Buy a Mesa Boogie and again, you KNOW what you're getting - a pro device that does generally what it says on the website, you know the sound, you know how expensive they are and you know how reliable they are.

If you buy anything else, often it's a stab in the dark - you're trusting your musical signature to something you can't be sure of.

I have been in this position on many occasions - and not just with Amps!

When I first picked up a guitar Jimi Hendrix and Santana were gods (and still are!) so I had my work cut out trying to figure it all out.

Nothings changed today - if you're getting started or have a band formed then it's basically just as hard as it always was. The tutorials are difficult, the video's somehow are always filmed wrong and the music score... well who cares...

When I stopped listening to manufacturers about equipment - that was the first time I actually could tell how good the kit was - whether it was a particular guitar, an amp, an effect, strings, even picks. One thing was for sure - there's more rubbish talked by manufacturers than you can shake a stick at.

It's true SOME manufacturers are really solid and can be praised for promoting their products in the way that they should - honestly - and Engl Amps do just that for me.

As I moved through the 70's with my Selmer Zodiac (yuk) and through Peavey, Marshall, Gibson, Fender, etc I never really thought that my sound (the one you hear on the home page of this site) could be achievable, worse still, the sounds of the guitar gods we all listened to seemed to be just not attainable with the regular kit.

You had to mod this, or change those, or... hey wait a minute, I'm paying for all this throw away kit!

Each piece of equipment has moulded me through the years to what I am today. If I could have heard what I can achieve today, I would never have believed the sounds coming from that CD Player (what's one of those?) could be me.

Well I was wrong. After discovering all the kit including Mesa Boogie and later the Engl E670 there is simply no stopping what I can achieve - and it's hard to believe really.

Today, I use the following equipment and can condone it if it's in this list:

Marshall TSL100 : TriAxis & 2:90 Mesa Boogie : Engl E670 Special

Line6 XT Pro Live : Dunlop Cry baby : TC Electronics Effects

Ground Control From DMC : TS808 : Digitech Effects : Engl Speaker Cab

Marshall Speaker Cabs : Fender Strat : Gibson Jimi Page Les Paul

PRS Custom 24 (1991) : The 'Dream' Strat (Gene Baker Custom Shop)

Ibanez Jem 7VWH : Ibanez RG550 : Ibanez RG **** : Roland Drum

Machine : Cheap Bass Guitar ($100) : and lots more bits and pieces...

There's more... but who cares... click a name to visit their site...

If you listen to the tracks on this site they will tell you much about how I am today and how my sound is NOW - but it's been a very long and winding road. I also use studio effects which are built in to my now aging Yamaha O2R desk - but continues to serve me beyond anything I can throw at it - as it probably would for you.

I have played mainly my own music and have developed this and reinvented it many times, due to band bust up's or change of direction - or even a new piece of equipment, and believe me, a new piece of kit or guitar can influence you beyond what you can imagine.

That's why the Eniac Album has partly reinvented Tony Mckenzie! My style has changed and is now very focussed and heavier - although I have some great quieter tracks too.

Thank Engl Amplifiers for this latest sound - it is Awesome live and about the same on record!

Thanks for reading this page and I hope it really makes you think before you buy something - it's not easy to get where you want and I know first hand.

Thanks once again for visiting this site - and I hope you like my music.

Tony Mckenzie

www.tonymckenzie.com