Engl E765 Retro Tube

Plug-in Manual

Developed by Brainworx in partnership with Engl Limited and

Distributed by Universal Audio.

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Organic... Almost Alive
Take a step into a world of some of the most amazing tones Engl has
ever created and journey into vintage soundscapes.

The new Engl Retro Tube 100 head features two channels of retro
sound variety. Channel One offers warm and silken or well-dressed,
sparkling clean sounds and very harmonic crunch sounds with Engl‘s
version of Class A character. Channel Two is a perfectly suited warm
overdrive channel offering a wide range of retro tones for the
ambitious guitar player.

100% cutting in the studio. 100% convincing on the stage. 100 watts
of Retro Tube power. It‘s so organic, it‘s almost alive.

This is the Engl E765 RT - Retro Tube 100, a true model of the Engl
head, developed by the specialists at Brainworx.

Plug in and you will be able to pull up the typical tones of the iconic
guitar heroes who wrote the book on rock. Offering four different
gain stages in two channels and brimming with trademark Engl
features, the Retro Tube offers a vast range of spine-tingling tones.
The amp‘s visuals are certainly striking and stylish enough as it is, but
the interchangeable front-panel frames add an entirely new twist.
The different colors let you tweak the Retro Tube amp‘s look to
taste. Painstakingly selected EL34 power tubes underscore the amp‘s

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retro flavors and provide all the juice you need to dial up the sound
pressure.

Preamp Channel 1 is tuned to deliver warm, organic clean sounds that

break up beautifully when you dial in higher gain levels. A twist of
the wrist is all it takes to conjure luscious harmonic overdrive. This
channel‘s Gain Boost option not only increases amplitude, it also
adapts frequency response to create a unique tonal structure perfect
for sweet chord progressions and sanctified rock riffs.

Channel 2 extends the amp‘s tonal spectrum with two far more
aggressive gain structures than Channel 1. It does everything you want
it to do when it comes to overdrive, saturation and all-out distortion:
the Gain Boost option inserts an additional triode tube into the signal
path to create an extremely thick sound structure with days of sustain
and a rich overtone spectrum perfect for soaring leads.

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).

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Plug-in Manual

Features The main applications for this plug-in are

• Exacting emulation of the original Engl E765 RT Guitar Amp. • Achieve exceptional-sounding electric guitar tracks at any volume
• Two channels: Channel 1 and Channel 2, each channel with separate level, without the need for great-sounding rooms or expensive
Gain and Volume knobs. guitar mics.
• Two voicing sections specially tuned for each channel: One • Record electric guitars directly into the DAW, and then mix, edit and
three-band EQ for Channel 1 and one three-band EQ for Channel 2. process without ever leaving the DAW environment.
• Two sound switching options in the preamp sections: Bright • Re-amp less-than-perfect DI guitar tracks previously recorded in
assigned to Channel 1; Tone button assigned to Channel 2. other guitar-amp situations.
• Newly developed Power Amp Simulation including on-board Power • Faithfully emulate highly sought-after electric guitar tones made
Soak. famous by rock’s greatest guitar players.
• Two power amp Master knobs: Use these knobs to adjust two • Get intense amounts of distortion without the need to maintain a
different power amp volume settings, and switch them on the fly. high output volume.
• 64 Brainworx´s advance Recording Chains recorded in Brainworx´s • Have a piece of rock and roll history right in your DAW that feels
studio using the NEVE VXS72 console, stellar outboard gear and and responds like a physical amp when played through Apollo’s
World Class microphones low–latency monitoring.
• FX Rack include host-syncable lo-fi delay, noise gate, tight and • Playing live via a real power amp and speaker setup.
smooths filters, power soak, pre and power amp bypass. • Playing LIVE, plugged straight into a live console and / or an in-ear
• Unison™ Technology for Apollo Interfaces. system.

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Plug-in Manual
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Unison Technology Amp

The Engl E765 Retro Tube plug-in was developed with the
Apollo series interfaces in mind and made compatible 1 Channel 1/2 (channel select)

with Unison preamp technology. Of course the Engl E765 To switch between Channel 1 and Channel 2 simply press this switch

Retro Tube will work with any UAD-2 device, but to experience alternating. LED on means CHANNEL 2 is active.

ultralow latency along with important impedance, gain ‘sweet spots’,

and circuit behaviors of the real amp, you need an Apollo interface. In 2 Gain (adjustable per channel)

order to do this, you should insert the Engl E765 Retro Tube in the Dial in as much crunch and distortion as you like with the gain knobs.

preamp insert position of Apollo’s Console application. This will Each of the channels has its own dedicated Gain control. Channel 1 is

greatly enhance your experience, making the tone and behavior of the ‘CLEAN’ channel, Channel 2 is the ‘ROCK’ channel.

your sound an exacting replication of the original hardware.

2 Gain Boost (affects both channels)
When activated this switch increases the amount of distortion and
bite for both (!) channels. Slightly crunch the Clean channel or push
the Rock channel into Heavy mode by activating Gain Boost. It´s a
good idea to use the A/B/C/D setting switches (described later below)
to store clean, crunch, rock and lead variations of the same or similar
amp settings. This way you can turn the Engl amp plug-in into a
four-channel guitar amp easily and even automate the channel
switches in your DAW.

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Plug-in Manual
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1 Tone Stack (Bass, Middle, Treble, adjustable per channel) 3 Tone switch (channel 2 only)
Just like any guitar amp the Engl amps have controls to make the The TONE switch boosts mid frequencies and gives you an option
guitar tones sound more mellow or harsher, add or cut low end, for a slightly different, more aggressive guitar tone when activated.
and boost or cut mids. There are definitely no rules when it comes Again, there are no rules here. Try your guitar(s), switch TONE on and
to adjusting the Tone Stack controls. If it sounds right it probably IS off, and whatever you like best is right for the moment.
right... You may browse through our presets and listen to a wide range
of different settings, many of which are customized for commonly 4 Standby and Power
used guitars like Teles, Strats or Paulas... You may bypass all processing of the plug-in with these two switches.
Contrary to the real amp in the plug-in these two switches are linked.
2 Bright switch (channel 1 only) No need to warm up tubes in the plug-in or protect speaker cabinets.
When activated you will notice a nice boost of sparkle in your clean
sounds. The more highs your guitar has (a Strat and a Tele work nice, If you only want to bypass the Amp section of the plug-in (to record
for example) the more the boost is audible. your own hardware tube preamp, for example) please use the FX Rack
/ Zoom view. You will find the needed controls in the Power Soak
Switch BRIGHT off if you experience too much sliding noise when you section. Details below.
move your fingers on the fretboard. You may want to switch BRIGHT
on for funky rhythm tracks or ballad picking sounds, for example.

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Engl E765 Retro Tube

Plug-in Manual

4 Range
FX Rack
Continuous knob, 0db to 100db. The output level of your amplifier
Noise Gate will be reduced or muted when the input signal is lower than the
1 Closed Threshold setting. You may dim the output level only by a few
When lit this LED indicates that the Noise Gate is CLOSED. This means decibels (dB), or completely mute the output in pauses by setting the
the THRESHOLD setting is higher than the incoming signal and the RANGE to its maximum.
noise gate dims the output signal of the amplifier by the amount
adjusted with the RANGE control (e.g. 15dB in the picture above). Amp Filters
5 Tight Filter
2 Noise Gate on/off Discrete 3 steps: “PRE”, “POST”, and “OFF”. With the TIGHT filter you
On/off switch. Enable or disable the Noise Gate completely. Switch up can cut LOW frequencies of either the DI guitar signal (PRE) or the
(‘on’) means the Noise Gate is activated. processed amp output (POST).
• PRE: If your pickups produce an unintentional rumbling bass
3 Threshold sound you can filter the low end before the DI sound even hits the
Continuous knob, -120db to 0db. The Noise Gate will dim the output amplifier.
signal of the amplifier as soon as the input signal (your guitar signal) • POST: If you want to cut some of the low end of your amplifier
falls below a certain level. This level is called Threshold. Adjust the setting (maybe even only temporary) you can use this studio quality
Threshold so the noise of the overdriven amp will be reduced, but high pass filter to reduce the bass.
make sure you don´t cut fading notes or chords. • OFF: When set to OFF the TIGHT filter is in bypass mode.

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Engl E765 Retro Tube

Plug-in Manual

1 Tight Frequency Delay

With the TIGHT filter you can cut LOW frequencies of either the DI We closely modelled a vintage delay stomp box to capture the
guitar signal (PRE) or the processed amp output (POST). true essence of retro delay effects. Limited frequency bandwidth
and ever decreasing high frequencies on repeats add authenticity
2 Smooth Filter to the sound. We also included more contemporary features like a
Discrete 3 steps: “PRE”, “POST”, and “OFF”. With the SMOOTH filter mix parameter & DAW controlled bpm / tempo sync. We realise you
you can cut HIGH frequencies of either the DI guitar signal (PRE) or will use your favourite selection of external effects, such as Chorus,
the processed amp output (POST). Flangers, Reverbs and even other Delays to achieve your signature
• PRE: If your pickups catch a lot of hiss or noise you can filter the guitar tone but an instantly accessible delay is extremely useful when
high end before the DI sound even hits the amplifier. surfing and creating patches. For example, testing a new lead patch
• POST: If you want to cut some of the high end of your amplifier without hearing at least a touch of delay wouldn’t sound realistic for
setting (maybe even only temporary) you can use this studio quality many players, so we added this effect for your convenience; plus we
low pass filter. love vintage style echo!
• OFF: When set to OFF the SMOOTH filter is in bypass mode.
4 Delay On/Off
3 Smooth Frequency Use this parameter to activate or deactivate the delay and all of its
With the SMOOTH filter you can cut high frequencies of either the DI parameters with this switch.
guitar signal (PRE) or the processed amp output (POST). • Switch up: Delay is activated.
• Switch down: Delay is bypassed / off.

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Engl E765 Retro Tube

Plug-in Manual

1 Tap* 5 Host BPM

Use this parameter with your mouse to click with the groove of the Click on the BPM number in the GUI and a pull-down menu opens up.
song and the delay will adjust to your tapping automatically. This is a Now you can select musical values like half notes, quarters, triplets,
nice and easy way to set delays to musically pleasing times, especially etc. All values will be based upon the tempo that is being displayed
if there is no fixed tempo in the song. in the BPM window. The tempo will be synced with the tempo of your
audio session automatically.
2 Time
Alternatively you may just dial in a delay time based on milliseconds 6 Mix
using the TIME knob. Use this parameter to adjust the delay time Use this parameter to control the amount of dry (unprocessed) vs.
between 15ms and 1000ms. wet (processed) signal. The MIX parameter blend in as much delay
signal with the dry amplifier sound as desired. For unobtrusive delays
3 x2* we recommend settings around 10%, heavier effect sounds may
Use this button to redouble the current Delay time. require settings of 50% or more.

4 /2* 7 Feedback
Use this button to half the current Delay time. This controls the number of repeats. While a setting of 99% will result
in an almost infinite delay loop, a typical setting for a rock lead sound
x2 & /2 Buttons may be around 25%.
Both buttons can be pressed repeatedly as long as the maximum
delay time of 1000 ms is not exceeded.
* Note: Custom control, not automatable

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Engl E765 Retro Tube

Plug-in Manual

1 Lo-Fi Using this impressive setup Dirk has produced a huge variety of
Use this parameter to add creative destruction to your delay signal. customized ‘Recording Chains’ for the Engl E765 Retro Tube amplifier,
With the LO-FI knob you control the amount of internal distortion, which you can apply to your Plugin amp settings. Imagine a selection
the resampling quality, etc. The higher you go the worse the quality of 64 perfectly mic’d and EQ-ed cabinets that you can select and use
gets from a pure technical stand point... but the more interesting it instantly with a single mouse click!
may sound for many guitar sounds and styles.  
We carefully  placed up to 12  microphones on each cabinet used.
These mics were then fed to individual channels on the vintage Neve
Recording Chain
VXS console.  This configuration gave us fine control over the mix of
Brainworx Advanced IR Technology the various microphones used and the ability to apply Neve filters
Simply select a speaker and a complete studio setup by browsing and EQs. The final mix was routed to Pro Tools for recording. 
through the REC CHAINS pull-down menu.  
  An innovative new approach was also used to capture various
In the past two decades Brainworx owner Dirk Ulrich has produced pre-amps and EQ chains. A parallel chain was created that was split
and recorded with members of DREAM THEATER, TOTO, MICHAEL to three different hardware preamps and EQs. These parallel chains
JACKSON, and with many more famous and infamous acts. The were also routed to their own discrete channels on the Neve VXS
Brainworx Studio in Germany (www.brainworx- studio.de) is equipped console and then sent to Pro Tools for capture. This routing allowed
with one of only nine NEVE VXS 72 consoles ever made, and it also us to record each chain individually or blend them for interesting
hosts some of the best outboard EQs and mic pre-amps available. combinations.
 

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Engl E765 Retro Tube
Plug-in Manual

The external gear we used: 1 + / - Switches (Plus / Minus)

1. Chain: The legendary German Telefunken V76 Preamp connected to Browse through the REC CHAINS by either using the pull-down menu
the Massenburg GML 8200 EQ of the REC CHAIN text box (see above) or just click through the
2. Chain: AMEK 9098 channel strip settings using the ‘+’ and ’-‘ symbols.
3. Chain: SSL 4000 E Series with Black EQ
  2 Auto & Bar selection
Many amp simulations give you some captured impulses of a selection If you are trying to find the best sounding REC CHAIN for your song it
of cabinets and microphones, then they leave it up to you to EQ and can be a hassle to have to play a few chords, grab the mouse to select
further process these incomplete setups by mixing different micro- the next REC CHAIN, play a few notes again, grabbing the mouse
phone setups, adjusting phase and EQ, and so on. But this really is not again, etc.
an easy job; it takes years of experience to get it right.
  For this reason the E765 Retro Tube offers you AUTO mode: Just
Now all you have to do is select the Recording Chain that sounds best select a pattern (1 Bar, 2 Bars or 4 Bars) and the plug-in will activate
for your amp channel and setting, adjust the Tone Stack and Gain and the available REC CHAINS automation, following the actual tempo
you’re good to go. Recallable, reliable, flexible and fast. setting of your DAW. You can now play uninterrupted and simply
  listen to the sound of the various REC CHAINS as the plug-in switches
And if for any reason you should not like any of the Recording Chains through all of them every single bar, every two bars or every four
the Plugin offers, you may use the very last setting (labeled CABINET bars, depending on your setting.
BYPASS) and use your own mic’d cabinet or external IR software. This
setting will also give you the sound of a tube amp wired straight into As soon as you hear the speaker setup you like best just stop AUTO
a console, which also may be a nice effects sound. mode by clicking the AUTO button again and manually select the

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Engl E765 Retro Tube
Plug-in Manual

desired REC CHAIN. Afterwards just fine-tweak the TONE Section 2 Power Soak
and GAIN and there you are. Controls the output volume.
In the real world power soaks are being used to reduce the volume of
1 Input Gain a guitar power amp. This way you can crank up a (tube) guitar power
If you want to drive the input of the Engl preamp harder or softer amp to drive it until it starts clipping, and still record at a volume
you may adjust the input gain to your liking. Some single coil pickups which will protect your hearing and keep the neighbors friendly. A
from older or vintage guitars may deliver low level output that can be clipping tube power amp adds distortion and harmonics to the guitar
compensated with the INPUT GAIN. amp signal and is something most guitar players love. A fully cranked
up tube guitar amp tamed in volume with a power soak will sound
The opposite goes for a lot of heavy metal style humbuckers. If you different than the same amp with the master volume turned down.
have recorded the DI signal too hot or if you are using other plug-ins We have modeled the behavior of the Engl tube power amp, so you
before entering the Engl amp plug-in you may want to dim the input may experiment with different settings of the Master of the amp and
signal. the internal POWER SOAK. We recommend a setting of roughly -10dB
for most scenarios.
With most standard guitars you can and should leave the INPUT GAIN
at 0 (zero) though.

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Engl E765 Retro Tube
Plug-in Manual

1 Bypass Pre Amp

BYPASS the pre amp section.
With the Bypass Pre switch you can switch off the Engl preamp
completely, which may be wanted if you record your own hardware
(tube or solid state) guitar pre- amp with the E765 Retro Tube. In
this case you may still use the internal Power Amp and speaker /
REC CHAINS simulation and will be able to achieve amazing results
recording your guitar sounds without using an external Power Amp
and speaker.
Switch up: Preamp is bypassed (off), Switch down: Preamp is active (on).

2 Bypass Power Amp

If you want to use only the distortion of the Engl preamp you may
switch the power amp simulation off. This may sound cool if you use
the E765 Retro Tube plugin to distort other signals than a guitar. For
a realistic guitar recording we recommend leaving the power amp on,
as it is an integral part of the overall sound of the amp.

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Plug-in Manual

3 Copy / Paste
Top Toolbar
To set up variations of similar sounds you don´t have to dial in all the
1 Undo / Redo parameters several times. Let´s say you like your setting A and want
You can undo and redo changes you made to the controls of the E765 to use the same sound, just without delay, as setting B.
Retro Tube plugin at any time. The undo / redo will work for as many • Simply press COPY while you are in setting A.
as 32 steps. This makes experimenting and tweaking knobs easy. If • Switch to setting B by pressing ‘B’ in the setting section.
you don´t like what you did... just undo it. • Press PASTE, now setting B is identical to setting A.
• Bypass the DELAY.
2 Settings (A/B/C/D)
The E765 Retro Tube amp plugin offers four internal settings Now you can switch between A & B and play the same sound with or
(A/B/C/D) which will be stored with every preset. So, one preset can without delay.
contain up to four amp and effects settings.
You may use similar amp settings with more or less delay, different 4 FX Rack
delay times, etc., to quickly switch between different sounds, or you Toggle between FX Rack and Standard view.
can switch from clean to crunch to lead within one setup / preset.
The SETTINGS can be automated in your DAW. This way it´s possible 5 About
to switch from a dry rhythm sound to a lead sound with tons of delay, Information about the development of the plugin.
for example.

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Plug-in Manual

that sounds closest to what you are looking for before altering the
Factory Presets
knobs.
We have made a lot of presets for the E765 Retro Tube amp plugin, • Once you found the Recording Chain you like best for your sound,
many of them have been made to work perfectly with classic guitars start tweaking the TONE STACK and DRIVE to fine tune your amp
like Strats, Teles or Paulas. All of the factory presets offer A/B/C/D settings.
variations, do try them out! • Add Delay or activate the Filters, the Noise Gate, etc. for variations
of your sounds.
This effectively quadruples the factory sounds you can browse • Have fun!
through, and many similar amp settings sound quite different with
different FILTER or DELAY settings. Experiment, be creative. We are confident that the different tone
These presets are only intended to give you an easy start and to demo selections of the amp and the huge selection of REC CHAINS will
some of the tones you can get out of the E765 Retro Tube amp plugin. offer you many possible combinations that will sound great on a big
variety of musical styles and genres.
Creating your own Sounds & Presets Combine the E765 Retro Tube amps with other plugins (dynamics,
When you start to create your own sounds the most important effects, room simulation), and you will be able to create countless
elements to adjust are the DRIVE, REC CHAINS and the TONE STACK. world-class production-ready guitar sounds in the box. Enjoy.
(Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence, etc.)
• Set the controls of the TONE STACK to the center position (’12-o-
clock’).
• Play through as many REC CHAINS as you like and pick the one

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Plug in, Rock out! - www.brainworx-music.de