When I bought my first Engl around 2004 - 2005, there was only one known dealer (in the states) which was rocksolidamps. Derek I believe his name was, LOVED the Engl line. He really put them on the map if you ask me. But back then, if you had an Engl, it was . Now with Musicians Friend carrying them and their popularity has seemed to sky rocketed, are they still considered boutique? Has build quality changed at all? And early Engl owners (even before I am talking) does it matter to you that they are more popular now?
Based on the construction of the SE I owned, I'd say "novel" but nowhere near boutique in term of quality.
I've heard them referred to as the "Peavey of Europe". They certainly don't look boutique on the inside at least to me. Upside down PCB's with all the components underneath so you have to pull the boards to get access to the components. I think the prices in the U.S. are partly due to the import costs I would think.
my 1986 model Engl Straight is very nice. no, I'm not knocked out by the build quality.. but she works well.
Of course it does. The matter whether they're boutique or not is the most essential issue in defining how those amps sound. In fact, it's an issue of life and death. Haven't you learned anything about amp forums yet? ...now all you ENGL lovers, get to the "Modeling" section... we don't want your kind around here...
I wouldn't say boutique because that market is for the likes of Bludotone, Dumble, Nolatone, Satellite etc etc. However, Engl sound amazing to me. My Engl Powerball 2 covers a lot of ground (due to its 4 channels). I've tried a lot of amps and they have all had certain qualities but my Engl is the most versatile amp I've tried. Hence buying one.
that is NOT a modelling amp by any means. it is an all tube amp with digital storing of the presets and switching.
Why do you care? Build-quality wise, they are not built exceptionally poorly and in fact, they are built better than some of the "true" boutique amps there. Tone-wise they do have their own unique sound that you probably won't achieve with most "boutique" amps. There's no waiting lists, advance payments, there's probably an almost worldwide service network, warranty, and a good chance the company is even around the following year - unlike many "boutiques". There's bunch of dedicated employees building and designing these things so the things don't fall apart when lack of motivation, financial problems, illness or whatever strikes a single person. There's an whole organisation making sure designers can sit back and design, salesmen can sell, and executives can handle the practical matters of running a company. No single person or just a small handful of people doing all that, which means more chances that people are actually concentrating on the field they are experts on. Not all amp gurus are actually gurus in running a company.
I didn't think Engl was ever considered boutique, just that they were priced like boutique in the states.
In Europe they're not considered very boutique, but then again, the whole "boutique" thing is not nearly as big a factor here. Here, they're pretty much considered the German metal work horse. They're not as expensive here, which I guess is a factor when deciding whether one considers them to be boo-teek or not. Compared to American tube amps, they're actually considerably cheaper. Over here, a new Fireball 100 (or a new Marshall JVM410H, for that matter) costs about half of what a new Dual Rectifier does...
I would be pissed if the inside of my amp looked like that. I have seen other Bruno gut shots that looked pretty bad. Wondering if this one was considered a "production" amp? I prefer my amps to look more like this Germino: or this Ceriatone:
YEs Bruno looks awful inside, but plays as in heaven. ENGL is my main working horse and Bruno is for special occassions (it does what no ENGL will ever do). Still to each its own, I would not divide amps to boutique and non-boutique in terms of quality only. I believe in good production practice when serial product quality may surpass easily anything called boutique. ENGL is very good German product, like Warwick bass, on par with the best, but although not cheap, actually not overly expensive. I'm not happy that Bruno is not ENGL and I would buy serial amp if it could produce sound as Bruno. That's the whole story.
Does it really matter? I pick my amps based on tone, functionality and reliability. Ive had one boutique amp that sounded great, great functionality, but wasnt very reliable...got rid of it. Others sounded great, very reliable, but not versatile enough...got rid of it. Now running a Mesa Lonestar Special ( I would say Mesa is a boutique company, just much bigger than when they started ). Very high quality parts and construction, very reliable, very functional, great sound. My next will probably be a PWE EH 3. I have never owned an ENGL, but demoed a Blackmore and it sounded pretty good, but not great. Not my cup of tea
Agree, never boutique, just imported. They're production amps in Deutschland. Good sounding hard rock/metal amps though. Very articulate.
