Engl Straight 50

Actaully not sure whether i have the 100 or 50 watt model but it is definitely the 112 combo. has a celstion g12 speaker. THe amp has tons of features and two channels. To put it simply each individual EQ on both channels has a boost setting which gives the amp its precise tone articulation. The presence and master EQ's provide further shaping to get your desired tone. Very straight forward

I would describe the tone of this amp to be somewhere between the grindy punchy tone of a Mesa Mark while having the fluid sustained powerfull tone of a Peavey 5150 or a boosted Marshall JCM. I play mainly play metal from thrashy 80's stuff like metallica, to hair bands like Van halen / ratt, and to all the new stuff out today such as Killswitch engage, as i lay dying. This amp nails the 80-90's metal tone but as another reviewer here pointed out, it may not be quite over the top enough to nail the new Metal core sound at low volumes but, cranked it can definitely come pretty damn close and if boosted with a tube screamer, it can be spot on. What I love about this amp is the precise articulation of every note.. no matter how much I distort it, the tone doesnt get muddy. Every EQ function on this amp is very responsive. The presence Knob makes all the difference from getting the smooth santana sound on the low setting to the Meaty chainsaw grind of metallica or lamb of God when setting it to about 8. I'll give the amp a 9 rating since the notes resonate with presicion and its close enough to the nasty mean metal sound I want although I would have given it a 10 if it had a tad more nastyness but, as i mentioned, it can get that mean nastyness when boosted with a tube screamer or cranked

Seems well built. Construction appers sturdy no problem so far

Never used them

Been playing for 10 years. I own a peavey valveking which sounds great for the meaty metal tone but, lacks the precision this amp gives off. Also owned a mesa recififer which sounds to fizzy and cold at practice volumes but, when cranked it sounds great. Also owned the DC-5 which I find similar to the Engle straight as far as giving off sharp high distortion but, this engl has a broader and more punchy tone and that makes it superior of the DC-5. Owned the 5150 which i loved for its agressive distortion but, the overall tone was fat and I could never get it to give me that punchyness. The Engl seems to incorporate the aggression and precision the amps I mentioned lacked. If it were lost or stolen i'd try to get another engl for the right price. Probably the screamer model since that is said to be a real flame thrower. I still love this amp for its versatility and although I dont get that over the top nastyness I want right away, I can mold this amp to give me that.. This one is a keeper and should be a life time amp for any one that owns it.

2 and a half channels (clean, distorted, distorted with lead boost),
spring reverb,
12 inch celestion speaker,
serial effect way,
reverb, channel, lead boost foot switch,
separate tone controls for clean and lead,
11 knobs on front (gain, volume, eq), each knob has a extra switch,
2 EL34 power tubes, all tube,
knob for reverb trength on back,
1 jack for 8 ohm speaker, 2 for 4 ohm.
Bought it second hand, think it is from the early 90s.

The amp and the switches and controls make this amp very versatile.

I use mainly humbucker guitars (one with alder bdy, one with mahagony).
I play different kinds of music, from jazzy blues via raunchy blues rock to power metal.

The Engl Straight gives great sounds for any kind of music a played so far.
The clean channel is really clean, no distortion, even if clean gain is on 10. If you switch gain boost (the switch over the clean gain control) you can get slight distortion if you stroke a humbucker guitar really hard. The clean channels sounds really good and has immense dynamics. You can play soft and smooth to hard and really loud, and all without changing settings of the knobs, just by changing the style you play. The treble shift makes even muddy guitars sound clear, the other switches have not that much effect.
Only with piezo pickups of acoustic western guitars this channel does not sound great (but dedent).
Although the clean channel is very good, dynamic, clear and good, the best part is the distortion channel.
Without lead boost you get a slight crunch (gain on 3, a good distorted rgythm sound (gain at 5 or 6) to good lead sounds (gain on 10). The mid shift switch (over mid knob) majes the sound fatter, slightly louder and adds a little extra gain.
Gain on 10 and mid shift on makes a really really good lead sound.
Treble shift (placed over treble knob) makes even muddy guitars/pickups sound bright. A very good switch is the switch above the distorted channel volume: it turns off all tone controls and treble switch and gives you a fat, bluesy, vintage middy sound. Ideal for blues and bluesrock (i call this switch the "blues switch"). Middy does not mean muddy. The Engl straigh never sounds muddy, it sounds in each setting articutated and dynamic.
Though you get very good lead distortion without lead boost, the lead boost switch (can be put on/off via foot switch) adds a "lead bomb". Volume rises slightly, sound gets slightly more middy, you get a really good compressed lead sound that is really phantastic!!!
A very good setting imho is mid shift on, distorted gain on 5/6 for rhythm and then the lead boost to activate singing, screaming and mind-blowing lead sounds!
All in all the Engl is a phantastic sounding tube amp that is more versatile than it looks at first sight.
The only two things i do not like are the accoustronic spring reverb (it steals a little of the fine trebles of the Engl) and the serial effct loop (parallel would be better imho).

This amp is worthy for almost all kinds of music. Nomatter whether you mainly use clean sounds, crunchy sounds or high gain lead tones.
The Engl has it all, and all sounds i tried so far are great.
The Engl has its own character. If you play garbage, it sounds garbage. No matter if ultra clean or ultra distorted. If you play good, it sounds great. Before the Engl i had a 2 channel all tube Marshall combo. When i switched to the Engl i became aware how sloppy i played. The Marshall has hidden that, not so the Engl.
Another characteristic of the Engl are damn good sounding trebles.
They sound clear and present, without sounding harsh or cold.

I have it for 8 years or so and it still works fine.
Never had any problems.

I don't know, so no rating.
I never needed support ;-).

Very good sounding amp and very versatile.
Buy, borrow or steal, i'd say. The amp isn't made anymore, so if you come across a second hand Engl Straight, DO test it! I am sure you'll buy it after testing it.

Build somewhen in the '90s. Tubes all the way. Very versatile, suits my style exactly (rock). Has 50 watts from two EL34STR, 2 1/2 channels, I wish it had a separate master vol for the lead boost. Channel switching, reverb on/off (don't use it), serial fx loop. I transplanted it into a homebrew head cabinet, easy, looks cool! I use it for band rehearsal, it is certainly loud enough for that. I use it with my homebrew 2x12 (matches the head cabinett ;), 2 el cheapo Celestions, very good sound overall.

My main guitar is a gibson SG Special Worn Brown - nice axe! I have an fx board with a Boss TU2 tuner and MXR Phase 90 (jep, R28-mod) in front of the amp, and a Boss DD6 digital delay and Boss GE7 eq in the fx loop. I switch channels with a Nobels double footswitch - very nice thingy. I use the eq mainly as a booster/mid range enhancer for solos, either clean or distorted. With lead boost it gets noisy, but that is to be expected. The clean sound is very warm, gets crunchy fast, you have to be carefull how hard you pick. With the phaser it gets spacey, add delay - woah. Crunch is BIG, lead is even BIGGER! Crunch + phaser is the best! Distortion is just right - for me.

The amp is over 10 years old (bought it used), has seen a few sets of tubes, that's all - no issues whatsoever. I'd certainly use it without backup.

I once tried to get a schematic for this amp from Engl - no answer. I asked for bias directions - no answer. So - good amp, crappy attitude.

I've been playing on and off for over 20 years. I have owned a VOX AC30, a real tube-eater! Guitars I use besides the Gibson are a Jackson Dinky, BC Rich Mockingbird (1976!). If this amp was stolen, I'd try to get another one, or an Engl Savage 60. BTW I'm thinking about getting an Engl 2x12 cabinet, that would be so cool.

The main advantage of this amp is the absolutely versatility- especially if you combine it with additional effects. I tested and played a lot of different effects but none of them really sound as bad, even low cost effects sound really good. I'm playing Pop& Rock with my Band

The built in distortion is pretty versatile from crunchy to metal. You really can achieve a haevy Marshall-like sound or a smooth Fender-likeblues sound - even you don't want to play a full volume! The clean sound is as good as you expect it from a fully tube amp!

Till now it ever has worked fine...

I'm still searching for it ...

I've played a Fender for a long time and also tested a lot of Marshalls. But they are really unflexible compared to my Engl!