Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: maliciousteve on June 02, 2006, 06:18:35 PM
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So i went to a shop called Machinehead today to take my Ibanez RG in to get the pickup selector replaced. Whilst i was there i thought i'd try out the Thunder 50 head and Screamer combo.
My impression on the Thunder 50 isn't a good one. I thought it sounded really buzzy with not alot of balls to it. Might of been due to the Laney cab i was putting it through. But from what i heard i didn't like.
I then tried out the Screamer Combo. A much better sounding amp. Less buzzy sound and really nice clean tone. But within 2 minutes of me playing with the high gain channel, it buggered up. Changed the tubes etc and still all i got was this humming sound and no sound from the guitar at all.
So, for some of the guys on here that were thinking of getting an ENGL (davey) the ENGL screamer has a much clearer tone to my ears (if you can get it to work) and the thunder 50 head could possibly be better if put through the right cab.
I still prefer my ADA MP-1 over those amps though :D
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I have the screamer...Bought it offa Tim actually :P
It's a great little amp, and as you say it has a great clean channel...The high gain channels are great also :) the crunch channel i must say is great, but only if you turn the channel volume up past 5 otherwise it's actually still fairly clean lol
Basically, buy one - never had a problem with mine, ask Tim if he had any problems if anyone's interested
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Hey, was the Machinehead shop in Hitchin? because thats the one in my town!
I hate them though they are tw@ts in there lol
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Hey, was the Machinehead shop in Hitchin? because thats the one in my town!
I hate them though they are tw@ts in there lol
Yeah that's the one. I used to think they were arseholes too. But now every time i go in there they're pretty nice to me. Jeff the owner always shows me new gear he's got in stock and is more than happy to let me try anything out. The other guys are cool too, i surpose you just have to let them know that you know what you're talking about and you're not some one who's going to waste their time.
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They hate people touching the expensive gear.
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scarce reviews and the inability to actualy play a thinder made me go the Laney GH50L route =)
those amps sound great through any cab!
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Thanx for the quick critique!
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Thought id add to this...
In the past couple of weeks i've tried:
Thunder head through ENGL 2x12
Thunder combo
Screamer Combo
Fireball head
The Thunder is a little buzzy sounding on its own.. its strange... both the ones i tried were the same...it reminds me of a JCM800? Kinda low gain but boosted and cranked it sounds awesome!
The Fireball (my own) is great for metal.. really really good
The Screamer has a VERY good all round metal sound, not quite on the Fireballs level gain wise (but what is?).. and it has a decent clean channel and a good crunch one.
I'm selling my Fireball to downsize and go self contained with a Screamer combo! Picked the combo up the other day and it sounds great, managed to get an awesome thrash tone out of it ;)
IF ENGl made a Fireball combo... itd be the best thing since pointy guitars for all round metalness 8)
Hopefully my Fireballs going to a good home, its gonna be partnered up with a Peavy 5150 for live gigs (the guy buying it is selling his Thunder Head\Combo as its not got enough gain to keep up..) hehe
I think ENGLs are some of the best amps on the market £££ for Tone wise, id take one over anything else ive ever played through :)
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good reviews, guys.
I agree with chris, I think engl are great bang for the buck, considering that, dependent on model, you can play almost anything! EDIT: there are no real weak tones, they're normally good at worst (from all the ones I've tried- I haven't tried the thunder or the fireball).
now, obviously if you only want one tone, you can probably get an amp that'll do it better- but if like me you play a little of everything, they're a godsend.
Now I'm off to buy some amps that do one tone really well... damn GAS!
:lol:
:drink:
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Stoppit already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
I have Engl Blackmore GAS soooooooooooooooooooooo bad :(
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^ :lol:
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^Dave: can you please translate what was meant in the post above you, i get confused :(
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Try this for an ENGL review as well.
http://www.guitar-forum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3069
This dude (Ingmar) knows his gear pretty well.
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I've had a screamer head for about 3 years now. The last 1-2 years I hardly touched it as I was into modelers and my low-powered THD amp.
But recently I started playing in a band, and after some approach to go with the THD and programs in the Tonelab, I decided I needed some more pure sound approach with more channels and tried the Engl again.
As mentioned before, I can get 4 distinctive, usable sounds from it, from their character I would describe them as 1: Twin; 2: Bassman/Plexi; 3: JCM800; 4: Recto (not saying that all 4 would be as good as the real amps).
Common EQ is limiting, but no disaster to live with - I have to say, a second EQ would be nice though. I agree that with all its features and rear connections/possibilities, it's a fantastic bargain. With the Z5 footswitch (you HAVE to have it) it's around 1200 EUR new, which is 300 EUR per channel :)
The only thing I'm still feeling is a lack of character in the tone. I mean it's rounded, got ooomph, cuts through, string separation, pinch harmonics, sustain, etc - all very very good. BUT if I plug into the THD or even the small Epi Junior, they feel more like instruments to me, whereas the screamer is ... well.. an amplifier. This is probably very subjective and might just be related to those amps having a fuller, warmer tone. But to me, although I love to play the Engl for all its qualities, I don't feel 100% at home with it.
So at least I have a reason to still look around and GAS for a Soldano, Bogner, Matamp or Cornell :)
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^Dave: can you please translate what was meant in the post above you, i get confused :(
i think nick/dakine wants a blackmore. :lol:
Hunter: yeah, when I tried the screamer, I thought it was excellent value. But agreed, it lacked a little something. The dearer engls (isn't that always the way?) are better, lol.
but for the price, the screamer is excellent, and I have no problem recommending it to people who play lots of different styles of music.
:drink:
Try this for an ENGL review as well.
http://www.guitar-forum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3069
This dude (Ingmar) knows his gear pretty well.
gah, had to register to read that. Now I'll have even less spare time!
:lol:
:drink:
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Try this for an ENGL review as well.
http://www.guitar-forum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3069
This dude (Ingmar) knows his gear pretty well.
gah, had to register to read that. Now I'll have even less spare time!
:lol:
:drink:
We have actually been wanting to change that, but for somereason we have yet to do so. I just help run it, but I would like the "Guest" option like some boards. Hope you enjoy the board if you do start to stop by.
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< dos'nt simply 'want' an Engl Blackmore, he 'needs one' :)
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We have actually been wanting to change that, but for somereason we have yet to do so. I just help run it, but I would like the "Guest" option like some boards. Hope you enjoy the board if you do start to stop by.
yeah, I'm sure I'll be around, lol. It seems like a nice place.
:drink:
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just another bit to add to this...
Went to take my Fireball to my mates band practice (hes buying it).
He was running a 5150 2 head through a 4x12...then when i arrived he used the ENGL...
fook me it sounded AWESOME... all the controls in the middle, mids slightly boosted... pure metal riffage!!
They play tech death\hardcore type stuff, ENGL cut through fine and sounded great. Just guitar > ENGL, no delay\reverb etc... the bottom end crunch was insane, and it cut like a knife through the noise of the drummers blast beats and the bassist.
All the band members remarked at how much better it sounded than the 5150, and how easy it was to just dial it and get 'the sound' straight off.
He used to use a Thunder, and his other guitarist uses a Mark 1 5150, they are tone heads ;)
So.. shame to see it go, but my Screamer makes up for it, and at last my Fireball gets to be REALLY cranked and make some ears bleed 8)
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/Moonlitfire/englmarshall.jpg)
:D
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/Moonlitfire/englmarshall.jpg)
:D
What a nice marriage. I bet that has sweet tone.
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sweet setup.
if you count the notches ENGLs dials all go to ELEVEN aswell (well the Fireball did :lol: )
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Haha they do! Thats awesome! :D :D
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sweet setup.
if you count the notches ENGLs dials all go to ELEVEN aswell (well the Fireball did :lol: )
i think mine only goes to 10...
either that or I can't count....
:lol:
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lies! yours is not a TRUE METAL ENGL if this is true :P
If you count the dash for 0 then it goes to 11... unless i cant count either ;)
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Yeah, but the first dash IS zero...therefore you can't count it as 1, can you...'cause it's not, it's zero - and that means it only goes to 10 :P
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Yeah, but the first dash IS zero...therefore you can't count it as 1, can you...'cause it's not, it's zero - and that means it only goes to 10 :P
agreed.
:drink:
:lol:
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but.. this Zero is louder than other zeros, because most amps would be on 1 in the same position... so 1 on this amp is like 2 on another amp, so when your friends amp is on 10, and you are on 10, you still have one more dash... which is 1 louder! :?:
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but.. this Zero is louder than other zeros, because most amps would be on 1 in the same position... so 1 on this amp is like 2 on another amp, so when your friends amp is on 10, and you are on 10, you still have one more dash... which is 1 louder! :?:
:lol:
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so when your friends amp is on 10, and you are on 10, you still have one more dash... which is 1 louder!
But why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?...
PDT_012
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This one go's to eleven?
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/chrisola/tap2.jpg)
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/chrisola/tap1.jpg)
:lol:
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Powerballs, Blackmores and Fireballs are great! They're worth the extra money over today's Marshalls or Mesas as well IMO.
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so when your friends amp is on 10, and you are on 10, you still have one more dash... which is 1 louder!
But why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?...
PDT_012
this is going all over again...
some people jsut never learn.
it
is
still
10!!!!!
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Hey, I'm pretty new here.
Just wondering if anyone's tried the Engl 530 preamp. I'm planning on getting hold of one soon, just wanted to know what other people thought of it.
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^ Pretty new here...it's your first post, that makes you completely new here :P
Welcome :)
Haven't played the 530 myself, but it's made by ENGL so it'll be worth the money lol
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Hey, I'm pretty new here.
Just wondering if anyone's tried the Engl 530 preamp. I'm planning on getting hold of one soon, just wanted to know what other people thought of it.
i haven't played one, but i'm interested what poweramp yu'll play it thru..? :D
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Hey, I'm pretty new here.
Just wondering if anyone's tried the Engl 530 preamp. I'm planning on getting hold of one soon, just wanted to know what other people thought of it.
i think TwilightOdyssey had a 530
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^ Pretty new here...it's your first post, that makes you completely new here :P
Welcome :)
Haven't played the 530 myself, but it's made by ENGL so it'll be worth the money lol
:lol: Fair point, though I've been registered since January, just haven't posted.
I've read the reviews over at Harmony Central and they all seem to say it's a decent preamp so I'll probably go ahead and get it.
My plan is for the moment I'll run it into my Laney R3 combo untill I can get the cash for the Marshall 20/20. Though I've heard a number of problems with it overheating, so may have to save more for the 50/50.
Thanks for the warm welcoming as well btw
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Hey, I'm pretty new here.
Just wondering if anyone's tried the Engl 530 preamp. I'm planning on getting hold of one soon, just wanted to know what other people thought of it.
I have one and I love it - was lucky and got it on ebay for £250
Sounds really ballsy!!
Put it through the power section of my Marshall 2205 so far but ay put it through my 9100 50/50 power amp next.
You have to be careful with the level control on the back - as it affects the output level - made even the clean channel overload the power section - I have set mine down to zero and it sounds very normal
I love the Engl sound, however it has a lot to live up to to compare to an ADA MP1 with the 3TM modification (see www.adadepot.com)
Great preamp though.
There is an ENGL straight 100w combo that comes up on ebay now and then and that is great value and a great sounding amp
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Cool, I'll remember to bear it in mind.
I'm planning on ordering mine from Thomann.de so should be about £330, unless I can get Sound Control to come down on the price.