....

Heavy Lead - Gary Moore in Orgasm. This is isn't just fat, is ****ing dripping with cholestorol. No reverb, Palm-muting and your into Thrash territory, some reverb and solos are smooth beyond belief. Or as rough as guts if you want, it's up to how you play.

All in all, even though the Valves (Tubes) are Fender like (EC883/6L6) and 12AX7s, the tone stack is very Marshall. The Soft lead is something like a good condition old JCM800 and the Heavy lead is rather like a JTM-45. However, the tone is ENGL, it's not a clone of anything else.

It IS a Modern sounding Amp though. This is not trying to be some retro-vintage bandwagon piece of sh*t.

All the old cliches come out here. It is extremely tough, but it's a heavy beast. Very heavy! Absolutely no problems gigging without backup. I've had this amp a year now, so I know.

Well, I have the advantage over most folks, I live in Bavaria where it's made! Only ever contacted them once, however, and that was to find a local dealer in Munich. Email was personally answered the next day with the name and address. But as that was it, I can't really comment. If there was a problem with the amp, I'd contact the dealer first anyway.

Been playing 15+ years, but you would think 15 months! I have several cheaper amps and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, which I love. As I said, I've had this amp for a year now, so this is not an "I've just spent a wad of cash on something, I'd better tell everyone how good it is" kind of review! If lost, I would definitely buy another one. I love it's combination of simplicity and versatility. IF they could keep the build quality BUT reduce the weight it would be nice. I tried this agains another couple of Engl Combos, Hughs and Kettner, Fender and Marshal, but this was just streets ahead for what I need an amp to do.
It's hand built by a small, dedicated team of craftsmen at one third of it's American equivelants.

One final comment, it's quite a senstive and unforgiving beast. It really brings out the character of your different guitars, but also brings out any playing mistakes with horrific clarity. It doesn't matter if I'm wielding my guitar like a chainsaw, or caressing it as a lover, subtlelty and nuance are there, but so are the ****-ups!

OK,OK final, final comment. I never give 10s for ANYTHING anymore, 'cos nothings perfect. If there is an Engl dealer near you, try some out.

You already know all features if you read this... I need built-in power brake for this amp! :-) It's too loud...

Now I play the only one guitar Fender American Hot Rodded Fat Strat Texas Special. It has two SC Texas Special from

Custom Shop and one Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Plus humbucker. Frankly saying I don't like this HB because it sounds too weak, too bright and has not enough lows. I'm gonna change it for SD Custom Custom or Seth Lover.

I have T.C. Electronic G-Major plugged in Screamer's loop - with Dry/Wet knob at 100% wet. G-Major is controlled by Behringer FCB1010. Both FCB1010 and G-Major have relay switch. I use that one from G-Major. It's TRS jack - with four states (1 - all open, 2 - T and S closed, 3 - R and S closed, 4 both states closed) what match exactly all Screamer's channels. Each G-Major preset stores these states, sa with the only one FCB1010 switch I have access to effects and channels. I don't use Screamer's VLS - two master volumes or Reverb On/Off switching because I don't use them - I have programmed volumes in TC programs. When a footswitch (or even a "dummy" cable) is plugged into channel switching jack you cannot change channels from the front panel.

Screamer 50 has quite low budget speaker (Silver series 12" V80) but believe me it sounds much better than other combos with even Vintage 30 or G12T-75.

Lo Gain Clean channel. If you like Fender with a little but mix of Messa clean channel you'll like it. I just sell Marshall JMP-1 just because of clean channel - JMP-1 has terrible, heart-less sound. Screamer gives nice tube compressed sound with great attack - you have to find a good technique of playing to get the best sound. The only one negative thing I've discovered with Clean channel is Gain control. If it's at more than 12 o'clock it sounds a little bit distorted when hard picking, but setting it lower - at 10-11 o'clock gives not enough gain for Crunch channel (they share Gain control).

Hi Gain Clean - Crunch channel. That was one of the reason I bought Engl :-) I realli like Engl' crunch sounds. I'm dreaming about Savage SE wiht its two Crunch channels. However Screamer Crunch channels is very sensitive to your fingers. It perfectly reacts to your playing style - so with the only one setting you can get quite clean or heavy crunched sound. It's up to your fingers.

Lo Gain Lead channel. It's rather American style drive (Mesa like), very rich and long sustaining. If you need vintage overdrive you have set gain to very low settings or you get modern rock sound.

Hi Gain Lead channel. Two words: rich and powerfull. It lasts forever :-)

Lead channel (both Lo/High Gain) has Lead Presence and Lead Volume knobs and it helps you balance between Clean/Crunch settings.

There is Bright switch but it works only when Gain settings is lower than 11 o'clock. So for my guitar is useless but it's not a problem - Texas Special are very bright pickups.

Reverb sounds very warm a nice - you won't hear every spring move like in many other cheap spring reverbs.

About EQ. Bass responce isn't to deep - remember it's 1x12" open back combo. If like Screamer sound and want more deep bass look at Screamer head and 2x12" closed box (e.g. Engl) - a nice duo :-) Treble is more than enough, nothing more to say. Mid... When you set Mid more than 1-2 o'clock it starts to sound muddy on clean channel but is

must for nice Santana-like solos - you have to decided what you like. I like Deep switch on Ritchie Blackomore head which gives much warmer sound and more low-mids. In my setup I use TC G-Major EQ - I set Enlg's Mid to 12 o'clock and boost or attenuate mids with TC - I can quite different sounds from the same channel.

Signal patch: preamp->reverb->loop->stand/by->master volume->amp out/balanced out. I don't like it. I think that reverb should be post loop return. If you use noise gate like Rocktron HUSH and built-in reverb the results is gated reverb :-) Also if you want to use delay stompbox in a loop it gets revered sound but it doesn't sound good. Also Balanced out (with

I play it for a couple of weeks and I've had no problems, but it's too short time to say more. It's very heavy so you should transport it in a hard case IMO.

I've had no need to contact them with Screamer problems. And I hope I won't have to :-)

I play the guitar a couple years. I had some amps and last two years I played POD 2.0 and then JMP-1 with Engl 2x50W tube poweramp and 2x12". But as I said I didn't like JMP-1 clean sound - weak, thin. JMP-1 has a nice overdrive channel but you can hear all this diode clipping, not tube like. So I decided to go back to tubes and after a long searching I've found Engl amps as a most practical and very good sound amps for its price, here in Eastern Europe.

I bought this from Spectrum Music (UK) with a part-ex. This combo is extremely versatile, having effectively 4 channels but all sharing a common EQ. The two lead channels do have the addition of presence control. There is also a reverb and bright switch. Channels 1&2 have a common gain control. Channels 3&4 have gain and volume controls and then there is an overall master volume.

Channel 1 is clean, channel 2 is clean with a bit of crunch, 3 is your rock channel and 4 is rock channel with more gain.

I have the six way footswitch which allows selection of the 4 channels, reverb and the best feature yet, in my opinion, is button no.6 which gives you a clean boost for soloing. The % boost can be set by a pot at the rear. This is a great feature for live work, as I can testify.

The 50 watts output is plenty loud enough but I must add that I use this with V30 loaded ext. cab. I have also replaced the original speaker with one of the new Celetion Century speakers which has increased the loudness and reduced the weight. The original speaker is a Celestion V12-80 and perfectly adequate.

Ahhh the weight. I found the weight a bit of a problem. Humping it around on gigs was a bit of a strain. This is a heavy beast for a 1x12, but it is a quality build, so I guess you have to cant have it all ways.
The grill is a heavy weight affair and is totally drummer-proof, but it weighs about 2 kgs. So to reduce the weight I made a new grill form a light plywood frame and some tasty grill cloth, mounted the badge in the centre as original, and that plus the speaker mod has made it more managable...sorry Horst. ( The designer).

On the back panel it has the now obligatory send/return, XLR out,4 speaker outputs to suit most combination of cabs. You dont need the fancy stainless steel. 6 way footswitch as there are two jack footswich sockets to allow two conventional stereo footswitches to switch the basic funtions. I would recommend the 6 way switch though.....its the icing on this tasty cake.

The build quality is typically German ie top quality. The front panel is well laid out and the EQ controls are very sensitive.

The valves are 4xECC83/12AX7 pre-amp and 2x5881 power tubes. All selected and matched.

I use this amp with a Strat with 12 db mid range facility. What can I say...this amp sounds perfect to me, and the reverb is so deep, in fact I first thought it was OTT but then I realised I was too used to my wimpy Marshall reverb.

I have tried em all, Fender, Boogie, Cornford, Marshall. My Marshall is now up for sale. The Cornford was lovely but not as versatile for live work.

There is not a sound you cant get out of this combo...I cant say anymore. And if you get tired of the sound you can always experiment with different valves and speakers

So far no probs.

I have emailed ENGL with some queries and got reples direct from the designer Horst Langer within 2 days

Overall rating has to be 10. I would defiately buy this combo again. This combo is extremely good value for money. It leaves the Boogies and the like at twice the price for dead. I hope ENGL dont read this and then whack up the price!

Amp was made in 2K; bought it new in 2001. It's got a single EQ(which doesn't limit it's versatility), volume controls for the two channels, gain control, reverb, volume and gain boost, effect loop, recording output...and so on. Visit www.Englamps.com for full feature list.
2x5881 Power amp tubes which deliver 50 of punchy tube power, it's enough for me, but if you wanna play in Wembley better lookout for some louder stuff.
Eventually this thing very versatile because of the sound modes and the great stage board. This amp was made for gigging!!!

I use it with an IBanez RG3120, it has a DiMarzio PAF Pro in neck position and a Tonezone in Brige pos. My Cabinet is the Engl 4x12 Standard (which sounds great too).
This is actually a great amp for almost any kind of musical style. Sound kicks ass. Mhh, I wouldn't play jazz on it, but you can get any sound from Hendrix to early Metallica out of it. Seems to kick those vintage heads like Plexi in their ol' asses! Can deliver british or more lil' more american sounds (depends on EQ setting). Don' get me wrong, the Screamer 50 does not sound like Boogie or something, it has it's own character. Clean can get from warm to funky, Crunsh is most impressive, kicks every other Amp i've heard/played before. Distortion can get pretty brutal, but for PanterA like sounds or death metal sounds i would recommend to buy Randall, Boogie or a stomp box.
All in all it sounds warm, tube like, higher gain settings are staying transparent. Don't waste your money/time with those muddy Marshall stuff, get an ENGL!

Looks very reliable. Heavy duty...
never had problems... got it since 4 days...

never dealt with ENGL so far...

This is actually an amp that overwhelmes me totally. It's versatile and sounds mindblowing (can't get enough of this wonderful liquid crunch).
Marshall's TSL seems to be more versatile with all their three/two EQ stuff, but fuck it i don' need all those controls that are making me loosing control over my tone. Buy the Screamer if you want an amp to have fun with.

I am going to write about the Screamer50 *Top* which I use in conjunction with a 1x12 Celestion Vintage 30 Closed Cab. The amp was made in 1999 and the main purpose I use it for is recording. Therefore, it needs to fullfill different requirements than a live-amp. Anyway, the setup is pretty basic: Two channels that share the same tone-controls (bass, mid, treble) but have an additional gain-stage that you can switch in. This can give a lot of crunch to the clean channel and throw the distorted channel over the top. It also features a master volume and a presence knob for the lead channel. A reverb and an effect loop are there as well as a frequency corrected balanced direct out and the capability to drive different arrangements of speaker-cabinets. Its power section delivers 50 Watts (2 6L6s), wich wich means not to much headroom but enough for recording purposes. Pretty well thought out feature set, all useful and easy to handle. I whish, the EQ would be more precise - like the graphic EQ on my Boogie. This comes extremely handy for "fitting" the guitar into a mix.

I use all kinds of guitars with this amp, Fender Strats, Gibson Sgs and Paulas, a PRS, a Ibanez 7 string... you name it. It is used for all styles of music, because I record all kinds of musicians, from mellow jazz to some of the grindiest core. The amp does never sound REALLY great, I mean really, so that you want to just wrap yourself into the speaker cone. It just lacks some of that little extra soul, that I can have with a blackface fender or with my Mesa MkiV. However, the clean channel sounds very warm whith shimmering heights and it sings, when you crank it a bit further. You can get those "in-between"-tones pretty much and it sounds also great when pushed even a bit harder. It starts, however, to sound a bit harsh when you dig way into the distortion, so I do these sounds whith all kinds of pedals. It lacks a bit of bass (even whith bigger cabs) but then thats a good thing for recording. It is not nosy at all, which is what it sold to me. I got the feeling, that everything in this amp is built with lots of knowledge on electronics and amp-design but with a little too less listening. However, for a great guitar sound that sits perfect in a mix it beats all "recording-preamps", including PODs, H&K-boxes, the Formula Preamp and the like. It just produces classic tones whithout much effort and never sounds wrong.

Very good craftmanship.

Dunno.

I have been playing for more years than I like to tell (because I should play much better then) but et well exceeds 15 years. I played almost every good amp I could get my hands on, Matchless, Fenders, Marshalls, Boogies, Egnaters, Riveras - everything. This amp is a great deal for the money even though it is not a real living thing, if you can get that drift. I like it a lot for what it does and I believe that you get what you pay for and then some more. If you do not have the cash for your dream amp, try this one. It comes really close, you can hear the tubes and and there are some little tone demons inside. Just small ones...

This amp has two indedepente channels with shared EQ.
Then there are a few bright and presence controls and switches, Fx loop, and so on... that's basicly it! Meanwhile... you will freak with this amp versatility and parallel simplicity.

I have a Washburn MG821 guitar (with a Seymour Duncan Parallel Axis pickup on the brigde position) and a Paul Reed Smith Custom 24.
This amp souns wonderfuly in all aspects!!! Like I said above, it's mega-versatile and straighfoward to use... there's no cheat n' trick on this amp... it's a full blown sound! Try to give it a listen!!!
The amp's not noisy at all... I play a lot of music styles, ranging from jazz to progressive metal. The distortion is great! With the PRS guitar I can make a lot of sounds!!! The tone controls sounds wonderfully.

This amp's is built like a tank!!!
It doens't include an airbag because you really won't need it! ;)

Never needed! 1 year warranty for parts.

Again... it's a GREAT GREAT AMP!!!
I like Mesa Boogie and all that stuff... but this one, sounds great... and it's affordable!!!
INCREDIBLE!

I have a gibson lespaul studio, and with this amp you can really have what you want. 2 channels, bright, presence,reverb... Tubes: 2*5881 (50w), and 4*ecc83 for preamp. the speker is a really powerfull 12' Celestion unknown. there is a 16 Ohm speaker out.

I play strong heavy metal generally with my band, but at home, i play blues and rock: Wow! you cannot imagine how this amp sounds, even for jazz The clean channel add to bright and reverd is as excellent as a good Fender amp. Overdrived on the second channel, you can really think you have THE blues sound. Distortion is powerfull and natural. This amp has a really warm sound. with it,due to the big metal sound i need (Type-o, paradise lost...) I use a Digitech RP10 multieffects distortions : with the Engl real clean channel, you cannot imagine...

don't forget to plug it to the ground!!!

In France only one shop is sending it, so...

at the price, forget the rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!