Engl Cabloader

I bought mine several years ago, and bought some more in recent years. I use one one my live pedalboard, to be able to get a steady live sound through the XLR to the front of house and I use the thru to pass the signal to my poweramp.

The quality of the sounds are top notch. I use a ENGL 4x12 standard cabinet with V60's, and that IR on the pedal is spot on.

In the studio I use 2 to record stereo signals from my tube preamps, and it delivers. So for silent, good quality recordings, it is ideal.

I recommend it to anyone who needs a versatile IR solution for live or studio usage.

Aangezien ik veel met preamps in pedaalvorm werk, en dan het liefst meteen in de mixer prik, zocht ik een kwalitatief goede speaker- en eindtrapsimulator die eenvoudig en overzichtelijk te bedienen is. De eindtrapsimulatie geeft meer presence en dynamiek dan alleen de speakersimulatie, in mijn ervaring. Inmiddels heb ik er al veel uitgeprobeerd. De Engl stelt niet teleur. Niet iedere cabloader is in staat om direct in de PA of recording mixer het gevoel te geven dat je over een echte gitaarversterker speelt. Deze dus wel. De bediening is eenvoudig en overzichtelijk. Geen digitale menu's waar je doorheen moet worstelen.
De out-of-the-box IR's voldoen prima voor mijn eisen.
Kortom, ik ben erg tevreden over het bedieningsgemak en de kwaliteit van het geluid.

I have been looking for a simple cabloader that could replace my digital plugins. I had a bunch of pedals and recently added a few more boxes to my signal chain. Putting them all together I realized that would need something to make the direct line sound decent until I am able to get my hands on a much desired Engl amp head + cabinet in a few months.
The results are amazingly surprising. This little stompbox behaves really well with my Revv G4 distortion. I feel that I have a wide horizon of tones to explore. Whenever I want it to sound different I am able to do that.
In a straight forward wrapup:
Pros:
- Easy to tweak
- Both balanced and unbalanced outputs
- Almost unlimited configurations
- Embeded footswitch for 2 presets
- Allows to load your own IRs
- Headphone jack
- Lightweight
Cons:
- Not quite cheap but also worth every cent paid on it

I have been playing an Engl Screamer 50 for 10 years now, and have been been looking for a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker sim for recording equally long. Naturally, I was ecstatic when I learned about Engl's plans to release this product. I immediately pre-ordered the item and patiently waited until its release.

Craftsmanship: I was relieved to see that it's at least not made in China. Yet, it's sadly not made in Germany either, which I hoped it would be for this price, but it's produced in PRC instead.
It feels light and not exactly sturdy. The buttons are OK, but nothing special either. I wish the master button had numbers or so, as it's pretty hard to dial in the volume at times, but it's not big deal. Overall, it's alright, but durability remains to be seen.

Sound: This is by far the best sounding speaker sim I have ever tried. I have the TAD Silencer, which has a speaker sim output, but had to heavily EQ my guitar sound to make that work. I have also used Amplitube plug-ins for speaker sims in the past, and I have tried Mooers IRs, but this is so much better. I don't even need any mics, just the Celestion 1x12 speaker Vintage 30 sim, and I am set, 2x12, or 4x12, if I want more oomph respectively. There are many more possibilities though, even 4 slots for your favourite IRs, and with the very useful, and essential center dial for the mic sims, you can easily find a suitable sound. Storing and usability is also very easy. Once you have found a sound, you just depress the desired switch until the light flashes 3 times, and you have saved it. So, that allows you to store 2 settings, + the one you have currently set it to. I wish it were more like the TC Nova Drive, which is an entirely analogue overdrive/distortion pedal, but you can store about to 22 presets. Anyways, it's still cool and highly useable. The headphone feature is just terrific, as I don't have to turn on my PC when I want to practice anymore.
But wait, there is more: Not only does it feature speaker and mic sims, with center and distance dials, but also power amp sims, so you can use it as a DI with your pedals, etc.. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but it's certainly wonderful to have.

All in all, I can truly recommend this feature-packed stomp box, as it finally offers some great solutions for recording, rehearsing and gigging. A power adaptor should have been included, but that's no deal-breaker for me.
I'd rate it 8/10 overall.
2 minus points for the less than tank like quality of the stomp box, lack of exact master volume parameters, variable volume of mic sims (which may be unavoidable?), exclusion of power adaptor, and
ability to store additional presets, which would have made this product beyond awesome, but it's still fantastic, and I am very glad I have bought it.

I may put up a first look and later a review on youtube sometime soon.