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Hatsubai « The more organic ENGL »
Published on 04/04/11 at 20:30The ENGL Invader 150 is one of the newer amps that ENGL offers. It features many of the features that the Powerball features, but this amp runs on EL34s. It has four completely independent channels, multiple effects loops, is fully MIDI enabled, has a line out and a preamp out jack.
UTILIZATION
ENGL is listening to customer opinions and finally offered a fully independent four channel amplifier. Where as the SE series has some shared controls, this has a knob for every channel. It can seem a bit daunting at first glance, but it's very easy to dial in and get a great tone. There are less mini switches on this for voicing changes, so it's also a bit easier to find a great tone than the others, in my opinion.
SOUNDS
This ENGL is a bit more organic than the others in the line up. I find it takes pedals better, offers a better clean and mid gain crunch as well. The amplifier really can do any tone ranging from country all the way to the most brutal death metal out there. The main difference that everyone wants to know is the difference between the 100 and 150. I haven't tried them back to back, but I hear there's a difference in the way the bright switch works. One thing I did notice, besides the 100 watter being cheaper, is that the 150 watt seems to rely more on preamp distortion, so it tends to stay a bit "cleaner" sounding where as the 100 watter actually sounds bigger thanks to the power amp distortion assisting everything.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're looking for one of the more versatile ENGLs out there, I recommend checking this amplifier out. I also actually recommend the 100 over the 150 as the differences are a bit minimal, aside from the price. That said, if you're looking for a "cleaner" sounding gain, the 150 will probably suit you better.
UTILIZATION
ENGL is listening to customer opinions and finally offered a fully independent four channel amplifier. Where as the SE series has some shared controls, this has a knob for every channel. It can seem a bit daunting at first glance, but it's very easy to dial in and get a great tone. There are less mini switches on this for voicing changes, so it's also a bit easier to find a great tone than the others, in my opinion.
SOUNDS
This ENGL is a bit more organic than the others in the line up. I find it takes pedals better, offers a better clean and mid gain crunch as well. The amplifier really can do any tone ranging from country all the way to the most brutal death metal out there. The main difference that everyone wants to know is the difference between the 100 and 150. I haven't tried them back to back, but I hear there's a difference in the way the bright switch works. One thing I did notice, besides the 100 watter being cheaper, is that the 150 watt seems to rely more on preamp distortion, so it tends to stay a bit "cleaner" sounding where as the 100 watter actually sounds bigger thanks to the power amp distortion assisting everything.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're looking for one of the more versatile ENGLs out there, I recommend checking this amplifier out. I also actually recommend the 100 over the 150 as the differences are a bit minimal, aside from the price. That said, if you're looking for a "cleaner" sounding gain, the 150 will probably suit you better.