Engl Gigmaster 15

[keith]

Not convinced by Blackstar's tones. They are too tight for my liking, not organic enough. I know, horrible cliché...
The ISF control is a posh way of saying a contour knob.
Many people swear by them, including Neal Schon, so it's probably me, but I don't get along with them.

For reference, the amps I've owned or own that I really love :
Marshall Jubilee
Marshall 2203
Peavey 5150
Laney GH100

Each to their own mate I have a Blackstar Stage 60 I really like it I also have an Orange Dual Terror which I also like a lot. No good asking me to go into detail mind i'm one of these who if it sounds good to my tired old lugs i'd have it.
Sorry mate didnt mean to hijack your thread

[Sancho]

No hijack man, no problem :)
I know Blackstar is very popular, and probably for a reason. I'm the same with Mesa Boogie. I know lots of people sound totally awesome through them, yet I always end up with an indistinguishable mush when I play one...

Back on topic (ahem) I'm going to be testing the Engl this weekend. I hope they have the Thunder 50 in stock as well. That one's tickling my fancy, and I have a Marshall combo that's up for sale, so the time is right.

[Zaned]

You're right. Hughes & Kettner have a way of skirting the issue that doesn't sit right with me as well.
We'll see how it sounds, that's all that matters in the end.

Don't let it put you away though. I've played many hours through a H&K Switchblade, with a closed back 2x12 V30 cab. It sounds effing great for my tastes. If it sounds good, it is good 8)

I also own the ENGL Blackmore, which is a whole different beast. Never tried the Gigmaster though.

-Zaned

[Sancho]

I tested the Switchblade, but wasn't overly impressed. Too many bells and whistles for me, for starters.

What speakers are you running the Blackmore through? I owned one but sold it because it didn't sound right through my cabs...

[Zaned]

I'm running through an ENGL E212VH, which is the 'Pro' one and has V30's. I'm sure it won't suit everybody; the Blackmore is very 'HiFi', in a way.

Through the same cab, the Switchblade also sounds great (although maybe not for everybody). The first time and many times actually, I played the Switchblade through an Tech21 4x12 cabinet, and didn't really get on with it. I couldn't get cut without icepick.

With the same cab Engl cab, the Blackmore stays tight and is very precise. The switchblade is more hairy and raw, but ballsy as hell (they both are). Actually, with my CS equipped PRS McCarty, the SB immediately reminded me of John Sykes' tone on 'You're gonna break my heart again'.

Not a lot of usual information there, I'm afraid. The best bit of information is that cab & speakers really make a difference; sometimes a head and a cab really just don't suit each other.

-Zaned

[Sancho]

I usually get good results with my standard cabs. Both the 5150 and Laney GH100 sounded a lot better through my cabs than through the Peavey and Laney ones...
But I do believe Engls will profit from the smoother tone of V30s. It would definitely tame the harshness that bothered me about the Blackmore.
I might end up buying a 2x12 cab to experiment.

[hunter]

I like the Tubemeister though, despite just two preampvalves.

Tubemeister gets my vote, or if one channel is enough, the Tweaker.

[Sancho]

Well, I played the Gigmaster 15 today. Quite good, better than I expected. Clean was uninspiring, but the lead channel was excellent. A bit boxy, obviously, but very useable.

I also played the Screamer. Good amp, solid tones but a bit limited.
And then I played the Raider 100. Holy smoke! Killer amp! Of course, at 100 watts and 1500 euro, not exactly a practice amp...

[Madsakre]

I have played the gigmaster. It sounded terribly german.. Like Engl usually does.

And i cant stand blackstar either :)

Give me a 6505 :)

[Sancho]

I'd buy the 6505+ combo in a heartbeat, but it doesn't fit the boot of my car. And that's a must.

I know what you mean about sounding German. H&K and Engl both do indeed suffer from it.
Didn't bother me while playing the Raider one bit. The one thing that puzzles me about the Raider is that it's a 100 watt amp, but it has a 60 watt speaker (Vintage 30) WTF??

[blackie]

I'd buy the 6505+ combo in a heartbeat, but it doesn't fit the boot of my car. And that's a must.

I know what you mean about sounding German. H&K and Engl both do indeed suffer from it.
Didn't bother me while playing the Raider one bit. The one thing that puzzles me about the Raider is that it's a 100 watt amp, but it has a 60 watt speaker (Vintage 30) WTF??

in order to run at 100W you have to super-hot-bias the tubes and set the volume on 10...
You just can't... :P :P
A 100W amp,when it's cold biased runs at 60-70W...

[Sancho]

I don't doubt the amp will rarely run at 100 watt.
But usually speakers are rated for much higher wattages than the amp's nominal output, so this had me baffled a bit.

[Alex]

I had a similar query recently
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=25031.0
I haven't resolved it yet, I'm gonna delay the matter further.

The thing with the H&K Tubemeister is, however, that the things weighs almost nothing. It is tiny - I saw one in a store in Germany the other day - and extremly light. The transformers look big only in comparison to the amp's chassis.

I'm at the moment thinking more about shelling out a lot for the Mesa Transatlantic, or trying to get hold of a Laboga Beast (no fx loop) or even trying the Orange Thunder 30 head, but to be honest I wouldn't be too surprised if I still stick to my Krank Rev Jr head.

[Madsakre]

theres a mile between the krank and the thunder. the thunder is a drooling british bulldog in a electrical harness. The krank is.. different.

[Alex]

theres a mile between the krank and the thunder. the thunder is a drooling british bulldog in a electrical harness. The krank is.. different.

Of course; the question is just if it would make such a huge difference for home use really to shell out for a new amp.