Engl Poweramp anyone )

[FrankD77]

Bought this one today on marketplace
Wanted something to pair the synergy with that is better than my 8008 marshall valvestate.
Not much to found online except it's a limited run ?

Problem :
Connected it to the torpedo x
Connected input and output on master
Amp powers up
As soon i take channel right (master) out of standby it's end of story.

I'll bring it to a technician on Wednesday ;(
In the mean time, anyone more info on this amp ?

 

[CoolCat]

5 stars on Gear head pics. Amazing piece of work there.
Hopefully its a self protect circuit and everything's nearly ok.

 

[FrankD77]

I hope so too.

 

[drtechno]

I'll bring it to a technician on Wednesday ;(

Nuked fuses? They should be able to sort it out. Looks like a generic parallel push pull. Looks like a Marshall clone. At the worst its either a bad output tube or transformer.

 

[FrankD77]

I hope so, waiting to test it is a trial

 

[FrankD77]

It was a long wait
But it's back
Restored to original glory. New tubes and a new protection system.

Compared to the Marshall 8008 valvestate Poweramp it has a lot more "balls" sweet spot is for me around 12:00 or slightly over.

Biggest difference is the articulation. It has no room for mistakes. Every pick attack is super clear with the synergy Vai module.

Add the gain stage and the sounds is fatter that whatever i heard before super harmonics.

If you can find one get it.
Although I read there are only 60 made ?

 

[FrankD77]

Hi guys
On my website i wrote an article about the ENLG 920/100
There is not a lot out there so i did my best to combine everything i could find.

If i missed something feel free to reach out so i can update the post.

The ENGL 920/100 - Frank Doorhof

Sometimes you get more than you wish for or less…. I love tube amps Don’t get me wrong, modelers and plugins have come a long way and sound absolutely awesome,...

frankdoorhof.com

 

[FrankD77]

I recently got the ENGL 530 in my rack.
It's one of my favorite pre-amps at the moment so I could not resist to write an article about it.
And also recorded a track with it.

In the article I also mention what impact the change of the V1 tube has made.
I replaced the JJ in V1 for a Mullard and got a much nicer sound fitting my style a bit more. Less grain in the distortion and slightly tighter pick attacks.

I'm running it into the ENGL 920/100 which makes a huge difference with the 530 compared to a Power Amp emulation in Genome (which also sounds fine)

Hope you enjoy the review and if I missed something , please let me know so I can add the information.
https://music.frankdoorhof.com/2026/09/03/the-engl-e530/

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

Compared to the Marshall 8008 valvestate Poweramp it has a lot more "balls" sweet spot is for me around 12:00 or slightly over.

The marshall valvestate 8008 really doesn't have much push to it.

engl is new. Cool, you like it.

I found 'it' long ago. CAE 3+ is king. But there are many favorites. The Marshall 9001. ADA MP-1. etc

 

[FrankD77]

Correct its much less powerful.
But here i drive it into the capture X and at around noon the 8008 gives it just enough to make it stand out compared to a solid state or emulation.

The 920/100 is a different beast indeed.
Live it will probably snort the 8008 without it even knowing it did. For recording i think it's a hidden gem.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

The Engl is so much power amp, what cool preamps are on the wish list?

A new Soldano X88? everybody's got one nowadays. or something vintage perhaps. It is a blast collecting the sounds.

Get into speakers have a low and high resistance option. Like a 8 ohm( or less) 12" and a 16 ohm( or more) 12" with nice ribbing on the perimeter.

 

[FrankD77]

For speakers i use a marshall cab with blackbacks. Everything else goes through the capture.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

Im just saying it cause I have the balls.

Class D amps are a complete failure! Unless you wanted to run off a battery or something, or used in low resistance systems, yeah. They suck.

I say go back to Class AB or A. And use speakers with some resistance and reactance to them. Like 16 ohms, will naturally boost the hi's, the low's, and duck the middle. Go back, and never use D again.

 

[FrankD77]

A few questions
1. Did you even use a 8008?
2. It's a class AB not D.
3. I'm not using it linear but on the valvestate setting.
4. Even Dave Friedman and many amp builders claim the 8008 is a great sounding solid state solution

I've been using it for years (bought it new) and it sounds a lot better than a power amp simulation in genome (which is so far the best one I tried).

So if you have the balls try one out. It might pleasantly surprise you. I know I love tube amps and prefer the ENGL 920/100 but the 8008 is not bad at all. As long as you keep the volume below half way. Above that it becomes a bit less tight and "weird" (depending on your pre amp output).

For live playing it's under powered unless you use a mic-ed cab.
In my teens i traded my jcm800 combo for the 90001 with 8008 (yeah I know) and the drop in volume was considerable. But also at that time i mostly recorded or practiced.

Also you mention the CAE 3+
I immediately believe that one is kick $ss but can you buy it for 300,00 ?

If i would spend 3k on one piece of gear it would be an axeFXIII that i would hook up between the synergy and 920/100.

For me the fun is getting a great tone with vintage gear that is affordable. Paid 500 for the 920/100 after repairs and 300 for the 530. For those prices it's fun. There is always something that someone else claim it's better. But often it's forgotten that the tones we hunt for were done with old plexis or Fenders (running on poweramp "distortion") and some sort of clean boost.

For me that's the fun part, not spending a fortune on one piece. In that case i would buy the eventide rack gear

 

[FrankD77]

Ps.
I have one fairly new marshall 4x12 that sounds not more than ok.
Two small 1x12" i never use anymore

And a vintage 4x12 marshall with black backs. Bought it when I was in my teens.
Running the ENGL through a se100 with that cab is what you hear on my most recent tracks.
It's in a hushbox because I don't want to go deaf

Indeed it beats most IRs

What's funny is that with IRs i need more eq than when using the cab

On music.frankdoorhof.com you can find some reviews of the gear i use.

 

[FrankD77]

You asked for pre amps
I have the following to choose from.

Synergy Vai, Xtc, kh3
Carvin v3 with legacy mod on one channel
Rocktron voodu valve witch doctor
Engl 530
Marshall 90001
Vox mv50
Fender Excalibur
Line 6 Spyder valve bogner 2x12
Some SS voxes like the deacy
And a MB joyo

Personal favorites are the synergy and 530
But it's nice to be able to select for taste
Nothing really on my wish list but the Friedman be dlx module perhaps.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

You asked for pre amps
I have the following to choose from.

Marshall 90001

The 9001? You need to maintain the gain stage continuity via the fx loop on that one. Must connect or jumper the fx loop send to return, or use it.

Use it or lose it. Thank me later.

 

[FrankD77]

Oh serious ?
Never knew that. Easy to do so will do that right away. Any reason why ? I never have the loop engaged. Also hardly use that one

I like the clean and crunch but the lead channel is never quite right.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

You are young and didn't live in the time of the equipment. How would you know.

Oh serious ?
Never knew that. Easy to do so will do that right away. Any reason why ? I never have the loop engaged. Also hardly use that one

Guessing, it is just a last final gain stage to even out output difference from various effects boxes.

I like the clean and crunch but the lead channel is never quite right.

You know what the hole on the top cover is for, right?

There is a treble balance potentiometer you can turn with a tiny 'dead/nonmagnetic' screwdriver. HERE-blue thing above between 3rd-4th knob below white ribbon

That will be like a variable bright switch. edit-The ADA MP-1 has 3 internal trim pots to get it squealing like paul Gilbert.

The 9001 is awesome. I think that was Angus Young's goto circa LIVE 92'

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

A few questions
1. Did you even use a 8008?

Y

2. It's a class AB not D.

No the 8008 is not class D

3. I'm not using it linear but on the valvestate setting.

okay

4. Even Dave Friedman and many amp builders claim the 8008 is a great sounding solid state solution

I would agree with him. Definitely.

In my teens i traded my jcm800 combo for the 90001 with 8008 (yeah I know) and the drop in volume was considerable. But also at that time i mostly recorded or practiced.

The 8008 is an EXCELLENT SS power amplifier. It has a NICE HEAVY chassis to prove it's worth. The 8008 will not get that loud, you can jazz it up louder with lower ohm speakers it can do a 4 ohm minimum I think.

Also you mention the CAE 3+
I immediately believe that one is kick $ss but can you buy it for 300,00 ?

no like $4000+ . Yes the CAE is king. Has THEE sound.

If i would spend 3k on one piece of gear it would be an axeFXIII that i would hook up between the synergy and 920/100.

I hope you like that synergy stuff, and AXEfx. The demos of the Synergy were solid. I never played through it, does it emote well with your interacts?