for what its worth... in terms of the Screamer vs. it's price-range equivalent of Mesa, (something like an F30 or a rect-o-verb or trem-o-verb combo, although even those are a couple of hundred quid more expensive), i much prefer the ENGL.
it all still comes down to budget really as any mesa might even be out of the question. and personal taste as each have a distinctive sound.
I agree. Not to say something like a tremoverb isn't a better amp than a screamer, but here it's like £1500, while a screamer can be had for a little over £600 from thomann. Is the mesa 3 times better? Not in my opinion. Also, as you say, sam, I'd even prefer a screamer to an f50, and the f50 is almost twice the price of the screamer.
let's be honest, at US prices, mesas are a very, very serious proposition. At UK prices, in my opinion at least, they aren't. They're well into boutique territory, and don't really sound as good as the boutique stuff, in my opinion. It also depends on the tone you're after, obviously enough.
I agree about the 5150, the cleans are awful. If you need nice cleans, I can't see how you wouldn't be disappointed. It's almost a non-starter for that very reason, IMO.
i hear the emporium is closed down...well ill head to bel on wednesday to see.
i love the thickness of a mesaboogie but i dont wanna spend that much on a combo....yet.i have to see if i get this new job sorted 1st as itll bring in th cash nicely so my funds limit might raise abit but about 500-600 sterling is what i wanna pay now.
it looks liike the sreamer, anyone use laney combos?
is it? yarg. Instrumental in Dublin do them, but that's quite a way to go. Still, would be better than buying unseen, in case you don't like it- it has its own tone, doesn't really sound like a mesa...
the laney tt combo might be worth a look, or a vc50 if you can find one second hand on ebay or similar- problem is, i'm not aware of any laney dealers who'd be liable to have them in stock in ireland. I've only ever been able to try the more expensive laneys when I've been on holiday in england and scotland. Obviously, though, I may have missed somewhere, lol.
if you want to try mesa, by the way, reasound are dealers, i think i remember you saying you were in cookstown.
Basically, I'd say engl have as much, if not more, gain than a mesa (though obviously it does depend on the model, the screamer probably has a bit less gain than some of the other engls)- but it will sound noticeably different. It's kind of hard to advise on something which is very much personal preference...
wow, long post. bear in mind, any time I say I like engl, that's my preference, yours may be different. Good luck!
i've enver heard a genz benz. anyone got any clips?
there are some on youtube, i wouldn't trust them though, they don't really sound like the one i tried.
if you do want the mesa sound, the Genz Benz will probably do it better than the engl... but be advised it's a very love-hate type of amp. Over at harmony central, the el diablo has almost become the new whipping boy, in place of krank. I like it, but i can realise why a lot don't, and it is very dark-sounding.
