ENGL shootout

[the_drip]

can we get a compare and contrast between the Blackmore head and the Powerball.

the blackmore is in my brother's price range...but he's never heard it...and he really likes the sound of the powerball, but not enough moolah. He'd get teh fireball, but he really wants the 100 watt head room.

the tones we're after are Dimmu Borgir, Dark Tranquility, Darkane, Angel Dust.

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: ENGL shootout

What I've heard of the Blackmore head, I don't think it has enough gain for metalheads really.

[the_drip]

Re: ENGL shootout

what would you describe its tone as?

[Mordor]

Re: ENGL shootout

Imo the blackmore has enough gain,powerball and fireball have insane amount of gain!I think derekb has some clips..

[the_drip]

Re: ENGL shootout

can it do death/black metal? the blackmore. listened to derekb's clip on teh rocksolidamp site. seems good enough to me.

[axeman81]

Re: ENGL shootout

First off, I have never heard an Engl before today, just various JCM's, some stock & some modded and a Peavey 5150 combo.
So this morning I was stopping by a city located 1 hour drive from where I live, and I went in the music store there to check if they had anything cool..

tested a japan charvel rising sun graphic which was alright, and then I tried the line6 variax guitar....the neck and feel on that thing was beautiful!! lot better than I had thought.

anyway, on to the good stuff...I asked the guy if he had any cool amplifiers, he said "yeah we have the Engl Blackmore head + Engl 4x12 cab"

So I went in and tried it, it has 3 channels. I didn't REALLY crank it, kept it at a reasonable level but I didn't let the tubes run cold either [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] . I'll try to explain my impression:

Clean: VERY nice clean sound, my axe has EMG's so there was absolutely NO noise even when I was standing maybe a foot away from the cab!! Just the way I like clean sounds to be, with that nice tube-warmth to it.

Crunch: Nice crunch sound, good for "back in black" type stuff. Not a metal or trash sound.

Lead: Now we're talking, I was able to get a nice metal sound adjusting the presence to about 7 or 8. You could definitely get the Hetfield crunch out of it using this. Personally, I probably wouldn't use much more gain than this, unless perhaps I was in a band where I was the only guitarist. I don't like my tone to be saturated with gain...need it to be juuuust about right. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

So to sum it up, I think it is a very nice sounding combination, I was impressed by the speaker cabinet also. Much more articulate than most marshalls I've heard, you could hear just the smallest mistake in playing [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

The guy at the store was a metalhead, he told me the other guitarist in his band just got a powerball and said it is even hotter than the blackmore head.

So in my opinion, for the kind of music you mentioned, I would get the powerball.

Hope this helps,

- Rune. [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

[DerekB]

Re: ENGL shootout

Originally posted by the_drip:
this link isn't working? http://www.rocksolidamps.com/MP3/Rit...0Blackmore.mp3


i keep getting a "forbidden" thing for it.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Try it again in a little while. I have a glitch on my website when I upload MP3's and have to wait until my webguy goes in and get's it working which should be shortly cause I already spoke with him.

Derek

[DerekB]

Re: ENGL shootout

It's working now.


Derek

[the_drip]

Re: ENGL shootout

well...that is enough gain for us. thanks alot derek. now that is just straight into the amp with no effects or any of that fancy BBE bullshit everyone is always jibba jabberin' about right?

[DerekB]

Re: ENGL shootout

Originally posted by the_drip:
well...that is enough gain for us. thanks alot derek. now that is just straight into the amp with no effects or any of that fancy BBE bullshit everyone is always jibba jabberin' about right?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">All of my clip's are done plugged straight in with no FX or EQ added before or after unless I mention it in the description.This clip is just the guitar plugged straight into the amp.Thanks for checking it out.


Derek

[the_drip]

Re: ENGL shootout

just to get an idea.....everyone that's listened to DerekB's clip...does that not sound like enough gain? for Black/Death metal?

[DerekB]

Re: ENGL shootout

I just posted another Blackmore clip on my site that should be working. I love the Blackmore, own one for myself and use it to play Death Metal for the mostpart.It's a killer amp and a sleeper in the Engl line IMO.


Derek

[the_drip]

Re: ENGL shootout

this link isn't working? http://www.rocksolidamps.com/MP3/Rit...0Blackmore.mp3


i keep getting a "forbidden" thing for it.

[Gilbert]

Re: ENGL shootout

Originally posted by the_drip:
just to get an idea.....everyone that's listened to DerekB's clip...does that not sound like enough gain? for Black/Death metal?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">For lack of better words, the blackmore isn't voiced as aggressively as the powerball. The distortion seems smoother and doesn't have as much bite. The blackmore is great, but you would like a powerball even more. speaking of which, have you considered buying one used? you should be able to get a pretty good price on a used powerball.

[Alexi7]

Re: ENGL shootout

Gilbert is spot on with the tone, and that's exactly why i like the blackmore better, cause its that nice smooth ballsy crunch, which is suited to palm muting, for that tallica kinda nice sound, the powerball is like a monster, its a bit over the top, but if that kinda sound is your thing...
cheers