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ENGL amps! (who also loves 'em?)

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  • ENGL amps! (who also loves 'em?)

    I love ENGL amps and I've been a fan for years. I remember having a Powerball around 2006/2007. At that time I sold it pretty quickly, not because I wasn't a fan but I was getting into digital modeling so I sacrificed my ENGL. For years I didn't own an ENGL but in the back of my mind I always knew I wanted another one.

    So I got my Fireball 100 last year and it has been an amazing amp in my collection. The clean channel is very nice and versatile. It can go from dark to super sparkly and snappy and the bright and deep switches really help to sculpt the tone. The clean channel can also do low gain crunch pretty well! I haven't tried this amp with pedals yet but I'm looking forward to experimenting more with my Elektron Analog Drive soon.

    The lead channel is absolutely brutal. It can sound pretty tight in general but with the right eq settings you can really make this amp cut through the mix. The mid and treble controls really do a great job of pushing those frequencies in very musical ways. It has a tonne of gain, more than enough for anybody's needs. It's tight sounding but it does have a certain looseness because of the nice resonance on the low end. For me it's just perfect for metal.

    I got the Ironball last week and it has not disappointed at all. It has a lower wattage rating (20w vs 100) and it has EL84's. I know, I know, some of you 'hate' those small tubes but I'm a fan for a variety of reasons. This amp can sound pretty similar to it's bigger brother but the low end has a bit less resonance and is slightly tighter overall. This does not mean however that it has 'little low end'. This thing still delivers on that front. The right guitar, cab and speaker will certainly help with that. I got this amp to sound pretty darn close to the fireball in this comparison:



    Would love to know your thoughts!

    Anyway, I love these amps but I don't see many posts about them around here so it would be cool to connect to some fellow ENGL fans here. Would love to know which ones you own and what you think of it. Sound examples would be even cooler.

    In the future I'm certainly going to try to get another one. Maybe a Powerball. There are a lot of used V1's for sale often so I can probably get a good deal. I prefer the black look of the Powerball II though and I heard that the circuitry was improved (greatly) on the V2. Has anyone every compared the II?
    Owner and founder of Sonic Drive Studio & social media manager for OwnHammer.

    Facebook.com/sonicdrivestudio
    OwnHammer.com

  • #2
    Re: ENGL amps! (who also loves 'em?)

    I love the Engls too. The first Engl I had was the Savage and I hated it. Let my buddy borrow it to see if he could do something with it and he hated it too. Sold it and bought an Invader. The Invader blew me away so I went out and bought the Special Edition. The SE absolutely blew everything away, even my Diezel Herbert. Can't get enough of Engls, fantastic amps.

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    • #3
      Re: ENGL amps! (who also loves 'em?)

      The thing about ENGLs is they're really expensive in this side of the pond. I'm not saying they aren't good quality, but I wouldn't say they're very "boutique-y" (which I know is kinda stupid), yet they're well in that price range. Not saying they are not solid amps, though, and some of their designs really do sound great. I'm a big fan of the Savage. They're cabs are fantastic as well, and they definitely stack up against Mesa, Orange, Bogner, or anything, really.

      Your vid makes the Ironball sound fantastic, and your description definitely makes me want to try one.

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      • #4
        Re: ENGL amps! (who also loves 'em?)

        They are expensive no matter where you live. Lol

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        • #5
          Re: ENGL amps! (who also loves 'em?)

          Originally posted by Rex_Rocker View Post
          The thing about ENGLs is they're really expensive in this side of the pond. I'm not saying they aren't good quality, but I wouldn't say they're very "boutique-y" (which I know is kinda stupid), yet they're well in that price range. Not saying they are not solid amps, though, and some of their designs really do sound great. I'm a big fan of the Savage. They're cabs are fantastic as well, and they definitely stack up against Mesa, Orange, Bogner, or anything, really.

          Your vid makes the Ironball sound fantastic, and your description definitely makes me want to try one.
          Definitely try it! When I first got my Ironball I ran it through my ENGL 2x12 (with UK made V30s) and it sounded absolutely HUGE! The Fireball definitely is a different beast but as you could see in the vid they can be made to sound pretty similar.
          Owner and founder of Sonic Drive Studio & social media manager for OwnHammer.

          Facebook.com/sonicdrivestudio
          OwnHammer.com

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