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James... « Good for practice and small shows »
Published on 10/13/11 at 06:5065-Watt All-Tube Amp
Two Independent Channels Each With:
Volume, Gain, 3-Band EQ
Tight and Bright Voicing Switches
18w / 65w Wattage Selector Switch
Tube Mix Blends 6L6 and EL34 Power Tubes
Master Controls:
Presence & Density
Individual Reverb on Each Channel with "Spillover"
Main and Secondary Master Volumes
Four-Button Footswitch with Channel Select Plus:
Assign the REVERB, EFFECTS LOOP and MAIN 2 Volume to Just Channel 1, Just Channel 2 or Both - Right From the Pedal
Simple Master Bias Adjust with External Test Points
Buffered Effects Loop
Balanced XLR / ¼" Cabinet Voiced Line / Recording
UTILIZATION
Seems like Egnater lately has been getting quite popular, but the Renegade is kind of under the radar taking a backseat to the rebel and the tweaker. I really see the Renegade as Egnater's middle of the line amp. It comes loaded with all the cool Egnater features. The manual, like all Egnater manuals does a great job of explaining what they do. For a lot of people, this might be their first tube amp, and some of the functions like tube blend and density can leave some people confused. The combo is very light which I like because it gets hauled around when I'm in a hurry. I wish the foot control cable was longer. That's a fair gripe to have I think.
SOUNDS
I have two issues with the Renegade and everything else is peachy. Really. First of all, the tube blend on this and most of the other Eggy amps I've tried is basically useless. I think this right here serves as a signifier that output tube type doesn't effect sound that much. And too bad it doesn't. It would be nice to go from Fender to Marshall sounds like that, but it's just not so. Maybe I'm just not hearing well enough, but personally I think it's a failure of a feature. Nice try though.
The good: Great clean and gain channel. Actually I'm convinced this is a JCM2000 clone. I used to have a couple of those and this amp sounds a lot like it...maybe a bit more nuetral across the pond if you know what I mean. But both channels really have the 2000 vibe going on. Like a relaxed and less ticked off jcm800. This does bring up the question of why I'm playing a $1000 amp when I could just buy a used JCM2000. But I digress. It sounds nice though.
My other gripe is the speaker. Why 100 watts? Why not 75? And why not an actual celestion since I'm paying so much? I'm left scratching my head here. It doesn't sound terrible but it definitely sounds better through my bogner 2x12.
OVERALL OPINION
Bottom line, this is a lightweight 112 combo and for my uses it passes the marks. Partly because it's portable but mostly because it doesn't sound like dirt and it's pretty reliable. Never went down on me. I just think Egnater is fooling himself with all this "tweakability." Honestly most of the excess functions are pretty minor as far as how well they work. I would prefer another version of the renegade with all the bells and whistles. Still, it fits my needs to I'll be keeping it.
Two Independent Channels Each With:
Volume, Gain, 3-Band EQ
Tight and Bright Voicing Switches
18w / 65w Wattage Selector Switch
Tube Mix Blends 6L6 and EL34 Power Tubes
Master Controls:
Presence & Density
Individual Reverb on Each Channel with "Spillover"
Main and Secondary Master Volumes
Four-Button Footswitch with Channel Select Plus:
Assign the REVERB, EFFECTS LOOP and MAIN 2 Volume to Just Channel 1, Just Channel 2 or Both - Right From the Pedal
Simple Master Bias Adjust with External Test Points
Buffered Effects Loop
Balanced XLR / ¼" Cabinet Voiced Line / Recording
UTILIZATION
Seems like Egnater lately has been getting quite popular, but the Renegade is kind of under the radar taking a backseat to the rebel and the tweaker. I really see the Renegade as Egnater's middle of the line amp. It comes loaded with all the cool Egnater features. The manual, like all Egnater manuals does a great job of explaining what they do. For a lot of people, this might be their first tube amp, and some of the functions like tube blend and density can leave some people confused. The combo is very light which I like because it gets hauled around when I'm in a hurry. I wish the foot control cable was longer. That's a fair gripe to have I think.
SOUNDS
I have two issues with the Renegade and everything else is peachy. Really. First of all, the tube blend on this and most of the other Eggy amps I've tried is basically useless. I think this right here serves as a signifier that output tube type doesn't effect sound that much. And too bad it doesn't. It would be nice to go from Fender to Marshall sounds like that, but it's just not so. Maybe I'm just not hearing well enough, but personally I think it's a failure of a feature. Nice try though.
The good: Great clean and gain channel. Actually I'm convinced this is a JCM2000 clone. I used to have a couple of those and this amp sounds a lot like it...maybe a bit more nuetral across the pond if you know what I mean. But both channels really have the 2000 vibe going on. Like a relaxed and less ticked off jcm800. This does bring up the question of why I'm playing a $1000 amp when I could just buy a used JCM2000. But I digress. It sounds nice though.
My other gripe is the speaker. Why 100 watts? Why not 75? And why not an actual celestion since I'm paying so much? I'm left scratching my head here. It doesn't sound terrible but it definitely sounds better through my bogner 2x12.
OVERALL OPINION
Bottom line, this is a lightweight 112 combo and for my uses it passes the marks. Partly because it's portable but mostly because it doesn't sound like dirt and it's pretty reliable. Never went down on me. I just think Egnater is fooling himself with all this "tweakability." Honestly most of the excess functions are pretty minor as far as how well they work. I would prefer another version of the renegade with all the bells and whistles. Still, it fits my needs to I'll be keeping it.