My toughts on ENGL amps.

[aviel]

So i decided to buy a new amp, checked a few options, but nothing sounded as good as the ENGL to my ears.

i checked a few different types of ENGLs and here are my thoughts,

Fireball series - i found them really nasty, evil beasts, to my ears the distortion was too dirty though, was hard to tame it, it reminded me somewhere the dual rectifier, on E tune its just too dirty to my ear.

Blackmore - really liked it, it was like a blend of the engl low body but with the marshal kind of drive. like it really much, had lots of drive - but i just dont understand why it has only 1 EQ channel, to me it was a big no no.

Powerball Series - i started by testing the new powerball II. it is really versatile and has so many channel, it was great. but it just fell dead compared to the blackmore, to me it felt a little bit synthetic.

then i tested the powerball I (2nd version though). i immediatlly hear a BIG differance. it had more drive, and it felt more alive, not sure how to explain it, but it felt more real.

to me it was it. i ended by Buying and adding to my collection a new ENGL powerball I head.

i have to admit i didnt bothered listening to the invader, neither to the savage. they both were over my budget by far.

The biggest suprise was the differance between the two versions of the powerball. maybe it was this specific head, but it feels like the PB 2 was kind of a drawback from 1st version, does anyone feel the same?

 

[Lasse Lammert]

you should have tried the savage!
Especially if you like the blackmore but need more channels and more drive

 

[aviel]

you should have tried the savage!
Especially if you like the blackmore but need more channels and more drive

well they didnt have it on any store here,, it was only in some kind of preorder.. too much for a student like me

 

[::XeS::]

In my opinion Engl amps have too many buttons, pots, leds, etc... To me also the little Savage 60 has too many things. 2 gains, suppressions, low boost, hi boost....It was very tricky to find a decent sound. So I bought a 6505 and immediately I found an awesome sound.
Some Engl sounds really good but personally I don't like the amps with all those switches/options

 

[Empathy]

Somewhat agreed with Lasse, the Blackmore is essentially a stripped-down Savage. That said, I think I prefer the Blackmore's overall sound; If I could have my way, I'd run a live rig with a Blackmore as the dedicated high-gain rhythm/lead sound, and an Orange Rockerverb for clean/overdrive sounds. It'd be tits.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Never liked the Fireball nor the Powerball, but the Savage 120 is good

 

[Fredrik-Ablaze]

I've had most of them but the one that I ended up keeping was the Invader; it can pretty much do it all soundwise.

 

[Jevil]

Recently bought Savage 120. Very happy with it.

 

[aviel]

I've had most of them but the one that I ended up keeping was the Invader; it can pretty much do it all soundwise.

I heard that the invader is less high gain dedicated then tje others. dont indetstand what there isnt to like on the powerball though!

 

[StefTD]

hahaha, the invader has enough gain for everything, tried one with gain on 4/10 and it was enough for death metal.
the powerball doesn't have lots of fans around here, I think it's ok, but many people tend to use it with too much
gain and not enough mids, especially on channel 4 you won't need to set gain higher than 3/10 or so.
And it tends to get muddy, and a bit solid state like, digging it for live stuff, but especially Lasse hates it

 

[BLUElightCory]

Another vote for the Savage 120, it's my favorite ENGL.

 

[Mattayus]

Yeah the Savage 120 is hench. My friend has one going through an Orange 4x12 and I could just stand in front of that thing all day long.

 

[aviel]

hahaha, the invader has enough gain for everything, tried one with gain on 4/10 and it was enough for death metal.
the powerball doesn't have lots of fans around here, I think it's ok, but many people tend to use it with too much
gain and not enough mids, especially on channel 4 you won't need to set gain higher than 3/10 or so.
And it tends to get muddy, and a bit solid state like, digging it for live stuff, but especially Lasse hates it

I have to agree. i dont pass the 5/10 on my gain knob. and i always use the mid boost, and push it to maximum mids.
i guess you have to learn to use your amp as i said, didnt try the savage, was too much for me. but among all the other options, the powerball just took them.

but dont most of people use an boost pedal in front of the amp to give it extra mids?

 

[Wohma]

Savage 60 is a great poor man's Savage 120 I watched an auction on German eBay lately and it sold for 900 EUR, not a bad price (and I've seen it sell for much less!).
By the way, I directly compared Blackmore to Savage 60 and for my type of sound (ballsy, but not overgained and overbassed hi-gain/metal sound - simply the metal sound that works) these two sounded soo similar you wouldn't believe it. The only difference was that Blackmore was a bit more nasal, while Savage was a bit rawer. But those were just very minor differences. I ended up trading my Blackmore for the other guy's Savage 60 as I needed something with less power and didn't want to invest into and bother with a power brake.

 

[TheSweetener]

If you can't avoid Engl then a Savage 120 oder Special Edition is the way to go.
Over the years all the records I did with Fire/Powerbals ended up being kind of ok but never kick ass. Perhaps that's just me but I think that the Fireball has too much gain, a certain solid state fizzyness and sounds very 2D in a mix.

 

[crillemannen]

Another vote for the Savage. Awesome amp

 

[aviel]

If you can't avoid Engl then a Savage 120 oder Special Edition is the way to go.
Over the years all the records I did with Fire/Powerbals ended up being kind of ok but never kick ass. Perhaps that's just me but I think that the Fireball has too much gain, a certain solid state fizzyness and sounds very 2D in a mix.

Well i have to agree to fireball is too much dirty.. didnt like it at all..
actually i have already bought the powerball 1, 2 months ago, i am really happy with it, from all the amps i tested it was my favourite (mark 5' recto' marshalls, 6505, and other engl).

i guess i will have to accept that it has some weak points and try to overcome them , it costed me so much money, i cant afford being unsure about it.

 

[Ola Englund]

I have nothing against engls. They all sound awesome in their own way but I totally understand the people not liking them. I'm doing a Fireball 100 demo in a week or two, we'll see how it pans out...

 

[TheSweetener]

, it costed me so much money, i cant afford being unsure about it.

Ha, ha. Many people have that problem!