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.
