I beg to differ Trond, the Stratocaster in my humble opinion is exceptionally more rugged of an instrument than the Les Paul. When was the last time you've seen a beat up old LP? Never, because it can't even survive the first drop. Beat up old Strats however are all over the place, and survive years of abuse. SRV used to stand on his Strat and beat the day lights out of it night after night. In fact, Fender now beats up brand new Strats and markets them as "road worn" Of all the guitars in production the LP has the highest rate of neck fractures, most likely do to it lacking a neck volute.

If you've never heard of Ed Roman, you should check out his web page, its pretty interesting. He is one of the premier builders of custom guitars. Ed has worked for Gibson and even was a ghost builder for them. He also has a service department that fixes guitars, and they fix more Les Paul necks than all the other guitars combined. Heres an article he has written, check it out, its really eye opening.

Les Paul Necks Break!!!

Aesthetics and comfort are pretty much a matter of personal preference, but reliability and ruggedness are a matter of statistics.

to me the shecter sounds like a guitar with a single coil, maybe you got some electric problems?

You could try spraying some contact cleaner in the pots, that might clear up the problem.

FWIW I've had a 530 for about 3 years now (though it's currently out on loan to a friend).

From memory - Engl describe it as a 'modern rock' pre-amp. It's an Engl though and so you need to like and want the Engl type voicing albeit that it has some versatility. I'd say that the hi-gain section which is most characteristic of the Engl sound albeit perhaps not as brutal as a powerball. Whilst it can go hi gain I don't find it quite as sharp as some other Engls but it's not as mellow (if that's the right way to describe it ) as a Blackmore and it can doa good Mesa Triaxis attempt. What it also has is a nice, almost crystal/glass like clean channel. The clean responds very well to sitting a good OD pedal in front of it and as such goes nicely in to saturated over drive and TBH does this better than the OD section of the pre-amp. In essence it can cover a wide range of territory from country and jazz through blues to rock and on to hi-gain - with the mid ground of blues being IMO the weaker part if you don't use any pedals. Generally the amp is 'organic' and responds well to player dynamics.

It's always worth remembering that a pre-amp can alter somewhat depending on the power amp it's connected to. Mine isn't as it's for recording only but if I remember correctly a lot of people go in to VHT cabs and are happy.

Recording wise (it's a recording pre-amp rather than a standard pre): you can line out to a console or a pc audio device as it has a speaker soak. It's not that authentic though and a better option would be to run it via a proper speaker load. It probably is good enough hoever so that some EQ and maybe re-amping would get you to a very near sound of it going in to a power amp and cab.

Build quality is fine, particularly given the price, and I've not had any warranty issues. Controls are basic - if you want versatility here you should look at a 580 or a 570. Headphone amp is weak. The manual is very poor.

Overall for 4-500 Euros there is not a lot to compare it with that is still in production and IMO a 530 can hold its own again much more expensive pre-amps.

I think I would seriously consider the Tech 21 Sansamp PSA1.1 Preamplifier
Great pre-amp in my opinion, and not too expensive either!

I haven't tried it myself, but I've heard samples from various sources and all have been good

You should check out the Peavey Rockmaster, if you can actually manage to get your hands on one. They were made for a while back in the early 90's, but were discontinued. Funny how Peavey always discontinues their good stuff. Anyways, this preamp sounds HUGE to say the least.

Below are some sound clips of this preamp, mind you the first one has been modded by none other than FJA Mods, but nonetheless it should give you an idea as to what the gain structure sounds like.

I am not an expert on this whole rack-building thing, I like to keep things simple and my signal chain as short as possible...
As for pre-amps there is only one thing to go for that can do it all:

MESA BOOGIE TRIAXIS

Amazing tone, endless possibilities and way too expensive (outside the USA).
I wouldn't bother with anything else (since I suspect this is the one you want anyways^^) and save some money, maybe sell some other gear and try to get one used or import one from the United States...

Ah, so that's a preamp. I had wondered what those were. Anybody: how would one of these hook to things physically? I guess you have a line-in cable hooked from this straight to the mic jack? Right now I have this set up: guitar>pedal>amp>computer. the line-in cable goes from my headphone jack to the mic jack. That's only line out my amp has unfortunately. So with this setup, where would a preamp go? Anybody can answer. Thanks.

I haven't heard or played the 530 but I heard a guy playing some petrucci stuff on a rack with 570 which sounded alright...

Don't buy anything from ENGL if you haven't played it before! People either love or hate Engl amps (I hate them form most parts) because they have a very modern and cold sound to them!

Yes, please! Haha! Same here. I'm working on several of them, Difficulties 3-5 and it is tough at times. I've about got the Rock Solo - Beginner nailed. I vote more 3 and 4 level lessons! ....also like to see the hardest lesson you can do, to see your "guitar level peak". I bet the solo in The Strong and the Weak would top a 7 or an 8 Difficulty!

Really....any new lesson would be a nice refresher.

I totally agree. Check out how awesome these lessons sound...and they are level 3!!! I can actually play them! I think it's harder to come up with an easy lesson that still sounds killer like these, than it is to put a level 8 together with tons of sweeps and shredding. You know those are probably going to sound cool just because they're hard to play. To make an awesome sounding easy lesson takes real musical vision in my opinion.

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/slow-soloing/

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guit...-solo-beginner/

Sound Cool Man it remainds me of Linkin Park l..l,