“The ultimate 100-watt, all-tube high gain amp”: Engl’s best-kept secret, the tube-guzzling E670 Special Edition, is entering its standard lineup

Engl has announced the arrival of the E670 Special Edition Founder’s Edition – an updated take on its flagship build that will see the 100-watt tube amp head enter the firm’s standard lineup for the first time.

The ‘Founder’s Edition’ tag reflects the fact that its design is based on company founder Edmund Engl’s personal E670 Special Edition build (and also gives it the dubious honor of using the word ‘edition’ in its name twice).

The original reportedly spent years in the Engl studios and enjoyed the repeated tinkering of both Engl himself, and senior designer Horst Langer, alongside the input of a host of visiting players. Now that unit has directly inspired the production of the E670FE.

“We're thrilled to introduce the E670FE Special Edition Founders Edition,” says Edmund Engl. “This amplifier is the culmination of our 40 years of experience in crafting high-quality amplifiers that deliver uncompromising tone and versatility, and it is sure to take any guitar player’s tone and performance to the next level!”

Central to the spec is a preamp featuring five ECC83 tubes tubes and a choice of four 6L6 or four EL34 tubes in the power amp stage. That puts it on a par with the likes of the Mesa/Boogie Mark VII, which features a similar combination (ECC83 being the European designation of the 12AX7 tube). 

Also like the Mark VII, the E670 might have traditional tone tech at its core, but is in all other aspects a super-flexible, forward-thinking head. That nine-tube combination opens up the option of five channels (Clean, Crunch, Lead I, Lead II, and Tubedriver) and nine voicings.

There’s EQ (individual treble and two sets of bass/mid controls) split across four of the channels, plus independent gain and volume controls – but even discounting all that, there’s a vast array of other tone sculpting controls on hand.

Push-button settings include Gain Boost, Hi Gain, Mid Shift, Contour, Bright, Mid Edge, Modern Classic, Mega Lo Punch, and Depth Boost switches, then there are dual Master and dual Presence controls on top of that, plus a built-in reverb, noise gate and three tube-buffered effects loops.

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If that all feels a bit mind boggling, well, then you can always just engage the no-nonsense Tubedriver channel, which Engl says “bypasses most of the amp’s inner workings to offer the most pure circuit and all-tube tones imaginable”. 

Finally, given the huge variety of tones on offer, you’ll be relieved to hear that it’s all MIDI programmable – with 128 preset slots accessible via an external MIDI controller.

It is, quite frankly, a beast of an amp. Too much amp, we imagine, for many players. However, if you have a spare $3,899, and want to have your cake and eat it – with a head that is entirely tube driven, but also flexible enough to handle just about any tonal task you might throw at it – then the E670FE Special Edition Founder’s Edition could be for you.

Now, if Engl would just offer it with a racing stripe finish.

For more information, head to Engl.