ENGL owners... please chime in!!!

[BenoA]

I played a Fireball 100 watts no too long ago and since then... I've been "haunted" by getting one!

I really liked the sound of that amp. Really heavy & think distortion.

But I got a question. I play in band with only 1 guitar, bass and drums. We play bunch of tunes from the 70s to today's music. We're not a "note-for-note" band and we play the tune as we feel them and I'm not trying to get the "exact" tone from the original song.

My amp right now is a Marshall DSL50 half stack with a Marshall 1960A cab. And I'm happy with it, but that ENGL tone is now obsessing me.

Would the Engl be too "overkill" for such style of music we play? Would it sound good with my Marshall cab or would I need to get the ENGl or another cab?

Comments welcomed!

[xDEATHSTARx]

the fb 100 is heavy sounding for sure and has alot of saturated gain, its a modern sounding amp.
for your 70s type songs your tone will sound better with your marshall imo, engl amps sound heavy even when you dont want them to. now im not saying it wont sound good, but those classic songs will sound alot more modern with a engl.
over the years i owned 10 or 12 engls and 3 of them had issues and they was amps i bought brand new, they only come with a 1yr warranty and honestly the build quality is nothing special, i stopped buying engls new because whne my engl se brokedown they wouldnt help me or fix it for me and the amp was only 18 months old.

[Bert]

Go for it! I also play in a band that does mostly straight ahead rock, though I use a mostly-metal rig (Jackson strats, Mesa 4x12, Rocktron Piranha pre, Mesa 20/20). Nothing wrong with taking a different approach to covers, especially if you're not a note-for-note band.

[ken361]

I dig my 100 and I play the same kinds of music

[BenoA]

Hey! My old thread revived! And I still want a Fireball... Any sonic difference between the 60 and 100 watts version?

[jim777]

My understanding was that the Fireball 100's clean sound was much better than the 60's, but I haven't A/B'd them. I'd love to have a weekend with the 100

[BenoA]

What??? Clean??? Clean sound??? Never heard of this before??? :think:

[Grim]

The main difference between the 60 and 100 is that the 100 has a seperate gain for the clean channel which allows more versatility. 60 has shared gain.

I would reccomend either a Powerball or Invader... Just so many sonic options with those two, you can really do anything. You could also check out a recto or Mark V, both of which are incredible amps as well, and again, very versatile.

I'm sure the Fireball would serve you well, but if you wanted to do everything from cleans to 70s rock to modern, a fireball will do that but you will need to use the gain knob (assuming 100W version) on the clean channel to get that 70s rock, which would rob you of your cleans. IMO the Fireball is more of a 1 trick pony than the other ENGLs, but for a metal guitarist it is more than all you need. The Powerball (IMO) Would be the best choice for you.

And yes, I own both a Powerball and Invader. Feel free to PM me or just reply to this is you have any questions. Although I have rather limited acccess to a PC ATM so I may not get back to you as quickly as you like, I will certainly get back to you ASAP.

[BenoA]

Thanks for the infos Grim! Very nice from you.

I'm not looking for lots of options on an amp. The DSL50 I own, well, I use it as a one channel amp and roll my volume for cleans.

From what you posted above, I would probably be better with the 100watts version as it has 2 gain. Anyway, I'm still far away from getting one... Still need to save a lil' bit more $$$.

I'll contact ya when I'll be ready to make the move!

[ken361]

if cash is no problem get the power ball or the invader, the invader is bad ass that was the first engl I demo. But i wanted to keep the cash to under 2 grand and the fire ball 100 is the best sounding amp I ever owned and I had the JVM 205 b4 that. It sounds big and full even when cranked.

[BenoA]

if cash is no problem get the power ball or the invader, the invader is bad ass that was the first engl I demo. But i wanted to keep the cash to under 2 grand and the fire ball 100 is the best sounding amp I ever owned and I had the JVM 205 b4 that. It sounds big and full even when cranked.

I want to keep the cash down... And I still like my Marshall DSL50... For me the Fireball will be to get me a more modern tone!

[Spivonious]

Just a general note on 60W vs 100W amps: 100W will give you much higher "headroom" which would result in it taking a lot longer for the power amp to distort. Hence, better cleans. Dirty channels are all preamp distortion these days anyway, and the volume difference between 60W and 100W isn't that great.