Still debating ENGL purchase

[cobrahead1030]

if you can't get something seriously rocking with a hi gain peavey or mesa it aint the amp.

There are only one or 2 engl clips in total that have sounded any good to me, and when those clips are put back to back with a recto or 5150 they still seem on the thin/compressed side.

I mean seriously..................
where are all the killer engl tones? apprently they crush everything right?

The evidence for great hi gain live and recorded tones rests solely with peavey and mesa and marshall (give or take a few other brands, but these are the major players)

my 2 cents fully inserted.

check out www.myspace.com/theabsence

they used a framus cobra and engl powerball...maybe not your cup of tea, but i was impressed

 

[cobrahead1030]

I think the 5150 tone is awesome...... but I like the brutality of the Framus cobra too.

In a perfect world.......I would get the Cobra knocked up by a 5150.

And have a little Framus 5150 ! LOL!!!

But seriously, a 5150 with a Framus Cobra bite (no pun intended) would OWN !!!!!

my band is working on an EP now, using a cobra and 5150...they sound pretty evil together

btw, here's a clip derek from rock solid amps did of the new madison divinity head (apparently the company did some major tweaking from the original design) http://www.rocksolidamps.com/MP3/Divinity lower drums.mp3

i've never played one myself, but that clip (atleast to me) sounds about like what you're desribing

 

[cornerarea]

the powerball has a scooped sound, and i've heard players complain that they didn't cut thru well in a live mix...however, not all ENGL's are voiced like that; the blackmore and savage are both gain monsters that have a very full, old school marshall-esque midrange sound

The blackmore and savage are killer amps, Screamer is great too. I've heard that changing the factory tubes, especially the ones in the preamp, improves sound pretty much.

You guys should really play an ENGL yourself if you have the chance, most of those clips are pretty crap imo.

 

[CJWall]

Check out the Fireball clip on my soundclick site in my sig. To me, it's a good representation of how the amp sounds in my room; whether you like the sound or not is a different story.
Chain was:
Marshall 1960a > SM57 > M-audio Pre > Cubase SX.

Cheers,
Charlie

 

[Fragle]

"the blackmore and savage are both gain monsters that have a very full, old school marshall-esque midrange sound"

the blackmore sounds NOTHING like a marshall whatsoever...been there, done that, got the t-shirt

 

[cobrahead1030]

didn't say it necessarily sounded like a marshall...just that (similar to a marshall) it doesn't have the scooped sound the powerball has

 

[Fragle]

when i owned a blackmore i found it lacked low mids, just like most other engl's.....although i'll have to admit that i liked the blackmore much better than the powerball

 

[Hexer]

IF you decide to get an ENGL (especially a Powerball or Fireball), make shure you also have a good cab for it! NOT a Marshall 1960a/b!! the ENGL cabs obviously work pretty well with those amps (especially the Vintage or XXL if you like mids). Mesa, Framus, G-Flex, Bogner are pretty popular cabs for ENGL-amps, too.

I love my Powerball, but its not for everyone I'm shure (I'm having arguments with Fragle in pretty much every thread about it )
I'd say: try it before buying if possible!

 

[KillDivision]

I have owned a Triple Recto, wich one of my guitarplayers played. Sold it because i didn't want to be his sponsor.

Then i bought a Powerball. It sounded from very thick and brutal to thin without any body. It all depended on wich cabinet it was connected to. V30's were the best, but on cheap 1960A's en B's it was hell. No tone and very 'processed'.
The thing is that we play a lot on cabinets from other bands at gigs, so the sound was unreliable.
I couldn't stand it anymore and sold the Powerball and got me a new Dual Recto. Always sounds good, even on shitty cabs.

My 2 cents.

 

[KillDivision]

Haha, just read Hexer's post after i posted.

Most bands don't have the luxery of a good cabinet and choose the 'cheap' 1960A/B.

 

[cobrahead1030]

1960a owner here...bought it for $250

with some new speakers, and mod work it doesn't sound half bad tho

 

[Fragle]

"I love my Powerball, but its not for everyone I'm shure (I'm having arguments with Fragle in pretty much every thread about it )
I'd say: try it before buying if possible!"
so true...i hate them with a passion maybe it's because everyone and their momma is using engl amps over here

btw, as far as cabs are concerned....might very well be true. iirc i only tried the powerball with a marshall 1960 fullstack (although i used a number of cabs with the blackmore), with the abovementioned results
but then again, the powerball seems to be pretty much the only amp that sounds like total garbage when used with a 1960A/B.

 

[cobrahead1030]

the marshall cabs sound good with amps that have a lot mids...like the jcm800, or 5150...with the mids CRANKED my cobra sounded pretty decent with my stock marshall cab (altho it wasn't decent enough for me to keep it that way)

a not-so-middy amp like the powerball, combined with those gt75's that are pretty bright and scooped sounding as-is; i could see not sounding too great @ all...there's really nothing to balance out the lack of mids between the two

definitely try it out before you buy if at all possible...i thought the powerball was a very cool sounding amp, but not something i was dying to spend $1800 on

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

i thought the powerball was a very cool sounding amp, but not something i was dying to spend $1800 on

It sounds like this is what it comes down to to me. Never played one though...

 

[cobrahead1030]

www.myspace.com/tesseract has some really great sounding powerball recordings as well

 

[JeffTD]

www.myspace.com/tesseract has some really great sounding powerball recordings as well

Yeah, but Acle also is trying to copy the Meshuggah sound, which isn't what Apollo is going for, IIRC . Also, he uses a TLM193 on the cab, which makes quite a difference in his sound.

Amazing musician and a class A dude, though. Acle's the shit.

 

[Obscura]

To hear a Powerball mixed with a modded Marshall listen to the new Hate Eternal album, I, Monarch. Saw them live and heard the Powerball first hand and was impressed. Completely different voicing than a 5150 so it's apples and oranges.

 

[Torniojaws]

The Powerball is very tricky to record properly, so that it sounds just like it does in person. I've only heard one sound clip where it sounded like it should (I guess one mic won't do it for the amp). But playing live, I thoroughly enjoy the Powerball

 

[Hexer]

I solved the Cab-problem by getting an ENGL 212VH (horizontal 212 with V30s). sounds great, relatively easy to transport, no problem
was using a Behringer BG412S before that sounded very close to a Marshall 1960 so it was a big improvement