Operator`s manual

Front Panel Features
The Gig Master 15 is an amp purpose-designed for performance and voiced with premium tone
in mind. Both the combo and head come in exceedingly compact housings. The Gig Master 15 is
perfect for small gigs, home or studio recording, and practicing at lower volumes without sacrificing
tone. In fact, because it is endowed with hip features such as a balanced Line Out with speaker
simulation and a built-in Power Soak with four variable power stages, this amp is well-suited for a wide
range of diverse applications. Its Master knob lets you dial in precisely the desired amount of power
amp saturation. Two EL84 pentode power tubes produce the amp's trademark tone, while an ECC83
double triode preamp tube provides oodles of front-end overdrive. No one-trick pony, the Gig Master
15 offers plenty of variety for the tone connoisseur courtesy of its two channels and a specially voiced
Mid Boost switch that shapes those midrange frequencies that matter so much to electric guitar tone.
And although these two foot-switchable features afford you even greater flexibility to shape sounds
on the fly, handling remains an exercise in convenience and simplicity. With its warm, bluesy tube tone,
this amp is certainly a strong persuader: Plug in, play, and be convinced!
You'll find guidelines on care and maintenance of tube amps and details for the Power Soak handling
in certain places of this manual.Please read and heed these before operating your amp. You'll also
come across boxes shaded grey throughout the manual. These are located between the descriptions of
the amp's functions and contain handy tips on the preceding function. All critical information
pertaining to the operation of this amp is preceded by "NOTE" or "CAUTION." Please pay particular
attention to these safety tips. The ENGL team wishes you all the best—may you and your amp enjoy a
"harmonically rich" future together!
1 Input: ¼" unbalanced input jack. Plug your guitar in here using a shielded cord.
2 Input Gain: This knob controls the preamp's input sensitivity. Use to dial in the desired amount of
gain for the Clean and Lead channels. It and the Master (10) knob determine the Clean channel's
volume. Note: Turning the Input Gain knob all the way down gives the lowest input sensitivity.
A tip from the designer:
If you want to keep the preamp signal pristine clean, dial in a setting between 7 and 11 o'clock for
active and humbucking pickups, and between 9 and 1 o'clock for single-coil pickups. The power
amp provides a moderate amount of headroom, so be sure to choose a relatively low Master knob
setting (lower than 12 o'clock) if you wish to avoid any kind of break-up. Even in Clean mode, you
can push both the amp's preamp and power amp hard enough to overdrive the signal.
3 Lead Drive: This knob controls the Lead channel's sensitivity. It and the Input Gain (2) determine the
amount of preamp distortion in Lead mode.
Note: The amp's noise floor will increase appreciably if you crank both the Lead Drive and
Input Gain knobs!
CAUTION: Extremely high gain and volume levels in Lead mode can produce powerful feedback.
Avoid feedback squeals; they can lead to hearing loss and damage speakers! At higher volumes,
back off the Gain and Treble levels in order to prevent unchecked feedback!
A tip from the designer:
Again, it's the combination of Input Gain (2) and Lead Drive (3) settings that control the amount of
preamp overdrive. You can use these two knobs to set the desired amount of Gain in Clean and Lead
modes, and then dial in the perfect balance between the two. Note that setting the Lead Drive knob
to around 10 o'clock will give you a tougher rhythm tone with a little added edge.
4 Bass: Bottom end voicing control of the preamps´s passive EQ.
5 Middle: Mid-range voicing control of the preamps´s passive EQ.
6 Treble: Upper range voicing control of the preamps´s passive EQ.
Tips from the Designer:
To help you get acquainted with the amp's fundamental sounds, I recommend that you set all tone
controls to the center or 12 o'clock position. If you want to dial in very soft lead, blues, or jazzy clean
sounds, try setting the Treble knob between 11 and 1 o'clock. For more aggressive riffs or
funk-approved tone, try a knob position between 1 and 4 o'clock.
7 Lead Volume: Volume control for the Lead channel (pre-FX loop, influences the Send level).
The red LED above the channel switching selector (9) indicates Lead operating mode.
Use this knob to dial in the desired balance of levels between the Lead and Clean channels.
Input Gain
Mid
Boost
Lead Drive Bass Middle Treble Lead Volume
Clean
Lead
Master
Stand By Power
Gig Master 15
Input
1
2
34
56
7
8
910
11
12