ENGL vs Framus

[spirit7]

Hello all, new here.

I'm in the market for a new head (upgrading from a TSL 60). I've tried a Mesa Dual Rectifier, and frankly I thought for the price the tone wasn't all that.

Essentially, it comes down to either an ENGL Powerball, an ENGL Invader 100, or a Framus Cobra.

I'll be playing progressive metal on it...so it needs to have bludgeoning, chunky rhythm sounds, decent, warm lead sounds and delicate cleans. It'd be nice also to have a Gilmour-y lead sound, if possible.

I'd appreciate any advice here as it's so hard to choose between them!

Thanks.

 

[Thorax the Herdsman]

And not a 5150, as we already got one in the band

 

[imaginarybooks]

German amps seem to be selling loads these days. One thing ill say is that they are very reliable.

 

[Metaltastic]

What about the Engl Savage 120? That'd be my choice

 

[imaginarybooks]

The engl SE tickles my fancy.

 

[spirit7]

I haven't come across the SE before. Good?

The Invader 100 is looking the most intruiging for me at the moment...

 

[Metaltastic]

The SE I'm sure is sweet, but at $3500 it's just way too much. Savage...

 

[Razorjack]

Savage 120 or Cobra would be my choice. I'd lean towards the Savage though, it's Frederik Nordstrom's amp of choice and he seems to know good tone!!

 

[imaginarybooks]

Hey, heres a good scope for the kinda stuff you wanna play
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di9UXIHUH84
I think hes using the SE in this video. Not a bad tone, it does have that engl sound. Its an aquired taste.

 

[spirit7]

Does the Invader 100 not look more versatile? I need an amp that can do cleans well, along with perfect distortion.

 

[imaginarybooks]

Youtube the engl SE and im sure the clips with cleans will impress you. Some sound very good to me. Also dont take anything people say on here to heart man, different strokes for different folks afterall. Ive not heard much about the invader but I saw it used live next to a recto and it got blown away by the mesa.

 

[spirit7]

Hmm, interesting. I'm leaning towards the powerball, really: it's tried and tested, versatile enough, and I'm guaranteed to get an extremely loud, punchy distortion.

 

[cobrahead1030]

the cobra and powerball are quite a bit different

the cobra's rhythm sounds is pretty bright/agressive with a kinda dry gain to it, very nice and tight tho...the lead channel is more saturated and slightly smoother but still pretty mean sounding (which may or may not be what ya want) it's got a really great fenderish clean; the high gain tones here are definitely for folks who like a lot of mid range grind

the powerball does the tight rhythm sound also but in a different way than the cobra, it's got a sharp high end but is a little darker across the board IME and sorta scooped sounding tho not in a bad way...the lead sounds on the powerball are pretty nice, kinda smooth but bright at the same time...cleans are pretty good tho i think the cobra wins here

i've not played the invader so i can't say much on it...the cobra and powerball are both pretty solid amps, either of which could mix well with a 5150 in a band mix

 

[spirit7]

Thanks, very helpful.

It'll be a difficult choice.

As far as lead tone goes, I play a lot of shreddy-type stuff...so a saturated lead tone is pretty necessary. What's the Powerball's like? Is it still decent for that style? Thanks.

 

[cobrahead1030]

kinda hard to say there

i've got a mesa mark III for a saturated lead tone it pretty much blows away every other amp i've had

i really like the cobra lead tone but it's pretty mean and in your face sounding...think of arch enemy esque lead sounds with a little more agressive high/midrange; it's very clear and cuts great in a live mix, but it's not for everyone

if you want something a little smoother the powerball may get you a bit closer, but if you're after that thick saturated dream theater kinda lead sound you won't really get that with either of these IMO

it's really short, but this is a pretty accurate clip i did a while back of the cobra's lead channel

http://disvisioned.net/clips/CobraLeadQuicky.mp3