# Engl Steve Morse Signature 100 - Quickie Review



## keto (May 23, 2006)

As posted in another thread, my Stiletto Deuce II went back. 

Aaand an Engl came home. Have it on demo for the long weekend so trying to evaluate as much as possible. Here is my take so far, including the various features and my opinions.

Amp is 100W, EL34 powered, 4 12AX7 in preamp. 3 channels, with low gain and hi gain modes in each channel, channels 1 & 2 have Gain Treble Mid Bass Volume. Channel 3 has separate volume controls for Lo and Hi modes, plus you have 2 master volumes overall. For tone shaping, you have: 'Tone' switch which acts as a bright in ch 1, more of a scoop in ch 2&3, presence for top end sizzle, 'Depth Punch' for bottom end thump. Channel 3 also has 4 (!) mid controls - 2 are labelled 'hi mid' and 2 are labelled 'low mid'. They are individually switchable, one set gives you more scoop, the other gives more emphasis on mids. Of course, ch3 also has Gain, Treb, Bass controls.

2 FX loops, haven't tried them yet. Can take 1 or 2 button footswitches or Engl or any other brand of midi controller. The Engl footswitches are pricey and not included with the amp, about $300 for the model that just gives you 10 presets, up to $500 for the full midi board with 128 presets. Build in noise gate, tho I hate it. Lots of noise artifacts when changing hand positions, it also makes a noise just ahead of the sound coming back in. I've tried it set low, medium, and high and just do not like it for my playing. I'm sure some players would get more out of it than I do.

How does it sound? Sounds great!

Channel 1 Lo - basic clean, lots of headroom, gets nice and pristine as the volume goes up. With the 'Tone' (bright) engaged, it sounds REALLY GREAT at lower volume, almost blackface Fender, very 3D. Verrrry bright at higher volume tho.

Channel 1 Hi - your basic early breakup classic rock tone, starts out sort of Vox-ish with the gain very low, up to roughly a JCM800 type tone with the gain well up. I quite like it with the gain low.

Channel 2 Lo - I'm using this with the gain again set fairly low, maybe 10 o'clock, for classic up to say 80's rock. 

Channel 2 Hi - starting to get pretty modern here, tons of gain and sustain even at the 10 o'clock setting mentioned above.

Channel 3 Lo & Hi - just depends what flavour of metal you like LOL. Decent variety of tone available given the extra mid controllers, the 'Tone' switch, dual channel vols + dual masters, etc.

At low basement volume (say just above conversational), the gain channels do sound fairly compressed. Presence and treble rolled up really help eliminate the squashed sound. I haven't had it really cranked yet but at a volume where my wife upstairs has to have the TV at full volume to hear her program (LOL) the amp is really alive. Lots of THUMP. Very broad sound, quite smooth if dialed for it. Tons of singing sustain. Lots of roar with power chords, yet full cowboy chords you still hear every note.

I'm getting smarter about admitting that I'm in a honeymoon phase with new gear. But this amp sounds good with ALL of my main guitars (Tele, Strat, Mira, Les Paul). I am hoping my sons can put a bit more time on it and give me their opinions before I finalize anything.

I took 3 different videos with my camera hoping to have something to show you all. But even at a volume much lower than I actually play at, the input of the camera is overdriven so much that it's unlistenable. Meh.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

we demand clips. right meow.


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