Engl 530 Preamp

[CoG]

yep. I picked the rec pre over it, actually, even though the recto pre is almost twice as much. I played one for about a week.

If all you're playing is modern high-gain stuff it's fine. Tighter and more saturated than Mesa stuff but there's that hard-edged solid-statey thing that Engls have. The cleans are nothing special and the crunch-type sounds are pretty bad. It's better than a Pod.

If you're finding the rec pre lacking tonally or in features (especially presets), this is probably not gonna do ya. For features you'd be better off looking for a used JMP-1, should be able to find one around the same price.

I have heard that the E580 is pretty hot, but it's also like $3K.

 

[jdurso]

yep. I picked the rec pre over it, actually, even though the recto pre is almost twice as much. I played one for about a week.

If all you're playing is modern high-gain stuff it's fine. Tighter and more saturated than Mesa stuff but there's that hard-edged solid-statey thing that Engls have. The cleans are nothing special and the crunch-type sounds are pretty bad. It's better than a Pod.

If you're finding the rec pre lacking tonally or in features (especially presets), this is probably not gonna do ya. For features you'd be better off looking for a used JMP-1, should be able to find one around the same price.

I have heard that the E580 is pretty hot, but it's also like $3K.

I never like Recto pre's DI sound to be honest. My PodX3 sounds much
better in some ways. I use to have Demonizer by Damage control & that thing was brutal :evil: if I sell my Recto pre and I could probably get a used demonizer & Engl 530 (?)

Another Preamp comes to mind is the infamous Axe FX. it cost as much as the engl 570 pre but with Eventide quality effects. they say it's probably the best Direct sounding Preamp to date(?)

the axe-fx is one of the best all-in-one preamps out there.... putting the fx aside for a second..... the unit is chock full of tone.... fenders, mesa, diezels, engls, bogners...... you dont get a 1 to 1 because depending on you poweramp, you couldnt get a fender and a marshall out of the same one (or in my opinion you cant).... but it lets you shape your own tone... the modelling borrows characteristics from the real thing and does it very well.... i was suprised playing my friends (who has it paired with a vht 2:90:2) that you feel like your playing a tube amp..... and the with the fx in this thing the possibilities are endless..... true eventide type quality.... if they were more accessible i'd be going after an axe instead of the eventide eclipse but you've had to gte on a list for the axe for almost 2 years

 

[pmb]

yep. I picked the rec pre over it, actually, even though the recto pre is almost twice as much. I played one for about a week.

If all you're playing is modern high-gain stuff it's fine. Tighter and more saturated than Mesa stuff but there's that hard-edged solid-statey thing that Engls have. The cleans are nothing special and the crunch-type sounds are pretty bad. It's better than a Pod.

I did a few mods in my e530, and that made it sound a lot better. The third channel now has the potential to do some heavey stuff, and the fourth one has become really insane.
The second channel in my opinion is the least good. But boosted by a tubescreamer it sounds good.
The clean isn't bad but not as warm as my mesa markIII cleans. You just need a good poweramp I think for it.

 

[CoG]

I did a few mods in my e530, and that made it sound a lot better. The third channel now has the potential to do some heavey stuff, and the fourth one has become really insane.
The second channel in my opinion is the least good. But boosted by a tubescreamer it sounds good.
The clean isn't bad but not as warm as my mesa markIII cleans. You just need a good poweramp I think for it.

if I'm not mistaken I think Anomaly needs to go DI and silent...

I always tell people this-- there's no mostly- or all- tube pre out there (Rec Pre, 530, JMP-1) that doesn't sound like it needs a speaker/cab sim behind it. I can get good tones DI out of my rec pre without one, but only if I know in advance how I am going to mix the track. The tone I dial up initially won't sound how my player's ear thinks I want it to, but it will work in the mix. In some ways it's almost easier than working with a mic'd track.

If you're just playing at home, all DI, and don't want to mess with a separate cab modeler, I know several guys who are very, very happy with this:

http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/g92tt/index.php

The AxeFX is a LOT of money for something that is going to be obsolete; in three years Line6 or Zoom will put out something for $499 that will mostly smoke the AxeFX.