ENGL

The technical features have been mentioned already. USE Simply looking at it, it's hard to imagine that it has four channels, but it does!!! No need for a manual, it's plug and play. It's very easy to find the sound you want. SOUND This is where it starts getting interesting! At the beginning it's obvious that it has the Ritchie Blackmore signature and that it's an amp to play Deep Purple...but don't deceive yourself! The clean channel is a simple clean channel, you can get a decent sound with it The crunch channel is one of the amp head's main strengths. It delivers a big and powerful crunch. If you increase the gain you can play power rock without a sweat! The lead channel is the BIGGEST SURPRISE with its huuuge distortion! It doesn't sound as tight as a powerball or invader, it's a bit raspy and comes perfectly well through the mix. The attack and response are precise. It's perfect for what I do, play heavy metal, that is. OVERALL OPINION I bought it last week and — call me crazy — I got rid of my Invader to be able to afford it. The Invader is a great amp head for really fat metal, but I think the distortion sound lacks lots of mids. I had a hard time trying to come through the mix. I foolishly tested the Blackmore, because I knew it was based on the same technology than the Savage (which I covet). I was dumbfounded and fell in love with it right away. The bottom line is, it's simple and super effective. This amp head is responsive to the guitar changes (active/passive), you simply need to fiddle a bit with the pots and you're on your way again! A tip: Insert a noise gate in the effects loop because it produces a lot of noise with distortion sounds. That's what I did with a ISP Decimator and it's simply prefect. It's an amp head with a truly excellent value for money.

I got this cab when I bought my 1st high end amp, an Engl Savage120. I compared this one with the Vintage cab (with V30s) and liked the standard cab better at the time. It was a great match with the Savage120 and I used it for many years. The Standard cab is loaded with Celestion V60 speakers and although they are cheaper speakers, I still think they sound good. The overall tone of the cab is pretty smooth sounding. It has a good low end and pleasant highs. I did a lot of gigs with mine and it always sounded great. It's also pretty easy to mic up. It was a great mix with the Savage 120 as the amp is a bit bright sounding and the Celestion V60s smoothed things out a bit. The build of the cab is good although it is made of particle board, I never had a problem with mine. At a certain point, cobblestones ruined the wheels and I replaced them with genuine blue wheels. Other than that, I never had complaints. It’s a heavy cab so your arm muscles will get a good workout when you are moving this around. After many years, my taste in tone changed and I looked for something else and in the end bought the vintage cab and sold this one to a friend who's still using it years and years later. As always, try the cab with your own amp, or one similar to yours, because not every cab works well with every amp and your playing style also has an impact. For example, I don’t like standard Marshall cabs with G12-75s but plenty of people do. I vastly prefer the Engl Standard cab and would recommend this if you need a cheap, good sounding cab.

IN collaboration with Steve Morse Engl has developed the Steve Morse signature amplifier. This is one extremely versatile amp. This amp has three channels to choose from. It is 100 watts of power and has more features than you can shake a stick at. One of the very coolest and unique things about this amp is the 8 voicing switches for the midrange. See the midrange for guitar amps is probably the most important frequency to any amp. This will determine a lot about how your guitar will sound through the amp. Getting that perfect balance of midrage will allow you to customize the rest of your tone from top to bottom. Another great feature in this amp is the depth control which will allow you to set the EQ of the channels properly and give you a better control of the bottom end from room to room that you play in. Many newer amps have this feature in their modern amps. UTILIZATION Specifications Preamp: 3 Channels, 3 band EQs for Channel 1 & 2, MID CONTROL MATRIX with 8 different Midrange voicings, separate Gain & Volume controls for each channel, Hi / Lo Gain switch with global access, Tone switch with global access, Noise Gate with Threshold adjust, 2 parallel FX loops programmable via MIDI, 4 x ECC 83 / 12 AX 7 preamp tubes. Tuner Out activated via Standby switch. Master Section: 100 Watts (4 EL 34 tubes), Master A / B switch, Presence & Depth Punch control for power amp sound shaping, Electronic Tube Protection circuit and power-tube monitoring system. Outputs: MIDI IN / THRU, ENGL Z-9 Foot-switch, 2 x 1⁄4“ jacks for ENGL Z-4 Foot-switch, 2 x FX Send, 2 x FX Return, 2 x FX Balance Speaker Outs, 2 x 4, 2 x 8, 1 x 16 Ohms MI DI programmable functions: MIDI-programmable functions: Channel switching, Master A / B, Bright, FX Loop 1 / 2, Noise Gate, Amp Mute Dimensions & Weight: 71 x 27 x 29 cm, 23 kg SOUNDS This amp is one of the best amps that I have ever heard. The mid range is just excellent and the eight voicing changes give you such a control over you playing that makes plugging into the amps much more enjoyable. You will have to tweak the mids more to accommodate your guitar's natural voicing and tone and also the speakers that you are using. The speaker can act as the over all filter to your tone and that can either make of break the amp. I have played $4000+ amps in a speaker cabinet that made it unusable and then plugged it into the right speaker combination and the amp just came to life. SO this is a very critical proponent to this type of amp. The voicing switches will allow you to get a better handle on this if you are stuck with one cabinet that you already own. OVERALL OPINION At new you can pick this amp up for right at around $2599. Not a bad price for this kind of amp. You can find a great tone in this amp with the three channels and the gain control and volumes on each channel allows you to really tailor the sound of the amp to your personal needs. You can't find a bad tone in this amp and you can find some stallar ones with the EQing parameters that this amp has inside.

This is the height of German engineering. Engl is a company that excels as making those over compressed metal voicing amp for straight ahead metal tuning and drop tunings. This amp is a metal guitar players dream amp. This amp will blown down doors and bust through walls. This is a three channel amp with a clean, crunch, and lead channel. Each channel is extremely usable and friendly to just about any music. However, this amp's voicing is tailored to a metal players amp. What that means is the voicing serves towards the metal style rather than a British style amp. This amp is the same amp as the E670 El34 version but with a different power tube section. You get 6L6 powers tubes which gives the amp a bit different feel and tone. You will get a blooming tone that is very top and bottom focused. You get a tighter lows end a crisper highs and cleans for a better headroom. You will get a slower crunch in the power tube section but it sounds great with the tighter lower end with this amp. UTILIZATION Preamp: 4 channels: Clean, Crunch, Lead 1, Lead 2, each in modern or classic mode, mega-low punch, noise gate, 3 FX loops (one serial, two parallel), tube driver circuit (extra channel plus EQ for direct switching to the power amp), 5 x ECC 83 preamp tubes. Master Section: 100 watts (4 x 6L6GC tubes), half-drive mode (50 watts), Master A/B switch, Presence A/B switch, Deep Boost, electronic tube protection circuit, Speaker A/B switch. Outputs: Balanced Recording out, cable test/impedance check, Speaker A/B out (4, 8, 16 ohms), Z-9 footswitch port, MIDI In/THRU. MIDI-programmable functions at a glance, storable in any combination as required: Channel switches, preamp boosts, normal/ultra bright, modern/classic mode, preamp defeat, FX loops, tube driver circuit, mega-low punch, Depth Boost, Reverb, noise gate, Master A/B, Presence A/B, Speaker A/B, Half Power Switch (100/50 watts). Dimensions & Weight: 71 x 27 x 29 cm, 26 kg SOUNDS The tone is going to be more open and blomming. Your tone will have a tight low end and the overall tone will be more 3D and top and bottom focused. This amp says it has four channels but it really has 6 different voicings if you count the modern and classic modes on the the two lead channels. This amp can be a bit confusing upon first glance. It looks like something out of some space ship. It has a tone of features and a tone of control and all of them are lit up like a Christmas tree. There is so much going on with this amp that it makes it some what confusing. You eventually get the feel for it but it certainly is not a plug and play kind of amp. If you are used to looking at the front of a Marshall amp or a Peavey or even a Mesa Boogie aside form the Mark V, then looking at this might worry you how to dial it in. There is a system tot he madness but it can take a you a while to find the balance necessary to get a good tone out of this amp. This amp does have a clean and crunch channel but the reason for getting this amp is not a clean and crunch channel you can get that out of many other amps. This is ultra high gain and saturation. This is an amp that is extremely saturated and extremely modern in its voicing. This sound like German metal amp which it is and you can not dial that out of any lead channel. OVERALL OPINION At new these amp comes in right at around $4100. A bit of a price for a amp. This is an amp that someone who knows what they what is going to buy and probably and active touring musician. This amp costs little more that the EL34 version since 6L6 tubes are more expensive.

Engl has made a huge impact in the metal guitar world with their line of high quality amplifiers. They have a metal voicing character to them that is inherent within their amp voicings. The is the little brother to the powerball amp that has four channels. These amps have two channels one for the clean side and one for the distortion side. There are an assortment of switches and control knobs that allow the user to tailor his or her tone. With 6L6 power tubes you get a good tight low end within your tone. UTILIZATION Front panel: • Clean and Lead Channel featuring separate Gain controls • Bright switch for the Clean Channel • Bottom switch (Clean & Lead) that adds low end punch • Passive EQ: Bass, Middle, Treble • Lead Volume control for precise level tuning • Mid Boost switch (Clean & Lead), remote controllable via footswitch • Master A and Master B for two different power amp level settings, remote controllable via footswitch • P.T.M. (Power Tube Monitor) system: failure indication via LED for each power tube • Stand By s Rear Panel: • 2 x 1/4" Stereo jacks for connecting a ENGL Z-4 footpedal: Clean / Lead (channel switching) & Master A / B, Mid Boost & FX Loop off / on • Noise Gate Threshold controls the Gate’s attack • FX Loop equipped with a Balance control, FX Loop off / on, remote controllable via footswitch • Power amp Output 4 Ohms, 8 Ohms (2 jacks) and 16 Ohms • 100 Watts tube guitar amp head equipped with a matched set of four 6L6GC power tubes • Four ECC83 (12AX7) preamp tubes SOUNDS This amp is a great amp for the metal players. You get a distinct German voicing within the amp and especially the distortion channel. You will either like it or hate it. I don't think or feel there is any middle ground with this amp when it comes to liking the voicing of the amp. I think this amp sounds great on the clean channel but it lives in the lead channel. The overdrive channel is thick and lush in saturation. You can get this thing to saturate well beyond anything that you would ever need in a band setting. OVERALL OPINION At new these amps come in at around $1699, which is a great price for a great sounding two channel amp with a ton of versatility. You get a high quality amp at a price that is very competitive in a the boutique amplifier market. would recommend this amp to any metal player who need a high quality amp that will stay tight in the low end and give you a highly saturated distortion tone.

The Engl Fireball 60 is a 60 watt all tube amp powered with a pair of 6L6’s. It is a two channel amp (dirty and clean) with a shared EQ (bass, middle, treble, and presence), and “bright” and “depth” buttons. There are two master volumes, so one may be used as a volume boost for solos. UTILIZATION It is extremely easy to get a good sound out of the Fireball. Set the controls at noon and tweek the knobs from there. The manual is clear, but not totally necessary as this is a pretty self explanatory amp. SOUNDS I used the Engl Fireball with a Gibson Les Paul Custom, and a pedal board consisting of a Boss TU-2, a Line 6 MM4, and a Boss NS-2. I play all varieties of “rock,” but the distortion channel on the Fireball is voiced more for “metal.” The tone is very aggressive and I could not find a way to dial it out or minimize it in any way. The clean channel is VERY clean, but sounded a bit dull and lifeless. It was a passable clean when I put chorus or other effects on, but it still lacked a certain bouncy quality that nice clean tones produce. The Bright button helped a little, but not enough to salvage the tone. OVERALL OPINION My favorite thing about the Engl Fireball is the simplicity of the amp and the quality of the tone. Unfortunately that tone does not work with the style of music I play. I would love to have the Fireball as a second or third back-up amp, but not for my primary tone. I was attracted to the Fireball because it is one of the lower priced Engls. It was an excellent value for the price, but knowing what I know now I probably would have picked something voiced more for rock ‘n’ roll.

The ENGL E530 is a 1U preamp made for people who need to save space but still want that signature ENGL sound. The preamp is a two channel preamp that features two 12AX7 tubes, independent EQs on both channels with a lo-mid and hi-mid knob on channel two, a bright switch, a contour switch to alter the mid frequency, hi/lo gain switch, clean lead switch, preamp defeat switch, effects loop, line out and even a headphone jack. UTILIZATION There's a ton of stuff crammed into this small 1U preamp. In some ways, it's great, but in others, I wish they would have added more. First of all, it's a very versatile preamp thanks to the various mini switches they implemented into its design. I'll help describe what they do later down the review. One big thing they're missing, however, is MIDI. MIDI is something that every preamp out there should have, in my opinion. It's one of the main reasons to go rack, and the lack of MIDI means you'll need to switch it with a separate MIDI switcher. I'd rather they took out the effects loop and added MIDI since effects loops aren't really needed with preamps. SOUNDS Most people want to know about how the gain sounds with this thing, and let me tell you, there's a ton of gain on tap. You can get brutal metal sounds no problem with this thing, and there's no need to boost it like certain other amps out there. The contour switch also gives it some extra versatility as it switches the mid frequency. This is great if you want a rhythm channel and lead channel all in channel two. The lo-mid and hi-mid knobs add additional tone shaping elements to really dial in the tone you're looking for without ever losing that signature ENGL sound. The clean on this thing is also really good. It's sparkles and blooms like a nice clean should. OVERALL OPINION If you're in the market for a high gain 1U preamp, this will probably be my number one recommendation. It's cheap enough to where you don't need to sell a left kidney to afford it, and it sounds good enough to where it'll probably be your main gigging rig. If you have a chance, check it out.

Bought from Machinehead Music in Hitchin for £965 for the head, £419 for the cab and £115 for the Z5 footswitch. Total price paid: £1499 Apart from the construction (faultless) and ease of use, the cool LED's at the back make the amp look damn cool on stage, and the price is seriously competitive... but thats nothing compared to the sound. Overall the tone is far better than anything I have played before (Mesa's, Marshall's etc) and the amount of low end you can get out of it is shocking, the closed cab adds to this (I have also played it through a Marshall 4x12 (Vintage 30's) and the ENGL 4x12 does respond to the neuonces in the Powerball much better, the whole amp really moves air and scares people, it really is loud... 100 watts is enough but If I had my choice I would go for 150 watts, just for the headroom. It's a modern amp and it doesn't pretend to be anything else, it's punchy and clear and with my Jackson RR1 it shatter windows and cracks walls. There are no less that 8 (I counted) channel switching options and they make it very easy to use in as it gives you scope you would need to create a diverse palate of tones. The Clean channel is perfect for clean and punchy arps and perfect for chords and if you wish to play it... funk, it really has the best funk sound, really punchy and percusive (If you use a HSH guitar with the selector in the neck/singlecoil position it smokes) With the contour depressed (Bright on the clean channel) it brings it into a more f*ndery territory, all in all a great start, 10/10 The crunch channel adds a bit more gain and brings you into a middle ground between marshall and, er marshall... and their is nothing wrong with the marshall crunch (I had a DSL before this) it's great for rock rhythms (I don't play them very often, but when I do, OMPH! very AC/DC if you set the treble right, and the amp has two trebles so you can keep the clean bright and the crunch nice and bassy) and with the contour depressed, well it's just the balls! 10/10 Now for the real deal The difference between hi and lo lead's charchter isn't really noticable until you get the volume above halfway, which isn't a bad thing, but there is a subtle difference. (The Lo gain is alot smoother, and perfect for those riffs where theres alot going on, and the hi gain is really darker and deeper and f*ckin' great!) Lo Gain, really isn't it's got more than enough to cut your balls off when you strike a chord, great and 10/10 again But... Hi Gain, boy is this deep and dark, it shakes the biggest of clubs and practice rooms, when it's pumped you have to watch women in a 20 mile radius just incase they get a little over excited by the tremours it causes. Both channels are great for lead work, the lower gain is better for legato and picking and sweeping and the hi gain does all that but with more balls, perfect for bends and Zakk Wylde style pentatonics. There are two mids for the lead channels, Open and focused, I have the open (Much more Mesa or Soldano depending on the bass and treble settings) scraping the 0 (it's about 0.5) because it sounds great but when I play in my band I pump it up to about 0.5 (it does make a difference, the sound travels further but still retains that... dare I say it M*tallica black album sound) Focused is more about the Marshall JCM800 thrash sound but with more bass so you really get a great tone for fast thrashy riffs and speedy solos cut through perfectly, I don't scoop the Mid Focused because I like the option of having the mid pumped up for solos. 11/10 again The presence and depth controls give you that edge over the oposition with that extra tone shaping capabity. And the two volume controls are a stroke of genius, perfect for cutting through or as a mute so at high volumes, when you take a pause during a song, it's perfectly silent... as long as your tight as a band though! The Footswitch cable is abit flimsy... and erm it's erm, well it's got a... it's chea... no wait thats a good thing... so yeah nothing really. Maybe it could do with more power? It doesn't really need it unless your playing Wembly but it would be nice to use as a weapon. Perfect, I did break a valve but that was my fault for leaving it in a practice room where the amp got knocked over buy some ass but I told ENGL (synergy distribution) and they are sending me a new valve... free! This is without doubt the best deal on the market, and im not joking, before going straight for the normal brands check out this you will fall in love with it, originally I was gonna buy a Randall, but I checked this out and bought this instead, it never goes wrong (unless you leave it in a room with a bunch of nu metalers with more of their parents money than brain cells) The ENGL powerball, check it out. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I still remember when the original Powerball came out. It was like a Dual Rectifier on steroids. Still, it had its fair share of flaws and eventually I sold mine for something with less shortcomings. II leaves where the last Powerball left off. It offers 4 channels, 6L6 tubes, bottom controls, mid boost, depth, a full range of EQ, and a lot of other goodies. The only feature missing is midi control which I really really wanted. Some of the other ENGL amps have this and I find it very useful. UTILIZATION This is a hard amp to get the hang of and it clearly not for the less is more crowd. This is a real member of the channel switching knob turning family. Personally I like both schools of thought, and I'm always open to finding a multi channel amp that can sound good. The ENGL manual is great and the way they do things reminds me of Mesa and their manuals. Very useful. There are a lot of trial and error things on this amp like the depth control and the bottom controls. You can get a lot of different uses out of it. SOUNDS The clean channel is much improved. I usually use a les paul or super strat of some sort and I must say the cleans are not as sterile as they were on the older Powerball. Yeah they still have that glassy feel to them and they are really fendery too. Just not as bland. The crunch channel is possibly the weakest channel, trying to do the mid gain thing but honestly not sounding like it wants to. The 2 lead channels are where the good stuff is. Just set them to taste and use them in conjunction with channel 1 and you will be good. Obviously this is an amp for heavy heavy metal and the like. OVERALL OPINION I really like this version better than the last, although in my opinion there are still better ENGL amps. I think it comes down to taste. There's a steep learning curve with the Powerball as well as most other amps like it, and you should be prepared to spend at least 2 weeks learning what effects all the knobs have on sculpting the tone.

ENGL amplification makes some of the best metal amplifiers in the industry. They are very good to building highly saturated in loaded distortion type of amplifiers. This amplifier is a bit of a departure from that norm of their style. This amp was on a limited run and it is basically a signature Ritchie Blackmore amplifier without the signatures logo and the blue faceplate. This one doesn't have his name and it's basically a gold looking face plate. All of the features and all the tone is pretty much the exact same. It's only a cosmetic change for someone who doesn't really like owning or buying signature equipment. UTILIZATION Specifications Preamp: 4 channels: Clean, Crunch, Lead, heavy Lead, Bright switch, 3 band EQ, Contour switch, Hi/Low Gain switch, Lead Presence Control. 3 x ECC 83 preamp tubes. Master Section: Master A/B, 100 watts (1 x ECC 83, 4 x 5881 power amp tubes) Outputs: Speaker Outs, (2 x 4, 2 x 8, 1 x 16 Ohms) fx loop (parallel to serial adjustable), footswitch jacks, Z-3/Z-4 or custom Z-5. Dimensions & Weight: 71 x 27 x 27 cm, 20 kg SOUNDS This amplifier features four channels. However it is really not for channels but rather two channels with four different modes of operation. You basically have a clean and lead channel with four modes between those two channels. So your clean channel can get a crunch and then your lead channel can get a heavier lead. It's not really four channels because all shared EQ, so this is a little bit of a marketing switch for ENGL amplification. You have a bright switch that will brighten up the highs if you have at hiicker warmer guitar. You also have a contour switch that will shape the mid range a little bit better. And you also have a high low gain switch. This is not Uber metal amplifier that ENGL makes but more the classic rock/ modern amplifier. It does have a lot of modern tweak- ability and features and the overall voicing and tone is more towards classic rock in modern tones but not modern metal tones if that makes sense. OVERALL OPINION If you get lucky to find one of these amplifier's then you're in good shape because they're very hard to find. If you do you find one then I'm not even sure what the going rate or price of them can be. But if you want the tone of this amplifier and you don't mind owning a signature amplifier you can just go with the Ritchie Blackmore signature amplifier instead.

ENGL invader 100 amp is a metal amp guitarist dream. It has four separate channels with its own separate EQ control box. It's powered by four EL34 power tubes which is a good mid range crunch. This guitar amp is very flexible and completely versatile and can get just about anytime and you can dream off. It can go from a crisp clean tone all the way up into a modern high gain new metal tone. Combine all of that with the ability to use and my MIDI gives this amplifier with a modern touch with a great versatility and feel. • Channel 1: Silken Clean to Crispy Crunch • Channel 2: Fat & Bulky Crunch to NU-Rock / Metal Rhythm / Lead • Channel 3: Tight Warm Crunch to Classic Dynamic Rock / Metal • Channel 4: Modern Crunch to Singing Harmonic Leads UTILIZATION Features Four Basic Channels with separate Gain and Volume knobs Two Gain Variants for each channel Four Voicing Sections - 3-band EQ for each channel Bright sound-shaping Button for Channel 1 & 2 Two Effects Loops that are variable and switchable A and B Master knobs are accessible via MIDI MIDI Ins and Thru ports 128 MIDI Presets via 16 Channels Three different remote interface ports Programmable Noise Gate in Channel 2, 3, and 4 SOUNDS The tone of this guitar amp is very German sounding. It's hard to dial out the voicing of this amplifier to make it sound anything other than a metal amplifier. The voicing is a great voice if you're into that sort of thing but if you are more of a vintage player and I suggest other amps. The clean is very good clean and is very sparkly. The first channel does a exceptional job and giving you a good smooth clean tone. The second channel can give you a good classic rock chick sound and even a new male lead time. The third channel can get a good one crunch sound as well as a good metal sound. Channel 4 is more towards the modern crunch by Sapphire focus midrange for leads and solo playing. Each channel does it really changing foisting too much or is it changes the focus of the frequencies more. See you would have higher midrange frequencies and Lola midrange frequencies on certain channels to get you the ability to get a lot more versatile rhythm and lead tones. OVERALL OPINION You can pick up these amplifiers new right at around $2900. It's a pretty expensive price for an amplifier but this for a professional guitarist. This is an amplifier for someone is just learning and just trying out the guitar for the first time. This is an amp or someone is down with a new balancing and death we knows exactly what you're looking for it sound features and quality. Is a very high quality amp and a little intimidating at first when you see all the control knobs and buttons on the front panel. I highly recommend this empty any modern metals player or someone is just likes a load of distortion.

Engl amplifiers make some of the best metal amplifiers in the business. The really excel a creating an amplifier that meets the most demanding tones for metal players. This is a 50 W three channel amp that has a master volume. This is sort of a single channel amplifier with a crunch and lead push button and also the cleaning in lead push button this gives you a wealth of more versatility within this 50 W amplifier. You have a crunch volume and a lead volume and also the master volume in this two channel amplifier but the cleaning lead push button give you even more versatility from this amp. This amp has 6l6 power tubes and the power section as well as a plethora of 12ax7 preamp tubes. Engl amplifiers definitely have their own voicing structure. If you have a great Tony can be very versatile but they have a distinct German hygiene sound to them. It's not a good sound. It's not a bad sound is just a very unique sound that makes them special. UTILIZATION Features 50 watts 3 channels Master volume Rated power: approx. 50 watts at 8 or 16 ohms Tubes V1 (input-tube): ECC 83/12AX7, FQ Grade V2, V3: ECC 83/12AX7 selected V4: ECC 83/12AX7 standard V7, V8: 5881 (6L6GC) matched set Fuses External: 1.25 AM (medium) at 230 Volts; 2.5 AM (medium) in the 100 and 120 volt models Internal: 1.6 AT (slow) at 230 volts; 3.15 AT (slow) in the 100 and 120 volt models Dimensions: 53 x 25 x 25 cm Weight: 30.8 lbs. (14 kg) SOUNDS I review like the tone of the small 50 W amplifier. Have a great versatility even using the shared EQ section. The cleaning lead push buttons give you a lot more total range to your last reply. This amp uses the highest quality components and workmanship that is available to amplifiers today. I think you can really hear the total difference in this amp versus some other amps that don't carry the same type of workmanship and strict quality control when building the amplifier's. This amp is a very inexpensive but the tone is extremely huge. I like this amp with a good for 12 cabinet speaker. This is a very small head which also sits on a 2 x 12 speaker cabinet but to get this thing really cooking I believe you needed for 12 speaker cabinet. You can add in some delay in some course effect to this amp and get a solid room feeling metal toe. OVERALL OPINION The new price for these amps coming in at around $1000. As an exceptional price compared to many other hands within this price point. I highly recommend this into anyone looking for a good solid 50 W amp that excels at metal towns the same can get you just about any metal tone that you desire and even excels at the low drop to any guitar tones. Even if 50 W still has enough power to get you through most music gigs.