Zwengel Banshee 50 Head

looks like mine is serial #18 -- just got it today. 2 channels, nice control layout. FX loop with controls...extremely well built. very straightforward design. would have liked reverb in an amp of this caliber, (for clean channel) but you don't miss it. The simplicity earns points in my book. Set your tone controls, then control gain and volume for each channel...footswitchable. 6L6s, 12ax7s

First off...this amp says "50 watts" but I call bullshit. I have all high end gear and this is the loudest 50 watt on the planet. Makes some of the amps around my house very jealous. HUGE NUTS!

Clean channel stays pretty clean all the way up to it's highest gain settings. plenty of great headroom. Breaks-up nicely with good humbuckers. Think Super Reverb all the way to Dimed Vox.

Dirty channel is simply sick. with gain at 2, it made my plexi sound weak...passed my jubilee...in tone, and made me sell my Mesa Rectifier. This amp could change my life.

I don't know all the BS about the maker of these amps. Lots of people said some things about him on the HC forums, and I was told to run from this amp trade, but the results are here. All BS aside---this amp smokes everything in my tone arsenal. I played my last gig with it and it was unbelieveable. The amp is that good. Seriously.

It made my les paul dripy and smooth. Strat????incredible. Firebird????wow! PRS --- made my bowels shake and the dog howl.
If you want a kick ass amp. Find one of these. I put my gig Marshall Jubilee 100w on the SHELF for this! Plug & play gigging musician's dream. Huge tones, BOTH channels extremely usable. You don't have to believe me....but when you try one -- I TOLD YOU SO.

looks like it's built like a brick shithouse. Bigger than my Marshall heads! It's a big amp.

he has his number listed on the website. some say he's a super awesome guy. Some say otherwise. I'd call if I had a problem. From what I hear he wants everyone to be happy with his amps.

great amp. loud as hell, durable, tone for days. No BS rock amp.

Made in 2004, I just purchased a Banshee 2 head by Carl Zwengel. The vintage channel is shimmering and smooth although if you crank it up the bottom will shake the foundation. Very versatile amp. Has to be a top contender for the loudest amp on earth. I have owned different top shelf amps over the years and recently owned a vintage HiWatt. Nothing was louder than the Hiwatt until I plugged in to the Zwengel. Tons of gain, responsive EQ. an all around great amp. Once Carl gets these in to stores the big boys are gonna' find these amps breathing down there necks. He spares no expense in components. Solid craftsmanship. Has all the features I need for power blues, rock and anything else I care to try. The tone is amazing. I didn't think anything could beat the last rig I giged with but the Banshee 2 is a monster. It's number 4 since he re-designed the Banshee.

The vintage 30's in the Zwengel cab is a good fit. I use a '97 quilt Wolfgang and the tone is everything I could have wanted. It's more quiet than the last high end amp I owned so thats a big plus. I do not want to have to use a pedal or gimmick to get the tone I want. Why spend the big bucks only to need a 40.00 pedal to tweak it!? Not necessary for this rig.

I have owned my Banshee 2 only a short time so I can't answer any questions on longevity although all the bases appear covered in workmanship. So far, highly dependable-no reason to think it would not continue. A 10 year warranty pretty much says it all.

Carl loaded the Banshee 2 with 5881 at my request. He is eager to give customers what they want. It was my call and I was made aware of the options and made my pick accordingly.

The price paid includes Banshee 2 50 watt head, Zwengel 4x12 slant cabinet w/Celestion vintage 30's all done in really sharp maroon tolex. After playing 20 plus years I always had the amp I needed according to the tone I sought. I've compared it to other amps I've owned, Marshall, Peavey, Vox, Hiwatt, Fender, Soldano, and VHT. The Banshee 2 fits the bill for any rock/heavy style I want along with country if I decided to go there. This amp has big balls for those who want something that will stand up or even pass the big boys of the high end amp jungle. If this rig were lost(?) or stolen I would have to have another just like it.

already covered. I wish it had reverb but its not the end of the world.

Great clean and crunch sounds! I can use both channels to get great sounds. I sold my mesa's and marshall's after using this amp for one month!

Built fantastic point to point. My tech was very impressed with the sound and construction of this unit. He is also a great player.

The best, you can speak directly to the man!

I have owned about every major amp out there and I like this one the best! Great rock and blues amp. I have been playing for twenty years. This amp is quality inside and out.

Zwengel Banshee 50 head, I'm going to guess it was made either early 2003 or late '02. Mine is # 19. Very nice brown/reddish covering, very "handsome". I've had it maybe 5 months now, played enough shows with it I feel I can be helpful, etc. Prior reviews have been good, so read on and you should know the features I might forget. 2 Channels. Shared EQ was a daunting idea for me at first, but I rarely fiddle with it now, and as Mr. Zwengel considers that a selling point, it shouldn't count against him in the rating. 2 guitar inputs. No reverb, which I want to have (mostly as a crutch). I think I'm glad it doesn't have it, actually. FX loop with input AND mix controls, which I don't even use. Having used it for awhile now, I don't feel its missing anything, probably similar to buying one of those Dr. Z amps, where after you let go, you see there are good things about not having a millions knobs. So this factors into the rating for me...

Here's how I've got mine set up - Classic channel is my main channel, Gain almost all the way up, Mid switch on. Bass - 5 or 6, Mids - maybe 5, Treble - 2 or 3. The bass on this amp is percussive, its not low and rumbling. After 5, there is no real increase; its just a very tight attack. This amp is ALL ABOUT the mids. It could cut its way out of prison. I'm in a cover band, we try to be extremely varied, so if I were a "purist" (which I'm not) I'd need literally hundreds of sounds. Instead, I go Guitar (usually late 70's Aria hollowbody or a 2002 Carvin SC90)-->EB volume pedal-->Ibanez AD-9 Delay-->Boss Dimension C Chorus-->Crispy Creme Treble Booster--> Zwengel Banshee 50. Since little volume adjustments clean this amp up nicely, I pull the volume back for clean stuff (I'm no longer a fan of pristine cleans, I want a little dirt there, thus I just leave the gain at 10. Put it at a more reasonable level, you'll get that spanky thing going, easy). I'm not even using the Modern channel these days; for solos, that Crispy Creme Treble Booster is *really* making me happy right now. Guitar volume up with the gain at 10, this is a TOTAL rock and roll sound. Very "throaty", maybe even a little raspy. For Drop D stuff, I wouldn't think it, but this amp KICKS ASS. Everytime we get ready to do one of these songs, I am amazed by how much I like it. For me, I'd almost give the sounds a 10, cause I'm completely happy. For someone that hasn't played one, though, it may seem a little limited, and I want to be honest. Again, many knobs fool you. Get something simple like this, learn to play with your guitar's volume and tone knobs, good pickups, and this is all you should ever need.

HA! Amp dies after the first song in our first gig. Damaged power tube, turns out, no big deal. Moral, I DON'T CARE!!! what you're told, always have a backup or everything - TUBES AND AMPS AND STRINGS AND CORDS. Everything has been fine since, and as I've said above, I've been using it for some time now, almost twice a weekend, EVERY weekend for the last four months. Its gonna be fine.

As above, I didn't realyze it was a tube dying, I thought I'd just bought a nice big paperweight. After some phone tag, Carl Zwengel and I had about a TWO HOUR conversation about his amps, his thoughts on the amp world, and the fact that he doesn't push his products NEARLY enough. As well, he pops up on the Harmony Central forums often, just sharing his advice for anyone interested. I got the feeling he's very serious about amp design in general, very eager to talk about it. I imagine if you called him up about your Fender Champ, or whatever, he'd help out...

I love the amp. Been playing maybe 9 years now, only been doing shows for the last year. Gotten rid of lots of amps, mostly its cause I didn't know what I wanted; I was learning. I'm really feeling like I'll have this one awhile. I don't look at ads and ebay for amps anymore, and I don't find myself defending the amp, like in the past, as if I were trying to convince myself. I'm very content with this one. I'm all about getting another one if it were stolen - In fact, Carl's talking about making a 15 watter or something, I may look into it. Anyway, GREAT rock sound, great flexibility if you get over yourself and realize all the other "stuff" people put on amps isn't so important.

This is an addendum to the review I submitted before (enfield-02/07/03). I mentioned that I would probably come back after I spent some more time with the amp. I am still not completely sold on the shared EQ, But Carl is working with me to tailor the modern channel to closely match the EQ structure of the vintage channel.
AND!!!! Let it be said here that Carl Zwengel stated that My tone concerns are about the opposite of the concerns that every one else has. Seems I want a little less low on the modern channel-or a little more low on the vintage channel. Every one else who has contacted him about tailoring sounds has wanted less highs on the modern channel. I guess I am a freak LOL

Here is one of the reasons for my addendum. I have decided that I love this amp. I have played it 4 or 5 more times. God it sounds good!! I have begun trying to find things wrong with it and (outside of my EQ tailoring concerns mentioned before and being Addressed by Carl Himself) I can find no fault! This amp is definately growing on my.
I bought a Top HAt the other day. Possibly one of the highest quality amps out there. Now These are 2 different types of amps, granted. So I took them both to the gig and I have to say that I prefered the Zwengel. Versatility is definately a factor but also Headroom, clean tones and weight were too.
As with most lead guitarists, I am Fickle but I probably won't ever get rid of this amp.

I am sure I could break it if I tried but it would take some doin'.

Carl has been very helpful. He is working with me to get my sound perfect. I just wish he offered a 2x12 cab. carl says that I am the first who has wanted one and that he sell alot of 4x12's.
Also I mistakenly reported the warranty as being 5 years. No NO NO!! It is 10 years and although I bought this on used, I am still covered.

this amp is Only $1695.00 New list. Now for a hand wired 2 channel amp with this kind of build quality, that is a great value.
I would definately replace it with another if it were stolen or if some drunk spilled a beer in it.

The head is a hand made and hand wired 50 watt all tube, two input affair covered in a beautiful brownish/purple tolex. The two channels are called Vintage and Modern. Each has a gain and volume. There is a switch on front to swittch between channels and there is also a footswitch , whose jack is in the back. There are also two voicing switches on the front panel; one is a mid boost and one is a bright boost. There is a common EQ for both channels (bass, mids, highs, presence---more about this later). Standy and off/on complete the front panel, which is black (ala old fender). The back panel features speaker outs for 4, 8 and 16 ohm. There is a very usefel FX loop with send and return volume. Very handy, that!! There is a damping control that seem to seems to operate as well as any damping on other high end amps I have had (wich means I can't really hear alot of control here.). Lastly you have a 3 way ground switch, dual fuses, and a removable 3 prong plug (Thank you GOD).
The amp seems EXTREMELY well made. Build quality is among the best I have ever seen. Tolex is perfectly glued and fitted. Inside construction is clean and simple and built to last. I am pretty finicky and this amp impressed me. And although the cab is very solid, it is lighter than I expected.
BTW the tube complimet is 2 6L6, And 4 12ax7. I assume it has a SS rectifier.
Now about that common EQ. I am always dubious of shared EQ. I think that different gain structures affect tone and you should be able to adjust the channels seperately. That being said, this set works remarkably well. And the bright and mid boost seem to make up for any defficiancies in eq-ing versatility. Bravo!
But there is no reverb on the head model, which is not the end of the world, but it would be handy!

OK. I have been looking for years for an amp that has a VERY GOOD Clean and at least a pretty darn good distortion. I have tried Vintage Fenders (using pedals), Marshalls, Ampeg, Trace Elliot, Mesa, et all. The Mesa and Marshall sounded great on the dirty channel, but were just downright crappy on clean. Conversely, the Fenders have a great clean but none of my vintage Fenders react vey well with high gain pedals. The Ampeg and Trace amps were pretty versatile (being 3 channel amps) but they did 3 things pretty well; without doing any one exceptionally well. And They were HEAVEY!!! Over 100 LBS.
This Zwengel's cleans (Vintage channel) are among the best I have ever heard. Well defined and complex. With my Tele (TX specials p/u) I can get the REAL FENDER sound. With the gain set low, and pushing the power tubes, The amp stays acceptablly clean into the loud volume range. And when it does break up, it is very pleasant. As I increase the gain, I get a very nice black face Austin style growl (can you say Kendrick?) that is still articulate and easily controled by picking dynamics. Yes this channel is quite good!!. And It sounds great with my '71 Les Paul deluxe with mini H/buckers, giving me just enough of that faux gretch sparkle.
The Modern channel is a high gain channel which is remarkably quiet (though not silent-hey it's high gain). It has a tonal quality I have never heard from an amp. If I had to categorize it, I would say Soldano SLO meets Fender blackface twin on 10. But that is not exactly it. To begin with, there is more gain that I could ever use. I set it at 12:00 and let her rip. The articulation is great (though not as good as the vintage channel, but better that anything I have ever used.), and responsive to pick dynamics and guitar volume. With my 4x10 cab (clestion 50 watters/ 4 ohms) I get alot of lows. Maybe too much. I am not used to the British 4x12 heavey bottom sound on stage. It seems to be over powering. However, My friends in the audience were blown away with the tone. The more I play this channel, the more I like it. But keep in mind, I am not an ultra high gain guy. The new band I am in plays such a variety (Disco, 80's funk, new pop, alternative rock, oldies, and Hair band stuff.), that very few amps can keep up. The Modern distortion here is remarkably versatile. The rest of the band IMMEDIATELY said "That thing blows your other rig away". Said rig is a '68 Fender super improved by Kendrick, wired to a Morely Wah, TC chorus, Ratt, Tube screamer. Truthfully, I was a little luke warm about it, but after the raves I got, I decided to give it a chance. I think I understand it better now. Carl Zwengel is trying not to go the same route of Marshall-Mesa. This is a distinct and different gain structure that is becoming a signature sound for me. I am giving the sound a 9 because I am a stickler, but I will probly come back and ammend that as I like it more evey time we perform.

Well, I have only had it for a month, but it is well built and being hand wired, I would think it would be easily repaired, should somrthing go wrong. I don't use a spare amp.

Warranty is 5 years I believe. Carl Zwengel is very helpful but I was trying to contact him while he was getting ready for the NAMM show, He had precious little time to talk. I think these guys are really into tone and talking about tone. They are in MN
The head lists for $1695.00. So it is really well priced for such qulaity. I spent 1100 used mint condition.

I have been playing since '78. Professionalyy since '83 and I have been resonably good at it since '90. I would probably have to replace it if it were stolen. The clean is to die for and I am bcoming more and more enamoured of the dirty. It is light but well made and very pretty. But< myself, I would opt for no gain on the clean chanel. I don't know but maybe I am old fashioned.
I compared this amp to all of the others I had.
And Although I don't really miss it, I would like a reverb. Just seems like there should be one.
I bought it used and sight inseen, unheard based upon the reviews I had seen and the website. this is alot of handmade American amp for the money. And No one in my market is playing one! I mean, you can't go see a band around here with out tripping over marshalls, and mesas. And if you go see acountry band, It's all Fender and Peavey. Occasionally you see Rivera and vox or even Matchless. But I am the only player in Okla who is playing a Zwengel. I love it when people come up after the show and say "What is that amp? It sounds Great!.".

2002, two channel head. Modern/vintage gain voicing selection switch, Mid, Bright switch, Parallel/Serial effects loop. It has a footswitch for channel switching between clean and disortion channels. I use this in a cover Rock band. It is as loud as some 100 watt amps. This is an all tube head design. Two power tubes/ 4 preamp tubes. Tube buffered effects loop. A very simple design with modern features. Less to go wrong. Handbuilt from chassis to PTP board construction and custom designed transformers. The wiring and layout is a work of art. Alot of tedious thought has gone into the design and function of this amp. For me the features are great. Maybe a line/slave out would be nice no biggie.

Let me preface this section with what I have been playing prior to buying the Zwengel. I own a Mesa Dual recto, Marshall 2203 MV, and a THD univalve. These pretty much cover all types of gain characteristics in popular amps today. I have owned the Marshall for 17 years. I have had the Univalve for 1 year. I loved the Dual recto for the channel three brutal crunch but I could never get a good sustaining solo sound that was dynamic and worked with your string attack and vibrato. It always sounded buzzy to my ears even with the gain turned down. I love how an amp sounds and interacts when driven into the realm of Power Tube distortion. After buying a Hotplate and doing just that my Marshall Ouput Trans finally blew up. That is what happens when you dime them to get your tone. The univalve is all out power tube distortion as well. Can you tell what type of distortion dynamics I like yet. The Dual recto was cool for Godsmack and Creed stuff but I desperately missed the Clipping tone of ouput tubes. But how to get that sound reliably? Well along comes Carl Zwengel who grew up in the 80's like me and had ideas of what he would have liked to see an amplifier to produce, Thick, Girthy Ouput type disortion using a Master volume design. Not possible you say. Play one of his amps! He has a different approach to his ideal sound and has implemented them. He eats and breathes amp. The Banshee amp can do any classic rock and put a clean boosted SD-1 or tube screamer in front of it it can do Metal like Megadeth. The amp is mid voiced, the bottom end is extremely tight and responds to your every nuance of your touch. Every note you play will be heard no matter how fast you pick it! I could not believe how the amp tracked my scales. This amp is something speed players have been looking for. Play heavy it really breaks up, back off the volume some it cleans up like a Plexi marshall. Hold a note and it erupts in to a beautiful crescendo of controlled harmonic feedback. Granted it does not push extreme amount of lower frequency tones like the Mesa, but many lead players seem to struggle like I did getting what they wanted out of the Dual recto for lead playing. The circuit is very noise free no more than my Dual Recto. SRV tones in vintage mode No Problem! Beaufitful full clean tones emanate from this amp! I am still dialing it in but it can only get better from here. TRY THIS AMP!

This amp is completley Handbuilt by Carl himself from start to finish. My confidence in My Dual Recto relaibility after a couple of incidents plus all those switche Relays and I have never like the Idea of mouting tubes sockets to a printed circuit board. This amp is Built like amps of old with modern features. Carl uses High quality, part and tubes from Ruby and his whole design screams reliabilty! I have heard of Mesa Triple rectifiers blowing holes in the PCB boards! That scares me. I bought this amp because of it simplistic design that should stand the test of time like the older classics.

Carl, will work with you personally to voice the amp to your liking if you desire. He gives every amp an unconditional 10 year Warranty. That is almost unheard of this day and age. He stands behind his design whole heartedly.

I have been playing for 17 years. I am very confident that I have made a purchase of a lifetime. This amp was compared to the gold standards of a guitar amps. How well did it do? My Dual Recto has been sold and the Banshee is now my Main gigging amp. I know all the sounds I want are in this amp! Carl's company is just getting started in the large world of custom amps. I think he has a very unique product design in our cookie cutter world! Give him a call and test drive one yourself! You classic rock /blues guys like myself need to try this amp. For the nu-metal crunchy rythym crowd the Dual Recto is the cats meow! For interactive/responsive lead playing the Banshee is the LION KING. BTW $1,500 bucks for a Point to Point Handwired amp is unreal! Worth every penny!