All of the gear released in June 2011, in one place.
Introducing the ENGL Steve Morse Signature 20, a compact and versatile all-tube head with two channels, power soak options, built-in noise gate, delay, reverb, and more. Made in Germany, this amp delivers Steve Morse's precision and clarity in a powerful package.
Steve Morse, the legendary guitarist known for his work with bands like Deep Purple and the Dixie Dregs, has recently announced a new collaboration with ENGL Amps.
The result of this partnership is a small signature head that promises to deliver the perfect tone for any guitarist looking to achieve the same level of precision and clarity that Morse is known for. The new ENGL head, aptly named the Steve Morse Signature 20, is a compact and versatile amplifier that packs a punch in terms of both features and sound. With two channels, guitarists will have the ability to dial in a wide range of tones to suit their playing style.
What makes this signature head stand out is its unique preamp and power amp design. The clean channel offers a warm and articulate sound, while the lead channel delivers a classic rock tone with just the right amount of grit. With its powerful and responsive gain stage, this head produces a rich and dynamic sound that can go from smooth and creamy to aggressive and punchy with just the twist of a knob.
But that's not all the E658 also features a built-in noise gate, making it perfect for high-gain playing without any unwanted noise. And for those who want even more tonal options, the head also has a built-in delay and reverb as well some handy features like an IR loader, midi, headphone out. Whether you're a fan of Steve Morse's playing or just looking for a versatile and powerful amp, the ENGL Steve Morse Signature 20 is definitely worth checking out. With its compact size and impressive features, this head is sure to become a go-to for guitarists of all styles and genres.
- Two Channels: Clean, Lead
- All Tube Head
- Power Soak (Full Power / 20 Watts, 5 Watts, 1 Watt, Speaker Off)
- Preamp tubes: 4 x ECC83 (12AX7)
- Poweramp tubes: 2 x EL84
- Tube buffered FX Loop
- Noise Gate Master Volume Boost (M.V.B.)
- Reverb
- Delay
- Midi: MIDI In (with ENGL Phantom power switch)
- Impulse Response Loader
- USB: for IR loading
- Headphone Output with Level control
- XLR Ground Lift Switch
- Store (for MIDI programming)
- Controls: Gain (separately for each channel), Bass, Middle, Treble, Lead Volume, Clean Presence, Master
- Controls (Rear): Powersoak, Noise Gate threshold level, Delay, Reverb
- Outputs: 1 x 8-16 ohms or 2 x 16 ohms
- Made in Germany
The Steve Morse Signature 20 is available now from authorized Engl Amplifiers dealers worldwide.
For more information, visit engl-amps.com.
Introducing Spark MINI Vai, a portable smart guitar practice amp custom-designed by guitar icon Steve Vai. Featuring exclusive presets, a hand-signed model giveaway, and a matching lightweight cable, this amp captures Vai's iconic sound and style. Pre-order now for a chance to win a signed model.
In collaboration with guitar icon and 3-time GRAMMY® Award winner Steve Vai, Positive Grid proudly presents Spark MINI Vai, a portable smart guitar practice amp with an exclusive lightweight cable. Custom-designed by Vai himself, Spark MINI Vai captures his iconic sound and personal design touch. This unique, battery-powered amp delivers multi-dimensional sound and Vai-crafted presets, making it the ultimate rig for playing, practicing, and recording. Plus, during Positive Grid’s pre-order period, customers have a chance to receive a hand-signed model.
Steve Vai is one of the world’s most groundbreaking and influential guitarists, and Spark MINI Vai reflects his unique tone and style. The amp features a custom burgundy Tolex, custom gold piping, and a gold-lined strap, hand-picked by Vai himself. The mandala on the front grille – made famous on his Hydra guitar – pays tribute to Vai’s distinct energy and focus. Spark MINI Vai also comes equipped with a matching lightweight 10-foot guitar cable featuring 24K gold-plated connectors and a durable burgundy weave nylon jacket.
Four exclusive on-board presets created by Vai deliver the raw power of his tone. They include:
- FRESH - Crystal clear clean tone
- MILD - More bluesy clean tone with some grit
- HOT - Well-distorted rock rhythm tone
- FIRE - Full-on lead tone
In addition, Steve Vai has personally autographed 100 of these amps, which will be awarded to random recipients who purchase during the pre-order period starting 9/3/2024. Anyone who purchases during that time will be automatically entered for a chance that their order will be one of these exclusive hand-signed models.*
Commenting on his Spark MINI, Vai shares, “For me, this Spark MINI is an excellent portable practice amp. The 4 tones allow for inspirational playing and I built these presets around my interests. The app allows for instant tweakage of any of the presets. I never travel without this little friend."
Portable and battery-powered, the 10-watt Spark MINI smart guitar practice amplifier delivers surprisingly loud, multi-directional sound and features easy-to-use onboard controls. Spark MINI can also be used as a Bluetooth audio speaker for streaming music or as an audio interface for recording musical ideas.
The free accompanying app unlocks a wide selection of amps and effects plus access to 100,000+ tones and a suite of smart features for practicing and playing. Spark AI offers unlimited tone exploration. Describe any desired tone using the app and Spark AI will suggest tones to audition or download.
For more information, please visit positivegrid.com.
A few small organizational tricks can set your digital workspace up for success.
Hi, and welcome to another Dojo. This time, I’m going to give you ways to cut the clutter from your sessions and help make your recording process more efficient—in short, more kaizen. This compound Japanese word is usually translated as “good change” but has morphed over the years to mean something closer to “continual improvement.” The concept is applied in multiple industries from auto manufacturing to healthcare, and it can certainly be effectively applied on an individual level.
The idea is that multiple small improvements over time will produce big results. Legendary British cycling coach Dave Brailsford called this “the aggregation of marginal gains.” His strategy was simple: Focus on getting one percent better in every area related to riding a bike. Within 10 years, the British cycling team went on 178 World Championship races and won five Tour de France victories and over 60 Olympic gold medals. Kaizen, indeed! I’m still amazed when I get sessions from other engineers who have no color-coded recording session tracks, haphazard organization within the session itself, and haven’t saved multiple versions. These are three problems that are easily solved with a bit of kaizen. Tighten up your belts, the Dojo is now open.
Color differentiation reduces your cognitive load and allows for faster, more efficient recording, editing, mixing, and overall session management.
Diversify Your Color Palette
Color-coding recording session tracks is a powerful tool for visual organization. It’s an essential, non-technical practice that can significantly enhance workflow efficiency and track management. In a typical modern recording session, there can be between 30 and 100 tracks, each representing different instruments, vocals, effects, and other elements. Without a clear organizational strategy, navigating through these tracks can become overwhelming and time-consuming.
By assigning specific colors to different types of tracks, producers and engineers can quickly identify and locate the tracks they need to work on, so establish a consistent color scheme for types of instruments.
Here’s mine:
• Drums are always slate blue.
• Guitars are various shades of green because they’re made from trees (of course, almost everything else is, too, but both guitar and green share the same first letter).
• Bass instruments are always brown (because they’re powerful and can make you brown your trousers).
• Synths and keys are various hues of purple (I think of Prince and “Purple Rain”).
• Vocals are always yellow because when you get lost in the stifling dark caverns of your mix and can’t find your way out, focus on the vocals—they will lead you toward the light.
An example of our columnist’s strict session color coding in his DAW.
Regardless of your choices, color differentiation reduces your cognitive load and allows for faster, more efficient recording, editing, mixing, and overall session management. Moreover, color coding helps in identifying groups of tracks that need to be processed together, such as a drum bus or background vocals, thus making it easier to apply group processing and adjustments.
Your layout of a recording session is another critical factor for maintaining organized and productive workflows. A well-structured session layout ensures that all elements of the recording are easily accessible and logically arranged. My tracks have a consistent order: drums at the top, followed by bass, guitars, keyboards, vocals, and effects. There’s no right way to do this, but whatever you do, be consistent.
“I have an existential map. It has 'You are here' written all over it.” – Steven Wright
Consistency helps individual producers and engineers to work more efficiently, but also facilitates collaboration with others. When multiple people are involved in a project, establish a standardized layout that will allow everyone to quickly understand the session structure, find specific tracks, and contribute without confusion. Also, a clear layout helps minimize mistakes during recording, editing, and mixing, like possibly overlooking important tracks or processing the wrong ones.
Your layout of a recording session is another critical factor for maintaining organized and productive workflows. A well-structured session layout ensures that all elements of the recording are easily accessible and logically arranged. My tracks have a consistent order: drums at the top, followed by bass, guitars, keyboards, vocals, and effects. There’s no right way to do this, but whatever you do, be consistent.
Consistency helps individual producers and engineers to work more efficiently, but also facilitates collaboration with others. When multiple people are involved in a project, establish a standardized layout that will allow everyone to quickly understand the session structure, find specific tracks, and contribute without confusion. Also, a clear layout helps minimize mistakes during recording, editing, and mixing, like possibly overlooking important tracks or processing the wrong ones.
“Waste Not, Want Not”
One of the most important things to always remember is to immediately save a new version the very first time you open a project or session. That way, if something happens, and it will eventually (I’ve even had session data get corrupted on that specific sector of the hard drive), you’ve left the original session alone. Every time you work on the song, or project, save a new version. This practice safeguards the process and ensures project security.
This is also important during the creative phase when trying out different ideas and arrangements. If a new idea doesn't work out, it's easy to revert to a previous version without losing valuable progress. Furthermore, saving versions at critical milestones—such as after recording, editing, and mixing—provides fallback options in case of technical issues or unexpected problems. And lastly, saving versions creates a chronological historical record of the session's development, which is invaluable for reviewing the evolution of the track, project, or entire record!
As young players go all in on digital amplification, Rhett and Zach make the case for old-school air-movers.
Dipped In Tone has touched on the Great Amplification Wars before, but this episode is dedicated to the conflict, and to one nagging question: Do tube amps still matter?
Rhett and Zach have plenty of experience with modelers and profilers, from DI floor units to head-and-cab rigs to combos. They both readily admit that they sound killer in many contexts, and their convenience and dependability are hard to argue. So why do they think vintage valve amps still come out on top?
To answer that question, our hosts look at a range of factors, including dynamics, reactivity, and sonic fidelity. But the most important pieces are the physical feel and atmosphere that a cranked tube amp produces—it’s a nearly indescribable experience for Rhett, but watching him try is pretty entertaining. And while modelers can streamline inefficiencies, they can also create new ones, as Rhett learned during a busy day of gigging in Nashville with a pedalboard amp.
Even so, why should young players raised on digital amplification and the ease of direct-to-laptop home recording care about tube amps? Rhett and Zach make an impassioned, considered case for their favorite and most flexible tube boom boxes, modeling be damned. And stick around for news about a brand-new Mythos pedal.