Savage vs Powerball

[The Unavoidable]

So I went down to the store and tried a Powerball with a standard cab for a little more than an hour. Messed around alot with the eqs, sticking almost only to channel 3. My first observation was that it was really easy to get a good sound, but it took alot of tweaking to start "perfecting" it.

In the end I found some settings I was happy with, and cranked the master volume almost to full. I liked it, it was a sound I immidietly knew that I would be satisfied with.

But I don't want to just be satisfied, I want to be really happy. But I am having a really hard time to determine whether or not I just need more time with it, or if it's not for me at all. I did experience the "fizz" and the over compressed sound but I found it went away using the built in noisegate and pushing the volume.

In the end though, I guess it didn't "blow me away" so much that I wouldn't want to try the Savage. I'll get my friends down at the shop to order one, so I can check it out. Since the general opinion seems to be that it is simply "better", I could be worth it.

 

[blackcom]

For the love of god, get the Savage120. It's supertight while the Powerball is muddy like hell. I've AB'ed them several times. The SE is actually muddier then the Savage. Never tried the invader but I much prefer 6550 to EL-34.

 

[James-Doolan]

For the love of god, get the Savage120. It's supertight while the Powerball is muddy like hell. I've AB'ed them several times. The SE is actually muddier then the Savage. Never tried the invader but I much prefer 6550 to EL-34.

Ok thats a lie the powerball can be muddy like hell if you have the bass and depth punch engaged but if you have it set up right roll back the bass have depth punch turned off its actualy a realy tight amp the problem with the powerball is the fizz which is a presence issue you have to pull back on the presence a lot and put the treble a bit higher to compensate if you find the powerball muddy you have it set up wrong period (btw it is a tricky amp to dial in it took me a few months to find the settings that work for it)

I have not tried the savage though and i would realy like to try one some day

 

[blackcom]

If i'm a liar then you are a dork.

 

[trym^^]

owned both, sold both.
traded in the pball for a savage120.

 

[Tommy Gun]

I've never heard a Powerball get muddy. Fizzy or Sizzly, yeah. But not muddy.

 

[Metaltastic]

If i'm a liar then you are a dork.

Hahahahaha, TOUCHE!

I've never heard a Powerball get muddy. Fizzy or Sizzly, yeah. But not muddy.

That's been my impression as well - then again, our own Lasse refers to it as the "Mudball"

 

[006]

I owned a PBall for quite a while and TBH it is a bit muddy and fizzy. ...and no it's not due to my playing. FireBall > PowerBall. Fo sho.

~006

 

[James-Doolan]

If i'm a liar then you are a dork.

Actualy i am a dork Every one knows dorks get all the bitchs

[ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=RBzIISXser0[/ame]

 

[Tommy Gun]

 

[Morgorroth]

Savage! The Powerball just isn't so cutting through as the Savage.
IMHO it also sounds a hell lot better

 

[GhostUnholy]

I am a recording n00b so I'm sure these guys are right when they say the savage records better but I have powerball and I love it for live playing.

I know people have always said they liked the fireball better for a variety of reasons but I tried both out extensively (and the savage, and the SE with EL34s, and the invader 100, and ive spent time with many other good high gainers, our other guitarist has a 5150 so i've messed around with that a lot, i own a dual rec, i've spent time the JSX, XXX, the marshall JVM, mesa mark IV etc etc. so I'm not saying this with no experience.)

The powerball is a BEAST for live playing. When I first tried it out it sounded like shit but when I dialed it in it became an absolute monster for brutal death and so on. Blows the fireball out of the water if you use it for playing live as its clean is much better, it actually has much more controllable gain levels I found (the fireball was just insane) seperate eqs and so on, plus channel 4 you can sounds very close to the fierball and i loved it for lead playing, and channel 3 will give you more punch. Also the option to have someone higher mids allows you to cut a bit better than the fb.

Now to compare to the savage, I have to say I love both amps and will probably pick up a savage at some point as well, but I picked the poweball because it gave me more of that lower mid, growlier, DM tone versus the savage which sounded great for thrash and so on (SODOM \m/). I will say though that the Savage is much more articulate (at lower volumes especially, the PB sounds decent quiet but is muddy until you turn it up, after which its very clear). Also, the PB is most definitely fizzy, and in recording I don't know if its just particularly hard to deal with but for live playing, i find the fizz much less harsh than from the 5150. Overall I find it to be smoother and easier on the ears than the 5150, and much much tighter. The savage is probably a little tighter because of the kt88s... and is definitely a bit more versatile in terms of lower gain sounds, but come on these are high gain engls, neither really excels on crunch sounds.

also I'd take the powerball any day of the week over my dual rec for playing live.

Also, I can think of a few examples of bands that have recorded with the PB that sounded pretty good to me anyhow:
Jag panzer's last album was powerball/bogner xtc
cannibal corpse's kill
the haunted's the dead eye
I'm not certain about this at all but TBDM's nocturnal sounds like a powerball to me. When I saw them live it definitely sounded like John was playing a powerball.
I've heard talk that scar symmetry has recorded with PBs, can't confirm though

sorry for the rant it was probably useless as I guess most of you probably record a lot and don't want amps that just play well live.

 

[Torniojaws]

cannibal corpse's kill

There's a Mesa (can't remember if it's Dual or Triple) and a Crate (the 350W tube one) in the mix too.

 

[Nostalia]

I own both the Invader and the Fireball and I can also claim that the fireball is a great sounding amp, but you have to drop the presence back to like 8 o'clock to get rid of the fizz. If you like high gain with a lot of compression like scar symmetry this is the a good amp. If you are looking for a more solid tone with a lot of versatility, the Invader takes the cake. I can also tell you the powerball and fireball sound completely different. My friend has a Powerball with an Engl 4x12 and an Uberkab, can't say I like that amp very much. I have yet to play the savage 120, but I have never heard a single bad thing about that amp and my co-worker has a Blackmore and he absolutely LOVES that amp.

Hope I didn't confuse you more than you already were...

 

[Chryst Krispies]

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I'm not certain about this at all but TBDM's nocturnal sounds like a powerball to me. When I saw them live it definitely sounded like John was playing a powerball..

Nocturnal was 5150, as stated in the ballin ass Peavey article with Audiohammer.

 

[JJO]

You really oughta consider getting the PRO cab because of it's better construction (all birch plywood, whereas the standard is only birch on the baffle and MDF everywhere else). Where are you located dude? Cuz in the US Engl cabs are ridiculously expensive compared with a Mesa, Randall, etc. of the same quality.

offtopic: Is it really that big of a difference, since i'm considering upgrading my standard ENGL cab with v30's. Would it be a good noticable difference? Would i be better off just to sell this cab and buy a pro one(Which will cost me like 400 euro's more then if i'd replace them with v30's)

 

[AdamWathan]

Nocturnal was 5150, as stated in the ballin ass Peavey article with Audiohammer.

Yeah and John uses Egnaters live.

 

[GhostUnholy]

Yeah and John uses Egnaters live.

Nocturnal was 5150, as stated in the ballin ass Peavey article with Audiohammer.

Thanks for the info guys. I only said that it sounds like powerball just because my powerball sounds a lot like that in the room.

And Egnater...

Didn't john use Engl for a time though, I'm pretty sure it was listed on the Engl website. I saw them around the time that it appeared on the website, and it sounded a lot like an engl to me...

 

[Metaltastic]

offtopic: Is it really that big of a difference, since i'm considering upgrading my standard ENGL cab with v30's. Would it be a good noticable difference? Would i be better off just to sell this cab and buy a pro one(Which will cost me like 400 euro's more then if i'd replace them with v30's)

I couldn't tell you, truthfully - I have found out that the Standard cab is actually standard plywood on the sides and back, not MDF, with a Siberian Birch plywood baffle. I think if you upgraded the speakers to V30s, the difference between the two cabs would narrow substantially, but I really couldn't guess if it'd be close enough to make it worth saving the 400 euros and keeping the Standard. Tough call!

 

[Iron Chef of Vag]

Hey guys, I was just gonna say im on tour with the savage and the engl midi switcher, ive got a g major in the loop right now and its controlled through a midi pedal, Im gonna have to say its my absolute favorite and most versatile rigs i have ever owned.