Tell me about the Engl Fireball......

[K Odell]

I am highly interested in these for their price and simplicity. I want it mainly for the studio and possibly some live use. Right now I use a Mesa Boogie Roadster. I just want some of your opinions on it. How does it handle low tuned 7 string stuff like drop A tuning or 8 string material.
Thanks guy,
Kyle

 

[Fifth_Horseman]

I like my Fireball because it is very tight, perfect for deathmetal. I play it in two bands, in one of them I use 6-strings tuned to B standard. It handles that just fine.
Be sure to keep the gain low (below 12 o'clock), everything higher will muddy it up. Haven't tried it with lower tunings or an 8-string yet.

I don't know how it compares to the Roadster, though.

 

[hoehlentroll]

we recorded our album with fireball. check out website: hatchery-band.de

 

[Metaltastic]

Be sure to consider the Blackmore as well, I'm between those two and leaning towards the Blackmore cuz it apparently sounds just like a Savage (the standard-setting Engl amp IMO)

 

[gorath23]

Be sure to consider the Blackmore as well, I'm between those two and leaning towards the Blackmore cuz it apparently sounds just like a Savage (the standard-setting Engl amp IMO)

The Blackmore doesn't have the same range of gain or bass as the Savage or the Fireball, its less balls to the wall, majoring more on lead playing than rhythm. Saying that I still have gas for one! I guess a perfect balance between the two would be a Savage 60, but they are hard to find

I love my Fireball, its really thick but incredibly clear and it works really well with all different types of woods + pickups. I've played it with EMG's all the way to Fenders with Singlecoils. Its a lot more versatile than you may imagine. If you are in a band situation it would really pay to have it hooked up to a decent, thick sounding cab (Orange or Mesa would be perfect) as it has a slight tendency to thin out at very high volumes. If I were to use mine live, the key ingredients would be a thick, V30 equipped cab, EQ in the loop and make sure that you don't mind cranking the mids.

 

[TheDude]

I talked to the Swedish distributor for the Engl amps, and we're gonna borrow the Fireball, Savage, Powerball and the Invader to do some test recordings in the studio. He said that the Blackmore is more like a "classic" amp, less metal and more crunch. He thought that the Savage or the Invader would be the best option for us. Well, we know some things he don't so I wouldn't count on that, but it's an indication of the character of the amps.

I'll put up some soundfiles when I'm done. It'll be in the end of April.

 

[Fifth_Horseman]

I'd also like to add that the other guitarist in my other band owns an ENGL Blackmore.
I borrowed it once to try it for the downtuned brutal death stuff.

Blackmore less metal? Definitely not. That fucking amp almost made me regret getting the Fireball in the first place. Dialed in right, it is very well capable of delivering tight, clear, and BRUTAL sound. Luckily, when switching back to the Fireball I was still very satisfied. Well, now I know I would be happy with any of those two amps.

 

[TheDude]

I'd also like to add that the other guitarist in my other band owns an ENGL Blackmore.
I borrowed it once to try it for the downtuned brutal death stuff.

Blackmore less metal? Definitely not. That fucking amp almost made me regret getting the Fireball in the first place. Dialed in right, it is very well capable of delivering tight, clear, and BRUTAL sound. Luckily, when switching back to the Fireball I was still very satisfied. Well, now I know I would be happy with any of those two amps.

As I said, we know more about that than the distributor does, and I haven't played on them yet so...

 

[Fifth_Horseman]

Yeah, and the nice thing about the Blackmore compared to the Fireball is that you can actually use the Gain knob at the range beyond 12 o'clock.

 

[hoehlentroll]

Yeah, and the nice thing about the Blackmore compared to the Fireball is that you can actually use the Gain knob at the range beyond 12 o'clock.

there is certainly a type of music for gain over 12 o'clock. you're still able to fiddle the gain between 0 and 12 o'clock. so that's no benefit.