Engl e530 vs Peavey Rockmaster

Well, I have an option to shift 81-85 and vice versa, thanks God to quick connector in there. But I do think that 85 in bridge will be absolutely muddy. I've got to made comparison, though.
P.s ordered Audio-Technica ATH-M50 tonight)) Thanks, Metaltastic - I hope you suggest only good things in forum. I own Satellite, and hope I won't be that unlucky as you)
 
wasn't my intention (sorry if you understood it that way)...it's just a fact that amps from Germany are regarded überawesome in the US....similar thing with Mesa over here...both sides often lose objectivity by being blinded by the mystique around foreign brands.
I was only aiming at your black and white statement without even having owned the amp.
And yes, sadly I have to say that Engls build quality is inferior to Peavey's...but as I said as long as the amp doesn't fail on me I don't care whether it's gold or ducttape holding the parts in place.

FYI... I really could care less about anything other than the way an amp sounds and plays. I have had experience with the amps being discussed and I gave my opinion, that's all. There is no magical feeling I get with an ENGL amp because it was made on the other side of the pond. I should have stated that although I don't own an ENGL, that I have had experience with them. I would think that that should be enough to give an informed opinion?
 
Well, I have an option to shift 81-85 and vice versa, thanks God to quick connector in there. But I do think that 85 in bridge will be absolutely muddy. I've got to made comparison, though.
P.s ordered Audio-Technica ATH-M50 tonight)) Thanks, Metaltastic - I hope you suggest only good things in forum. I own Satellite, and hope I won't be that unlucky as you)

Haha, cool dude, glad I could help, and yeah, I probably just got unlucky with my Satellite! :(
 
Just curious... what do you guys think of the low-end on the ENGL? I remember Matt has mentioned it's not exactly a low-end monster...

It's really tight. You can crank the bass to 10 and it'll keep there. If you're after that HUGE monstrous low end of the Recto, the ENGL won't really get there alone. But if you want a really tight, really aggressive sound, IMO the ENGL does it best for rack preamps in the price range.
 
To clarify - I'm not saying you can't get enough low end with an 81. You just have to work harder for it. Also there is nothing "muddy" about an 85 in the bridge. Everything you guys have heard from James Murphy, Soilwork, and KsE has involved 85s in the bridge exclusively. This topic has been well covered on this forum and you can get great results from either pickup with the e530, just as you can with any other amps that are respected here.

But I will say it - I have a personal bias and I don't care what anyone else thinks about it - I hate the EMG 81 personally, I think EMG made it for the lulz, and it is my belief that it is the reason (99% of the time) why many players hate active pickups and call them "thin" and "sterile" (because it's the most common factory installed active humbucker, and it is thin and sterile by nature.)

The 81 is better than an HZ at least... and it does have a nice "high pass" effect to it on overly muddy guitars such as some cheaper baritones, and is preferable to an 85 in some of those oddball cases. The main thing to avoid like the plague is alder body guitars with 81s - that combo will sound very shrill through anything; I can't believe Jackson keeps making guitars this way.
 
Plenty of beefy low end, unless you're using EMG 81s, in which case you have to get clever with EQ and multitracking. But that's an issue with 81s more than the e530. That's why I use 85s myself...

I haven't tried a Rockmaster though, I'm curious to honestly. How is it for leads, cleans, and mid-gain crunch/rock stuff?

It's really tight. You can crank the bass to 10 and it'll keep there. If you're after that HUGE monstrous low end of the Recto, the ENGL won't really get there alone. But if you want a really tight, really aggressive sound, IMO the ENGL does it best for rack preamps in the price range.
Thanks for the clarification...

I'm kinda looking at one of these as well... just toying with the thought of getting one, really...
 
I haven't tried a Rockmaster though, I'm curious to honestly. How is it for leads, cleans, and mid-gain crunch/rock stuff?

It can definitely pull off all of these, but seems to me the mid-gain rock tones is where it really shines. The crunch channel suits that kind of tones nicely, but unfortunately I haven't been playing around with it that much.

Damn I'd like to get mine FJA-Modded, but $170 + shipping overseas and back... :zombie:
 
I'd take the Peavey over the Engl anyday. Then again I'm not a fan of Engl or the hype and I much prefer the Peavey tone.
 
Fuck yeah , we've got split decision here)) Don't want to start Holy war here. But is damn pity I can't compare them back to back.((
 
The 81 is better than an HZ at least... and it does have a nice "high pass" effect to it on overly muddy guitars such as some cheaper baritones, and is preferable to an 85 in some of those oddball cases. The main thing to avoid like the plague is alder body guitars with 81s - that combo will sound very shrill through anything; I can't believe Jackson keeps making guitars this way.

OMG DUDE YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

I have been of this opinion for a long time, and I too have no idea why Jackson do it. My friend had a KV2 that he tried lots of different pickups in (including EMGs) and it sounded ridiculous compared to other guitars that were supposedly of nowhere near as high a quality, but made from mahogany.
 
I have both

(pasted from another thread)
The ENGL is tighter, more aggressive has a lot of useful features (built in power amp, compensated outs, stereo out)
The Peavey is a lot more versatile sound-wise (active eq with mid-shift), has a more "organic" feel and cuts better on a live environment.

The original idea was to keep the one I liked the most, but after some months, I relized I cannot part ways with either of them.

I use the ENGL primarily for studio work and home practice, while I use the Peavey mostly for band rehearsals and live gigs (when I cannot bring my amp head)

I can add: If I had to keep only one of them, I guess it would be the Peavey due to its versatility + organic tone + bigger low end which suits better my needs (doom-ish stuff). I guess with the right settings + a tubescreamer the Peavey can get really close to the ENGL as well, however if I played death metal I guess I would keep the ENGL.

Just my 0.0002 cents
 
Any Rockmaster + IR clips in mixes? I've heard a couple of them here, months ago, and they were decent but seemingly just quick tone tests and not labored-over mixes.
 
OMG DUDE YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

I have been of this opinion for a long time, and I too have no idea why Jackson do it. My friend had a KV2 that he tried lots of different pickups in (including EMGs) and it sounded ridiculous compared to other guitars that were supposedly of nowhere near as high a quality, but made from mahogany.

Yeah, I have a cheap Ibanez Iceman thats made of mahogany, and a Jackson SL2-H made of alder plus a maple top. I had 81s in both bridges at one point and the Iceman sounded soo much better than the jackson with 81s
 
Isn't the Mesa Studio Pre around the same price range used as the e530? I think that would be a good otpion as well.
 
I found a rock master pre at my local music store today for 199. It had weird ass pre-amp tubes someone put in it. The EQ section was COMPLETELY broken and it was noisy and sounded like shit lolol. I feel bad if someone buys that particular unit.


And I decided....I'm keeping my peavey power amp and getting an e530. Some guy is coming in a few hours to buy my marshall DSL head...ENGL HERE I COME