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Ok, my ENGL Powerball came in yesterday, and I spent all of yesterday and today messing with it. In looking for a new amp, I played everything I could- an Uberschall, nearly every Mesa, Peaveys, and Marshalls.
I'll review channel by channel...
Channel 1 low gain (clean)
I knew it was a good clean channel, but I was more impressed than I thought I would be. I prefer this clean to the Mesa Single I had because there is more sparkle and complexity from the ENGL. There is a bright switch which just adds to the sparkle already present in the clean channel. You have an option of "open" or "focused" mids that applies to every channel on the amp. With open selected on the clean, there is the most shimmer and sparkle. With focused, I get a tone very close to the Mesa clean. There is also a bottom button, which adds some bass and thickens out the overall tone. The universal Presence and Depth Punch (similar to a resonance on a 5150, but does more) affect all channels. Wide range of options and tone on the clean channel.
Channel 1 high gain (crunch) Channel 2
This channel reminds me of a classic Marshall tone. There is enough gain on tap to pull of some Shadows Fall type tones. EQ is shared with the clean channel with the exception of the Treble. There is an independent treble for the clean and crunch. Lots of mids available, and the bright and bottom bottoms still affect this channel. Haven't played with this channel too much yet, but sounds great nonetheless.
Channel 2 low gain (soft lead) Channel 3
This channel is far from being "low gain" and "soft." Huge amounts of gain on tap here. I have my gain set at around 12 o'clock and there is plenty for me. With lower gain settings, Slayer and early Metallica tones are achieved with ease. At higher gain settings, the tone is reminiscent of a Peavey 5150, but tighter and more articulate. The open mid voicing works great for rhythm work and the focused is great for leads with this channel. There are two separate mid controls shared by the two lead channels. You can preset the open and focused mid levels, which is awesome for jumping right into a mid-heavy lead from a heavy riff tone. There is a bottom button that adds a generous amount of low end for this channel. Great for really thick, chunky rhythm tones. With the bottom button engaged, I've found it best to back off on the Depth Punch and Bass knobs a little.
Channel 2 high gain (heavy lead) Channel 4
There is an insane amount of gain on this channel. It's also voiced slightly more aggressive than the third channel (which is already more brutal than most amps). This channel doesn't really remind of any other amp that I've played. The bottom button adds almost too much bass to this channel, so I usually leave it disengaged on this channel.
I also bought the Z-5 Footswitch to go with it, and it has 6 buttons- clean, crunch, soft lead, heavy lead, open/focused, and a volume boost. This is very convenient. Any sound I want is at the press of a button.
Overall, the voicing of the ENGL is tighter than my old Mesa, the Uberschall that I played, and any amp that I've played. I've heard that the VHT Ultralead is a bit tighter, but I couldn't find one to play, and it is quite a bit more expensive too. The Powerball cuts through better than my Mesa in a band setting. I was happy with how my Mesa sat in the mix, but the Powerball jumps out more (probably due to higher mids). My Powerball is just as thick if not thicker than my Mesa. The only complaint I have is that the internal noise gate really doesn't do a whole lot, but most amps don't have a noise gate anyway, so that doesn't bother me. The Powerball is definitely the best amp that I've played.
Pictures will be up sometime in the next week. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
I'll review channel by channel...
Channel 1 low gain (clean)
I knew it was a good clean channel, but I was more impressed than I thought I would be. I prefer this clean to the Mesa Single I had because there is more sparkle and complexity from the ENGL. There is a bright switch which just adds to the sparkle already present in the clean channel. You have an option of "open" or "focused" mids that applies to every channel on the amp. With open selected on the clean, there is the most shimmer and sparkle. With focused, I get a tone very close to the Mesa clean. There is also a bottom button, which adds some bass and thickens out the overall tone. The universal Presence and Depth Punch (similar to a resonance on a 5150, but does more) affect all channels. Wide range of options and tone on the clean channel.
Channel 1 high gain (crunch) Channel 2
This channel reminds me of a classic Marshall tone. There is enough gain on tap to pull of some Shadows Fall type tones. EQ is shared with the clean channel with the exception of the Treble. There is an independent treble for the clean and crunch. Lots of mids available, and the bright and bottom bottoms still affect this channel. Haven't played with this channel too much yet, but sounds great nonetheless.
Channel 2 low gain (soft lead) Channel 3
This channel is far from being "low gain" and "soft." Huge amounts of gain on tap here. I have my gain set at around 12 o'clock and there is plenty for me. With lower gain settings, Slayer and early Metallica tones are achieved with ease. At higher gain settings, the tone is reminiscent of a Peavey 5150, but tighter and more articulate. The open mid voicing works great for rhythm work and the focused is great for leads with this channel. There are two separate mid controls shared by the two lead channels. You can preset the open and focused mid levels, which is awesome for jumping right into a mid-heavy lead from a heavy riff tone. There is a bottom button that adds a generous amount of low end for this channel. Great for really thick, chunky rhythm tones. With the bottom button engaged, I've found it best to back off on the Depth Punch and Bass knobs a little.
Channel 2 high gain (heavy lead) Channel 4
There is an insane amount of gain on this channel. It's also voiced slightly more aggressive than the third channel (which is already more brutal than most amps). This channel doesn't really remind of any other amp that I've played. The bottom button adds almost too much bass to this channel, so I usually leave it disengaged on this channel.
I also bought the Z-5 Footswitch to go with it, and it has 6 buttons- clean, crunch, soft lead, heavy lead, open/focused, and a volume boost. This is very convenient. Any sound I want is at the press of a button.
Overall, the voicing of the ENGL is tighter than my old Mesa, the Uberschall that I played, and any amp that I've played. I've heard that the VHT Ultralead is a bit tighter, but I couldn't find one to play, and it is quite a bit more expensive too. The Powerball cuts through better than my Mesa in a band setting. I was happy with how my Mesa sat in the mix, but the Powerball jumps out more (probably due to higher mids). My Powerball is just as thick if not thicker than my Mesa. The only complaint I have is that the internal noise gate really doesn't do a whole lot, but most amps don't have a noise gate anyway, so that doesn't bother me. The Powerball is definitely the best amp that I've played.
Pictures will be up sometime in the next week. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
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