Engl Inferno: Marty Friedman Signature Amp

[Wizard of Ozz]

No idea on the Presence knob but the Blackmore / Artist Edition heads this is derived from don't have a depth knob either.

Probably why neither of those are among my fav Engls. But the lack of either a presence or depth knob is pretty odd to me. High-end, low-end... a means to control them... pretty useful.

That plus the cosmetics look like a Realistic Radio Shack 8-track tape player from 1979.

 

[SqWark]

Haven't really heard anything of his that blew me away since his early Megadeth days. As mentioned (above) he has seemed "anti-equipment" and definitely "anti-shred guitar" for the best part of two decades now which makes it kind of awkward when, like this, he promotes endorsement products to his fan base, most of whom are 'equipment-loving shred guitarists' (or aspiring to be so at least)

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of his (early) work but when I say, "I love Marty Friedman's playing. He is a huge influence of mine." I am really referring to 'Dragon's Kiss', 'Holy Wars', 'Speed Metal Symphony' and suchlike.

Tho I must add, the video with the Japanese high school girls running around is a classic.

Addendum: I've actually (just now) listened to some of his newer stuff and I have to admit, his playing is still stellar. Some of the compositions I had heard when it first came out I wasn't as impressed with but I can't fault his playing at all.

 

[narad]

That plus the cosmetics look like a Realistic Radio Shack 8-track tape player from 1979.

I thought it was more "I gave my Engl Artist Edition a $70 gift card at Hot Topic for her 14th birthday"

 

[GuitarBizarre]

Kind of a weird choice of artist for ENGL tbh. He's no longer that popular, he's no longer very European-friendly in terms of output or touring schedule, and he's a lifelong "Who gives a .... what I'm playing" kind of guy -i remember his highest praise for the SZ series when he endorsed it was even him saying to the effect of "I don't care what it is but it stays in tune and that's all I want"

 

[narad]

I agree in the sense that Marty's never been very picky about his gear, so kind of weird for him to have sig gear, but c'mon! Not that popular!? He's still one of the greatest metal guitarists ever IMO. When you've written rust in peace / countdown to extinction, I don't think anyone has to know about or care about your current touring stuff. Besides, could be hitting the Japanese market where he's more well known that just about any other Engl endorser.

 

[chassless]

i think it looks nice ._.

 

[Andromalia]

I agree in the sense that Marty's never been very picky about his gear, so kind of weird for him to have sig gear, but c'mon! Not that popular!? He's still one of the greatest metal guitarists ever IMO. When you've written rust in peace / countdown to extinction, I don't think anyone has to know about or care about your current touring stuff. Besides, could be hitting the Japanese market where he's more well known that just about any other Engl endorser.

Well, Engl amps are already one of the reference amp brands used in Europe, so maybe having a dude with a very high visibility in one of the richest countries of the world where heavy metal is still popular is part of the plan.
He'd be a good bet if they want to push japanese sales. Plus, he still is an ex megadeth guitar player and possibly the most lauded, it counts for something when obscure dudes like Ola Englund get signature amps. (No disrespect intended, but nobody knows him outside of the GAS addict internet users.)

 

[starkill]

Hey guys, I have the exact details of the amp (I'm from Germany and a shop has listed it, but it got taken down sadly, but I was quick enough to get everything)

"Engl E766 Marty Friedman Inferno Signature Head"
It is basically a JCM 800 on massive steorids. And when I say massive, I mean massive.

-(Obviously) made in Germany
-100 Watts
-2 Channels
-2 separate channels each with it's own 3 band EQ and gain knob
-Brightness, Tone-, and Gainboost
-2 separate Master Volumes
-Preamp comes with 4 ECC83 Tubes
-Poweramp comes with 4 EL34 Tubes
-Serial end parallel effects loop
-build-in noisegate
-speaker connections for 4,8 amd 16 ohm cabs
-compatible with Z3,Z4 and Z9 SAC footswitch
-weight ~21 KG


Price in Germany is 1600 Euros so US price will be around 2k I guess which is in general pretty cheap compared to other Engls. At least from what I've seen.
+more detailed picture from the front pannel

 

[GuitarBizarre]

I agree in the sense that Marty's never been very picky about his gear, so kind of weird for him to have sig gear, but c'mon! Not that popular!? He's still one of the greatest metal guitarists ever IMO. When you've written rust in peace / countdown to extinction, I don't think anyone has to know about or care about your current touring stuff. Besides, could be hitting the Japanese market where he's more well known that just about any other Engl endorser.

His popularity is nowhere near where it used to be, is my point. He's largely retreated from his core audience and found a new one in Japan, which is fine but I just don't see him as the kind of global artist someone like say, Paul Gilbert is.

 

[narad]

His popularity is nowhere near where it used to be, is my point. He's largely retreated from his core audience and found a new one in Japan, which is fine but I just don't see him as the kind of global artist someone like say, Paul Gilbert is.

I get your point, but he's a legend. He's not a global artist now, but people buying the amp probably aren't thinking about that new song with the music video of girls sprinting up hillsides. They're thinking about "Tornado of Souls".

 

[chassless]

Amp looks simple and straightforward, and relatively cheap, i wonder why is that? Any extra features on the backplate to know of?

 

[starkill]

Amp looks simple and straightforward, and relatively cheap, i wonder why is that? Any extra features on the backplate to know of?

No, not really.
But also not really necessary.
This thing is straight forward. It's more
metal than you would expect from Marty.
But it is not a versatility monster. But the definition
and tightness is top notch. This thing is so awesome.
And yeah, the price is relatively cheap, at least in Germany.
It is cheaper than the regular Powerball.

 

[xvultures]

His popularity is nowhere near where it used to be, is my point. He's largely retreated from his core audience and found a new one in Japan, which is fine but I just don't see him as the kind of global artist someone like say, Paul Gilbert is.

I can see where your coming from, he dropped off completely from anything US related, but he's arguably more popular in Japan now than he ever was here in the states. He writes stuff for a lot of their J-pop music, is commonly found on talk shows, news shows or other crap. He's transcended just being a guitarist or rock star, he's popular for just being him. It's weird how big he is there. The sales might be decent in Japan.

 

[Zado]

It is basically a JCM 800 on massive steorids

Me listening.

 

[Andromalia]

"I don't scoop the mids, I just put everything else to 10"

 

[Esp Griffyn]

Marty's wig is looking strong as ever.

 

[Mwoit]

Bump from the grave - has anyone tried this out?

 

[ShiroNekoMusic]

Bump! This seems to be a killer amp! I'm very interested, this vs a regular Invader II!