dude... engls arent hand wired.. they are on PCB boards and what's more, some of the cables that are in there (hopefully used for midi switching) are the same you use in your computer as the disk data cable.)
search the net a bit for pictures.
i must say it tipped me off from ENGLs.. they do sound good (still waiting for the store to get them, so i can try some of em out myself), but with that kinda wireing, and cables, for that kind of money, i expect a lot more.
i was dead set for a thunder, but seeing that, it realy tiped me back to the GH50L
you gotta remember as well, man, thunder =/= invader, or savage se, or se...
I'm not arguing, or trying to put you down, i'm just saying is all.
Davey
look at it this way (remember I own an Engl, till I get money for it next month and it's gone anyway) and have looked inside.
It serves a purpose at , mostly, a good price.
Think of a ferrari and an Mitsubishi Evo. The Evo can hang with the ferrari round many roads, it aint built so well and costs less but gets the job done.
As for ribbon cables, I agree, the build is'nt as anal/meticulous as some higher price amps but, I worked offshore for over 13 years as an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) Superintendant. These mini submarines are state of the art and cost over £1,000,000 for the sub alone, foget the titanium robotic arms, S.I.T. cameras etc., and they are full of ribbon cable. Why? cos it does the job and does it WELL. Out of all the electrical/electronic issues I ever had it was very rarely a ribbon cable.
The point is, to me anyway, Engl is getting dearer. For the SE/Invader price I think there are better made choices. Now thats not to say those choices sound better, they are just built better with better parts and more care/attention to detail.
I must just point out that I haven't got a notion about build quality etc.
But, I guess I just have to point out, though- most of those engls have 4 channels, with several more footswitchable sounds. The handwired amps in the same price category, while costing the same amount, have far less features etc. They're frequently one channel, maybe two if you're lucky. There's no way you're getting a boutique hand-wired, 4 channel amp with twin master volumes for the same price as an engl.
Now, I'm not saying either way is better- if you want one (or two) kickass tones, the boutique hand-wired is the way to go.
But if you want versatility, the engl is the way to go.
It's not really comparing like with like, is what I'm saying.
And I know that tonewise, there are very few amps (even boutique) that I've tried that compare even equally to my savage se (though I admit that's subjective, and hardly scientific since I haven't been able to try them head to head). And that's before you even try to compare the versatility.
At the end of the day, it depends what you want, really. And for each person it's different. I know that mark knows enough about amps to do his homework, and take our suggestions and then do his own research from there- i doubt he's going to take any of our suggestions at face-value without trying them himself, that's for sure.... :lol:
EDIT: i just realise mark already said all this. I guess I should have read down. :lol: