Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: sambo on June 19, 2006, 10:04:00 PM
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Ok, i need a versatile amp... preferably a combo... bands properly up and running now, posting from necessity for advice more than anything...
needs to be capable of-
nice cleans (quite important- not fender jangly just a nice acceptable clean)
decent crunch (AC/DC kinda stuff... classic rock kinda tone...)
heavyness (hard rock.. evil sounding grind... not extreme metal saturation.. a lot of grit and low end needed...)
of course its not gonna be fender cleans, marshall crunch, and mesa metal... but you know what i mean hopefully.
budget = around £500 probly...
ENGL is all ive thought of so far...
any ideas?
thanks guys,
sam.
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:lol: Lovin the new sig Sam...
I'd go for the ENGL myself - my screamer is pefection in a beautifully sized, black tolex covered speaker enclosure...
Obviously there are other options that could be considered, but unfortunately I've not tried many amps so can't help on that front - but +1 for the ENGL :)
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:lol:
yer the ENGL sounds perfect for what i need from what ive heard from loooads of people...
just wondered if there was any alternative...
just checked out Diezel amps... goodness gracious... although you cant really call them 'alternatives' to a petty ENGL screamer :lol:
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Nice to see you back Sam.
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I know, their Diezel engines are nothing compared to the Petrol power of the Screamer!
TBH, I'd take the Screamer just for its cool name - Same reason i'd buy a Nailbomb over a HolyDiver :lol:
Thing is, there don't seem to be many (if any) similar high gain amps to take as an alternative in the same price range as the Screamer - if that's the tone you want then it's really the only option, unless you've got an extra £500 to spend (on top of the £700 it already costs)
I was very fortunate at LGS, as I was perusing the options at BK after reading reviews of them in Guitarist to see the amp I had been dreaming of for weeks (and attempting to save up for) with a piece of paper stuck to it saying "S/H ENGL Screamer - £500" - After much coaxing i managed to borrow the extra money needed (about £50) from my dad, and then nipped back to make a quick purchase from Mr Tim
I'm looking to get some basic recording gear soon, so I'll get you some soundclips online when I can
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yeah, screamer would be good.
other options (off the top of my head): laney tt combo, maybe ashdown fallen angel and marshall tsl if the money's tight. But the screamer (in my opinion at least) owns the ashdown and marshall. The laney is closer, but then it's almost as dear...
you back then sam?
:drink:
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meh.. back schmack... i dunno...
yer must check out that ashdown... sounds cool...
hmmm screamer does look good then...
what about a Hughes and Kettner? i was VERY impressed with the sound of one of their cheap combos i played through... and ive got a POD patch based on a H&K which is very close to the sound id want from an amp...
anyone had any experience with them?
oh and a pipe dream of mine- got to play through a £1500 Mesa Boogie Nomad combo at an open-mic last night.... jesus... it was glorious...
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haha yeah, I tried the Nomad at LGS before buying my screamer and it was pretty special...Different tone to the ENGL completely though
*ties sam down* now lets see you try and leave :twisted:
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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
lol in what way different? this is interesting actually... as we have a benchmark to compare the ENGL to now....
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If Hunters clips are anything to go by (which I'm guessing they are as you have p90s in a similar guitar) then the screamer would be awesome for you. Johnny Mac also swears by Koch amps (I think), they are meant to be really versatile, plus you get the hilarious name to go with it.
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the H &K edition tube (think that's the one) is meant to be nice, but I haven't tried it- i've only tried the duotone (£1500)- great cleans, unique overdrive tone. You'd need to try one, basically.
I'd say screamer or laney tt is the best bet, if you can stretch to it...
the ashdown and marshall are decent tube amps, but not much better... whereas the screamer is a very good little tube amp. Maybe not amazing compared to some of the super-amps, but still really very good (assuming you like the engl tone).
:drink:
EDIT: i haven't tried the nomads, but engls are kind of bright, while the mesa's i've tried are kind of dark sounding. They just sound different- think killswitch engage's tone (somewhat like engl) compared to petrucci's tone (mesa).
haha, koch are nice, but dear. the multitone is £1300, i think. Great, though, IMO.
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If Hunters clips are anything to go by (which I'm guessing they are as you have p90s in a similar guitar) then the screamer would be awesome for you. Johnny Mac also swears by Koch amps (I think), they are meant to be really versatile, plus you get the hilarious name to go with it.
ah yeah forgot hunters clips!... thats a good point... hmmm....
yup Dave i really should try an ENGL some day :lol:
i thought the TT series was blues-orientated though? at least thats what i thought it said on the Laney site...?
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don't know much about them other than what I've read in magazines (not usually much to go by), but the Rivera pubster and clubster amps look like tasty combos! The rivera name is also one to trust; i've never heard anyone get bad tone playing through one of those...(Tony MacAlpine 8) )
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I was gonna recommend a H&K, but their tube amps are a bit out of your budget, I think. The solid state amps are still good, but, well, you know . . .
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The only thing I'd like to have is a post preamp bottom eq (resonance at 5150 and similar at others). Presence alone is a little limited and some dial at the end of the chain to kick in some butt would make it the perfect little amp. But then again, backing off presence also brings bass in, so no big deal.
Sambo, my first amp was H&K, more than 15 years ago, and I haven't touched another one since ...
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haha mark!
ahh yeah indy, forgot them too... hmmm definately one to try....
and hunter, haha what was bad about the H&K?
just how heavy can the screamer go as well?
like can it Godsmack kinda tones?
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Should be able to pick up a 2nd hand Marshall TSL for that. Good versatile amps.
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Sam: I've not heard Godsmack, but I can get a fairly nice Symphony of Destruction sound with my Tele :P
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TSLs eh.... ill check em out...
never 'eard of that band mate...
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Lol symphony of destruction is a song by megadeth :P Just thought i'd be specific, as tones change through the years :drink:
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Dont touch the TSL Sambo, go for the DSL combo if either.
But dont $%&# aorund cause you know the Screamer is all you need.
And its good to see your name floating around the forum.
I hope whoever had a bitch at you has chilled the $%&# out and pulled their head out of their arse!!
:roll:
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^ooo right lol... haha ill check it out- cheers
Dont touch the TSL Sambo, go for the DSL combo if either.
But dont $%&# aorund cause you know the Screamer is all you need.
And its good to see your name floating around the forum.
I hope whoever had a bitch at you has chilled the $%&# out and pulled their head out of their arse!!
:roll:
:lol:
ah right whats up with the TSL then?
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the third channel is voiced really badly. When I got my DSL half stack I did the Pepsi challenge between all of them and I was there for hours but the TSL lost out big time.
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ahhhh i see... thanks for the heads up...
ok shortlist =
ENGL Thunder/screamer...
Rivera Pubster/Clubster maybe
Hughes and Kettner... i might check em out...
Marhsall DSL series maybe...
oh and maybe Laney TT
anything else?
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just get the Engl!!!!!!!
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:lol:
i need to try one!
ARGH! I NEED TO TRYYY ONNNEEEE!!!!
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...I call a club vote - those in favour of the screamer raise your hand *raises hand*
Do Wembley Guitar Centre still stock ENGL? 'cause if you can get there then you can try (and buy) one :) - or come to sussex and try mine :P
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haha!
i am veto-ing this proposal...
i think they still do...
hmm how far is sussex from me.... where IS sussex... hold on... is sussex even a place!?!?!?! :? :lol:
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Yes it's a place!!!! Where do you think Beatle lives? :P
It's in the south east - 'bout 30 miles south of London, so a bit of a mish for you to get to really
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wow.... someone else in this world... who uses the term mish....
I
LOVE
YOU....
moving on, if its in the South-East it cant be THAT far from me... as Hertfordshire basically defines the meaning of what is 'the south-east'...
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Sambo.. I am shocked that you dont know Symphony... :cry:
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im sorry don.... (wait that isnt your name is it?... damn... its times like these when you REALLY wish you could remember peoples names for more than 3 minutes...)
can you find it somewhere in your heart to forgive me!!!??? :(
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(http://img8.picsplace.to/img8/17/thumbs/Herts_SE_485.jpg) (http://img8.picsplace.to/img.php?file=img8/17/Herts_SE_485.jpg)
Does that help?
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firstly... thats a bloody huge house...
secondly... ah... yes... its bloody miles away...
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Well, it's a shitee map and i don't really know where the right place is...so i thought that if i took up the whole map i must live in part of it :P
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:lol: :lol: :lol:
classic.
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last time i was in the wembley guitar centre (also known as the only time I was there, and this was about a year ago) they had engl, peavey, laney, marshall, mesa, fender, and ashdown (not the FA, though, although they may have that now). I see they've since got in H&K, so you could try those too.
I'd head there as a first stop- they had the screamer and laney tt (head), but of course they could have sold it by now...
also, machinehead. They stock the screamer and rivera, and other guys like the vht pittbull combos that might be worth a look (about a grand, though) so if you get to try the screamer in the WGC, you can judge the riveras and the others versus that.
It's very rare that you get to try everything you want to in the same shop. So what I do is to try to try one amp that I can try in more than one shop, and kind of use it as a measuring stick... e.g. when i tried the screamer versus the tsl, the screamer was better, then another shop maybe has the tsl which you can compare to say rivera, and finally a third shop has h&k which maybe has a screamer to compare to. You know what I mean. I just know that unless something is really terrible, I normally end up liking it, unless I have something meaningful to compare to...
and of course it depends how much you're willing to spend. You'd be hard pushed to get better than a screamer for £800 (assuming you need a large range of tones), but if you're willing to stretch to £1000 or £1200 you should be able to get as good, at least. And if you aren't even willing to go to the screamer's price, then you have to decide again...
Hard decisions, man. And nomatter how much research you do, something will happen after you buy that you didn't know about...
:drink:
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Sambo, deg0ey lives about as far south of London as you do north of London- I would say it would take you about 2.5 hours assuming the M25 is behaving itself but Sussex is a fine place and a great place to visit- we have trees and everything.
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just to point out, I said you'd be hard-pushed to find better than the screamer for £800... the laney tt is very very close, and depending on what you play, could even be considered better. Again, it depends what you want.
Oh, and not knowing symphony?
for shame...
:cry:
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Sambo, deg0ey lives about as far south of London as you do north of London- I would say it would take you about 2.5 hours assuming the M25 is behaving itself but Sussex is a fine place and a great place to visit- we have trees and everything.
:lol: :lol: :lol: wow i cant pass up a trip like that... sounds exhilarating... :lol: :lol:
cheers for the info dave, i get what your saying about liking most stuff unless having something meaningful to compare it to...
ok... so.... Screamer really is looking good... i think a trip to Wembley is needed then...
oh and is this song AMAZING or something lol?
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Amazing or something!!! Go and $%&#ing buy it D/L it whatever!! Just hear it! Better then Sandman.
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:lol: :lol: ok im doing it... IM DOING IT OK!?!?!?!?!
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but i need cheerios first - be right back.
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Sambo needs Cheerios at 11:30 at night and is having mood swings....Sambo has found weed!!! :lol: :lol:
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:roll:
downloading has commenced....
:roll:
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Are you on dial up Sam? Ifso I am going to sleep and will get your opinion in the morning!
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:lol:
haha nah ive got the ol' broadband... song has JUST finished... gonna give it a listen now.....................................................................
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Waiting with baited breath :o
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ooooooo!
very nice... like it...
thats probly as heavy(ish) as i would want.../as much saturation as i would want... then id want to be able to calm it down a bit and go all growly with a WHEEL-BARROW-LOAD of low end...... ENGL capable of this? anyone know?
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Just get the $%&#ING Engl. :D :lol:
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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
ok... LAST question i promise...
could the ENGL.... do a similar Dual Rect. typ tone?....
Mr.Donno.... if it wouldnt be too much trouble...
go on this:
http://www.kneedeep.moonfruit.com/
go to 'Audio'.. skip one or two tracks until you get to 'Satisfied'...
listen, enjoy, await til the first chord... then cry at the greatness... THATS the tone i want... THAT!
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ooooooo!
very nice... like it...
thats probly as heavy(ish) as i would want.../as much saturation as i would want... then id want to be able to calm it down a bit and go all growly with a WHEEL-BARROW-LOAD of low end...... ENGL capable of this? anyone know?
yeah, but so's the laney tt. And the laney is probably more marshally (a la megadeth).
oh, and download hangar 18 and tornado of souls.
from what i hear, the screamer can do a recto tone with an eq, but i haven't tried it with one. Won't do one without an eq pedal.
:drink:
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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
ok... LAST question i promise...
could the ENGL.... do a similar Dual Rect. typ tone?....
Mr.Donno.... if it wouldnt be too much trouble...
go on this:
http://www.kneedeep.moonfruit.com/
go to 'Audio'.. skip one or two tracks until you get to 'Satisfied'...
listen, enjoy, await til the first chord... then cry at the greatness... THATS the tone i want... THAT!
ah, by first chord you mean a lot into it? like 30 seconds or so?
yeah, the engl will do that. definitely.
EDIT: one final thing- you have p90's right? if you want that kinda tone, you might want to invest in a guitar with a bridge humbucker...
although the p90 might be fine...
:drink:
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yer thirty seconds in or so thats the one...
cool thanks dave mate...
yer ive been wanting a h/b guitar to go with the the LP for a while now... cash is the only problem of course... so that'll have to wait...
interesting stuff though, if the ENGL can get that sound like you say; its mine...simple as that...
thanks again mate, ill check out those songs too.
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D/L peace sells aswell.
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yer thirty seconds in or so thats the one...
cool thanks dave mate...
yer ive been wanting a h/b guitar to go with the the LP for a while now... cash is the only problem of course... so that'll have to wait...
interesting stuff though, if the ENGL can get that sound like you say; its mine...simple as that...
thanks again mate, ill check out those songs too.
Sam, the ENGL will do that kind of sound with ease, obviously it won't be exactly the same but it will get pretty close. The versatility of the screamer is unbelievable
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Sam, the ENGL will do that kind of sound with ease, obviously it won't be exactly the same but it will get pretty close. The versatility of the screamer is unbelievable
yeah, i mean it'll not get it 100% maybe (apart from anything, maybe even the amp the band used mightn't, because of mic-ing, post-eq etc.), but there was a slight brightness in the mids (as opposed to say a recto's darkness) to that rhythm tone that was almost characteristically engl. I could get close enough to that tone on the screamer, I'd say, within about 10 seconds of dialling in... (but then I know how to set it to get that tone)
:drink:
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I love my screamer, and my friend loves his!
Here's a cover I made with mine, sorry about the cr@p playing though!
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3875519&q=hi
I used my Engl screamer with a Marshall 4X12 and for the guitar I used a Caparison Dellinger with the Caparison pickups, now its got a bare knuckle and KILLS!
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I love my screamer, and my friend loves his!
Here's a cover I made with mine, sorry about the cr@p playing though!
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3875519&q=hi
I used my Engl screamer with a Marshall 4X12 and for the guitar I used a Caparison Dellinger with the Caparison pickups, now its got a bare knuckle and KILLS!
Awesome tone there, definately get a Screamer sam, I would if I had the cash!
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cheers guys..
Andy... woah... i think that clip alone has almost convinced me...
:o
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Here's another one:
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3804439&q=hi
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coool cheers mate...
defianately loving that tone....
and caparison guitars as well!!! soilwork (whose music and tone i LOVE) use them so youve got my dream set-up basically lol....
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Haha awesome.
I really like my Caparison, it sounds huge, its got quite a thick body when compared to ESP and Jackson super strats, so that helps loads, and with a Bare Knuckle it sounds fantastic.
The screamers are great little amps, 4 channels, even thought they all share the same EQ you can still get chrushing distortion and a nice clean without changing any settings.
They sounds great at low volumes and have plenty of usable volume, with some tube amps they go from quiet to LOUD AS HELL as soon as you turn the volume knob a bit, Engls are the oposite, so you can really choose the right amount of volume for the situation, and if needed, they can still go bloody loud.
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cool, sounds excellent...
now if only my mum would let me get to my paper round money which is LEGALLY MINE! id have my ENGL.. :evil:
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Why dont you get given your own paper round money?!
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it goes straight to my bank account which my mum has nabbed the card for and says im not allowed to touch at the moment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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< puts on Sambo hat.
I have x amount of money.
I do not have a car yet so is size (i.e. combo etc. an issue)
I know I cannot nail every tone on the planet with a single amp esp. that of pro artists with WAY more money and toys that me.
I should listen to the general informed concensus.
I just go and try summit and stop fannying around on forums.
ROFLMAO
Seeing as I have now a Screamer Half Stack I KNOW what it can do (combo little less but still VERY capable) I say Go And Play One (and take money with ya to save time as you WILL want it!
Nick
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:lol: great advice as usual :lol:
i know i need to try stuff!!! but ive been so busy with loads of school work and band stuff recently ive just had nooo time...
ill try and get to Wembley in the next couple of weeks... taking money with me just aint gonna happen though... i have to sell my two amps first...
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Have you considered hiring a hitman to help get your card back? I'd be up for it - obviously you'd have to cover my travel expenses and labour time when you get your card back :P
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it goes straight to my bank account which my mum has nabbed the card for and says im not allowed to touch at the moment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sounds like you need to sit down at talk to her mate.
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^ I prefer my idea :P
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Have you considered hiring a hitman to help get your card back? I'd be up for it - obviously you'd have to cover my travel expenses and labour time when you get your card back :P
:lol: :lol:
go for it...
but theres no guarantee your screamer will be there when you get home... 8)
hmmm yeah Andy i think your right...
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just to say, that clip andy posted IS what the screamer sounds like on channel 4, with the gain about 8 or 9. EDIT: the KSE rose of sharyn one, I haven't listened to the other one yet. Oh, and +1 at them sounding great even at quiet levels. Obviously they sound better turned up, but at low volumes they still sound about a million times better than my solid state amps.
oh, and remember if you do decide to go for one, ask them to show you what speaker's in it. The newer ones have vintage 30's, which are better than the 70/80's in the older ones... and vintage 30's suit engls very well, IMO.
:drink:
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Yup, they are a tad on the immense side...Now I just have to learn how to play :drink:
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On the KSE the gain was at about 1 O'clock, everything else hangs around 12 O'clock.
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oh right, cool, cheers guys... think im definately gonnah ave to get me one of them...
any idea of who has the best prices on em?
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Ooo I feel a competition coming on, who can find the cheapest price...
£799 (http://www.drumbankmusic.co.uk/acatalog/Guitar_Amps.html) orrrrrr 995 euros (£684) (http://www.music-town.de/cgi-bin/mtshop/front/shop_main.cgi?func=dlink&artnr=07.102.00045&order=&wkid=7298195958) but that one comes from Germany...
The other option of course is that you can the head for 895 euros (£615) (http://www.music-town.de/cgi-bin/mtshop/front/shop_main.cgi?func=dlink&artnr=07.102.00053&order=&wkid=2304756552)
As a side note, if you type "ENGL Screamer" into google, one of the results is this forum :lol:
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I wouldn't get one from outside the UK, the is a big chance of it getting damaged during shipping, heavy things don't bounce and just can't take the abuse smaller things can.
£729 here http://www.soundsgreatmusic.com/amps/selectAmplifier.asp?brnID=155&sbc=24
They are located close to manchester air port.
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£699 on www.wembleyguitarcentre.com (EDIT: but they may be the old ones with the 70/80 speaker- although obviously even the dearer ones could still be the old ones. Better to check to see, sambo).
That's the cheapest I've seen in the UK- www.spectresound.co.uk is normally pretty cheap too. Bear in mind those prices are without the footswitch.
I got my savage se from germany, andy, and it was fine. www.beyers-music.de
you'll have to get your own power supply lead though, the german one won't fit our plugs (but it's the correct voltage ok- at least it is if you're on 230V).
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^ About the plugs - If the voltage is okay, you should be able to just hack the end off and put a new plug on - or at least, an electrician could do it for you
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^ yeah, but you could probably buy a new plug cheaper than the electrician, lol. Oh, and the plug on mine was moulded on, or else I'd have tried that myself- I didn't fancy doing a hatchett job, though...
:drink:
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Fair Play...Converters are easy enough to come across anyway - I have 3 :P...and that price is so much cheaper than the regular price, for that i could prolly cope with it not having the right plug
Whatever you think Mr Sam :)
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yep, I know what you need!
never ever get a Marshall TSL60! they're awefull for this job! (I used to have one and it was pathetic) in every way imaginable.so thin and trebly sounding
I use the peavey Bandit 112 because it's got everthing you asked for in an amp and it sounds so good nomatter what you put it through. It has a very warm clean sound, a phat crunch, and an amazing lead channel! it's perfect, and when you connect a 4x12 cab it's a killer! this is the best amp for live work I've ever used by far and it's not even expensive, check em out. I've kicked mine several times with steel toe caps on stage and it's still indestructable! It's a bargain.
The valve amp equivelent 'will' cost a stupid amount of money aka paevey 5150 head, or a cornford MK50, or a Slodano, or original Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier from the early nineties (try finding one). For an outstanding recoding amp, get the Cornford Harlequin! transistors dont die! and dont cost much money, even if they do!
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yep, I know what you need!
never ever get a Marshall TSL60! they're awefull for this job! (I used to have one and it was pathetic) in every way imaginable.so thin and trebly sounding
I use the peavey Bandit 112 because it's got everthing you asked for in an amp and it sounds so good nomatter what you put it through. It has a very warm clean sound, a phat crunch, and an amazing lead channel! it's perfect, and when you connect a 4x12 cab it's a killer! this is the best amp for live work I've ever used by far and it's not even expensive, check em out. I've kicked mine several times with steel toe caps on stage and it's still indestructable! It's a bargain.
The valve amp equivelent 'will' cost a stupid amount of money aka paevey 5150 head, or a cornford MK50, or a Slodano, or original Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier from the early nineties (try finding one). For an outstanding recoding amp, get the Cornford Harlequin! transistors dont die! and dont cost much money, even if they do!
I played a Peavey Bandit once, and I thought it was horrible...the TSL isn't great, but I think it's better than the Bandit - maybe that's just my opinion, though.
The valve equivalent will cost more, but not necessarily a "stupid amount of money" - and it will sound a helluva lot better...My recommendation stays with the Engl Screamer. They can be picked up used for around £500 - £600 and sound great :drink:
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Why did you kick your amp on stage. Is it part of the act or did the shadows dance routine go horribly wrong?
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I love my screamer, and my friend loves his!
Here's a cover I made with mine, sorry about the cr@p playing though!
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3875519&q=hi
I used my Engl screamer with a Marshall 4X12 and for the guitar I used a Caparison Dellinger with the Caparison pickups, now its got a bare knuckle and KILLS![/quote
What cr@p playing was that then? I did not hear any.
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lol
I always kick my amp it's fun, try it! and so much for wank marvin no one will mess with you with steel toes caps! trust me. Most people want to see a good performance live, as well as playing, playing is only half the fun.
:band5: