“My sound is integral to who I am as a musician. With a Rob Engel guitar, I attain the sound I hear in my head both performing live and on my recordings. They are beautifully crafted, extremely evenly responsive instruments; the neck is especially comfortable to play, and all of this with no feedback problems. Many of my fellow guitarists and students try my Engel guitars, order their own, and are extremely happy to own a custom guitar of the highest quality at a price they can afford.”
“My favorite characteristic of Rob Engel’s guitars is the tone. It is fat, rich, warm, and has tons of sustain. I get all of the benefits of a solid body as well as a hollow body with zero feedback!
Although I have always been primarily a country based guitarist, my Engel guitar has inspired me to write and create many different styles of music from Jazz, Rock, Surf, to Rockabilly. Being an instrumentalist guitarist, it is so nice to have all of these amazing tones to choose from; the guitar is my voice.”
—Matt Rae
“I’ve been searching many years for a versatile jazz guitar that produces warm, fat tone and can also be played at higher volumes with louder rhythm sections. The Engel guitar does just that. Having played 335s and other similar semi-hollow body guitars for years, I now am able to get a much more resonate jazz tone without losing the ability to hit an overdrive pedal and rock out. The 15 inch Engel is really a great mutli-purpose, beautifully handmade, affordable instrument. Both visually and sonically it has something special and should not be overlooked.”
“Rob Engel is a most dedicated luthier whose talents have led him into being one of the most inventive and creative luthiers out there. When he worked for me, he always was positive as well as contributing new and fresh ideas. This was in the 1990s when my business was growing. Along with Jim Millinchuck, we three were a team that was hard to beat. The instruments we made in those days were superb. His work today is just as great, carrying on that tradition.”
—Tom Doyle
“I own an Engel 14" semi hollow. One of the finer guitars I own. I own less and less commercial guitars and more boutiques now. Boutique guitars (like boutique amps) allow you to interface directly with the builder and have input on every aspect of the build.
Rob's build quality and finish quality is off the charts good. The guitar has excellent balance, weight is 6.5 lbs, and is stable and tuneful. After a year, I took mine back to Rob, and he restrung it, did a full setup, fixed a ding (I MADE) and did a detailing, and didn't want a dime.
We have become good friends, and support one another (to be clear), but I would say everything I said here even if we weren't. In the interest of disclosure, he can be a bit of a curmudgeon, but then again, so can I.....”
“Rob Engel’s work is exquisite; my instrument plays, sounds, and looks great! You can see it here on YouTube: