ENGL Savage

[Ermz]

What do you guys think of this amp?

I've been quite impressed with its recorded rhythm sounds in the past... but I haven't heard much about whether it's versatile (4 channels... but, how useful are they?).

Any comments about these in general? What cabs do they tend to pair well with? Do they like front-end boosts? etc.

 

[KeithRT99]

i love what i've heard of them. I believe The last Darkane Album is Savage. The tone on that album is sweet.

 

[Ola Englund]

Well it has four channels but I only use the clean channel and the leadchannel.
They're really easy to get a brutal sound with... But if you like a more rock sound both the crunch and clean 2 works great...

V30 is the way to go as always with most metalamps.

And just to tease you a bit more:
http://www.feared.se/audio/18.mp3

 

[smy1]

I've been playing a Savage since 95-96 and I have used it for all kinds of sounds.

The areas where it is not as good are super clean (when you compare it to an old Fender amp, for example) and high gain lead (when you compare it to a Bogner Extasy, for example). The clean doesn't sound as "glassy" to me and the lead sounds fizzier/thinner and not as round as on other, more rock oriented amps.

The 2 FX outs come in very handy and the midi-switchability via footboard is really cool, too (you need an extra midi-interface for it, which is made by ENGL). My live setup in the 90s looked like this:

Guitar > wireless > splitter

Splitter 1 into ENGL Savage
> FX Out 1 (clean ch.) into Compressor > into Rocktron Intellifex for modulation effects > back to amp > to Cab 1 > miced with 2 mics
> FX Out 2 (lead ch.) into Lexicon PCM 80 for delays etc > back to amp > to Cab 2 > miced with 3 mics

Splitter 2 into SansAmp PSA1 > going directly into the board

All of this was completely switchable through my midi footswitch (I still have this ugly pink ART switch ) so I could go from a high gain rhythm with no FX, to a clean sound with a phaser, to a lead sound with a delay just by switching on my footboard. The SansAmp would also change its sounds to complement it. Very easy once it was all set up properly!

You have to be aware, though, that it doesn't have 4 *real* channels. You can switch between 4 channels, but the EQ and gain-settings are divided between clean & crunch 1 and crunch 2 & lead. I have never cared about this much, because I only used clean and lead channels live. If I wanted crunch, I just rolled back my volume on the guitar, as I feel the lead rolled back gives you a better crunch sound then the crunch 2 channel.

You get 2 master volumes, which is great again, because you can set the clean master much louder than the lead master and never have to worry about level differences. Same for two presence knobs.

As you see from the fact that I've had the amp for more than 12 years, I've been very happy with it.

 

[«¤» Mått дÅvëý «¤»]

I've owned a Savage, a Powerball and a Savage Special Edition. They're all great amps but I would say that the Powerball and the Savage SE are the best. Compared to the standard Savage the Special Edition version is smoother and has much more tonal options.

My bands EP was recorded with a Powerball and a Savage. www.myspace.com/eighthnerveuk Powerball is on the left and Savage on the right.

By the way, I'm selling my Savage Special Edition
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/off-topic-tavern/325046-engl-savage-special-edition-sale.html

 

[Ermz]

Thanks guys, that's very helpful.

@Goddamn Guitar: Your 'reverbtest' clip was what re-invigorated my interest in this amp. I wanted something like a 5150, but not so over-used, and with a more brutal edge to it. I've been considering the JSX, but it's come up short of my expectations a lot.

It's a shame about the lead sounds... I was wondering about that. I've been recording a bogner ecstacy very often and I totally love the lead sound on that thing. I'm not sure if I could live with anything less.

But for rhythms it really seems like the Savage is the go....

Hey Matt, what's different about the Savage SE and do ENGL still officially sell it?

 

[James-Doolan]

Hey Matt, what's different about the Savage SE and do ENGL still officially sell it?

About €1000 and yes engl still sell it.
The se is their flagship amp it has lots more features as you would expect and is capable of greater tonal variety check out the engl website for specs http://www.engl-amps.com/index2.html comes in el34 and 6l6 versions.

 

[«¤» Mått дÅvëý «¤»]

The Savage SE is the predesseccor to the Engl SE and is no longer in production. Infact it's very hard to find anything about it anywhere, especially through Engl.

The standard Savage has 6 ECC83's and 2 6550's and the Savage Special Edition also has 6 ECC83's but 4 6L6's. I think this is the biggest difference, it's a much smoother tone and better for leads.

The Savage SE also has additional tonal options, like a switchable pentode and triode mode for the poweramp. It has an extra treble balance control for the crunch channel and even a cable and impedance tester on the back!

If you give me your email I can send you a pdf of the manual.

 

[«¤» Mått дÅvëý «¤»]

Engl SE:

Engl Savage SE:

The SE has more buttons and functions than the Savage SE and comes with either 6L6 or EL34's

 

[«¤» Mått дÅvëý «¤»]

Engl Savage:

 

[«¤» Mått дÅvëý «¤»]

And the Savage 60:

 

[Ermz]

Are there any recordings of the SE about? And I mean the ENGL SE, not the Savage SE...

 

[«¤» Mått дÅvëý «¤»]

www.rocksolidamps.com

They're all there.

 

[Ermz]

Thanks man, I appreciate all the help. Although rocksolidamps have a lot of really bad sounding clips for every good one... sometimes its hard to tell how good the amp really is. For instance the Savage had some horrible tones there, but what Goddamn Guitar is getting, and one of the clips hidden on there are great.

 

[«¤» Mått дÅvëý «¤»]

The Lowdown black label society clips are pretty good. they're of the savage and powerball. but yeah, some of them are a bit ropey. You could try mp3 lizard too?

 

[Ermz]

I've noticed that the SE seems to sound more compressed, and give a bit more 'squish' under palm mutes... so in my mind right now it seems a bit more voiced like a 5150 on its high-gain sounds.

This is interesting... thanks again for all the input! I'll need to chew this over, and hopefully find a store down here which has both.

 

[«¤» Mått дÅvëý «¤»]

If you want to hear the Savage SE check out www.myspace.com/fellsilent. I don't think there's any other clips of that amp anywhere.

 

[Ola Englund]

When I bought my savage I had a 5150 at the same time... I had time to A/B them a lot and though the 5150 has it's own sound, it's the only sound it has. The savage has a lot more and in my opinion can sound more brutal than many other amps.

I sold my 5150 and have never parted with my savage since(3 years ago)

 

[Ermz]

Doesn't Acle use a Powerball? I can't say I'm too fond of the rhythm sound on those Fell Silent tracks.

@Goddamn Guitar: I agree about the 5150.. but damn.. what a sound. Although, over-used. That's the problem. I want something slightly more versatile (as long as rhythm and lead are good, I'm happy) and able to get a more brutal rhythm sound. I'm leaning on the Savage atm.. but I really wouldn't mind stacking an SE alongside it.

 

[Nebulous]

Billy Hydes, dude! Call around to see what exactly they have in stock at their various stores. AFAIK they're the main distro for Engl here.