Engl Fireball

[mupps]

Right guys, I need some real opinions on this amp, not some HC crap.

Are they really as good as everyone says they are? I'm doing Thrash Metal (think in the vein of Trivium and Megadeth)and I just want to know how good this amp really sounds, and if the cleans are nice at all. I need some pretty articulate distortion that'll sit well against a Marshall Jmp1. If I do buy one, I promise to post clips!

Anyways, clips and opinions are always good.

Cheers!

(Oh yeh, cheapest place to buy one in the UK with a cab?)

[Fragle]

Re: Engl Fireball

"Are they really as good as everyone says they are? "
no
"I'm doing Thrash Metal (think in the vein of Trivium and Megadeth)"
5150
"and I just want to know how good this amp really sounds, and if the cleans are nice at all. "
the cleans are quite nice, very nice actually for such a high gain amp. the gain however is just too thin and naturally scooped sounding, esp for thrash metal
"I need some pretty articulate distortion that'll sit well against a Marshall Jmp1"
once again, 5150. i'm using one right now, and it crushes the jmp1 rack setup the other guy is using (i used to play that setup and found it to be perfect for a thrash metal tone....before i bought my 5150, that is)

[shadowcat]

Re: Engl Fireball

IMO they are definitely as good as everyone says, but I'm not sure if the Fireball would suit you. That means, how it sits against a jmp1.
I play brutal deathmetal and melodic deathmetal with my Fireball and ENGL standard cab, and I totally love my tone.

Right now I believe I'll never need to get another amp, at least as long as I don't want to play any other style. Yes, it's a one-trick pony. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[horns666]

Re: Engl Fireball

I own the Uber and the JMP-1..

apples and oranges..

me and the boy jammed a bit..before he broke his arm..The Uber sounds like a Bass amp..and that is only on one cab..my JMP-1 is pummped by a 5881 version Monobloc on FOUR Marshall cabs..with a little low end help from a BBE 422...GREAT lead tone..the rythm sound is CLASSIC 80's metal..be it thrash, death or Van Halen..

The uber rythm tone is nothing short of amazing ..especially right next to the Marshall rig..The Uber has a VERY good lead tone..but not as responsive or "alive" as the JMP-1

I had a 5150 in the Ubers place at one time..I sold many 5150s and kept my Marshall.

I had this JMP-1 since it's birth..and I intend to keep it..If you like Criss Oliva's, Glen Drover's, or classic VH tone..this pretty much nails it..that's why I keep it..Ubers, Engls, 5150, Rectos and etc..DON'T sound like that...but VHT's comes damn close!

Plus the Uber's girth and the Marshall's definition and rich harmonics sound GREAT together..they fill in each others voids..covers alot of sonic ground!

[mupps]

Re: Engl Fireball

So you're basically saying get a 5150/6505...

It's tempting but I heard the cleans on the PV suck, as its going to be my ONLY amp (I'm 17, I can't afford food atm!) I need something a little more versitile. It's not sitting against a jmp1 anymore anyhow, my boy has just bought himself a Rocktron Prophesy!

Besides aren't the PV's more expensive (in the UK)?

Andy!

[pagemalicious]

Re: Engl Fireball

The new Peavey 6505 costs less than a fireball. Have a look here

www.gak.co.uk

[Fragle]

Re: Engl Fireball

the cleans on the 5150 definitely aren't anywhere near as good as on the engl, i can tell you that. however, it's much better than my jcm800 2210's clean channel. put a chorus and/or reverb in the fx loop and it's definitely usable.
however, with the 5150 you'll have the possibility of running TWO lead channels (the clean channel with crunch engaged has plenty of gain for thrash, i run it at noon boosted with a sd1 for my main thrash sound - kicks ass!) which enables you to use on channel set up with more gain and volume for a lead boost. the fireball has 2 master volumes, though, but no "built in" gain boost.

basically, check out kreator - live creation...kreator's live album. if you like the sound (esp of the left channel (mille)), you're gonna like the 5150. my 5150 can sound exactly like that, plus it's got in flames and arch enemy at your fingertips too.

[pagemalicious]

Re: Engl Fireball

Kreator had an awesome sound on their new album. But live they used ENGLs. Sounded great then too

[Fragle]

Re: Engl Fireball

"Kreator had an awesome sound on their new album. But live they used ENGLs. Sounded great then too "
yes for the first part (btw, they tracked EOG using a 5150 boosted with a maxon tubescreamer [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]), no for the second one - only sami's using ENGL amps, the powerball to be more precise. mille's a diehard 5150 user.

[mupps]

Re: Engl Fireball

Thing is, I use a boost pedal for leads anyway, so that doesn't bother me.

I'm going to give both amps a try in mid may anyways, then I'll make me decision.

Andy!

Andy!

[Thrust]

Re: Engl Fireball

Well, I just sold a 5150 for a fireball. The Fireball is personally the best amp I've played through or owned. It's not a tweakers amp by any mean....just plug in and jam!

[P I K A]

Re: Engl Fireball

Agreed ,the fireball is THE amp for me too. Play it thru the g-flex cab and it screams metal.

[Fragle]

Re: Engl Fireball

"Agreed ,the fireball is THE amp for me too. Play it thru the g-flex cab and it screams metal. "
until you get onstage, then your glorious metal sound is gonna get lost i swear. same thing happened to me when i had my engl blackmore - and believe me, i know how to dial in an amp for a good live sound. engls are awesome sounding in the bedroom and at moderate volumes, but at high volumes they suck period.
for example, last gig we played one of our openers (friends of mine btw) used 2 fireball heads. their sound was total shit, both onstage (i was onstage during soundcheck) and in the crowd. at first i thought yeah, those guys don't know shit about dialing amps, i guess they have their gain way up and mids totally scooped - because it sounded just like that. now, guess what....they had it setup with the mids almost cranked, bass way down, gain around 9:00 or something....SHOULD sound decent, but it did NOT.

that's my take on engls.

[Supersucker]

Re: Engl Fireball

[ QUOTE ]
"Agreed ,the fireball is THE amp for me too. Play it thru the g-flex cab and it screams metal. "
until you get onstage, then your glorious metal sound is gonna get lost i swear. same thing happened to me when i had my engl blackmore - and believe me, i know how to dial in an amp for a good live sound. engls are awesome sounding in the bedroom and at moderate volumes, but at high volumes they suck period.
for example, last gig we played one of our openers (friends of mine btw) used 2 fireball heads. their sound was total shit, both onstage (i was onstage during soundcheck) and in the crowd. at first i thought yeah, those guys don't know shit about dialing amps, i guess they have their gain way up and mids totally scooped - because it sounded just like that. now, guess what....they had it setup with the mids almost cranked, bass way down, gain around 9:00 or something....SHOULD sound decent, but it did NOT.

that's my take on engls.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is true in my experience too, I'm the owner of a Fireball. It sounds like shit when cranked.

[Myxolidian]

Re: Engl Fireball

[ QUOTE ]
Anyways, clips and opinions are always good.


[/ QUOTE ]

Rocksolidamps.com has a ton of ENGL sound clips. Personally, I think the ENGL Savage sounds killer. It seems to have much more mids than the Fireball, which sounds kinda thin on the soundclips.

I've never had a chance to play one in person so I'd love to hear some more feedback. One thing I've seen mentioned is that they can get pretty noisy?