Author Topic: whole bunch of questions (Read 8573 times)

CJ · « **Reply #15 on:** November 01, 2007, 02:04:00 AM »

hmm... i'm looking into this Engl e530 preamp. I've never played an engl, or anything besides my marshall :oops: , but they seem to get a good metal tone. Now it appears they have pretty mixed reviews, some say they're only good for heavy metal, some say they're only good for green day ( :roll: ), but i'm really liking it.

1. It has a true bypass, so i could do what i was talking about before... switch between that and the preamp inside my marshall head (right?).

2. It has a recording output. For the longest time i've wanted to get good recording gear but couldn't justify the money. The clips i've heard with the recording line out with this thing were pretty decent, so this looks like a good idea.

3. thoughts? is there something better, heavier? my marshall has a very good gain channel, so i'm not looking for just another good, rock, lead tone, i'm looking for something real heavy.

noodleplugerine · « **Reply #16 on:** November 01, 2007, 07:46:25 AM »

Engl are great, and sound brilliant for metal sounds.

Very tight, pwerful amps.

CJ · « **Reply #17 on:** November 01, 2007, 02:52:37 PM »

Quote from: noodleplugerine

Engl are great, and sound brilliant for metal sounds.

Very tight, pwerful amps.

is this preamp still in production? i can't find it anywhere new, let alone used. or is this because they're a european company?

CJ · « **Reply #18 on:** November 01, 2007, 03:16:40 PM »

this clip is kind of helping me to lean towards the Engl. sounds pretty good.
http://netmusicians.org/?value=Engl%20E530&section=amp
take a listen to all those clips on there.

now i have to find one...

CJ · « **Reply #19 on:** November 02, 2007, 10:06:21 PM »

whoops, triple post.

so, i found a dealer in the US selling them for $510 shipped. anyone know if this is a good price? i can't find anywhere else to compare to...

i also found it pretty cool that it has a 1.5 watt power amp built in so i can plug straight into my cab for low volumes. niceee.

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #20 on:** November 02, 2007, 11:45:55 PM »

If you want Dimebag, get the amp he used - a Randall RG100. They're still pretty cheap on ebay, like this one...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Randall-RG-100-RG100-Amp-Head-Guitar-Dimebag-RG100ES_W0QQitemZ200167822601QQihZ010QQcategoryZ121161QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If this was in the UK I'd be all over it. The seller has a video of him playing the amp in the auction description - nails Dimebag's tone.

:twisted:

CJ · « **Reply #21 on:** November 03, 2007, 12:41:01 AM »

yeah i've kind of reconsidered the Randall. i don't think its a good idea to get a randall just because it worked for dime. those clips to me just sounded thin. probably would be even worse with my 4x10. I'm still diggin the idea of the separate preamp so i could mix my sounds and eventually expand. now i have a question, i'm assuming that i don't have to mount this thing on a rack? i've never had any rack gear, not even sure if i know what it means... and if i put the preamp through the effects loop in my marshall, does that bypass all the controls on the marshall besides the on/off switch?

CJ · « **Reply #22 on:** December 26, 2007, 10:22:29 PM »

ok, got the Engl. haven't tried it yet. need to ask a few questions before breaking it.
1. can i use a patch cable to hook the pre up to my marshall head? its like half a foot long, so i'd like to use that if i can.
2. i know i go into the fx return on my head (right), but from the pre, do i use the line output, or the instrument output/fx loop send?
3. the line level knob, would setting it to 0db mean its not giving it any increased db, or mean that i won't hear anything? not sure where to set this to. thanks.

noodleplugerine · « **Reply #23 on:** December 26, 2007, 11:09:27 PM »

Patch cable should be fine.

Instrument out/FX Loop Send >> Amp's FX Return.

Level knob at 0 means unaffected if it has negative values aswell.

CJ · « **Reply #24 on:** December 27, 2007, 04:25:08 AM »

thanks man, i can't wait to try this thing out. the line level is just a knob with 0 on one side and 15db on the other. i'm reading the manual though and i don't think that does anything when you're using the instrument/fx send output. and just curious, what would be the difference between using the fxsend or the line output out to go to the poweramp? is this something i can experiment with, or will the fx send be the only one that works?

thanks.

noodleplugerine · « **Reply #25 on:** December 27, 2007, 05:08:51 AM »

I think both should be ok - But I guess the lineout, actually has various level output, so it can be used with different applications. While the FX Send is designed to be at the same level as a normal instrument out.

You could probably experiment, dunno how much it would do though ;s

CJ · « **Reply #26 on:** December 27, 2007, 05:29:58 AM »

thanks again.

CJ · « **Reply #27 on:** December 28, 2007, 03:01:57 AM »

just spent a couple hours playing, and this thing is $%&#ing awesome. didn't really have time to mess around with it too much, mainly just the different gain stages. the 3rd channel had about as much gain as my marshall's lead channel, so it definitely has plenty of gain. even with loads of gain though, its never real fuzzy, very thick. i did run into a couple problems however. my marshall's volume controls don't work, so i probably couldn't have gotten it quite up to band levels. I changed the engl's output to the line out rather than instrument out, which didn't change anything, but let me use the line level on the engl as a master instead. it should be plenty loud enough now, though i'm still not sure why the Marshall's master volume isn't working... that should be part of the power section- the reverb works...
another thing, just bought a second 2 button footswitch to use with the head, doesn't work for some reason. the footswitch i already had works, and they appear to be the same basic generic 2 button footswitch. the new one when i plug it in just automatically turns everything on and i can't control anything with it. any clue why, or what i'd need?

hamfist · « **Reply #28 on:** December 28, 2007, 09:22:37 AM »

Quote from: callme.nasty

however. my marshall's volume controls don't work, so i probably couldn't have gotten it quite up to band levels. I changed the engl's output to the line out rather than instrument out, which didn't change anything, but let me use the line level on the engl as a master instead. it should be plenty loud enough now, though i'm still not sure why the Marshall's master volume isn't working... that should be part of the power section

For many amps the MV is before the FX loop, therefore I'm not surprised at all at your Marshall's MV not working in this situation.
You are quite right in working out to control your volume with the Engl's line level knob.

Alan

CJ · « **Reply #29 on:** December 28, 2007, 02:18:41 PM »

hmm... didn't know that. i guess its not a big deal, i was getting it plenty loud enough using the line level, however, am i driving the Engl's tubes way too hard this way?