Hey guys,
I've read lots of reviews but could use some extra guidance. I'm rebuilding my rig and I've decided on ENGL for my head. Don't bring up other amps please because other than ENGL, i'd want a Diezel and simply can't justify the cost. ENGL is my choice. I had the pleasure of going to the ENGL showroom in Hollywood, CA (I live in Southern California) and played the Powerball II, Savage 120, Invader 100, and Victor Smolski Limited Edition. I also had Michael, their Artist Relations rep dial in tones for me. He used to tech for Dio and some other big acts and knows his stuff so needless to say, every amp sounded killer. I played these amps only because the others do not fit my needs or are too expensive.
Let me first tell you my tonal needs. I do not play super brutal, black, death, grind, etc metal...There are hints of different kinds of metal throughout my playing but I'm looking for a relatively diverse tonal palette. The application that this will mostly be used for is live playing modern rock/metal. Not one tone the whole time: clean, tight crunchy rhtyhm, liquid leads, and other places in between. (think the sonic diversity of say, Dream Theater...not necessarily prog, but tonally diverse). I do NOT like a scoope mid sound. I like the guitars to sound warm and crunchy, organic...yet for rhythm very tight and articulate, punchy and crisp. I nice full saturation but constant clarity. For lead i like it very liquid and kind of loose but not fizzy. One example off the top of my head would be Oli Herbert's lead tones from All That Remains.
So, back to the amps. The Savage had the most killer rhythm tones out of all of them. With that said I think the clean and lead sounds weren't as up to par with the other 3 amps. So now it's between the PBII, Invader, and Smolski. I know the Smolski and PBII are similarly voiced amps, with the VS having more gain on tap. The Invader is pretty much my first choice as it's the most versatile: 4 channel (seperate EQ), midi, and sounds fantastic. It's also about $900usd more than what i could get the PBII for. Like I said, EVERY amp sounded abolutely fantastic to me but i didn't spend tons of time really getting to know each amp.
What I'm hesitant with is 3 things.
1. Powerball fizziness. I've heard on this forum that the Powerball I isn't that great and can be fizzy. Has this issue been resolved in the PBII? Like I said, it sounded good but i didn't play it for too long.
2. Channel functionality. I've always liked the idea of having 4 channels with independent tonal shaping ability (eq, etc). The Invader has this but the others have shared eq between clean/crunch and lead 1/2 with seperate gain and volume for each. Also there is a seperate treble for clean/crunch.
3. $$$. The Invader will take longer to get, and push other gear I need for my rig further from my reach. I want the answer to be PBII/Smolski is awesome and will do what I need...but is the Invader really worth the extra $$?
I could always get the more inexpensive one and if I hate it, sell it and pony up the rest for an Invader. But i want to get things right the first time. Again, this is for live/rehearsal use. We can always rent stuff for recording.
I appreciate your guys' advice.
Cheers.
I've read lots of reviews but could use some extra guidance. I'm rebuilding my rig and I've decided on ENGL for my head. Don't bring up other amps please because other than ENGL, i'd want a Diezel and simply can't justify the cost. ENGL is my choice. I had the pleasure of going to the ENGL showroom in Hollywood, CA (I live in Southern California) and played the Powerball II, Savage 120, Invader 100, and Victor Smolski Limited Edition. I also had Michael, their Artist Relations rep dial in tones for me. He used to tech for Dio and some other big acts and knows his stuff so needless to say, every amp sounded killer. I played these amps only because the others do not fit my needs or are too expensive.
Let me first tell you my tonal needs. I do not play super brutal, black, death, grind, etc metal...There are hints of different kinds of metal throughout my playing but I'm looking for a relatively diverse tonal palette. The application that this will mostly be used for is live playing modern rock/metal. Not one tone the whole time: clean, tight crunchy rhtyhm, liquid leads, and other places in between. (think the sonic diversity of say, Dream Theater...not necessarily prog, but tonally diverse). I do NOT like a scoope mid sound. I like the guitars to sound warm and crunchy, organic...yet for rhythm very tight and articulate, punchy and crisp. I nice full saturation but constant clarity. For lead i like it very liquid and kind of loose but not fizzy. One example off the top of my head would be Oli Herbert's lead tones from All That Remains.
So, back to the amps. The Savage had the most killer rhythm tones out of all of them. With that said I think the clean and lead sounds weren't as up to par with the other 3 amps. So now it's between the PBII, Invader, and Smolski. I know the Smolski and PBII are similarly voiced amps, with the VS having more gain on tap. The Invader is pretty much my first choice as it's the most versatile: 4 channel (seperate EQ), midi, and sounds fantastic. It's also about $900usd more than what i could get the PBII for. Like I said, EVERY amp sounded abolutely fantastic to me but i didn't spend tons of time really getting to know each amp.
What I'm hesitant with is 3 things.
1. Powerball fizziness. I've heard on this forum that the Powerball I isn't that great and can be fizzy. Has this issue been resolved in the PBII? Like I said, it sounded good but i didn't play it for too long.
2. Channel functionality. I've always liked the idea of having 4 channels with independent tonal shaping ability (eq, etc). The Invader has this but the others have shared eq between clean/crunch and lead 1/2 with seperate gain and volume for each. Also there is a seperate treble for clean/crunch.
3. $$$. The Invader will take longer to get, and push other gear I need for my rig further from my reach. I want the answer to be PBII/Smolski is awesome and will do what I need...but is the Invader really worth the extra $$?
I could always get the more inexpensive one and if I hate it, sell it and pony up the rest for an Invader. But i want to get things right the first time. Again, this is for live/rehearsal use. We can always rent stuff for recording.
I appreciate your guys' advice.
Cheers.
