Engl Sovereign 100 112 Combo

I play mostly (but not only) heavier music: postrock, death/doom/black-metal. The amp is certainly versatile enough for me.

Its a 100W all tubes combo preamp with a celestion 12" speaker.

Two channels with eq and two preamp-variations in each. The first is a clean/crunch channel with a bright switch for extra sparkle. The second channel is the two lead variations, from crunch to pretty much as much distortion i would ever want to use, the two variations are slightly different in character, there is a switch in this channel turning on and of extra overdrive.

On each of the four variations there is an input volume control in front of the preamp and an output volume control after it.

After that there are two switchable master volumes.

There are two switchable effect loops with a dry/wet control on each, one spring reverb level for each channel, a noise-reduction control, xlr-line output with a levelcontroller and a before/after amplifier switch.

One of the features i like most is that there is midi in witch reads program change midi messages to select presets in the amp. For each preset the amplifier switch states is saved into the memory of the amp. Works like a charm with my Boss GT-8.

My only complaint about it is the weight (25Kg) and that there are no handles to carry it but one ontop witch is hard to use since it is so heavy. Haven't seen any tube amplifiers that were much lighter though.

I use a Gibson Gothic Les Paul with original pickups (which are pretty wild) through a Boss GT8 into the amp using a four-cable method to de-couple the preamp from the amplifier in the effect-chain of the GT8.

The amp handles anything from sparkling clean to really heavy distortion. I like them all but the clean sound is what I like most, at high gain settings there is quite some distortion making it overlap into the sound of the crunch variation a bit but there is plenty of room for diferent clean sounds using the gain control.

When using the lead channels with wery high gain or the extra dist switch turned on it can be pretty noisy, nothing you wouldnt expect. Using more moderate (and useful) gain settings it is pretty quiet. I tend to use the noise gate in my GT8 instead of the one in the amp since it is more flexible, nothing wrong with the built in noise gate though.

It is built like a tank and although I have not been on the road with it yet I am pretty confident about it.

Havent had any problems yet. Don't know for sure about the warranty, I guess I should check it out since I bought the amp new.

I have played guitar for about 14 years. Not that much experience with owning different amplifiers, have previously owned a laney tf700 + 4x12" and before that an old 100W LEM amplifier but I have played with a lot of people on different equipment and I do own a studio. I guess I have some idea of what a good guitar sound is.

I compared it to the combos from Mesa, which were too expensive (here in Sweden at least). Marshall, which I don't really liked the sound of. Lots of other cheaper combos which all lacked the midi-support I wanted.

If it was stolen or lost, I'm not sure I could afford another one, but if I could, I think I'd buy a new one.

4 channels:

Clean, Crunch, Soft Lead, Heavey lead.
4 6L6 tubes and 6 preamp tubes. 1 Celestion Vintage 30 speaker.
ENGL Z-10 Custom footswitch.
2x4, 2x8, 1x16 ohm speaker inputs.

I use my ESP The Mirage Custom w/EMG pickups thru this amp.
It's sounds killer! i mainly play heavyer music such as Death Metal, Progressive metal etc. This amp cover all areas!
The clean channel is the best i have heard. i have used meny boogies during the years, and they have a good word for there clean sound. I'm sorry to say that mesa boogie amps don't have a chance when it comes to clean sound compares to this ENGL Sovereign amp.

The crunch channel is allsow gr8, but one thing that bothers me is that if you have the BRIGHT button activated on the clean channel the crunch channel sounds to bright. 1- there.

Soft Lead. super gr8 for rock rythms and calmer solos. the amp changes charachter from the two first channels. The sound is more powerfull and has more middy sounds. clearly perfect!

Heavey lead is my main channel. well, to be honest... im not a shredder soo i prefer to play heavy rythms insted (witch i like by the way). But if there is needed a solo, i will play :). The sound is raw, but still smooth. hard to explain. The bass is tight and has crispy trible. I'm not a big fan of the precense controll. so its allmost always at 0. fat rythms is my game!

built like a tank. gr8 construction! it's heavy too. 34kg.

havent need to call them yet.

Gr8 amp for many sounds. covers it all. Ultra clean to monster gain.
buy the amp god damnit :)

New model, made around 2003/2004. It's an extremely versatile amp. I play hard rock and metal. I also delve into blues and jazz. This amp does it all. All tube.

4 channels, all footswitchable. Clean, crunch, soft lead and heavy lead. And there are dual master volumes, so you can set the second volume at a solo level. Also, the reverb is foot switchable. Effects loop, direct output. Tons of knobs. 6 button footswitch. Celestion Vintage 30 speaker.

Like I said, 4 channels, reverb and 2 master volumes, this amp can do just about anything.

The clean channel with a tad of reverb is very smooth sounding. Crunch is just that, a bit dirtier. Soft lead is even more gain, and is my main rhythm channel. Heavy lead is over the top (you can back it down), I only use that for some solo work.

I love the clean and soft lead channels. Honestly I'd be happy with just those 2. They sound better than the crunch and heavy lead channels (except for extreme solo gain, heavy lead is great!).

No problems...with any of my Engl's....

Ummm, I'm not sure they have any here in the States.

Great amp. Very expensive but extremely versatile. Try one before you buy, I can't tell you what sounds you'll love. Just the ones I love.

It was made in 2000.
I use it for heavy rock/metal and it does the job very well, it has 4 channels and two masters so you have your 4 sounds, times two! More amps should have this, its easy and simple in use.
The one thing I miss is an extra volume in the heavy lead. Every channel has it exept for the heavy gain so it is actually a 3-channel amp with two diffrent gain stages in the lead section.
Two reverbs are of course very welcome. and the footboard is very well designed and works well.

I use it with a Music Man Van Halen and Patrick Eggle Berlin all equipped with Dimarzio Humbuckers. Also use it with a custom Telecaster.
This little monster lets the sound of your guitar intact, it's a very honest amp.
It is a quiet amp too, compared to others, even with high gain settings.
The clean channel doesn't break up if you use single coils, but it takes a little while to find out how to do that with al those volume-knobs.
The distortion is not as brutal as the savage 120 head that I had before this, but still covers all aera's may exept for death-metal.
The best soundind channels are clean and soft lead.

I had 3 Engl amps, I used to have the mighty savage head, wich gave me no troubles at all in 5 years of gigging.
I bought my souverein combo in june 2000 and it had a strange ticking noise in it after a few weeks. The clean sound had a hissing disortion noise in the background and I had to send it back to the shop.
the second thing was that in a gig the footpedal lost control over the masters, so I could do anything exept change the masters. This sucked big time! for the rest no complaints

Here comes the good thing!
i brought my amp to the store to have it checked out, and of course they didn't hear the noise and it worked just fine.
They send a fax to Germany and instantly I could pick up an new combo, no questions asked. Got a sligtly newer model too.!! This is great, ENGL really works on getting footdown over here in Europe and in The Netherlands (were I live) You already can see more and more people use these fine machines.

I am playing for 17 years now and used a lot of stuff, from Peavey's to Marshalls to Rivera's and even the major sucking Johnson Millennium thing, but this amp has dynamics and tone. It cuts through the mix onstage,and it is quiet and it is a beauty to look at!!!

All tube 100 watt combo. 4 channels, or 2 channels with 2 sounds on each channel. Channel 1 - clean and crunch with shared eq but independent gain and volume controls. Channel 2 has "soft lead" and "heavy lead", with shared eq and separate gain controls.

All 4 channels can be accessed via Engl Z-10 custom footswitch. Footswitch uses a 25 pin computer type port, which means a replacement footswitch connector lead can be purchased from any computer/electrical store.

A great feature is that the amp has 2 master volume controls (Master A and Master B) so that each of the 4 channels can easily provide a rhythm sound and a boosted volume for solos. Also, separate reverb contols on Ch 1 & Ch 2 provide great flexibility.

FX loop includes a balance or mix control which goes from 0% to 100%.

Includes additional outputs for external speakers and a balanced line out for recording.

Speaker is 1x12 Celestion vintage 30. Amp includes 2 fans to cool the power amp tubes.

See the details on their website if you need more info.

I use it with a USA strat plus deluxe and play a variety of rock/blues in a 4 piece covers band aswell as some jazz (sometimes with strat and sometmes with Ibanez AF200)

Clean sound is very impressive. Use the bright switch and clean is very Fenderish. Nice tube sound that reacts to the dynamics of your playing. Turn bright off and a warm jazz sound is at your finger tips. The clean does break up around the edges at performance volumes, but I suspect this has something to do with the vintage 30 speaker.

Crunch is useable and works well for rhythm sounds and blues solo sounds.

Soft lead is voiced with emphasis on deep mids and works well for a classic rock sound

Heavy lead is voiced to emphasise bass and treble and provides a high gain sound which is more modern . The amount of gain is more than sufficient. Set the gain to 12 o'clock and there's plenty of sustain and full on distortion.

Amp is extremely quiet, with almost zero noise at high gain settings.
The fans make a little noise but you can disconnect them if you need to record in the studio.

I wouldn't say it has tone from heaven, but the sounds are a pleasant suprise each time you plug in. The sounds are certainly good enough to make you want to keep playing and playing. Also, I am still getting used to the amp and its different sounds, however the flexibility and ease of use make up for any shortfall in tone. I don't think any amp that tries to cover all bases with this much in-built flexibility will ever provide tone nirvana.
Lacks a little bass response, but I'm used to a Fender twin with 2x12 speakers as my reference point.
Bottom line is that it sounds great on stage and draws favourable comments from listeners.

Purchased 4 weeks ago, so a bit early to say. No problems yet and appears to be extremely well built. Therefore will not give a rating at this stage. will advise if this changes. I currently gig once or twice a week without a back up.

Not Applicable. No reason to contact manufacturer yet.

Been playing for 16 years.

This amp was purchased to replace my "red knobs" Fender Twin which served me well for 10 years plus. I was looking for something lighter and more portable, with a better ability to produce distortion sounds.

The Engl is great value for money. Love the flexibility, 2 master volumes work well to provide a real volume boost for solos. Flexibility allows a range of musical styles to be covered in one portable package with a sturdy user orientateed footswitch. The footswitch doesn't come with the amp but I have included it in the price paid above.

A well constructed amp that appears to be built to last. Compact package that is easy to lug and it has more than enough power for club gigs. you can always mike it if you need more sound out front.

Compared it to the Boogie Nomad 55 combo, which looked like a great amp with similar if not more flexibility on paper. Unfortunately the clean sound on the Boogie was not as good as the Engl in my opinion. A great clean sound is always a high priority for me and with the Nomad the clean sound was enough to disqualify it from the running.

Very well constructed and looks good into the bargain.

Good value for money (especially as the USvAUD exchange rate makes any all tube amp from the USA a major financial expenditure)