VLOG: New rig update #6 - filling in the empty spaces

With a 20-space amp rack and only 12 spaces worth of gear, I naturally started looking for other cool pieces of amp gear to add to the rack, thinking "what other tones would be nice to have in the studio yet different from the tones already in the rack?" Here's what I've managed to fill in the gaps with over the past few weeks...

ENGL E530 preamp - The E530 is one of those preamps that seems to have a strong following with metalheads. While I don't play a lot of metal these days, it's actually a rather versatile preamp... 2 channels with independent EQ and switchable boosts (so it acts like a 4-channel amp). The higher-gain channel has a 4-band EQ (pretty uncommon) and switchable contour as well. What can I say... classic German (over-) engineering. I'm only using one tone out of the ENGL currently... the lead channel with the boost engaged and a scooped EQ for an over-the-top metal tone. (Honestly, the clean and lower gain tones have been less than inspiring... they sound a bit flat in comparison to the other preamps in the rack.)

Frenzel FM-800 "Rocker 800" preamp - While Frenzel mostly produces amp heads, the FM-800 is a dual channel preamp where the "F" channel is based on the Fender Bassman circuit and the "M" channel is based on the Marshall JCM800 circuit. And while I've never owned a genuine Bassman or JCM800 (for purposes of direct comparison), I was able to dial in some pretty convincing tones. Overall the design is pretty simple... each channel has its own gain, 3-band EQ, and master volume controls... no effects loops, no channel switching, no MIDI implementation. Overall, I've been pleased with the tones, though it did take me a while to dial in, as the Frenzel is relatively low output compared to the other amps in the rack and is comparably dark sounding.

Hiwatt Series 2000 PRE-1 preamp - While I hesitate to call things "rare", I'm not afraid to call something "uncommon". The Hiwatt preamp is one of those items... not too many folks are aware of it and, of the few who have actually tried it, reviews were pretty mixed. Nonetheless, after one seller described it as a "British-sounding Mesa Mark I", I was intrigued and had to give it a try. It's a 2-channel preamp with shared 3-band EQ and an FX loop. This one's a keeper (in the sense that nothing I own will probably ever be a "keeper")... channel I is a pushed, chimey clean; and channel II makes a great alternative lead tone compared to the Mesa Studio preamp.

Mesa/Boogie Formula preamp - In theory, the Formula preamp is derived from the old Mesa Heartbreaker heads/combos... it's probably as many knobs, switches, and tubes as you could ever hope to squeeze into a single rack space. The Formula's got 3 channels... a green channel (with pull boost on the gain control) and its own 3-band EQ plus orange & red channels which have independent gain & volume controls but share a 3-band EQ. In addition, it's got a parallel FX loop and a switchable 5-band graphic EQ. For a Mesa preamp, it takes a lot of heat... perhaps because it doesn't sound like any of the "standard" Mesas (e.g., Mark, Rectifier). That said, I've been using it for lower gain tones and really digging it... the green channel is a bright clean tone, the orange channel is a darker/warmer blues tone, and the red channel (with the graphic EQ engaged) has a more biting blues tone.

When all's said and done, I had to add a second Rolls/RFX RP-93 Patchwork to handle the routing and switching for the new preamps. I've still got two empty spaces in the rack, though no more available loops on the Rolls... not sure what's next, but I'm pretty sure I won't stop until I find one or two more pieces of rack gear to finish the job! Maybe it's time to pick up a couple of FunkLogic units...

So here's a new video clip of me demoing the ENGL, Frenzel, and Mesa Formula preamps...



And here are a couple of pictures, both of the updated rack as well as the complete amp/cab collection...





--B