Engl users, care to rebottle ???

Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

I've actually never heard of a Peavey breaking down that often, and they aren't nearly that hard to get serviced. My 5150 has been roadworthy as all hell - I've watched it topple off the back of a cabinet and have the tubes fall out, only to sound great 10 minutes later \m/.
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

you did not get service diagrams as a dealer? *lmao*
i phoned them one or two times due to i wanted to mod and service
the combos on my own. they sent me the diagrams for my two models without
hesitation. zerb, you had bad luck with engl. i definately understand
this sucks for you. i would be very pissed of too, i know because it
happened to me as a service pc guy in the past - so i'm with you ...
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

Baltar said:
you did not get service diagrams as a dealer? *lmao*
i phoned them one or two times due to i wanted to mod and service
the combos on my own. they sent me the diagrams for my two models without
hesitation. zerb, you had bad luck with engl. i definately understand
this sucks for you. i would be very pissed of too, i know because it
happened to me as a service pc guy in the past - so i'm with you ...
Click to expand...

To clarify, I´m not "pissed off" in any way. Maybe I did have bad luck, but many other dealers had nearly identical issues at the time, as did most repairmen..... we sure didn´t WANT to sent the amps back to Engl on a regular basis. Towards the end it kind of started to seem like they were built to fail so that Engl could earn money on repairs as well. But it was no money out of my pocket, as I already sent most amps to Andreas of Tube Amp Doctor back then for work. So I couldn´t care less either way.

My only personal gripe with Engl is the internal construction, which I was truly shocked to see the first time I opened one. ;)
 
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Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

Well I am an ENGL owner and the VERY NON METAL tones I get from it are awesome (on most days), but my tech just had to do a bit of work on it for the first time and he said that it was such an awful pain in the neck to work on, with something like components on both sides of the boards. I'd expect more from something that is regarded as a high end amp manufacturer.

Once again though, it sounds good and does the job so as long as it keeps that up it doesn't really matter what you use.
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

I honestly never heard of reliability issues, must have been because engls I know rarely get out of the protective environnement of a studio or bedroom, not meaning to generalize or insult anybody, off course ..

The Mesa 20/20 poweramp also has PCB mounted tubes, without retainers. But then again, through hole plating on a PCB can mean a day and night difference for sturdyness and reliability.

Nobody found pictures on the inside ? You guys suck at the internet ! :) j/k .. Here are some and no really, I didn't crack open my alarm clock to pull a prank on you.

Svg_TPot_001.jpg

Svg_TPot_002.jpg

Bias_003.jpg

Bias_004.jpg

Bias_008.jpg
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

so it looks like, that the more sophisticated models have this bunch of
thin pcbs inside? so if i'd go for a fireball some day, i'll ask if i could
take a look inside before taking it home *haha*
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

At least they tie-ripped and glued the cables for the hard disk and DVD writer.
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

damn. amazing what people will pay for a name. Stateside, those ENGL's are generally regarded as being like a mesa-equivalent.

I'll never play an amp with a ribbon cable. I dont care so much about PCB or hand wired, because if the PCB is thick enough and high enough quality, it can be just as good or better. Case in point->Bogner.
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

ENGL Screamer sounds better than Rectifier IMO, i love the way ENGLs sound, but then again the internals dont look all good, but if the wire can cope with the current then its fine IMO.

No matter what, people must admit that ENGLs kick ass tonally? :D
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

Well..I got a Screamer..it sounds good to me..didn't know it's wrapped poorly..hm..didn't open it yet but I have no clue how it should look like.
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

joelap said:
I'll never play an amp with a ribbon cable.
Click to expand...

whats your prob with that cables? if you don't use them for signal, it shouldn't
be an issue. engl uses electronics to check the tube status, so you don't
know what the cables are used for.
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

The cables don't look good, but since every ENGL head just about has midi capabilities I'd assume that the ribbon cables are used for that.
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

Baltar said:
whats your prob with that cables? if you don't use them for signal, it shouldn't
be an issue. engl uses electronics to check the tube status, so you don't
know what the cables are used for.
Click to expand...

Because an amp using ribbon cables has a chance of the ribbon cables catching fire if the voltage is high enough. Case in point, Peavey Ultra 120. I've heard numerous stories of that amp's ribbon cables catching fire, and I owned one of them at one point.
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

Young Angus said:
The cables don't look good, but since every ENGL head just about has midi capabilities I'd assume that the ribbon cables are used for that.
Click to expand...

Even from looking at that pic it´s quickly apparent that at least one of the ribbon cables is used for the amp´s front control sets, and that´s already dangerous enough...;)
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

Zerb, did I hear you lump peavey into the unreliable category?:smack: :laugh2:
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

MikeF said:
Zerb, did I hear you lump peavey into the unreliable category?:smack: :laugh2:
Click to expand...

No, you heard me compare the reliability of an Engl directly to that of a Peavey or Crate. What exactly that amounts to I´ll leave open for interpretation.

Personal experience with all 3 brands has not been absolutely stellar, neither as a dealer nor as a player, and especially not as the tech who people expect to fix things. ;)
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

I was just thinking about the old joke about what will be alive after nuclear war, ****roaches and an old Peavey PA. :smack:

I've never played an Engl. :fingersx:
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

All I know about this thread, having never played an Engl, is that for the entire first two pages I've been confused about asking Engl owners if they want to "rebottle."

First I thought there was some field study that found that Engl users prefering a specific brand of beer. Then, for a while I thought it was a tube-related question.

Then I realized that the thread starter meant "rebuttal."
 
Re: Engl users, care to rebottle ???

MikeF said:
I was just thinking about the old joke about what will be alive after nuclear war, ****roaches and an old Peavey PA. :smack:
Click to expand...

I've got an old Peavey P/A right here that didnt make it to see the nuclear war. Toasted. Out of the blue. Also, If I ever have to open up another peavey amp build like my Ultra was, I'm just gunna use an axe next time. Seriously, I've never had so much trouble getting a chassis out of a freaking amp before. It's like they dont account for the thickness of the tolex when they measure up the dimensions for the chassis to fit in the wooden enclosure.

they definately arent designed for quick fixes or easy servicing even the most typical of parts to service.
 
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