EGNATER
PRODUCT REVIEW
Knowing Egnater’s amps (as well as his reputation), I was expecting a solid tone machine,
but I’m just blown away by how good the
Rebel 20 is as an all-around rock n’roll amp.
It’s really small, but it’s also really big. The
appeal of a premium amp at this price might
make it a considerable option for beginners
and cash-strapped gearheads alike, but there
is absolutely nothing here for a true purist
to sneer at. Here is pure tube tone, feel and
responsiveness for the masses.
Features
The Rebel head uses Groove Tubes: three
12AX7s in the preamp, a pair of EL84s and a
pair of 6V6s. It’s also got a variable Wattage
control (that goes from 1 to 20 watts) right
on the front panel, so it’s got the room covered, whether it’s the den or a small club.
It weighs only 16 pounds and comes with a
shoulder-strap carry bag, so it’s perfect as a
“grab-and-go” amp, but it still packs a hell
of a punch. Our review model came with two
1x12 Egnater closed-back birch cabinets.
These are each loaded with a 12” custom-voiced Egnater Celestion Elite 80 speaker
(the same speakers as in the Tourmaster
combo I dig so very much). The small cabinet
is front-ported to facilitate a phenomenal
bass and high-end response. One cabinet is
really enough for everything but a big venue,
but two are… you know, better. Open it
up, and you can really push some air, but it
doesn’t get to ear-bleeding levels.
“It’s also got a variable Wattage
control (that goes from 1 to 20
watts) right on the front panel, so
it’s got the room covered, wheth-
er it’s the den or a small club.”
Both amp and speaker cabinets have the
same two-tone covering, checkered grille-cloth with cream piping, and big Egnater
logo that make his amps so easily recognizable. The design is not an extravagant
departure from the traditional, but it does
give the amp its own look. In addition to
the Watts control, the Rebel 20 features a
single input, On/Off and Standby switches, a
standard 3-knob tone stack, Master Volume,
Gain, Tight and Bright switches, Tube Mix
control, and an effects loop that accommodated a variety of effects with no tone loss
or noise. In other words, you get a lot of
control over this pint-sized beast.
