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Everlone « The Blackmore left me wanting more. »
Published on 07/05/11 at 09:22The Engl Blackmore is a 100 watt, all tube amplifier powered by a quartet of 5881’s. It has one set of EQ controls (bass, middle, and treble), clean channel volume, overdrive channel gain, overdrive channel volume and presence. There are two master volumes; one for each channel, unless the footswitch is plugged in, then one of the master volumes can act as a boost. There is also a bright button for the clean channel and a contour button for the overdrive channel that boosts low-mid frequencies.
UTILIZATION
Because of the limited number of controls, and a well thought out design, it is extremely easy to get a good sound out of the Blackmore. The names of some of the knobs can seem a little ambiguous, so the manual is helpful. It is also helpful in understanding how the two channels and each channel’s “modes” work.
SOUNDS
I used the Engl Blackmore 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. The Blackmore has four modes within its two channels; clean, crunch, lead and heavy lead. The shared EQ works extremely well on all modes. I never found myself wanting to change the EQ when I would change channels or modes, which speaks volumes for the amp’s design. The amp sounded excellent when playing alone at home, but in a band scenario I found my tone getting lost in the mix. I was either too loud or unable to be heard. This amp would be great if I was playing alone or in a recording environment, but in my band the Blackmore failed to perform. However, I have seen a Blackmore used in another band with excellent results.
OVERALL OPINION
Besides the tone of the Blackmore not cutting through in a band environment, when I used the Engl Z-5 controller there was a slight delay when I would change from one channel/mode to another. There wasn’t a popping sound, only a pause with no sound coming from the amp. However, I spoke with other Blackmore/Z-5 users and they did not have this same problem. Knowing what I know now I would probably not have purchased the Blackmore. I still believe it is an excellent amp with excellent tones, but it did not gel with me and my amplifier requirements.
UTILIZATION
Because of the limited number of controls, and a well thought out design, it is extremely easy to get a good sound out of the Blackmore. The names of some of the knobs can seem a little ambiguous, so the manual is helpful. It is also helpful in understanding how the two channels and each channel’s “modes” work.
SOUNDS
I used the Engl Blackmore 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. The Blackmore has four modes within its two channels; clean, crunch, lead and heavy lead. The shared EQ works extremely well on all modes. I never found myself wanting to change the EQ when I would change channels or modes, which speaks volumes for the amp’s design. The amp sounded excellent when playing alone at home, but in a band scenario I found my tone getting lost in the mix. I was either too loud or unable to be heard. This amp would be great if I was playing alone or in a recording environment, but in my band the Blackmore failed to perform. However, I have seen a Blackmore used in another band with excellent results.
OVERALL OPINION
Besides the tone of the Blackmore not cutting through in a band environment, when I used the Engl Z-5 controller there was a slight delay when I would change from one channel/mode to another. There wasn’t a popping sound, only a pause with no sound coming from the amp. However, I spoke with other Blackmore/Z-5 users and they did not have this same problem. Knowing what I know now I would probably not have purchased the Blackmore. I still believe it is an excellent amp with excellent tones, but it did not gel with me and my amplifier requirements.