ENGL Amps have gained a reputation in the music scene for delivering the ultimate metal tones over the past decade or so. The ‘noted users’ website reads like an international who is who in rock and metal! (link below)
Unique and remarkable design and awesome signature sounds wrapped into snakeskin. 100 watts of four 6L6 power tubes trapped behind hand-soldered iron chains. Adjusted and dialed in for the modern metal guitar player.
This is the ENGL E646 - Victor Smolski Ltd, a true model of the Limited Edition ENGL head developed by the specialists at Brainworx.
Four channels of pure tube attack power deliver the widest modern range of tones you can expect from an amp.
The E646 plugin faithfully delivers all the fast attack, punchy rhythm, furious lead tones and the modern, sparkling clean sounds of the original amp. Through meticulous component modeling, that plugin version also captures the smooth, sonic transition of well-selected channel layouts including an adjustable Mid Boost switch in order to create modern rock tones from sustained shining clean to a vintage vibe crunch sound.
Dirk Ulrich (CEO of Brainworx), was a rock producer for 15 years before he entered the plugin business. Dirk has recorded with musicians of bands like Dream Theater, Toto, Michael Jackson Band and many more. He has produced 64 of those recording chains at the PMC-monitoring equipped www.brainworx-studio.de, capturing 3 different ENGL cabinets recorded with up to 9 different hi-end vintage and modern microphones through Brainworx’ NEVE VXS72 console (1 out of 9 consoles of this type which exist) and using outboard EQ from Millennia, SPL and elysia. The resulting tones, which would take tons of gear, time and expertise to achieve, can be selected from a simple menu inside the plugin.
The ENGL E646 plugin can even be used in a live context. Simply switch off the speaker simulation and play the ENGL amp plugin via a real power amp and a real guitar speaker cabinet and you’ll believe you’re playing through a real amp!
The ENGL E765 plugin also includes some useful features not found on the original amp:
The built-in Noise Gate helps stifle the annoying hiss often generated when Gain Boost is engaged at very high gain levels. Channel 2's Tone button fattens up the sound in both Gain stages. It enriches the midrange frequencies, effectively doubling the number of basic sounds available to you in Channel 2. Another trademark ENGL feature is provided with a second master volume (Master A/B).
Overview
Features
- Authentic High Gain metal tones
- Not only sounds but feels like playing through a real amp
- Accurate amp modeling and advanced speaker simulation (Impulse Responses), capturing hi-end studio gear
- Four channels: Clean, Crunch and 2 Lead Channels, each channel with separate Gain and Volume knobs.
- Two voicing sections specially tuned for each channel: One three-band EQ for Clean and Crunch modes and one three-band EQ plus the "Middle-voiced" control pot for Lead Ch 3 and Lead Ch 4.
- Two Treble controls for Clean and Crunch: a very special feature that lets you tweak the high-end response in both Clean and Crunch modes individually.
- EQ-system in the power amp circuit: Presence and Depth Punch.
Audio Examples
Industry Reviews
Glenn Tipton
Engl is the first ampline that I have ever used that not only has balls….But Attitude, right out of the box!
Ritchie Blackmore
Engl Amps are the best amps I’ve ever used- not only are they powerful, but they have texture and character too.
Rudolf Schenker
Since more than ten years ENGL is my choice for any live and studio situation. Perfect sounding and absolutely reliable amps!
Steve Morse
I love the fast dynamics, the tone and the bottom end of ENGL amps! I was sold on these amps even before I actually heard them. I love the design and the perfect sound for any… Read More
Customer Reviews
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Sick!
★★★★☆The amp sim sounds great! However, it has a darkness to it I can't seem to brighten it up unless that amp is that dark already. I think an update to the interface or making it a standalone plug-in… Read More -
E646 VS
★★★★★The clean channel puts out amazing sounds - clear but picking up harmonics for a shimmering glassy sound, especially if you pair it with a good reverb it can create glorious textures. It is also… Read More -
ENGL E646 VS
★★★★★If you are looking for the right thing, you have found it. Sounds incredible! -
Favorite
★★★★★This is my absolute favorite virtual guitar amp! Its very versatile, from ultra clean, to ultra high gain, it does everyting and it does it well! I would be having serious problems if Id ever have to… Read More -
Excellent crunch and clean tones
★★★★★Simply outstanding, no others words for it. The tones from this are amazing, they never sound muddy or artificial and it responds like a real amp. Of particular surprise was the response using third… Read More
Specifications
Supported Plugin Formats
AAX Native, AU, AAX AudioSuite, VST2, VST3
Supported Operating Systems
macOS 15 down to macOS 12
Windows 11 down to Windows 10
Mac
Intel, or Apple Silicon
PC
x64-compatible CPU
System Requirements
Display resolution: 1440 × 900px or 1280 × 960px or higher
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Downloads
With the Installation Manager you can select, download & install all the Plugin Alliance products. Select any and all formats you need for your system! Mac & PC.
E646 VS Installers
Installation Manager
Manuals
ChangeLog
ENGL E646 VS - Changelog
Version 1.12.1 (Oct 9, 2023)
- General: fixed CPU spikes on Mac OS
Version 1.12.0 (Aug 15, 2023)
- General: added native Apple Silicon compatibility for AAX
- General: added macOS Ventura support
- General: improved plugin loading time in the DAW
- General: fixed issue causing Logic to crash when closing the plugin UI
- General: improved font drawing behavior
Version 1.11 (Mar 15, 2022)
- General: added native Apple Silicon compatibility for VST3, VST2 and AU
- General: added macOS Monterey support
- General: added Windows 11 and Windows 10 21H1 support
- General: discontinued Windows 7 support
- General: discontinued macOS 10.9 and 10.11 support
- General: fixed metering behavior in block sizes of 2048 samples and higher
Version 1.10 (Mar 22, 2021)
- General: Compatibility with Logic on Apple Silicon devices via the Rosetta-2 layer
- General: Fixed possible artefacts when freezing or bouncing tracks in Pro Tools
- General: Fixed automation highlighting disappearing in Studio One
- General: Improved license dialog visibility in dark mode
Version 1.9 (May 27, 2020)
- General: Qualified for use with the Windows 10 May 2020 Update
- General: VST3: Fixed potential hangs in a DAW upon loading
- General: Fixed logical issues in undo / redo behavior
- General: Fixed UI resizing issues in Ableton Live on Windows
- General: Fixed audio processing initialization issues on amp and delay products
Version 1.8 (Nov 06, 2019)
- General: Qualified for use with macOS 10.15 Catalina
- General: Qualified for use with Windows 10 November 2019 Update
- General: Fixed plugin validation in Logic under macOS Catalina
- General: Fixed preset name restore in Logic when reopening a session
- General: Fixed opening authorization dialog triggering automation
- General: Improved instantiation times for plugins
- General: Improved license functionality and branding for subscription
- General: Removed 32-bit support on macOS and Windows
Version 1.6 (Jul 10, 2019)
- General: macOS 10.14.5 Update compatibility
- General: Windows 10 1903 Update compatibility
- General: Fixed activation issue in Windows hosts set to non-English language (e.g. Cakewalk)
- General: AU: Fixed issue with increased CPU and memory on reopening UI
- General: VST3: Fixed issue with adapting to host knob mode, and now prioritizing linear
- General: VST3: Fixed issue with VST3 preset permissions
- General: VST3: Improved synchronization between parameter states and some UI functions, e.g. toolbar reset
Version 1.5 (Nov 16, 2018)
- General: macOS Mojave compatibility
- General: Windows October 2018 update compatibility
- General: adding Windows High DPI support for VST2/3 plugins
- General: Fixed potential crashes in Cubase and other VST2 / VST3 DAWs
- General: Fixed potential CPU spikes and audio dropouts
- General: Fixed rendering in Pro Tools on the start of a session
- General: Fixed missing presets in Wavelab and other VST3 DAWs
- General: Improving keyboard control, fixing issues with catched keys preventing it from passing through to DAW
- General: Fixed parallel use of host sessions (e.g. with Live)
Version 1.4 (May 24, 2018)
- General: Microsoft Windows Redstone 4 compatibility
- General: Added computer keyboard control for plugin parameters
- General: Fixed Mouse scroll wheel not working in Windows 8
- General: Fixed an issue where plugins will not validate or load after a certain amount of plugins have been loaded (Windows)
- General: Fixed visual GUI freezes when adjusting DAW parameters, meters, analyzers (Mac)
- General: Fixed possible issue with Pick Pack licenses
- General: Small licenser stability fix
Version 1.3 (Oct 23, 2017)
- General: Mac OS High Sierra compatibility
- General: Fixed possible crash on online activation (Mac OS High Sierra)
- General: Fixed Logic Pro X not validating AU plugins (Mac OS High Sierra)
- General: Fixed CPU spikes and crashes with Cubase (Windows)
- General: Fixed bug that could lead to "AAE -6 error" in ProTools (Windows)
- General: Fixed crash with FL Studio
- General: Fixed crash when cross-opening plugins in various hosts
- General: Fixed crash when using mixdown in Audition
- General: Fixed crash in Final Cut Pro
- General: Fixed delayed parameter handling and crackling issues in Cubase with VST3
- General: Fixed bug where plugin settings were not saved in Harrison Mixbus
- General: Fixed bug that led to AAE error -9317 in ProTools when instantiating plugin
- General: Fixed bug where plugins did not render properly when "x ray" option is enabled in Sonar
- General: Modifications to factory presets were lost when reopening session
- General: Fixed mouse wheel behaviour with second monitor setup (Windows)
- Some plugins: Value labels do not appear every time when clicking on parameter in UI
- General: Faster instantiation time for plugins (Windows)
- General: Adding support for automation highlighting in Presonus StudioOne
Version 1.2.1 (Dec 20, 2016)
- General: Mac OS Sierra compatibility
- General: Fixed automation issues in AU and AAX
- General: Fixed license dialog use of special characters
- General: Improved AU preset support
- General: Performance improvements
Version 1.2 (Apr 1, 2016)
- General: Major UI codebase update
- General: Fixed possible crash when authorizing plugin
- General: Added gain reduction meter support for StudioOne 3
- General: Installers show version info in Windows "Programs And Features"
Version 1.1 (Jan 18, 2016)
- General codebase update
- Fixed missing parameter highlighting in Pro Tools
- Removing RTAS format support
Version 1.0.2 (Jul 18, 2015)
- General codebase update
Version 1.0.1 (Jun 22, 2015)
- General codebase update
Version 1.0 (May 27, 2015)
- Release version