ENGL Amplification

Edmund Engl had this brilliant idea in the early 1980s. He wasn’t an electronics freak, but he was a musician. He saw things with the pragmatic necessity of musical practice and thought that such a programmable amplifier would be a fantastic solution, especially if it had a wide variety of sounds available via footswitch.

This is the moment that Horst Langer came into play, a technically savvy friend and ENGL’s technical mastermind from then right up until today. With his know-how, he was able to realize every idea; every ENGL amp started life as his brainchild. 

The Straight model in 1985 was a great success. Technically speaking it was a step back to a conventional two-channel amp – again, however it was developed with uncommon features for that time, such as Lead Boost, Mid Shift and Bright switching. Above all, it had a massive gain on board, something like this hadn’t existed before in this format. Players that liked to push their amps harder took note – this was an exceptional amplifier.

The Savage was another model that really summed up the innovative power concepts that ENGL bring to the table. At the time of its release in 1993,t his concept was absolutely groundbreaking for lavishly equipped rock amplifiers. Four channels, various switchable sound options per channel, two master volumes and two presences – all available via footswitch!

Two years later we were visited by an undeniable legend of guitar mastery, Ritchie Blackmore, the founder of Deep Purple. Ritchie (yes he who who created the ‘millennium guitar riff’ with “Smoke on the water”) wanted his own amp based on the Savage. No sooner said than done – Blackmore’s Signature Amp was launched in 1996 and is still in production and just as popular with players today.

The other guitarists from Deep Purple seem to like ENGL amps. Steve Morse, Ritchie Blackmore’s successor at Deep Purple, also played the Special Edition and the Invader for quite some time before getting his own signature amp tailor-made in close collaboration with Horst Langer. The sound control for the mids – which Steve Morse attaches great importance to – is probably unique. There are four (!) controls (Lo Mid 1 and 2, Hi Mid 1 and 2) only for the mid frequencies, which can even be switched in pairs.

If you study our model history carefully, you will notice that ENGL were always pioneering the introduction of new features. Integrated noise gate, tube protection circuits and serial amp control interface – all introduced with the launch of the Powerball and are now part of ENGL standard production models.

No matter whether it’s a small roar cube of the kind of a Screamer or an Ironball, the compact Tops Gigmaster , Rockmaster and Metalmaster or the new custom pedals – every product breathes the enthusiastic spirit with which Edmund Engl and Horst Langer set off back then.

ENGL consistently implements the quality standards of Made in Germany. High-quality components and the best workmanship lead to a perfect result and a sound that has received the best reviews in the trade press and is appreciated by prominent players all over the world. By the way, our endorsers also play off-the-shelf amps, as they are also available in specialist shops, this means without any modification.

The list of our endorsers elicits an appreciative tongue click from the interested rock music connoisseur. A small overview: Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Morse, Paul Stanley, Vivian Campbell, Glenn Tipton, Richie Faulkner, Marty Friedman, Mick Box, Bob Kulick, Victor Smolski, Stuart Smith.

Sure, you don’t need to be a celebrated rock star to play ENGL amps. But if that’s what you are, these amps with their timeless tube sound will definitely help!