Comments about Engl Tube Preamp E 530:

I run my Engl E530 with a Rocktron Velocity 300 (great SS poweramp!) and a Digitech GSP1101 in the FX loop. Interestingly enough I think the Clean Channel surpasses the Lead Channel (??!? WHAT ??!?) Let me explain...The clean channel has shown to have GREAT headroom and with the bright switch engaged gets surprisingly chimey. (Note I would not recommend it for country or jazz BUT for the clean tones associated with the Metal and Hard Rock genre they are pretty good) Onto the Lead channel...Off the Bat the unit has a lot of usable gain (If you a high output pup guy and like tons of gain you may enjoy this) I myself use a fair amount BUT overall I find there are 2 tones to be really had, contour switch in fat leads muddy rhythm, and contour out, late 80's metal without the deep mid scoop (raspy, metallic and very tight) for now the unit will work but there are MUCH better options in the 800-!200 range. As well the foot switch does not allow you to control all 4 parameters unless you own a stereo pedal (voodooman) or 2 of the VERY EXPENSIVE (but well built) engl z-4 pedal...overall the digitech gsp1101 that I was hoping to use for FX only has already replaced the Engl in certain applications. Overall Im disappointed but if your into a flat clean and raspy or muddy dirt channel the engl may work. For the genres of music I play (melo-death/ doom) this unit is a let down.

Comments about Engl Tube Preamp E 530:

This unit will provide a good rock tube sound, the clean is decent as well. It struggles a little trying to hit the super high gain, if you want mega gain and distortion go with the E570. If you run with this unit and you're doing metal, you may need some hot EMG's or maybe a tube screamer in front of it for solo settings. I really like this for home studio work and a good dirty blues tone, be warned if you need to use this live the pedal options are very $$$ and there is no midi.

Comments about Engl Tube Preamp E 530:

right to the point, this thing has a modern tone that is perfect for anything after 1997 rock. keep in mind i am running it through a mosvalve power amp from tube works . i dontknow anyone using this set up so i have a uniqe tone i also match it with a egnater renagaide with amp switch plus blend it a little wow what a tone . i have yet to play live and not had people coming up to me and saying i am a tone god

Comments about Engl Tube Preamp E 530:

I've wanted an Engl Savage for a while now, but I'm hesitant to drop that much money on an amp, so I got this instead. I'm really happy with the tones I've been getting out of this. The built in power amp (just a few watts, but surprisingly loud) is perfect for playing at home. It's got that classic Engl crunch that we all love, but for much less than the rest of their amps. The clean channel isn't the cleanest in the world, but with lower output pickups you can get some nice tubey warm tones out of it. I don't think anyone in their right mind buys an Engl for the clean channel though, so who cares. The lead channel is awesome. Some people have said it doesn't quite have enough gain for death metal. They've probably never recorded in a professional studio, where one of the first things you do is turn down the gain to get a clearer tone. With that in mind, with some high output pickups it can play every subgenre of metal, to include death metal - but it does need high output pickups for that. A boost in front of it would probably be perfect, but even without, I am very very happy with the tone of this amp.

Comments about Engl Tube Preamp E 530:

Great "Rock" sound, seems to work best for a rock, blues or metal type vibe. Major drawback for live use is it's very noisy, limited footswitching (purchase an aftermarket switch, Engl charges way too much for their switch). Fans of Death Metal may find this a tad lacking with the low end but the gain is off the charts.

Comments about Engl Tube Preamp E 530:

This thing is great! I was using the coveted Rocktron Piranha preamp before but as soon as I found a reasonably priced E530 I had to do the upgrade! I paired mine with an Engl power amp and I couldn't be happier with the tone! Especially for live sound applications. I know it has a built in power amp that is great for bedroom jamming but this thing truly shines when paired with the right power amp, which in my opinion is about any of them! Another great feature is the low mid and high mid controls! You really can get this thing to thump if and when you need it to! the only con for this thing is the lack of features but that doesn't prevent it from getting 5 stars! if you want features get the special edition preamp! The best suggestion that I can give is to pair this thing with the Engl 840/50 (or higher) power amp! It's pretty awesome seeing that combo in a rack and realizing that you sound better than a-lot of the non Engl professionals out there! BUY IT NOW

Comments about Engl Tube Preamp E 530:

I bought this preamp specifically for running direct into my Apogee Duet 2 and recording using impulses in Logic. For this application it works great. The cleans are clean, the crunch is crunchy and the leads are...leady? The lead tones and super high gain tones sound awesome through this preamp using impulses (guitarhack, catharsis, god's cab etc...) The only problem I had with this was Musician's Friend screwing up the shipping and not sending my whole order. I requested overnight on the phone. I got charged for 2nd day. Not a huge issue, but they said the only way to change it was to refund my whole order and charge my card again. Charges are taken out immediately while refunds take 7 to 10 days. Lame. Then they shipped the cable I ordered to hook this up to my interface regular postal ground instead of just adding it to the box shipping 2nd day. Next time I order from here, it definitely won't be over the phone. I get better customer service doing it myself online.

Comments about Engl Tube Preamp E 530:

The upside: Never before was I able to dial in such a great tone so quickly!! I have this paired up with an Engl E840/50 power amp for an awesome sound. I also use a Digitech 1101 for effects.
The downside: My previous rig was all midi controlled, so I wanted to be able to do the same with this preamp. I had to purchase the Voodoo Labs midi control switcher and cables to achieve this at around $150.
You'll have to pruchase some extras in order to control it, but in my opinion, it's totally worth it!!

Comments about Engl Tube Preamp E 530:

Okay... so it came down to the Engl e530 and the Mako Mak 4... both of which I did not get a chance to play. I went with the Engl and could not be happier!

This thing has an incredibly simple interface - just knobs and buttons! Looks good, sounds amazing and sonically it is versatile as hell!

Okay, specifics: I tend to max the gain out on everything and this beast sounds incredible doing so. The contour adds lots of shaping possibilities, the EQ is incredibly sensitive. The high gain channels are excellent. The clean channel is too, but it's very tubey sounding, which lots of folks prefer... I'm an Alex Lifeson cicrca HOLD YOUR FIRE/PRESTO/A SHOW OF HANDS kinda of clean guy... the e530 doesn't quite go there, but that's just my personal aesthetics.

The onboard power amp sounds better through my two 2x12 cabinets than my actual power amp!! Do read the manual carefully before you use it.

I don't care for the frequency compensated outs too much, just a little fizzy for me... I run the e530 into a Rocktron Xpression for cabinet simulation, but lots of folks now use IR's... (check youtube for tons of samples)...

Overall, from clean to maxed out gain, it is very clear and articulate. My leads sing and ring as opposed to being sharp and bitey. Running direct or through cabinets, this thing is worth every penny.

Comments about Engl Tube Preamp E 530:

Overall I am pleased with my purchase and feel the features match the price nicely.
I like the overall quality & features of this preamp.

Likes:
This pre-amp had everything I was looking for, for the price I was willing to pay.
I love the adjustment knobs, very smooth, easy to understand, nice layout.
Clean Channel has low/bass, mid-bass, trebel adjustments, & "bright" button
Lead channel has low/bass, mid-bass, midrange, trebel adjustments, & "countour" button.
The versatility of tone adjustment is verynice and allows a decent control when setting your tone.
Headphone output is a nice feature if you just want to practice.
Preamp has effects loop and defeat switch too.

Dislikes:
Unfortunately unit did not come with footswitches. This requires 2 switches (sold seperately) to control all features, or a ENGL Midi switch if you are using Midi to switch channels etc. Although they market this as a 4 channel amp its really just a 2 channel amp with some boost/countour/bright switches. The clean/rythem channel and lead/solo channel share tone adjustments and are selected by a switch. Sounds great.
Only thing I dont like is slight hiss on solo setting (lead with gain boost) It is very slight, but I dont know if I need to replace tubes with high quality tubes to eliminate this or if it will still be there if I replace the tubes with AAA tubes. Anybody have advice here?
Great value for dollar if you are looking for a 1unit rack mounted modern metal tube sound with decent tone controls and effects loop. I just wish it came with the foot pedals. I also wish the foot pedals didnt require me to purchase 2 pedals.