Chrisola, you try any other quality heads before going for the Engl? Just curious how it compares to other amps. I've got a Cornford Harlequin 6W amp which is the best amp I've ever used. It's incredibly dynamic and reacts to your playing more than anything else I'm tried.
Did you compare Cornfords to the Engl?
i have!
i compared an engl se to both a diezel vh4 and a vht super lead in the same room with the same guitar
the engl se won, mainly based on versatility- the diezel did a better dark high gain distortion, but doesn't do bright super high gain AT ALL, while the engl does a fantastic bright super high gain tone, and a good dark heavy distortion (not as good as a vh4, but as good or better than a peavey 6505+, IMO)
that's not to say the vht and diezel weren't good (they were excellent), but for the varied styles of music i play, the engl se was the clear winner
as for the cornford- i've only tried a hellcat, and it wasn't head to head with an engl (it was head to head with a koch multitone), but from memory, i preferred the engls- they get more brutal, and they get cleaner on the clean channel too.
i also preferred the koch to the cornford, but that was mainly due to the sounds i'm after, not the fact that cornford suck or anything stupid like that!
The Cornford hellcat is more of a hardrock amp, with a bluesy "vintage" channel, the koch multitone is kind of a hybrid of a fender and hot-rodded marshall, whilst the engl se is a do-all amp, specialising in brutal high gain. The vh4 wasn't as heavy as i'd expected (compared to th engl anyway), again more aimed at hard rock (but could do dark metal tones), and the vht was tight sounding, with piano like cleans. Could do metal, but again not as brutal as the engl.
i'm rambling now: moral: most amps in this price range are fantastic, if they suit your playing style.