Ever since acquiring his first guitar at 13
years old, Bruce Egnater has been obsessed
with the craft. His company, Egnater Custom
Amplification, has made a name for itself by
providing guitarists with versatile amps complete
with useful tonal options such as his Tube Mix
control. The small-wattage Rebel 20 and 30 have
proven to be major hits for Egnater, and the
Tourmaster line has established itself as a powerful
contender in the high-powered amplifier
world. Not one to rest on his laurels, Egnater has
released the Renegade, a 65-watt (switchable to
18) beast that aims to continue the company’s
practice of kicking ass and taking names.
With its vintage accoutrements of basketweave
grille cloth, white piping and tan/black tolex covering,
the Renegade is an intimidating looking
beast. A large number of options are available
to the player right on the front panel, which is
sectioned off into two preamp sections—one
for clean and one for dirtier tones—and one
master control area. Each preamp control area
features a 3-band EQ, individual Gain, Volume
and Tube Mix controls, and three mini-switches
to control various functions. The first of these
three is a Wattage Selector, which toggles the
output section between either 65 or 18 watts.
Next in line are Egnater’s signature “Tight and
Bright” voicing switches. The first is a response
switch: set for Tight, it gives the preamp a percussive
attack; set for Deep, it produces a looser,
spongier feel. The Bright/Normal switch gives
the option of running the desired preamp in a
normal mode, or a brighter mode with more
harmonics in the upper register.
For those unfamiliar with Egnater’s Tube Mix
feature, each preamp can be set for a specific
blend of 6L6 and EL34-generated frequencies.
This is especially useful for those who really like
the midrange grind and cut of higher-wattage
British tube amps, but also really enjoy the
depth and bounce provided by their American
cousins. This feature is a very popular option
in Egnater amps, and one of the things that
really put them on the map. Finally, the master
control area sports separate Reverb controls for
each channel, along with Master Density and
Presence, a Main overall Master and an additional
footswitchable Second Master for presettable
solo/volume boost. The rear panel features
a standard, footswitchable effects loop,
footswitch and extension cab jacks, a speaker
emulated XLR line out jack, and easily accessible
bias adjustments pots (with test points)
for those tired of having to remove the chassis
to bias power tubes. Egnater had the foresight
to make these readily available for those who
need them, but also understood that maladjustment
of these can cause major issues. With that
in mind, the pots are recessed, eliminating the
possibility of accidentally moving them while handling
or setting up the rig.
Plugging In
For such an apparently versatile amplifier, it was
appropriate to select a versatile guitar lineup to
test it with. At my disposal were a 1978 Gibson
Les Paul Custom, a 2008 Parker Fly Deluxe,
and a 2009 Fender Road Worn Telecaster. The
Renegade was coupled with a matching Egnater
Tourmaster 2x12 cabinet, loaded with Egnater’s
custom-voiced Celestion Elite 80 speakers. The
cab has a pretty cool option of its own: you can
have it closed or open back, simply by removing
or replacing the tightly secured centerpiece on
the rear baffle (this mostly came into play testing
the clean and light overdrive tones, which I’ll
mention shortly). With all of the EQ controls at
noon and on the 65-watt setting, I plugged in
the Telecaster first. This particular guitar, while it
has that stinging bite a good Tele should have,
doesn’t seem to have an issue with raspy high
end, but still I set the Bright control to Normal to
see just how transparent the Renegade’s channel
one preamp really was. I’m very glad that I did,
because the result was what I’ve come to expect
from Egnater: a punchy, powerful clean with
fantastic cut.
After playing around a little with the Tube Mix
control, I found my favorite tone—the mix leaning
a little more to the 6L6 side, right around
the 1:30 mark. I’m a big fan of the clean tones
produced by non-master volume Marshalls of
yesteryear (good enough for Hendrix, good
enough for me!), and that’s really what I equate
the common Egnater clean tone to. It’s very
“in your face” sounding, strong and vibrant.
Even with the Bright switch set to Bright and
the Tube Mix set to the maximum 6L6 setting,
it still retains some of this character. It won’t
replace your old Fender Super Reverb, but
you wouldn’t want it to. It’s one of my favorite
cleans on the market right now, simply because
it sounds so unique, and harkens back to a
vintage tone that not many manufacturers are
chasing after, that of a vintage Marshall clean.